Week 54

January 18, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was a really good one actually, mostly Sunday was really good. First we went to church where President and Sister Harding were there. We were able to talk to Sister Harding about the Primary organization here in Vilnius. After, we had a wonderful Sacrament meeting where they talked about the new area goals for this year. It was great and I am excited to start helping implement more of these goals with the members here. After that we were able to go to Primary where Sister Harding joined us while we translated for two little girls in the branch who speak English. It was really good, Sister Harding was there because she plays the piano really good and they wanted Sister Bestenlenher or I to play. Which, we are good, but not that good. I translated the singing time and Sister Bestenlenher translated the sharing time, then the Primary splits into two classes where the older children go to one and the younger to the other. I had the opportunity to translate in the older class for the older little girl named Glori. She is really cute and very smart. After church we helped Kamile, a young single adult member here who has recently decided she wants to serve a mission, with her mission papers. She just needed help understanding some of the questions and with what some of it was saying. Then in the evening we were able to go and participate in the opening of a mission call that was delivered by President to Mindaugas. It was such a special moment for him. We all gathered at the senior couples apartment. He is the only member in his family and he was actually less active not too long ago, but then Sister Bestenlenher and her companionship at the time invited him to serve a mission, while in the past he had been dead set against it. He agreed to think about it and then decided he should serve. It is an incredible story and transformation. He opened it and read it, and he is going to Scotland. It is really exciting, he sat there quiet for a really long time, he was speechless, which never happens, then he even cried a little, which I hear he never cries. This is a big deal and we all know this is where he is supposed to serve. It was really neat because he is such an example in the Branch. This is really making a big effect on a lot of the youth and young adults, many of the young adults since have decided to serve missions and we had a few young men at the call opening, afterward we asked them if they were excited to open their call someday and they were really excited to go. I am excited for him and he is going to be a great missionary.

Love,
Sister Brown