Līgo Diena

Sveiki sveiki! 

I hope everyone had a great week! This week was good for us! I don't know how it's possible how fast time is flying right now. Mondays come so fast!

Last Monday we got together with all the missionaries in Riga and played games and sports at the church and then got lunch together. We have the funnest zone! Today we're heading to Jurmala to spend a day playing more games on the beach! Wahoo!!

Tuesday we got to meet with Līga! She is still doing great. She's out of town right now but she told how she read the Book of Mormon on her flight and sent us all her pictures of her fun adventures. I love her so much!! She just keeps growing and strengthening her testimony. 

Wednesday we had a first lesson with a super cute girl. She is just about to graduate and has such a real desire to grow her knowledge and testimony of Jesus Christ. We talked about Him and testified of Him extra in our lesson with her. You can never talk too much of Christ. After we went whiteboarding with some of the Russian elders and it was a blast!! Sister Bolander has been teaching me one Russian word a day and I was able to use some whiteboarding because one of the elders doesn't speak English. And then Thursday we also went chalking with them! 

Friday was a good day. Māsa Bosvela has been having some trouble with her knee her awhile and it hasn't really gotten much better and this week she had a skype call to see if she would be able to stay. Leading up to this call was prayer and fasting from the whole mission and miracles happened! Her knee still hurts but it got smaller meaning she gets to stay! It's truly been a blessing to be her companion through this hard trial. She doesn't give up or let anything bring her down. She has taught me about patience and trust in the Lord. And now we are continuing to pray for the pain to leave. 

Saturday we served at the soup kitchen! There were two new people there who were helping us serve and they are the best! They just got to Riga and wanted to serve! Hopefully they will be coming to our English night! After we headed to Imanta for our branch activity. It was the funnest day! We bought flower crowns for it too! We were celebrating Līgo Diena and everyone wears them and we wanted to fit in. But the party itself was great. We all played games and ate together with our members, returning members, and friends! Velta, one of the members, also taught us how to make plates and hats out of leaves. She was also wearing her traditional Latvian outfit and just made the day 10 times better. I absolutely love being in Latvija and spending time with these amazing people. At one point I was just sitting down and observing and I was overcome with charity for these people. They work so hard and just strengthen each other. I've been so blessed to be able to serve here. After we went chalking with the assistants which was also a blast!

Sunday two of the people we are teaching were supposed to be at church but they both slept through haha.. but that's okay next time!! I also saw Māsa Teilore! And her family! I love her and it was so good to see her again! We also visited Māsa Helena and as always it was great. She was born in 1922, think of all the history she has lived through! And her stories tell of it too!

This week I just wanted to share something one of our zone leaders sent us this week:

An elderly Chinese man had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the man bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the man one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old man smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?" "That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them." "For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

Each of us has our "cracks" but with Christ He can make us more than we ever could.

Thank you for everything and have a great week!! 

Pics:

1: flower crowns

2: chalking

3: Contacting!!

4: more flower crowns

5: pretty Riga

6: whiteboarding!

Rainstorms!

Sveiki sveiki!! 

I hope everyone had a great week!!

This week was way fun! Last P-day we were with all the missionaries in Riga and we went to a park and just played all sorts of games and had frozen yogurt and subway. We also spray painted shirts which was way fun. We have such a fun zone and it's always great to spend time with them. Then that night we went to FHE and played human battleship and got to spend time with some of our potentials! 

Tuesday was a really good day and we had a lot of potentials! I'm excited to work with them! We also had interviews with President which is always great to get advice from him from what I can do to improve.

Wednesday we went whiteboarding which was super great as always and we even set up a few lessons that did happen this week wahoo!!! Then later that night I went on an exchange with Sister Bolander! And she is the cutest. She has been out for almost 6 months and is such a great missionary! I learned so much from her and her sweet spirit! With her we also went to one of the embassy families homes and she fed us delicious food and cookies from America!! It was sooo good!!! We also helped one of the young women with English this week. She is the cutest and wants to learn so she can come to America to study but it was fun to get to know her even better!!

This week the whole mission fasted for Sister Boswell and for her knee. It was such a cool experience to all come together to help her and grow stronger as a mission. Sister Boswell truly is amazing to be able to have had these problems for so long and to always keep going and to find the good in everything. She is a testimony that through trial we can smile and find the happy moments and laugh! Our zone did a break the fast together and the Berry's, senior couple, got us all subway!! It was so nice of them!!! 

Thursday we had a lesson with Liga and as we were walking to her house we got caught in a Baltic rainstorm so we hurried as fast as we could to her house but we were drenched in 2 minutes and we show up just soaked and dripping wet. We told her we could just sit on the floor or something but she insisted that we changed. So she got us some towels and we dried off and then brought us her whole closet. Most stuff she brought wasn't going to work because she is so small so we tried to find 3 outfits that we could wear and look like missionaries and we did!! it was so funny but she's so sweet to help us and let us soaked missionaries in her house!

Friday I hit 500 days as a missionary wahoo!! I love being here and being a missionary and telling everyone of Christ! It truly is the best thing I have ever done. We also had a lesson with Anita about the 10 commandments and we told her what slamming is which is something us missionaries do so next time we're going to do it with her! 

Saturday we met with Dace which is always a great part of the week. She is still killing it and this week will be her one year mark as a member! It's truly been a miracle to watch how much she has grown in the last year. Then we had two first lessons with people we contacted! Evita was the first one and she loved the Restoration and even read part of the Book of Mormon before our meeting. And we had another with Baiba who has so much fun energy! We talked about the Book of Mormon and finding answers. They were both great lessons and I'm excited to continue to meet with them. 

Sunday was such a blessing. Last week church was a little rough, but this week it was one of the best times in my life. We had two random people show up. One lady decided to just came and I was able to sit next to her and explain how everything worked and why we do what we do. That was a great blessing because it really centered my thoughts on Christ and the why of the Sacrament. She is also the cutest lady and she wants to meet later this week. She also said how comfortable she felt in our branch and how she never felt like a foreigner which is a huge blessing! The members were so nice to her!! And then we had a member who hasn't come in forever and usually doesn't live in Latvia come back to church!!!! She is the cutest! And she also wants to meet with us!!! God has given us so many miracles this week!!

This week while studying "Come, Follow Me" I realized something really cool. I've been thinking a lot about trust and trying to find in the scritpures where people trusted God and how I can grow my trust in Him. While reading Matthew 26 I realized how Christ, as our perfect example, had great trust in Heavenly Father. In verse 39 He says, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." We know that He went forth and He then suffered for us and died for us so that we could have joy and forgiveness. In verses 53-54 As He is being betrayed He says, "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus is must be?" This to me showed how much He trusted Heavenly Father. He knew that it would be hard. He knew that He could deliver Himself, but He had love for us and trusted and He went forth. I am so grateful He did so that each on of us could have the chance to start again and again and have someone who will always understand us. I love Jesus Christ. I know He is my Savior. Put more trust in Him and in His plan that He has for you!!

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

Love,

Masa Brunere

Pics

1: spray painting our shirts!

2: Zone pday!

3: Exchange with Sister Bolander! She also has the coolest dreams that will become movies one day!

4: Wearing Liga's clothes!

5: Bubble waffle!

6: Our shirts finished

7: Sister Smithdriggs happened to be in Riga this week!

Earth-shaking Thunder

Sveiki sveiki!!

I hope everyone had a great week!! It got super hot here this week and we have been dying of heat, but I love it!! It makes everything even more exciting!

Last Monday we had the funnest Pday ever! We went to Mežaparks and rented out some bikes. Since Sister Boswell's knee still isn't doing great we rented a kart where there were two sets of pedals but I was just going to pedal but turned out to be a little harder than I thought it would be haha. So some of the elders and I had a rotation going down and then we also had longboards and would just ride alongside, but it was so fun! Elder Wright also made a cherry pie for it and it was the best thing ever. That night we went to FHE in Imanta and played volleyball and ate s'mores. But we didn't get home until 10:20 that night because of how far it is and the trams work slower at night haha. But it was a great day!

Tuesday we were able to give 4 Book of Mormons away! We went whiteboarding and the second we walked up someone was already looking at the whiteboard and I was still holding all the things for it, but I knew I needed to talk to her so I literally just dropped everything and started talking to her. Well, we ended up having a conversation that lasted over an hour and we talked about the Book of Mormon and how it works with the Bible. She also talked to me about the fears she has and all her deep thoughts. The love God has for her was so strong in that conversation and the Holy Ghost was able to help me know how to best help her. We talked a few days later and she didn't believe something that she read in the Book of Mormon because she didn't think went with the Bible but we were able to send her verses to see they truly do work together. God gave us the Book of Mormon to help us overcome this confusing world and find truth. I love the Book of Mormon!!! 

Wednesday we had zone conference!! It was so good and we learned so much of how we can do even better! That night we also went to Liga's house and had a fun night with a good lesson with her! She is killing it! She will be going to the temple in August!! And she bore her testimony last Sunday in church. She's the best!

Thursday we had a lesson with Anita which was great! She is still doing great and she now brings up her baptism each time we meet! We also had dinner with the šostaki! They are some of my favorite people here. We were walking to their apartment when the loudest thunder went off though. All three of us literally jumped and it shook the ground! And we got inside just as it started pouring too. Blessing! But lessons with them are my favorite because they end up teaching us and giving us people they feel need more love. They are the best member missionaries! 

Friday we were able to meet with Sandra! She is the best! Spending time with her is so fun. We are setting up a time to do family history with her! We also had sports night this week which was fun. Lizzie and another girl from Norway was able to come and it was super fun. 

Saturday we went to the soup kitchen!! It was so fun and then we went to lunch after and that was also great and after we had a lesson with Dace. She is still doing great and growing her testimony every week! 

And yesterday Anita came to the baptism we had and church! It was so great! It was so great to finally have her be there! There was a baptism yesterday morning for a returning members son! It was super great and fun to see it!

I love this work so much!! It is the best thing. I love being a missionary and being able to share Christ's love and gospel with everyone. This gospel is true and this is Christ's church! I'm so grateful for my knowledge for it! Thank you for all you do and for the support. Have a great week! 

Love,

Māsa Brūnere

Pics

1: Zone at Mežaparks

2: Freedom Monument 

3: Mežaparks!

16 Months?!?

Sveiki sveiki!!

I hope you all had a great week and that the first week of summer will be great!!

This week was good and fast! It's always amazing how fast time goes. Last Monday we were contacting on our way to the church for Family Home Evening and we talked to this one lady and halfway through the conversation she asked if one of us was Brūnere and I was confused for a minute because I didn't know how she knew my name because my hair had been covering my tag but turns out she is Jadviga's daughter!! It was super crazy haha, what a small world!!

Tuesday we had so much rain!! It was fun but made it a little harder to contact because not as many people were out, but new missionaries arrived that day and I got to go with one of the new Lithuanian sisters out contacting and she worked magic! People started talking to us and in the short time we were contacting we found 3 people and people interested in Sports night so it was super awesome!! Also, on Tuesday Sister Loo and I were out and heading back to our apartment when our bus stop came, but I had looked at saw it said the street before ours so I didn't get off thinking I had still had another stop and then I looked around and couldn't find my companion! Turns out that was our stop and I just didn't realize it haha. So I got off at the next one and we met up again!

This week I had been focusing on faith and overcoming doubt and trusting in the Lord and I fasted to find more people to meet with. Well the second I ended my fast with a delicious pastry haha we talked to this one girl and it was one of the best contacts and we set up a meeting for the next day! She ended up not coming, but it was still the coolest experience and testimony builder that God does answer our prayers and we just need to have faith. A lot of times it's not in the way we want or think, but it's always in the way we need to. This week we didn't find as many people, but I learned a lot about faith and how no matter what we need to keep our faith high in the Lord and trust in His timing and will. These are His children and He has a plan for each of them and when they will accept the gospel. And it makes it all worth it knowing everything has its purpose. 

Thursday we had a lesson with Anita! It was the best. I love her. After she didn't have any plans so we went to dinner with her and then she came to English class with us!! I could be with her all day. She's so fun and it was great to eat with her and get to know her better. She also came to sports night and showed us her cheerleading moves! 

Another day this week, another rainy day haha, we were contacting and not many people were out so we decided to do some drop-bys to our returning members and so we got into Gundega's!! We haven't seen her for a while and it was such a miracle to talk with her and catch up. 

Saturday we had another meeting with a returning member and we met at a bakery and halfway through Sister Loo realized she didn't know where her phone was. Turns out she left it on the bus and so after the lesson I called her phone and the bus driver had it and so we met him at one stop and got it back. Another miracle!! 

Sunday we got to teach primary! It was so fun! Those kids are funny and sassy and made the lesson super fun. We talked about missionary work and they all want to serve missions! We had one non-member in there and she wants to even serve a mission! It was the best!!

We also started running a minute of stairs for every referral we don't ask for because we want to do better. And we did! This week we only had to run like a total of 7 minutes wahoo!!!

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

Love, 

Masa Brunere

Pics

1: A member gave us flowers this week!

2: Selfie!

3: And another one

4: My cute friends and I who hit 16 months this week wahoo!!

5: Old pic but it's my cute comps, Sister Loos, birthday!! Wahoo!!!