Elder Renlund Dapped me up!

 (Elder Putnam)

OK, we had several things happen this past week the crowning jewel of which was Elder Renlund's visit to Rīga and the Baltics in general.

At the beginning of the week we were told to avoid all sorts of activities at the church, but we had a ton of lessons planned so we did them all outdoors. Our most progressing friend Edžus came and we talked about the yoke of Christ with him. He really liked the message. Then he came to Elder Renlund's devotional and had to leave 3 minutes in to his talk. that was such an L. But he came to church and hit it off with the members which is so great.

We invited the ends of Latvia to come to Elder Renlund's devotional and there were a ton of people that came. It was awesome.

Before the actual devotional though, we had our own discussion with him as a body of missionaries. He encouraged us to stay focused on the sacrament which was the thing that stuck out to me the most. When greeting us he shook all of our hands and asked us our name and where we are from. Of course I had to be interesting and said I was from Saudi Arabia. When he heard that he turned the handshake to a bro grip, said "good to have you here" and thus I dapped up an Apostle.

Then in the general session, I went with our investigator to shake hands with him again and Elder Renlund, cause of course you want all of your friends to have the chance to shake an apostle's hand. When I went up this time Elder Renlund told me "thank you". I was like, "for what?" and he was like "you have a countenance." I was like what??? I’ve never been told that before and to hear it from an apostle was just out of this world.

As for later events of the week, I went to get my new visa. We also had transfers. To my great surprise, I got transferred again. This time to my old companions Elder Beebe and Elder Leonard. It'll be a fun companionship and I hope they can teach me how to do Facebook work more effectively.

In summary, We had a week that felt like two. It will be very difficult to forget it.

For a spiritual thought, I will leave behind my most favorite thoughts from this past week. First: Satan doesn’t have any power unless we give him power. This goes along well with one of my favorite scriptures: D&C 93:39 " And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience..." Similarly to how our faith and testimonies can be strengthened through obedience, through disobedience, Satan chips at and wears down our testimonies, our light and our truth.

On Saturday night, ponder and consider what you will think about during the sacrament. I think this one is so good. It brings to mind the temple. Often when we have questions or when we are seeking revelation or peace, we go to the temple. And we plan what we are seeking to find in the temple. The same can go for the sacrament. I tried that this week and realized that I have a lot more to improve upon. I can definitely get better at making my sacrament meetings more meaningful, which he encouraged us to do as we prepare to return home. For me, that’s in 2 transfers.

I guess I'll have to see you all then!

He said, "Let's get out of this town."

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa tarde amados!

How's life? How are things? I'm running out of transitions from greetings to the email. Alright then. 10 fuscas this week. Total 645. Let's get going.

This week we left mission boundaries 3 times. But don't worry, all were mission president approved. Kinda crazy.

On Tuesday, we taught an awesome lesson with Sheila's daughter Esther. She read a little bit of the Book of Mórmon and had marked some things she wanted to discuss. We taught the restoration to her, and she was perpetually mind-blown. It was great. Her questions were more observations. “Oh so that's why…” “...makes so much sense now!”

On Wednesday we needed to go to Elder Tacuche's glasses appointment. So we left mission boundaries, went to the appointment, accidentally taught the gospel at the glasses store, and went back for lunch. After our normal missionary activities, we went to a milkshake place with a super cool inactive member to finish the night.

Thursday, we finally had someone show up to English class! He speaks English pretty well, just doesn't get a lot of opportunities to speak it. I actually found it difficult to speak English because it takes a while for my brain to completely switch. I learned a bit of English too, being put on the spot to explain grammar.

On Friday we had zone conference. We left early in the morning (leaving mission boundaries) to get to another zone which is pretty much separated from the rest. It was awesome to see Elder Patterson, DeWitt, and Westover from the MTC as well as a few other friends. Afterwards, we went home (leaving mission boundaries).

At zone conference, I was planning to talk to the mission Technology secretary about getting my phone switched. My phone has been taking 10 hours to charge and 5 hours to die. Not good for working. It just so happened that the secretary had an extra phone on hand and we made the switch. Thankfully that day I had my SD card inserted, so I was able to retain all my photos. Now my phone charges in two hours! It's incredible to once again be only slightly below par.

On Saturday we had a ward mother's day activity in which I was featured to sing “Can't help falling in Love” karaoke with the coolest member of the bishopric (you already know). It was pretty cool. We also had a family knight to celebrate Elder de Oliveira’s 21st birthday. Lots of cake.

On Sunday we were going to give the sacrament to a sick member, but he wasn't able to receive us at the time, so instead we knocked some doors and had an 83% success rate. Of 6 people we talked to, 5 of them are interested and have a lesson marked. Turns out the question “Do you have faith in Jesus Christ?” is a really good way to find out if someone has faith in Jesus Christ.

For those keeping track, yes, yesterday was supposed to he the confirmation of Miguel. He was sick. But no problem, it will happen next week with Sheila's confirmation. Nothing to worry about.

SummaRio:

10 fuscas, 645 total

We left mission boundaries 3 times this week

Awesome lesson with Sheila's daughter Esther

Left mission boundaries for an eye doctor appointment for Elder Tacuche

Someone showed up to English class!

Left the mission boundaries to go to Zone conference and to return

Switched out my phone

Sang karaoke for the ward mother's day party

Found super success knocking doors on Sunday

Tender Mercy:

We have had a serious lack of social Media referrals recently, and last night, the sister missionaries send us a message asking if we can help with an area that gets 20+ a day. I enjoy having something to do at every moment, so when we have a second so sit down, I like to check for referrals, but there haven't been nearly any these last 4 weeks. Sometimes it just feels nice to have things to do.

Spiritual thought:

Simple one phrase: Do what is right

1. Do what is right; the day-dawn is breaking, Hailing a future of freedom and light. Angels above us are silent notes taking Of ev’ry action; then do what is right!

2. Do what is right; the shackles are falling. Chains of the bondsmen no longer are bright; Lightened by hope, soon they’ll cease to be galling. Truth goeth onward; then do what is right!  

3. Do what is right; be faithful and fearless. Onward, press onward, the goal is in sight. Eyes that are wet now, ere long will be tearless. Blessings await you in doing what’s right!

  [Chorus] Do what is right; let the consequence follow. Battle for freedom in spirit and might; And with stout hearts look ye forth till tomorrow. God will protect you; then do what is right!

Até próximo!

Elder Mackrory

1. Cosecha's milkshakes

2. Conferência de Zona

3. Carro legal

4. Nossa área

5. Aranha grandona

1st P-day Woot woot

 (Sister Cummings)

Hey y'all!

I don't quite know how I want to do these things so bear with me until I eventually figure it out.

I want to keep these brief so that y'all actually read them. Sorry for callin’ some of y'all out but I'm just being realistic.

Anyways, this week has been AMAZING. Hard but AMAZING. I absolutely love my district and my companion. They feel like family and the Elders definitely act like they're my brothers. Which is nice but like a little annoying sometimes if you know what having brothers is like. BUT I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

I just want to tell y'all every single thing that happened this week but I can’t. However, one thing that I do want to share is something that I learned about Christ's Atonement this week:

So, during personal study on Sunday I was studying in Preach My Gospel (Y'ALL NEED TO READ IT, IT'S SO AMAZING) and I came across this sentence about the Atonement of Christ which says:

"He invites, 'Come unto me,' and as we do, He gives us rest, hope, strength, perspective, and healing"

The portion of this sentence that stuck out to me was the word "perspective". I feel like most of the time you hear phrases like, "the healing power of the Atonement" or the "strengthening power of the Atonement" but not the "perspective changing power of the Atonement". But it's JUST AS TRUE as those other phrases. When we come unto Christ, and utilize His love and Atonement for us,

It allows us to align our minds with the Savior, it helps us to view other's as well as ourselves more similar to the way that the Savior views us. He changes our perspective.

To end, I just want to profess my love for my Savior and His sacrifice that He made for me and for you and for every single person on this Earth. He loves you, He died for you, and He's always there to help you in any way you need it.

I love y'all!

- Sister Cummings

Here's some pics:

I called my mom, she said it was for the best

 (Elder Mackrory)

Fala galera! Feliz Dia das Mães!

Another week in the books. Not a super eventful week, except for the weekend. We saw only 9 vw bugs, to a total of 635.

Some highlights:

-I went on a division with Elder Klein. He's from Rio Grande do Sul. His family is ok; they live on a big hill, but they are still without water and energy. Please pray for the state of Rio Grande do Sul. A vast majority of the population is displaced.

-we got super cheap açaí

-For Sheila's baptism interview, she brought her daughter, and we were able to teach her a few things and mark her baptism date for the 2nd of next month. That is after transfer day, so I likely won't be here for that.

-on Sunday for lunch, we had churrasco and I got to try grilling cheese. It doesn’t melt, just gets this nice crispy crust and it's incredible. It's surprisingly good with molasses.

-this week was the baptisms of Sheila and Miguel! Miguel is the son of Camila, who was baptized last week. He has 8 years, and was unsure of baptism until he came to primary and loved it! He gave his testimony on the pulpit and said he wants to be an “Elder”. Sheila has been taught since I was in the MTC. She is really busy with work, and so it's difficult to mark with her. But when we do teach her, it's incredible. We invited her to be baptized about a month ago, and now it's finally happened! She was crying basically the whole time, but no one could really tell because she had just come out of the water.

Tender mercy: Saturday we marked with our district leader for the interviews of Miguel and Sheila. Although Miguel didn't show up. We tried contacting Camila through any means possible. No responses, nor were the messages sending. We were pretty much worried the entire evening. Especially since it was Saturday and the baptism was Sunday. After prayers and waiting, we wet home, kinda lost hope. Then, halfway home, we get a message from Camila. Her phone died and she had to take her aunt to the hospital (don't worry, when health care is free, you go to the hospital if you sneeze). In the morning, we were able to do the interview and everything worked out just fine.

Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is my own personal development. The mission is incredible for quick personal development. I mentioned this a lot during my first transfer and how I'm growing into being my dad. Mannerisms, appearance, and other things. As a guy, it's quite easy to compare myself to my dad. But recently I've been seeing things differently. I've been seeing how I've grown to be more like my mother. She is a person full of Christlike love and charity. A mother who cares for her children individually and equally. A person who seeks to help all, according to their needs. All these qualities are qualities that a dedicated missionary seeks. Her example brings myself and others to Christ. I am incredibly grateful to be able to talk with her every week. In nine months away from home, I feel like I have grown closer to my mother than ever before. Although I miss her dearly, as I make decisions that make me more like her, I feel myself growing closer to her and to the Savior.

She has taught me how to be. The Book of Mormon contains a story that adequately describes the greatest lesson I learned from my mother. In the Book of Alma, we read an account of 2060 young men fighting for the freedom of their God, religion, freedom, peace, and families. These young men had never fought before, but the teachings of their mothers rang in their ears:

“Now [these young men] never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.” It says later in the story, “Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them.”

Because of the teachings of my beloved mother, I do not doubt the power of God. I do not doubt that the Lord is with me. Although I am not perfect in observing the commandments with exactness, I try every day. I strive every day to be more like my Savior, following the example of my mother. God lives, he loves us, and he knows us individually and perfectly. As we look to Him in our struggles AND triumphs, we will be lifted up to like Him at the last day. I testify of these things with all my heart, might, mind, and strength in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Fotos:

-Me and Miguel

-Sheila and us

-Miguel and us

-baptismal invites

-me next to a fusca with a cool view behind (the camera didn't get the view)

Clear blue water, high tide came and brought you in

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa tarde gente!

This week was unlike any other. It was feeling so slow, and then I woke up and it was Saturday. Unreal. We saw 11 fuscas, bringing us to 626. A lot of people have asked me, so I'll answer it here: Do I count every time I see a fusca, or just every new one? The answer is something in the middle. I am familiar with a few fuscas in my area that don't move and are just there. There's also some personalized ones that are impossible to mistake for a different fusca. Those ones I do not count more than once. But if a blue fusca passes on the road one day, and I also see a blue fusca the next day, I still count it both times, even with the chance that it's a repeat. Basically, unless I can verify with certainty that I have seen that very fusca, I count it again.

This week was not very full of news until this weekend. Just lessons, lunches, and long walks. We've seen significant progress from Sheila, Camila, and Miguel.

On Saturday we left from lunch (deep in gang territory) and started to walk back to the chapel. About halfway out of gang territory, we get stopped by two gang members on their dirt bikes. For Elders Kjar, Schmuhl, and Patterson who are reading this, it's right by that abandoned soccer field in cangulo. Anyway, one bike stopped on front of us and the other on our side. At this point I'm wondering if Elder Tacuche and I will still be companions when we get to the spirit world here in a bit. They started with the usual “who are you” “what are you doing here” “are you American” “are you Jahovah's Witness” and I answered with the usual “were missionaries” “we preach the gospel” “yes” “no''. They said Oh that's chill I know where your church is do you want a ride? So we respectfully declined and they left.

Later on the walk, as we leave gang territory, we meet these guys again. They're just having some beers and chilling out. They call us over and offer us some water. so we have some water and chat for a minute, when our old investigator walks of his house. I said “Hey Manoel, it's been a while!”. Our motorcycle friends are confused and tell me that his name is not Manoel. I don't remember what it was, but it wasn't that. So in the 3-4 weeks we taught him, he completely lied about his name. That's cool. Anyway, not-Manoel walks up to me and says “hey dear” (very drunk) and gives me a big ol’ kiss on the forehead. Yeah. Not cool. So we left and got to the chapel just fine and I washed my hands and face very thoroughly.

At the chapel, we needed to fill the font (foreshadowing). I turn on the tap and wait an hour. I looked in, and it's barely 4-5 inches deep. So by that timing, we'd be there until 11pm. So I started filling buckets at other taps and dumping them in. Then we found two 5 gallon drinking water containers. So I spent the next 3 hours hauling water around the church. I was very exhausted, but we finally got the font filled by 7pm.

Sunday morning we got to church and it was great and we had 4 of our friends show up! Afterwards we had the baptism of Camila. She's awesome, I talked about her earlier. She's pretty well known in the ward, and so we were planning to have the meeting in the baptism room, but like 80% of the ward stayed to watch, so we did it in the Sacrament Hall. a little bit later, she was baptized (I didn't mess up on the words) and she shared her testimony (holy moly that was great). I gave her a triple combination (Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price) that was in pretty much new condition, just collecting dust in our house. She was smiling ear to ear.

Now let's talk about Miguel. He's Camila's 8 year old son. He would have been baptized with her, but he was at another family event last week. Following advice from my mission president, we postponed just his baptism to next week. He was unsure this last week anyway, and now he's determined to follow his Mom's example. It's better this way anyway. Anyway, today was his first day in primary with the other kids. After running around with them after the baptism, he stopped for breath next to me. I asked him if he was making friends. He said “yeah, I made three Today!” And showed me three on his fingers (so freaking cute). Then I asked, “So how many do you have now?” And he thought for a moment and said “4!” And showed me again 4 on his hand. So I asked, “who's number 4?” And with a smile and a hop he said “you!” and looked at my tag and said “Elder Macaroni!”. Guys you have no idea how much my heart melted for this kid. I can't stand nicknames or mispronunciations, unless it's little kids. I'm ok with little Liz calling me Elder Moroni. Oh man, it was a good day. Another nice side effect: Sheila is super pumped for her baptism next week too since she watched Camila's. Valeu Elder Kjar

SummaRio:

11 fuscas, 626 total

Not too much happened during the week

On Saturday we spent 5 hours filling the font and hauling buckets of water to do so.

Sunday was the baptism of Camila!

Miguel broke his own cuteness record by calling me his friend.

Tender mercy:

After filling the font, I was super exhausted. Then randomly the maintenance guy shows up with pizza and coke for us. Out of nowhere. It was the best pizza I've had in Brasil. Easily a 6/10. And it was exactly what I needed to release some stress and cool down.

Spiritual thought:

“I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day” - President Russell M. Nelson

The Book of Mormon, when studied with prayer and faith, is the greatest tool to invite the Holy Spirit into your lives, and in inviting him into your life, your questions are answered, your decisions are better, and your doubts become faith. I've found the answer to all of life's Difficulties lies in putting God first through prayerful study of the Book of Mormon.

See yall next week!

Fotos:

1. Tiny Jesus Van

2. Chalkboard (don't worry I redesigned it to be better, just didn't take a picture)

3. Real açaí fruit

4. Churrasco

5. BATISMOOO

6. Meme

Fresh Outta the Asylum & Jelgava is apostate + a transfer to Riga

 (Elder Putnam)

So about a week and a half ago I got transferred to Rīga. I was very disappointed that I was leaving Liepāja especially after everything I had invested there. But I kinda have held to the talk from this past General Conference about trusting in the Lord. I'm in a trio with Elder Woods and Elder Roberts.

Since coming to Rīga our schedule has changed a lot. There is a lot to adjust to, but I think I'm doing well. The meal plan and the bed and study space are different and will require some adaptation, but with change and adversity comes growth. Lets just say I'm versatile.

On Tuesday we had a random friend show up to the church at the same time as a different friend. And since the random friend really only kinda knew me, I grabbed Elder Leonard and we taught the dude about the Plan of Salvation. He's gonna be there next Tuesday too 😎.

On Wednesday we visited an older member, the mother of the patriarch of the Baltics. Velta Senkane. She fed us canned tomatoes, bread, and a banana. It was awesome and then she didn’t let us share a spiritual thought since she was already old and wise and didn’t need it. come on Velta!

We also went on finding splits with some Russian speaking missionaries. On Tuesday we talked to this one dude who looked like he was on the way from the airport. We talked with him about the plan of salvation, realized that’s not what he needed, and then transitioned to something he mentioned about peace. He said he was interested and asked for a card. He explained that he was not in fact coming from the airport, but rather from the mental hospital, where he had been staying for some time. He needed time to get on his feet and promised to call us. I wont lie, we took it pretty well and are still waiting in faith for him to call. Hence "Straight Outta the Asylum in this emails title.

We had a fun weekend. On Saturday we took a train out to Jelgava and did a service project for the Hare Krishna's. We got super dirty, but they fed us super well. After we had washed ourselves off in the sink, we changed into proselyting clothes and went out on the town. We had hardly any good conversations. Everyone seemed to both recognize us, and have a bad attitude towards us. It kinda left a bad taste in my mouth for what is Jelgava.

On Sunday we helped out at the youth event. I taught some kids to pray more fervently. And then we taught the Elders Quorum lesson. It was kinda cool cause while we hadn’t planned the lesson, Elder Woods and I had prepared thoughts and thought-provoking questions. It was cool to see how the Lord guided the lesson to make it clear, powerful, instructive and timely. The grand cap of Sunday was a call that I received from Elder Bastow around 8:30. He informed me that a rule was changed in the Europe North Area of the missionary field. Missionaries who work with members towards baptism are allowed to travel to the temple with that new member, if they are ready and worthy to go through the temple. That would mean that Elder Bastow and I would be able to go with Raitis to the temple in Helsinki if he chooses to go through the temple before Elder Bastow and I go home. Pretty cool opportunity if it realizes.

Anyways that’s the most part of this past week.

Mr "Leaves me all alone"

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa tarde Pessoal!

Thanks for granting me a little space in your inbox. There wasn't a whole lot of new this week, but vamo lá. I did see 15 fuscas though, bringing the grand total 615.

We stayed in the house for pday, just talking with family and such. On Tuesday we had a family night at the bishop's house. A member of the bishopric spoke about the true purpose of the gospel. It really touched me, so I'll put that at the end. On Wednesday we had sports night, and someone brought a volleyball net. We set it up, realized nobody really wanted to play and took it down again. But we got some açaí so that was nice.

Thursday nobody showed up to English class, so we went home early and made calls. I wish people would show up, but it's nice sometimes to be able to go home early.

Friday was cool. I woke up feeling pretty down, physically exhausted and feeling out of tune with the spirit. I continued with my studies, planning, and we left the house on time, but nothing was getting me going. Just going through the motions without any sort of emotion. I was praying that I could be able to see the Lord's hand in my life, because in those moments, something was blocking my spiritual eyes. On the way to the chapel, a white pigeon or dove showed up in front of us. We laughed a bit and started saying “follow the holy ghost” and chasing the bird around. It was fun. Then, in a completely different neighborhood, another dove showed up out of nowhere and we started to do the same thing. This time, the bird flew and landed on top of house and we decided to knock that door and we found a person who's interested! The Lord works in mysterious ways and I'm grateful that I was able to make part of it. There's your tender mercy for the week

on Saturday we marked a baptism date for Araci again. We marked it for after her moving date, though. She said she was gonna move like two months ago but had to delay it like 5 times, so we marked this baptism date For there or here, wherever she is. Regardless she'll be baptized on that day.

Sunday was awesome. We had both Sheila and Camila show up and they were making friends with everyone in the Relief Society. Camila even showed interest in being on our lunch calendar (she cooks for a living 👀). Other than that, a bird flew into our window and sat on a chair to resuscitate. Odd. I assume he's alive still but maybe he flew away to die. A womp into a door at full speed is not ideal.

This week was great, lessons and walking and more lessons and more walking. Nothing terrible special on every day, always spiritual moments. Elder Tacuche is new on the mission and with Portuguese, and so for the first half of the week I was teaching every word of the lessons. It's kinda nice, not gonna lie, but it's better with two people teaching.

SummaRio:

15 fuscas, 615 total

Had a cool family night, açaí and not-volleyball.

No one showed up to English class

I was feeling pretty down on Friday, but a cool and fun experience helped me to see the Lord's hand in my life.

Marked a baptism date that might happen hundreds of miles from here.

Our favorite people showed up to church and made Friends

I'm teaching at least 80% of the lessons since my comp is fresh out of the MTC

Spiritual Thought:

Ponder for a second: what is the purpose of the gospel?

There are many correct answers, but none of them say that we won't have any difficulties. Life is tough, and it needs to be. The gospel gives us the direction and help we need to progress and overcome these difficulties. When the Lamanites put the people of Alma in bondage, how did the Lord answer them? He said “And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.” It was not the Lord's will at this time to free the people entirely, but to help them grow in faith in and love for the Lord. The people held their burdens as if it was nothing, with all joy and ease. Surely it was difficult for them still, but they had the Lord working with them. “The gospel is not a way to avoid challenges and problems but a solution to increase our faith and learn how to deal with them”

Tchau gente, até o próximo

1. Sunflower growing in a pile of sand

2. Cactus

3. "Somos missionários de A Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Últimos Dias!" "Ah, conheço, a Igreja do Sétimo Dia" "não"

4. A cool view

5. Night time in our area has me worried about selfies

6. Local soccer game

7. 3d printed Rio Temple

8. Almoção

9. Our bird friend