Es Mīlu Liepāju!!!!

Sveiki! Sveiki!

I hope everyone had a great week!! 

This week flew by and it was so great! It's still weird being in a new city and not really knowing where I am haha but I'm slowly learning!!

Last Monday for Pday we went to the forts which was sooo fun!! After looking at them you end up at the sea and it was so pretty! Liepaja is the prettiest! Then that night we had a FHE with the Birkenfeldi family and it was so fun! I played a "Flags of the World" game with two of their kids and I learned that I definitely don't know a lot. Luckily they took it easy on me but the boy knew all of them! 

Tuesday we stopped by a potentials house who hasn't been answering the phone and she answered the door and let us in! She's the cutest! We were able to talk to her for a little bit about God's plan for us. And then we had a lesson with one of our members and she told us she's going to the temple in March!!!!! We were so excited!!! 

Wednesday we had 30 minutes in the morning to contact so we went out and not too many people were out but there was one lady ahead of us so we ran up to her to talk to her and she didn't have any time to talk but she was like here's my address I'll be home later today stop by! So we did and we taught her and her 4 kids the Restoration! it was the biggest miracle!! She doesn't have any interest right now but she works at the hospital one of our members is at so we will see her each work there! Maybe right now isn't her time but it will come!!

We also had a lesson with our investigator Marta. She's 12 and getting baptized next month! it's so amazing to see her excitement for the gospel!

We also have a member from Indonesia and we are teaching her Latvian! She also makes the best food so it's been great!! 

Thursday I was back in Riga!!! Sister Lewis had MLC (Mission Leadership Council) so I got to spend the day in Riga!!! It was the best. I love Riga! I also got to see my two favorite people, Masa Teilore and Masa Bosvela! I love them and miss them! 

We also started a Bible Class! The members who live alone wanted a way to better study the Come, Follow Me book. So now every Saturday we have a Bible class and we study it together! it's so fun to be with them and just talk about it!

About a week ago we were walking the streets and no one was out and so we said we would talk to anyone who came (we usually do but if they are super young or creepy men we don't haha) but today we were going to anyways. And so this boy comes walking down and we stop him and we think he's like 16 but he doesn't really talk so we kind of just force him to talk and to meet with us but we just didn't think he would come. But he did!! We were in a different lesson because we came early so the elders met with him and turns out he's like 22 and just doesn't like talking haha. But it was funniest because we basically just forced him there.

We also have one young woman. Her name is Ieva and she's the best! Every Saturday we do personal progress with her and I just love spending time with her. Yesterday we were at church longer for interviews and meetings and so got more time to talk to her and it's been so great. I wish I could just bottle up Liepaja and show everyone how amazing it is. The branch here is just one big family and we're all in it together! It feels like home here and I just love it.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

Romans 8:28

I love this because with God all is better! Turn to Him! He has a plan for each of us! We are all important to Him!

Have a great week!

Love,

Māsa Brūnere

Pics:

1: Riga!!

2: In the forts

3: At the sea!

Goodbye Riga, Hello Liepaja!!

Sveiki Visiem!!

This week has been crazy but so good!! I said goodbye to Riga after almost 10 months of serving there and now I'm in Liepaja! It's the cutest little town and I love it!!

But to start the week! So on Tuesday we had a lesson with a former investigator. She's super cute and loves to go on random rants. There were times when I was wondering if I was even understanding right because we would be talking about how the gospel blesses families and she would go off on wars, turns out I was and she just likes changing the topic haha. Then we had to hurry to the church for English class. Usually there are like 5 to 7 people there, but one of our amazing members Lidia from China brought a lot of her friends so we had like 25 people!! We had to pull in another companionship to help us! It was the coolest thing to see. It was honestly the best English class and we played a game where we pretended to be in a court and they all just made it so fun and were all laughing and joking around.

There is also something called "slamming" here among the missionaries. There's these cookies and if you bite the ends of them you can drink milk through it and even though I've been here for awhile I've never done it so we did as one our last nights together before I left Riga and it was a struggle for me haha but super yummy!!

Wednesday we went over to one of my favorite members house. As we were talking to her she told us how Velta had passed away. I've been visiting Velta for a good part of my mission. She was in a coma when I first got here but then we've been going over once a week to help her walk around and to read the Book of Mormon with her. It was sad hearing that but so amazing that we have the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. That morning I had read the talk from the most recent conference by Elder Ballard and how he talks about the Plan of Salvation and how there really is a plan. Milda and us were able to talk about that and she had concerns about but through the love of Christ we were able to feel peace! After she made us waffles, she's the best! 

Then Thursday! We woke up early and headed to Liepaja!! It's been a change, but it's been so good!! I love Riga and I miss it, but Liepaja is just as great! I am know serving with Sister Lewis again, I served with her earlier in my mission and she is a party! She's one of the funniest people I know!! I miss my trio but Sister Lewis makes up for it! I'm so excited for this transfer!

We got to Liepaja and got to our apartment building and decided to take just the lighter things up the stairs first and leave the last two heavy ones for after but then this nice man came and carried them up all the stairs for us!!! It was such a miracle because they were heavy haha. 

This week as we were doing dropbys to our less actives we didn't have the code for one building so Sister Lewis decided to just knock on one of the windows, turns out the nicest lady lives there and she gave us the code!! 

The members here in Liepaja are amazing and so welcoming! I love them already so much. There is one young women who comes every week. Her name is Leva and she's the best. We do a personal progress activity with her on Saturday and this week she taught us how to do the splits. We thought we were just going to do some stretches and that would be it, but no, she had a whole work out plan for us! It was very intense and I'm still very sore from it haha, but we have a new goal to be able to do the splits!! 

One of our investigators, Ina, is also progressing great. They had a first lesson with her last week and then we met with her twice this week and she came to church! It's harder to teach her because she loves talking so we are always trying to keep it shorter haha but she has so much desire and it's been really cool to see it grow. 

This week moving to a different city has been quite the experience. It's been a long time since I have had no idea where I was or where to go, but it's been a great growing experience. I've been shown ways I can improve that I would not have been able to see in Riga. God has a plan!! And He has shown me in the small ways that my plan right now is to be in Liepaja. I'm so grateful for His love through everything and I'm grateful for a gospel that never changes no matter where you are!!

Thank you for all the love and support and prayers! I feel them!! Have the best week!!

Love,

Masa Brunere

Pics:

1: last pday!

2: my cute mom (trainer) is home!

3: Karosta!

4: we were pretty proud of our heart attacking!

Miracle Week!!!

Sveiki! Sveiki!

I hope everyone had a great week! Crazy that it's already Pday again. But this week has been a miracle!!

Last P-day we went to Ikea! I don't know why Ikea makes us missionaries so happy but it was great. One thing that we love is candles. We have like 6 candles burning at a time but Ikea has the best candles. The one I bought is ice cream so basically my favorite things in one.

On Tuesday we had a lesson with the cutest girl!! Her name is Baiba and is just so sweet. It was honestly one of the best lessons I've been in. She had so many great questions and was so excited when we gave her a Book of Mormon. I'm so excited for her!

Also, we had an exciting experience in District Meeting this week. We are all just sitting there going over announcements and this guy just walks in and in broken English asks for all of our attention and then starts going on some weird things haha. But all is good now :)

Then Wednesday! We had two lessons! One with the cutest mom. Sadly she has no interest but it was still super good! and then we had a lesson with a girl named Lizzie. She is from England and it was one of the deepest lessons ever. It was so cool and she is the coolest! And I even learned during that lesson haha.

Then Friday! We had a lesson with the cutest mom!! And guess what!! She loves Harry Potter! Basically the best ever and it was great to just talk about it haha. She is the cutest and is so ready for the gospel. And she asked us to keep meeting! 

Also, another major miracle. So last week I didn't have time to my watch on so I put it in my pocket and later that day I realized it had fell out. But this week we come out of our apartment building and guess what was there!  My watch!!! Brinums!!!! God answers even the smallest of prayers.

So last week I told you about the tally's of us falling and I'm so sad to say that I now have a point. We had a lesson later at night and so we were literally running home through the ice and snow and the whole time I'm just telling myself not to fall. Well we get to our apartment building and we have like 1 minute until 9 and I have the keys so I start sprinting up the stairs and BAM! I trip and face plant it haha. Luckily I was holding my scarf so I had a soft landing and we will still made it home in time!! Definitely the highlight of the week and now it's just Sister Boswell's time to fall.

Yesterday we had a longer time to contact and it was cold and snowing and literally no people anywhere. None of us were really excited to go outside and I prayed to find a reason to be on the street's today. As we were going out and finding no one I just kept looking for the reason. We stopped this one girl probably after an hour of being outside and she was the first person to talk to us and she starts telling us how hard her life is right now and how she's holding on to the hope of something better. We talked to her about finding peace through Christ and asked if she would be willing to meet with us. She said no but then I had the prompting to tell her more about the Book of Mormon and even though she is still was not interested in meeting she was so happy to take the Book of Mormon!! As she walked away she was already reading it!! God definitely answered my prayer by letting us talk to her and we were able to finish the night with more energy and spirit even though she was the only person to talk to us. This gospel is the answer. It's the happiest! And I'm so grateful I get to help others see that. God is there!! He loves us and will answer our prayers! Have faith in that!! 

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

Pics:

1: we tried to reenact the mtc map pic with our homes 

2: ikea!

3:where my watch was!!

4: We saw the sun!!!!

2019!!!

Sveiki! Sveiki!

I hope everyone had a great week and start to the new year! I can't believe it's 2019!

This week was good with lots of learning to be done which in the end has been really really good and I'm really grateful for Jesus Christ and His love that we are able to feel all the time. 

But to start off this great year us three had a party! And at 12:00 people were being so loud everywhere that we woke up haha. But random people also decided to call us three times during the night so we were confused on what time it was the whole night haha. It's like people don't know missionaries need to sleep haha, but I guess it's nice that they thought of us at 2 in the morning haha. 

My favorite thing about the New Year is the jokes about what we have done or haven't done all year long. Well, we called one of our investigators this week who has been sick and she was like, "I've been sleeping all year!" I was literally on the floor laughing because there are other people who think it's funny!! 

On Tuesday, New Year's Day, we were talking to President Pokhilko and he told us that night in our journal's we would be able to say we talked to every single person on the street and he was right because there was literally no one haha. But we were running a little behind and didn't have time to run home to eat, but nothing was open at all except one place, my favorite burger place!! So it turned out to be a miracle!! We also went to drop by one of our less actives and we were just going to drop off a note without knocking because it was a holiday and we had dropped by recently, but we felt we needed to knock so we did and she answered and let us in her house!! She is the cutest!! My 5 transfers of dropping by her house I have only seen her twice so for her to let us in is a huge miracle! She showed us all her pictures of her missionary who taught her and when she went to Utah to visit her. It was so fun!

This week we went to Jekabs. No one has been there for awhile and he needed some help so we went over and it was a party as always haha. He is blind and hard of hearing so sometimes when we're reading the Book of Mormon to him he doesn't understand and this time he was having a real hard time with it haha. I still can't roll my R's and he always makes fun of me for it haha. But we are getting him a disc with the Book of Mormon so he can listen to it. We asked the office about it and we found out that it doesn't exist so we were sad but then that night one of the elders called us and he was going through some discs in his apartment and what did he find? A disc with one of our members reading the Book of Mormon! How cool is that?!?

Also the weather decided to turn haha. As soon as it hit January it turned really really cold and has snowed soo much. Ice is everywhere! I'm pretty sure it would be safer for us to be on ice skates. We are keeping a tally for how many times we fall and so far Masa Teilore has fallen twice hahaha which sad for her but Masa Bosvela and I have had a pretty good laugh about it.

Yesterday with the new church schedule and time we were almost late to church! We got there with four minutes to spare but we still beat half the branch so I guess we really weren't late! But it was great to have two hours of church! We only have one Sunday School class for the whole branch and it's really going to bring everyone together, I'm excited!!

One of my favorite scriptures I read this week is in 1 Corinthians 13:2

"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." 

I love this verse because it shows the importance of love! And who best shows love? Our Savior Jesus Christ. He has done everything for us and He is the perfect example of how we can learn to love better. I love Him and His gospel and I'm so grateful I get to be sharing it with everyone no matter how many people say no or want to fight against us. I can feel the love our Savior has for them and it helps to keep going. Always turn to Him! This week many people were telling us they didn't need more about Christ or need more happiness because they had enough and I thought a lot about how I can better reply to them. This week was dark, cold, and snowy. And I was happy. I could find happiness even without the sun. But then Sunday came and the sun was shining and there was no cloud in the sky and the joy I felt was uncontainable! I realized this is us. We can be happy with Christ for a period of time with temporal things, but we need Christ just as we all need the sun. Christ gives us lasting joy and fills a hole that some people don't even know is there!! How grateful I am for Him and is everlasting light and love!

I hope everyone has a great week! Thank you for everything!

Love,

Masa Brunere

Pics

1: All in stripes!

2: I could not cook before the mission but I have cooked every single meal this transfer :)

3: These are the best! an icecream cone full of caramel!!!