Zone Conference in Liepāja

 (Elder Putnam)

Čauviņi!

This week was full of ups and downs. Pday we played pickleball at the church which was such a vibe. Sister Johnson and I clowned Elder Judd and Elder Davis. But then on Tuesday we found out that Elder Davis would be emergency transferred out to Narva. Thats a fat rip. I'll miss him.

On Wednesday we drove down to Liepāja and the full 3 hour drive I talked with this one youth about all kinds of things. It was legendary. All in Latvian too. I read him a few verses from Alma 32 and he kinda really liked it. He then asked if he could "palasīt" the Book of Mormon while I took a nap. I recommended that he read 2 Nephi 2. and he did. And 2 Nephi 3, and part of 4. He downloaded the Book of Mormon app and said he'd be down to talk more about it. Thats a win in the books. He's seventeen which is kinda exactly what our branch needs.

Zone Conference itself was mid, except for the finding activities and stuff around it.  We had a degree of success in each contacting opportunity. Placed a Book of Mormon with Elder Brady, we got Brother Blūms to go with me and Elder Eastland, and we gave a Book of Mormon to a member's daughter. Overall it was a great experience.

But the crowning moment was going to House of Food. It’s a highkey boujie restaurant. Elder Davis and I shared the meat selection. Its grandeur was beyond description. We started with the lamb. It was good, but I later learned that if I added the oil/herb sauce it was 3x better. Then we moved onto the pork chops. Elder Davis was raving about the bbq sauce, which to be fair was exquisite (skaudra). Next we ate the steak. that was the softest most tender steak I have ever eaten, no disrespect dad, you still have the Best Spice and Sauce Combo title on locks. it was again enhanced by the oil and herb sauce. There was still another meat on the platter but all I know about it was that it made me want to shout Hosannahs right there in the aesthetically pleasing basement-restaurant.

On the last day I got pastries with Elder Khilibok then we hopped on the bus back to Rīga. Had a long insightful talk with Sister Barker about missions and stuff (she’s going home soon). When we got back we had a very good lesson with Rovens. We taught the basics: God is our loving Heavenly Father and it seemed to hit for him. It felt like a very focused lesson. Like we were asking good questions and He was thinking about it well. We pretty much just read the scriptures and talked about what they meant. Such a good outline for a lesson. Who woulda thought.

Anyways, thanks for the prayers. Elder Argyle and I appreciate them.

Pictures:

1. my grocery grab: 23. bucks (divided by protein count)

2. we visited a castle today.

3. split pastries with Elder Judd

4. the trip back from Liepāja

5. graffiti and very blue sky in Liepāja