6 Months??

Sveiki! Sveiki! I hope everyone's week was great! 

Tomorrow I hit 6 months tomorrow which is so crazy to think about! I just got here but time is going so fast! I'm so grateful for the past half year!

This week was a good week. It honestly flew by and I don't remember much haha but we had so many great things happen!! Last Pday President asked all of us to run a 10K with him so we all did haha but he made it so fun and so spiritual. Who knew an out of shape missionary like me could learn so much from running more than they have in a very long time. He invited us to do it today too but we all said no haha so maybe we didn't learn as much as we thought haha just kidding, it was honestly a great experience and changed a lot of how I think about missionary work and myself as a missionary. On Monday night we had the coolest conversation with this lady. She called everyone "meat suits" haha but really she inspired us. 

On Tuesday we had a lesson with a new investigator. She's so cool! She read about what we believe and was so willing to accept it all. But she then later texted us and said she wasn't sure if she still wanted but that she would still meet with us at least one more time! We're excited for it because she felt the spirit so strongly in the frist lesson and she recognized that. 

President has asked us to invite people to be baptized in the first lesson we have with investigators. So that is something we have been focusing on more. We made this lady on the street, Daira, who at first wasn't interested but we gave her a Book of Mormon and she met with us this week and when we extended the invitation she said YES! We are so excited and celebrated with ice cream after. The spirit is amazing I'm so grateful for the spirit is the real teacher in this week. 

Masa Lusia and I have so much fun together we are always laughing and I feel the joy of missionary work everyday even though we are literally metling in the humidity and heat.

Tonight we are going to FHE and Justs, one of the members here, is opening his mission call at it! I am so excited!!!

Also funny story. I was texting people for an activity and I texted this random number in our phone and the guy thought someone was messing with him hahaha it's really not that funny at all but he was so convinced someone was playing a joke on him and all we wanted to do was help him come closer to Christ. okay sorry for the not so funny thing.

I hope you all have a great week! Thank you for everything!

Love,

Masa Brunere

Pics:

1: Me at our favorite park

2: Rainbow!!!!!

3: Our excited faces when our investigator said she'd be baptized!

A "beary" good week!

Sveiki! Sveiki! I hope everyone's week was great! 

This week was just a normal missionary week haha but it was still really good. On Monday night we were contacting and about to turn to go back home but we kept going just a little bit longer and we met the coolest girl who basically asked for our number haha but just like everyone else she can't meet until the end of this week haha. But it was such a great experience to see that if we just go until we can't go anymore and then just take one more step great things will happen. We hadn't had  any success that night until the very end with her. It was an answer to my prayers and I know God is there watching out for us. 

We also met with a crazy lady this week haha. She was a former investigator and was willing to meet again and she was crazy haha. We basically sat there for an hour while she told us we were being brainwashed, she wouldn't let us speak at all haha. But it was a really good learning experience and testimony strengthener because being a missionary is the best thing ever and this is the true church and no matter what anyone tells me I will never deny that. 

We also got to go to the soup kitchen yay! My favorite thing! We also explored our area more and found the cutest park ever, not too many people in it but we are probably going to study at it one day.

I know I say this almost every week but being a missionary really is the greatest thing ever. I love it and I'm so grateful I decided to serve a mission and share this wonderful gospel. If anyone is thinking about serving do it! It's the happiest thing. There's hard times, but the joy just swallows them up. I love it. I also love Riga. It's the prettiest and best place on the planet. I love the people, the culture, the language (even though it's really hard haha), and the country. Just to some everything up, I love being a missionary in Latvija. 

Have the best week and thank you for everything! Love you all!

Love,

Masa Brunere

Pics

1: America bear!

2:Bears

3: Sister Austin

4: our cute park

Baptism!!!

Sveiki! Sveiki! Sveiki! I hope everyone's week was great!

Beate got baptized on Saturday!!! It was such a great day! She was late and honestly we were worried she wasn't even going to show up haha but she did and it went so good! It's been amazing to see how the Atonement of Jesus Christ helps her through hard times. It's been a huge testimony strengthener to see the gospel lift others up. I'm so excited for Beate!!

Laine also met with us this week! It was such a blessing. It was so good to see her! We also got to meet with Zina this week. She's my favorite and it was good to visit her.

I went on an exchange this week and we were heading back to her apartment and it just started down pouring harder than I have ever seen it rain before. Every part of us was soaked within two seconds and we were walking through water up to our ankles basically the whole way home. Hahahah it was sooo fun. Baltic storms are one of my favorite things about being in Latvija.

Also, we are pretty sure all of Latvija is leaving for two weeks because all of our investigators and potentials have told us that they are going out of town and coming back the end of July, literally all of them. It's insane haha but it gives us a lot of time to prepare for all of them.

Masa Luisa is the cutest. She's so happy all the time and such a great missionary and it's been so fun working with her and getting to know her better.

I love being a missionary. I think I say it every week but I am just so grateful to be here and to be sharing this gospel and coming closer to Christ. Missions are the best and I'm grateful every day that I decided to come on one and do the Lord's work. We saw so many miracles this week of timing working out perfectly to see certain people and meet certain people. This is definetly the Lord's work.

Have a great week! Thank you for all the support and prayers! I love you all!

Love,

Masa Brunere

"Our success, then, isn't going from failure to failure, but growing from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm." -Elder Robbins

Pics

1:Beate!

2: Sunset

3: Whiteboarding!

When you find bae at the bog

Sveiki  everyone! I hope your week was great and that your fourth of July was great!¥

This week was so super great. Last Pday I got to see one of my favorite people, Sister Smith-driggs!!! She had to go to Ukraine for visa things and we got to spend a few hours with her walking around all the tents set up for the festival. It was soo good to see her! I also went knocking for my first time last Monday. In the summer we don't really go knocking because so many people are on the streets instead of in their apartments but last Monday we were in coats and tights so we went knocking and it was sooooooo fun!! We found one really cool girl!

The Fourth of July was such a great day. There is this park/outside gym place by my apartment with trampolines and a track and so for exercise time we went there and brought our American flag and just made it super fun. We also went whiteboarding and the coolest thing happened. I was talking to people and I suddenly realized that not only was I understanding everything, the words were flowing out of my life. The Gift of Tongues is so real and helps me so much each and every day. The language has been hard but in that moment God helped me when I needed it. After we ate at mcdonalds cuz merica and it just made sense on the fourth of July. And then we went to sports night  and also made american sports on America's birthday and Elder Barnes made root beer so it was great. One of my favorite Fourth of July's. Also we ate a whole watermelon. 

YESTERDAY AND TODAY I SAW BROTHER CURTIS! It was the greatest and just the best ever. 

Sadly, on Saturday my fun trio days ended. It was so fun, but Masa Luisa is so great and I love her so much. It's also her birthday today!!

Also, we had to wear tights this week! in July!! So crazy and not fun haha. 

Today for pday we went to a bog with a board walk. It was a lot of fun and just fun to spend time with everyone. Latvija is very flat and I really realized that today haha.

I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ and my opportunity to be a missionary and come closer to Him everyday! He is there and He has called a prophet in our day. This week someone tried to tell me there was more than one prophet called of God and I was just so grateful for my testimony of President Nelson and that he has been called of God. In this last general conference Elder Gary E. Stevenson gave a talk "The Heart of a Prophet." It's a really good talk and strengthened my testimony of him!

God is in control! Let Him guide you!

I love you all and have a great week!!

Love,

Masa Brunere

Pics

1 and 2: today!

3: both my mtc teachers!

4: happy birthday America!

The Three Musketeers

Sveiki! I hope everyone's week was great! And that you have a great fourth of July this coming week.

Nothing too crazy happened this week. Last Monday we were walking on the streets and this American couple stopped us and guess where they were from?? South Jordan, Utah!! Super crazy. Anyways, we gave them a tour of the church building and they were super nice and took us and one of our members to dinner. It was so fun. Tuesday we went to the other church building in Imanta and helped some Russian members set up for a wedding reception. It was really fun hahaha and then later in the week we went back again to help haha. On Wednesday I got my new companions yay! Masa Luisa is the beeesstt. I love her and she is such a great missionary and I have already learned so much from her. And being with Sister Goodell in a trio is the funnest thing ever and we are always laughing. We have this thing we say TOAST. Which stands for Taking On Awkward Situations Together and it has made it the best week because we make all situations great and have been talking to so many people. It's so fun. 

Thursday we went to Jekabs and it was so fun haha, I love Jekabs. He has helped me with the language a lot. He can be kind of rude sometimes haha but I feel the most comfortable talking in front of him because he just wants to help me and see how much I improve each time. He's the best. But this time was one of the funnest times with him. 

When we were in Imanta they have lots of extra fans and so we took one to bring back to our apartment. But we ended up caring that fan all over Riga for a couple hours haha. I think it made more people stop for us though because we looked so funny haha.

Sunday we had to go to both the Russian branch and Latvian and it was fun. I love being in a zebra trio, we can reach so many more people this week and I am so excited for this transfer I think I will grow a lot as a missionary and in the language with Masa Lusia's help. She really is amazing and is such a good missionary. 

This week was full of fun times and lots of learning. One question we ask people on the streets is what makes them happy and it's so incredible when people actually answer us because their answers really do mean a lot to us and this week was no different. One lady said balance helps her and I thought a lot about it and it really does bring a lot of happiness when we have our lives balanced and especially when Christ is in the center of our lives. To go along with this I read a scripture this week about how much God gives us even though He asks so little of us. And when we put those things first in our lives we will receive so many blessings and happiness. 

God loves each one of us and it shows in the Book of Mormon. When I want to feel His love I read the Book of Mormon and I know you all can feel it to as you read it.

Have a great week and a great fourth! Watch extra fireworks for me haha. Love you all and thank you for all the support!

Love,

Masa Brunere

Pics

1: Pizza and hitting 5 months!

2: the reception we set up for

3: Ignore the bday part but it's my cute trio

4: View from one of the sisters apartments!

5: Picture sent to Jana and I from the members that met and feed Kellie (Luke added)