Week One!

​Sveiki! 

Hello friends and family! What a crazy week it's been! There's so much that has happened that I don't even know where to start haha! Wednesday when I was dropped off it was hard saying goodbye to my family, but they really do put you right to work! I got my name tag and room key, dropped off my luggage, and was in class! I am considered a "solo" sister because I am the only missionary in the whole MTC learning Latvian. In class it is just me and my teacher. My wonderful companion, Sister Christensen, is also a solo which is a such a blessing because we go through being alone together haha. She is going to Lithuania and from Utah. Being a solo is weird because I am all alone in my classroom for like two hours most days and I walk around the floor my classroom is on all alone too. I get some weird looks sometimes haha. The first day was so powerful though seeing all us new missionaries coming together for such a great work. I am in the new building and I love it. The windows are colors and pictures are amazing! I get distracted by the window a lot though by the all cars driving by haha.

Thursday is when everything really hit me and I realized what I have actually gotten myself into haha. It was a rough day. I had my first language class which was about three hours. Thursday night I learned a big lesson. I had kind of been zoned out for most the day because I was having such a hard time, but I learned that I need to forget myself and give all I got to working hard. I know I have been told that a lot but it finally makes sense and I have applied that every day since and it's been so great!! 

Friday was kind of like our first real day because we were on the same schedule as the rest of our zone. I love my zone and how kind and loving everyone is. My district is great too but we aren't that close because we never see each other because Sister Christensen and I aren't in the same classroom as them so we hardly ever see them. My district consists of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and different Russian speaking missions so we're all spread out. But we are coming up with creative ways to get closer! I taught my first lesson in Latvian to Kipris. He's from Latvia and is interested in the Book of Mormon and approached the missionaries first. He's not a real investigator but I don't think about that a lot because I want to see him as an investigator and do my best to improve being a missionary. I have to teach alone which is good and bad. It's bad because I don't know a lot of Latvian and don't understand a lot of what Kipris says but it's also good because I have learned to only rely on the spirit to touch Kipris's heart and to help me with the language, and it has been a huge learning experience! 

Saturday was basically the same as Friday and the rest of the days of the week haha. Our schedule stays the same for the most part. Sunday was such a blessing though because it was relaxed in the morning and then we had church. Sacrament is a great experience because we all sing in our languages so it sounds like a bunch of gibberish haha. But the spirit was so strong and I was so grateful to partake of the Sacrament! Sunday nights there's devotionals and some BYU singing group came which was way cool to here. 

The food is better than I thought it would be and there's so many options so that's nice. We had CHICK-FIL-A this week! what a blessing haha. Meal times are some of my favorite because we always laugh so hard and are able to relax for a little bit because every single second we are awake we have something we need to be doing and if we don't do it it gets so stressful. However, Sister Christensen and I do get more study time than most others because we are solos. I don't really understand how or why but we do. Expect it's basically all personal because we can't help each other much, but we do our best. Studying for three hours straight can be long but we try and switch up where we study each day and when we are in our classrooms we wheel around on our wheely chairs and have races haha. We make each other laugh all the time haha. Sister Christensen and I are a lot alike and I am grateful I am a solo to be able to be her companion because I couldn't do it without her.

My teacher, Sister Bergeson is wonderful. I love her and she has made class my favorite part of the day because it's more like talking to a friend the whole time because it is just us too. She teaches just the way I need it and was a solo too so she understands what I am going through haha. One day this week me and her walked around our building and looked at the pictures because about 4 of them are Latvian sister missionaries and one is a field from Latvia. Sitting in front of those pictures I was able to ask all my questions about Latvia to here and I am so excited to go there!!!

I have also learned a lot of Latvian! I still don't understand a lot, but I can pray, say the first half of the First Vision, teach lessons, sing like two songs, and bear a simple testimony. Latvian has a lot of sounds we don't have in English so my mouth is struggling with those sounds haha but I am slowly learning! It's a beautiful language and I love love love learning it. I am also grateful for the Gift of Tongues and the Spirit because I would not have been able to get through some of the lessons without them! I know Heavenly Father is helping me! 

One thing I have learned this week is that I need to be my first convert and not only come closer to Christ but become as He is. One thing I studied about this week was all the times Christ turns outwards when us as natural men would turn inwards. When things get hard we need to look outside oursevles just like Christ. I'm grateful for my Savior and the love He has for me and each of us. I am excited to teach the people of Latvia about their loving Savior.

Being a missionary is awesome and each day here gets better and better.

Love,

Masa Bruner

Pictures (not necessarily in the order she lists): one is what Latvian looks like, the next is me and my comp at the map, the next is me at the map, the next is my tag. My name will change a little bit and the white sticker just shows that I am a solo and can be alone. The next is just me in the dress that jake and his mom gave me. The next one has the Latvian flag in the back if look close enough haha. It was out like twice this week! Next, me and my comp. The next is one of views from where we study. the next is my district and then all the sisters going to the baltic mission. The next is the view from my classroom. I've seen two girls I went to high school with during class haha. The next is all my books. The last is the picture of Latvia that I love. I can resend them if i need to!​