Mana Dziesma

(Elder Putnam)

ITs been a bit since I last wrote an email. So I'll do a quick summary

Elder Bastow got a concussion and then he got a neck massage and stim therapy. The doctor let me try it on my arm too. It was pretty cool. Elder Beebe's mom has sent us sourdough bread which was delicious. We got to try some garlic cheddar and orange cranberry loaves as well.

I've been taught all the grammar principles I need to know (for the most part) now it’s just about using them correctly and on the fly with fluency of speech.

If you’ve ever watched Liken, the dude who plays Alma in Alma and King Noah's Court was there and I got a picture.

I’m singing in Conference, so look for me in the Saturday Afternoon session (sorry to people in Saudi for whom it will be the middle of the night)

When we aren't able to squeeze in a workout time during the day, Elder Bastow and I do pushup challenges. He's a lot better at them than I am, but I'm also on a cut, so the weight drop should help. I decided to cut for the first week and a half of my last 2 weeks (I'm just gonna eat like crazy those last few days) since I haven't ever, and they offer chicken and rice daily with goodddd milk.

Scripture of the Week:1 Nephi 16:7-8,

7. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife...

8. And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him. And I, Nephi, had been blessed exceedingly.

Ok so there is some speculation on this one, but several chapters earlier, Lehi promises that Nephi, Sam, Laman, and Lemuel will be blessed for returning to Jerusalem, but Nephi will be exceedingly blessed for not complaining. So I think this scripture is just Nephi bragging about his wife, saying he got the best one or something like that. idk. On that note, I've been doing all I can to complain as little as possible about the hard things about my mission. One day I will say, "And I, Caleb, have been blessed exceedingly." You Feel Me???

Conference Talk of the Week: The Greatest Possession | Elder Holland

"-to love God wholeheartedly, without reservation or compromise, that is, with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. This love of God is the first great commandment in the universe. But the first great truth in the universe is that God loves us exactly that way.-- wholeheartedly, without reservation or compromise, with all His heart, might, mind, and strength. "

Isn't it so powerful to know that we are Heavenly Father's children and He loves each of us in a way so pure that we can't comprehend. He loves us as we are, even when we make mistakes. Because He loves us this way, He wants everyone, no matter where they are, to come to Him and become clean again. Repentance is a gift from Him completely step away from sin. It makes us better people as we learn from the mistake we've made, but are forgiven from God (if we utilize the Atonement).

Latvian Word of the Week: Luk; translation: behold (in imperative form)

Used in a sentence: Lūk Elder, svētais kebaba tirgus ir tur.

Behold, Elder, the Holy Kebaba store is there.

Pictures:

1. I'm posted up with Alma

2. Elder Bastow's prescribed neck massage

3. Bralis Hiltons is always flexing

4. I got to watch the BYU game (from T4)

Most recent weeks:

My pronunciation has gotten significantly better and I'm pausing after commas, which is apparently very helpful as far as understanding goes. That’s a result of reading from the BoM daily in Latvian; Mormona Gramata. We have a new teacher named Brother Bastian and he's straight out of the mission field so his accent is the best. We were practicing contacting and I talked with him about Kristaps Porzingis for a bit and gave him a card for sports night. Less goooo.

We listened to some Latvian songs, favorite of which is Mana Dziesma, which translates to My Song. Definitely give it a listen. Mes Esam Latvija is also pretty good.

We are meeting with representatives from Azerbaijan, UAE, Mongolia, and a few others and they're gonna watch us as we learn our languages. It'll all be in Estonian, so we won't understand it, but We'll then answer questions about languages and whatnot.

There is an Elder in our branch that speaks pretty fluent Arabic so I've been asking him about all sorts of Arabic questions. He lived in the UAE for the past 4 years and that’s how he picked it up since he's from California.

Elder Schmidt is one of the funniest guys I know. He's from Germany and he got here 3 weeks ago. He's learning Polish and the rest of his district got here last week. We got back from getting haircuts and asked who has the worst cut. He looked at me and straight up said: You look funny haha. I did look funny and I will also attach a picture. My mom says I look handsome, but I think that’s just her obligation to say that.

One more Scripture of the Week: Moses 7:28-33, 37

Quick summary: Enoch, an ancient prophet of the Old Testament is taken up into a vision where he talks with God. God shows him the people on the Earth in our day. Enoch is surprised to see Heavenly Father weeping. Enoch asks God, how can you cry, you are powerful and merciful and kind forever, peace is the habitation of your throne. heavenly Father says "Behold, these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands... and also I [have given unto them] a commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but they are without affection, and they hate their own blood...Wherefore, should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?"

This scripture tells us a lot about the character of Heavenly Father, especially about his love for us. We are created by Him, and He loves us. He loves you and your siblings, and your friends, and those that don't like you, and those that you don't like. He sorrows in our unkindness towards other people because when we hurt or offend our neighbor, we offend Heavenly Father. But "when [we] are in the service of [our] fellow beings, we are [also] in the service of our God. This week, try to be kind to everyone, especially those who aren't particularly kind to you.

More Pictures:

1. Jess the Celebrity (That’s how she introduced herself, so I decided to call her that)

2. Fairlifeeee. It brings me joy

3. :)

4. Elder Bastow got a shot so he picked out two lollipops, and 4 stickers to go along with a coloring book he found.

Thats all I have for the past 3 weeks.

We'll see if I can email next week

Elder Putnam