Back to Riga!!

Sveiki sveiki!!!

I hope everyone had a great week! And a great Pioneer day!

This week was great! Last Monday I was able to see more of Tallinn. Sister Costa is the best tour guide around. We walked around Old Town, and one of the best pizzas I've ever ate, and did more shopping. We also went to a lot of the look out points which was really pretty. It was a super rainy day but that's my favorite in the baltics because it makes all the colorful buildings pop. That night we went contacting and it was so good. We went to this cute part and we found 3 potentials wahoo! It was so fun and so pretty.

Tuesday we had another lesson with Merilaid, recent concert, and she is my favorite person. I love her and I'm so grateful I got to meet her and spend so much time with her. She's become one of my dear friends. We talked about tithing with her and the blessings of it. I'm so grateful for all the blessings God gives us for following His commandments. That night two other sisters were at our apartment so we had a party. I honestly haven't laughed as hard as we did in a long time. It was so fun.

Wednesday we had a lesson with Kristina again, their friend they are teaching, about the Plan of Salvation. We did it in English so I could help out and it was hard to think of the words in English! I have never taught that lesson in English  but it was a great lesson and I love the Plan of Salvation so much. My testimony of it has grown immensely on my mission and I know without a doubt that it is true. That night we had different sisters over and so we had another fun night! 

Thursday we had Sister Dean with us for the day and we were the coolest trio in history because between us three we could speak 5 languages! English, Latvian, Russian, Estonian, and Portuguese. So really we talked to everyone and not a single because could get by us. It was one of the funnest day being with the two of them. We had a lesson with two members that day. We talked about self-worth and how much God loves us while eating delicious cinnamon rolls and then the temple!! We also served at the food bank. We just handed food to people as they came by and it was so so fun. I was able to spend more time with Merilaid and she's the best!! That night we needed to pick up Sister Dean's companion from the bus station but her bus got in at 10:30 so we got to bed at almost 12 that night. It was fun to be out late haha and so pretty to see how the city looks at night! 

Friday was a great day. Sister Costa is one of the best people I know. She has been sharing the gospel with one of her friends back home and she is getting baptized!!! So she had a lesson with her about the Plan of Salvation, she's the best missionary I know. We also made zucchini muffins with fruit and they were so good and it was so fun to cook with her. 

Saturday morning I got on a bus and headed back to Riga! Being Estonia was such a huge blessing. I was able to reflect a lot on my mission and set goals for what to do this last week and a half to end on a high note. I also learned so much and I'm so grateful I was able to make the friendships I did and spend near the end of my mission there for a little bit. When we got back to Riga we went to Subway of course for lunch haha. Then later we had a lesson with Dace. She is my favorite. I love her so so much. She is a blessing in my life and I'm so grateful for our friendship.

Sunday! It was so good to be back in my branch here and to see everyone! It really helped me see how much I love them. I gave my farewell talk and sat on the stand and it was a blessing to be able to look out and see all the people I love and the friendships I have made over these past 18 months. God is so good!! Also, Liga got a calling as second counselor in the Relief Society Presidency!!! She is killing it! Sunday night we went to the Bites for a lesson. They are the best. I'm so grateful for their help.

I love this gospel so much and I love Jesus Christ. I know He lives and loves us. I'm so grateful to be a missionary for Him and to be here in the Baltics to serve among these amazing people and I'm so excited I still have this last full week to be here and give it my all. I love this gospel! It is the truth!

Have the best week! I love you all!

Love,

Māsa Brūnere

Pics

1: Tallinn

2: 5 language trio

3: our delicious muffins that we did not burn!

4: back with my comps!

5: Tallinn

6: Tallinn

7: Tallinn

Tallinn, Estonia

Sveiki!! Tere!!!

I hope everyone had a great week! This week was crazy and full of surprise and blessings!

So Monday as a zone we went to the KGB museum and it's always so sad but so good to learn about it. It always helps me understand and love the people better. Sister Mischenko and I also played basketball together for most the day which was so fun! She's a baller. Then that night we went to FHE and we had a quesadilla night!! Wahoo!! It was my kind of night  then we played games and just had a lot of fun. But while there I got a phone call from President telling me that I would be going to Estonia on Wednesday to be with another sister while her companion will be in America for her Dad's funeral. I was in shock because I don't speak Estonian haha. That night we also had two of the Russian sisters over because they had a visa appointment the next morning so we had a party with them! 

Tuesday was a crazy day getting everything ready for me to leave and meeting people. We had a phone lesson with a lady who lives in Latvia but was found in Croatia. She lives about 2 hours from Rīga but she is the coolest and has a desire to learn more about the Book of Mormon and grow her relationship with Christ. So we will continue to call her and meet with her that way for the moment. Then we had a Skype call with Liāna to read the Book of Mormon with her and it was so great! We read with her about King Benjamin and she just has the sweetest heart and wants to serve everyone and help everyone. Tuesday night we three had a party for the last night for a little bit and we ate all our favorite foods.

Wednesday morning we got up and headed to the bus station and we were sitting there waiting for my bus, thinking we were in the right place and so when it started to drive to our spot I got up but then it just kept driving and we realized I needed to get on at the other side but luckily there was another one leaving at 8 that hadn't left yet so I was able to buy a ticket and still make it at the same time! That was such a huge blessing!! Then I made the bus ride to Tallinn and it has been so fun to experience a different country and culture. On Wednesday we had a lesson with a recent convert and played games with a few members and luckily they all spoke English but it was so fun and they were just so sweet. After we went to dinner with the Russian sisters at the coolest place!!

Thursday we met with a member who is Estonian and Candanian and she LOVES family history work. And she has the coolest genealogy I've heard of and it was so fun to hear her experiences about it and how she came to love it so much. She drove us home from her apartment and she knew we had to be home at 9:30 and we had a few minutes so she decided to drive us around Tallinn real quick to see some of the sites since I would only be here for a week and a half and Tallinn is so so pretty!! There are so many hills here! Rīga is so so so flat but I feel like I could be back in Utah! Old Town here is on a hill and we walk near there every day so it's been some getting used to after having flat ground for so long haha. We also made cookies and that's all we ate for dinner so Sister Costa and I are having a party. Sister Costa is awesome! She is from Brazil and has been out for 6 months. It's been great being with her and I've learned so much from her already.

Friday for our morning workout we went walking and we went to this lookout point where we could see most of Tallinn and it was so pretty! I feel so blessed to be here! We also met with two other members. One was just recently baptized and hearing her story was really cool. She is so strong! We went to her house the next day as well because she loves having people over so we had lunch with her and she has the cutest house! That's another thing different about Estonia, I have seen so many houses! We don't have too many in Rīga so it was cool to see hers. She also has this big dog and Sister Costa doesn't really like dogs and but she overcame her fear and was petting it when she went crazy and tried to bite her. Luckily she didn't but it was crazy to watch! We also had game night!

Saturday after going to the members home we went to sports and played soccer and it was fun to get to know even more people. After we helped another member out and then had a lesson with one of the people they are teaching. Sister Costa taught her the whole first lesson in Estonian by herself. She did amazing! And then we watched the Joseph Smith movie with her and it was so powerful! I know Joseph Smith was a prophet and Jesus Christ's church has been restored to the earth. I'm grateful for this knowledge of the gospel and even more grateful for the opportunity to share it with everyone!!

Sunday! Going to church was so fun to meet everyone else and really see how the church is true and the same everywhere we go! And it was the first time I've heard church in English (thanks to translation) in a very long time haha. That night we went to FHE which was also a blast!

Being in Estonia has taught me a lot, but the biggest thing I've realized is how God really does have a plan for each of us and He loves each of us. I had been praying for something these last few weeks and I felt like it wasn't being answered but Estonia was my answer! I'm grateful for the people I've met, for Sister Costa, and this beautiful country! Always trust in God and His plan. His ways will always be better than ours. I'm excited for the rest of this week in Estonia and to be back in Latvija!

Have a great week!!

Love,

Māsa Brūnere

Pics:

Free food!

Sveiki sveiki!! 

I hope everyone had a great week! 

Last Monday as a zone we made crafts and played basketball which was super fun! We wanted to do something outside but it rained the hardest I have ever seen! It was so crazy! My companions and I were walking to our tram stop and we each had our own umbrella and as we were walking I saw this lady just standing to the side trying to get out of the rain. I had the thought to offer her my umbrella but we ended up walking down the street together hand in hand trying not to get wet. She was the cutest and kindest lady! We ended up needing to go different ways so I let her take my umbrella so she could continue on. I was only in the rain for about 2 seconds after that but I got soaked! It was so crazy! There were puddles everywhere and it was super fun to jump in them. 

Tuesday we had dinner with the family from Canada. It was so good and yummy. They also have two little boys and they are the cutest ever. It was so fun to spend time with them and get to know them better. 

Wednesday we were contacting and it was kind of a rougher day and not too many people. But I saw two women staring at their tourist map looking lost so I asked if they needed help and it turns out they were from Texas! It was so fun to talk to other Americans. One of them knew a lot about us because she worked a lot in Utah. They were super sweet and even though they aren't members of our church they were so supportive and nice of what we do and encouraged us to keep going. It definitely helped us keep going! God answers prayers in all ways! I also said goodbye to Sister Goodell and Smith-Driggs this week. They are the best and I'm so grateful I got the blessing of serving with them!! We also got to our apartment building that night but a drunk man was standing at the door so Sister Boswell and I saw him and immediately turned around to walk to the back of our building where we have another entrance but Sister Loo didn't register it completely and just keeps walking and walks up to him basically until she realizes what is happening and then quickly and awkwardly turns around turns out he lives in our building so we quietly climbed the stairs so he didn't realize we were there. 

Thursday we had a lesson with Liana! It was so good! We are going to start skypeing once a week to read the Book of Mormon. She is doing great though and has a great desire to help the other people we are working with. She has the sweetest heart. We were supposed to have a few other lessons but they fell through and so we had time for dinner and we decided to run to Subway for dinner because it's the best place. We go there pretty often and have become friends with all the employees there and so we get our food and sit down and as we are eating one of the employees come and gives us free cookies and she had remembered our favorite kinds too! It was so sweet of her! We were also contacting and we tried stopping this one lady but she just said no and kept walking so we kept going and a few minutes later she runs back to us to tell us that she also believes in Christ and then left again. It was sweet she came back! 

Friday also was a crazy day. We were at the church doing companion study when I get a call from Elder Mateer and he told us we needed to be at the immigration office at that exact time but no had told us so we call a taxi and get to our apartment and grab Sister Boswell's passport and the taxi wouldn't wait for us so we ran to the tram and were able to make it in good timing! So Sister Boswell is still legal to be here yay! Ed Sheeran was also in Rīga on Friday and we tried to go but we couldn't haha. But I can say I was in the same city as him! We also had a lesson cancel on Friday so we had time to grab a quick dinner and we went to Hasana, my favorite kebab place, and the owner was there and gave us free rice! Second day of free food! It was so awesome! Then we went to sports night with two of our friends from the soup kitchen! It was so fun! 

Saturday we went to the soup kitchen and we had to do dishes this time but it was so fun! I love that place. We also met with Dace this week and it was the best. She is the best! At the end of the lesson we were getting ready to pray and we ask Diana to kind of as a joke because she is so little but then SHE STARTS PRAYING! It was the cutest thing ever. Dace had tears of joy because she has wanted that for so long. It was such a sweet moment. 

Evita came to church Sunday. She's doing awesome! We'll meet with her later this week. And līga gave her first talk and it was so so sweet. She talked about her conversion story and the difference in her life since having the gospel. And she's going to the temple! She is killing it. Sacrament meeting overall was great. I was sitting more in the back and was able to see the congregation and I was filled with love for these people. I'm so grateful for them and the friendships I have made. We also visited Jekabs! It's been a while but it was good to see him. We read the Book of Mormon together and sang church songs and some American ones for him. It was so fun! One member also gave a great talk about missionary work and he asked everyone to think of their first missionary and even though I don't have one like all the members here I thought of the countless people in my life who have helped me. And I just want to thank you all! Thank you to my parents, leaders, friends, family, and ward for the love and support and great examples. You all have had a huge impact on my life and I'm so grateful for it! Thank you for helping me love the gospel and get here on a mission. I'm eternally indebted to you all and God for this great blessing! We never truly know the impact of our good deeds but God does. I'm grateful for all the acts of service and love from you. I love this gospel so much and I love Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for His infinite atonement and love. I know He lives and loves us. 

I love you all and thank you!!! Have the best week. 

Love,

Māsa Brūnere

Pics

1. Saying bye! 

2. Whiteboarding

3. Selfie

4. Free cookies

One Month!?!

Sveiki sveiki!!

Today marks one month until I come home. I remember writing my email when I was one month into the mission. So crazy how fast time has flown and I'm so grateful for all God has given me and taught me during this time. I'm so excited for this last month and to give it my all and to leave it all in the field! But I hope everyone had a great week and a great 4th of July!

Last Monday I was with the Russian sisters and us and the rest of the zone went to Sigulda! It was so fun and so beautiful as always. I spent the rest of the day with the Russian sisters as well and we had a party with the elders as well just going around Riga. That night we went to FHE with Liana and I met up with my companions and we were able to spend more time with her which was super fun. We played volleyball and the senior couple bought spike ball so we played that too.

Tuesday the rain started, and hasn't stopped much since! But it was super crazy. We were contacting and we didn't have our jackets because it's July and we shouldn't have to be wearing them haha but we did grab an umbrella before leaving but we are walking and it started down pouring so we step to the side to get the umbrella out and we are just laughing and trying to hold our skirts down from the wind and I look up and this man is in his car just laughing at us haha. We were a sight to be seen! Turns out the second we get the umbrella out and start walking the rain completely stops and we see some blue skies. The weather here is sometimes the craziest thing!

Wednesday we made the journey to Velta's house! It takes about an hour to get there and we were on the bus and we get to our stop and I get off and I know Sister Loo is behind me so I assume Sister Boswell is too but I turn around to say something and Sister Boswell isn't there and Sister Loo doesn't know where she went either. So we look on the bus and turns out she had fallen asleep. By the time we saw her the bus doors were closing and starting to drive away haha. She finally woke up and called us and do the bus back to us. Super funny though! Then we had a great time at Velta's with her delicious food!!

Thursday, 4th of July!!!!! We made the day an absolute party! We all wore red, white, and blue and just had fun haha. We taught English night and talked about the 4th of July and then we had a feast! We made all the American food and desserts that we could. We also had a lesson with Evita about the plan of salvation which went really well! She is the cutest lady! A lot of our zone is also not from America so our zone leader, from England, made a game where he gave us 10 questions about America we had to answer and whoever answered one of them first gets a candy bar. Then for extra credit you could send in a video of you singing the national anthem and the non americans made a remix of it and it was all just super fun! But basically, he owes a lot of chocolate bars to a lot of missionaries haha.

Friday we had a lesson with Sandra! We met her back in May and had been helping her with English and talking about family history. She hadn't been replying to us so we called her this week and she had read anti and didn't want to contact us basically but she agreed to let us come over and teach her. So we went over and taught her the plan of salvation which answered the questions about what she read. But before this, we hadn't been able to teach her really because she didn't want to hear it. So by her reading anti it opened her up to listen to us and she loved it and the verses we read from the Book of Mormon and she agreed to let us keep teaching her! God works in mysterious ways but He does His work in His way and timing and it's better than I could ever imagine! We also had a great lesson with Liga. She told us how she had always wanted a sister but now she has three! It was the cutest thing ever. She also knows how to talk to God and it's a blessing to hear her prayers and what she gets from them. She is doing amazing!

Saturday we went to the soup kitchen and it was sooo fun. After we were able to go up and see the church that does the soup kitchen and it was really pretty! Saturday was always the anniversary of 100 years of the Latvian army so right outside the soup kitchen they had tanks and guns set up and we had to walk to through to get where we were going which was fun and then we went to the lunch with the elders that came to the soup kitchen with us. 

Sunday was super super rainy so we went knocking! I love knocking. We were at the top of one building praying before we started and my stomach makes a noise and Sister Boswell starts laughing and one of the apartments heard it and opened the door but then saw us and shut it so we started knocking and we knock on the door next to his and then he opens his door again and gets mad at us for being there and kicks us out haha. Then we goes to his window and watches us go down the street to make sure we don't go into another building, but that doesn't stop us! We just turned the corner and kept going and found a super cute girl who wants to learn more!!

As a mission we are all trying to improve our language a lot. We have been asked to memorize a scripture and a term from our teaching pamphlets every day. One day in our native language and the next day in our mission language. So it makes it 3 scriptures and 3 terms every week and it can be a struggle because if you get behind it's hard to catch up, but the amount we have been able to do this is a miracle! God is helping us memorize and use these scriptures and terms so much. I have never been able to memorize as well as we are. It's a blessing for following God's commandments. I know God loves us and wants the best for us. His commandments are given out of love and if we do our best to follow them. no matter how hard it is, He will provide a way for us to accomplish that purpose (1 Nephi 3:7). I have seen it these past two weeks. The amount we are memorizing and have to memorize seemed impossible at first, but with God's help we are doing it and reaching even more people by doing so. So keep the commandments! God will help and bless you. And as the scriptures promise you will find lasting and eternal happiness.

I love you all! Have the best week! 

Love,

Masa Brunere

Pics:

1. In a helicopter 

2. contacting in the rain

3. This is telling me I am allowed to eat ice cream every day :)

4. Sigulda

5. Sigulda

6. 4th of July

7. after soup kitchen

8. muffins!

9. fourth of july

July?!?

Sveiki sveiki!!

Can you believe that it is already July? I have no idea where the time is going! But this week was great!

Last Monday we headed to Jūrmala which is the beach town basically and it was so fun! Us missionaries may have looked funny playing games in the sand in jeans and all but it was so so fun. We also were able to just step in the water which was way fun and take pics haha. Rīga was also dead on Monday. Walking the streets there was literally no one haha. We could walk a whole block without seeing a car or person. Everyone just leaves for the holiday! That we had an FHE with Līga and Sister Taylor and her family! We were going to go out and eat but because of the holiday literally, everything was closed so we all brought food to the church and just ate and talked. Līga was in the UK this week and even brought us back something! She is the sweetest and it was so fun to be with all of them.

Tuesday was also great. We had district council and it was the funniest meeting of my whole life. We were talking about transportation contacting and practicing it and it definitely is the funniest way because of the stories so we were just all laughing about everything that has happened to us haha. And after we ate ice cream wahoo! That night we had dinner with Sister Taylor and her family! It was a great time and meal haha. I love them so much and it was so fun to be able to finally meet her family!

Wednesday we had two lessons! One with a girl we have met with before and another with someone we contacted a few weeks ago and they were both soooo good! We taught the plan of salvation to our friend we have already met with and it was so good. It answered a lot of questions that she has been thinking about for a long time. It really shows us that this is Christ's perfect gospel and that we all did with Him and Heavenly Father before this earth and we all have that light of Christ in us! I love this gospel! I love that Jesus Christ's Atonement can heal us! We also went whiteboarding with the assistants which is always a party.

Thursday I was at MLC and it was so good. Being in those meetings shows me a lot about how much God loves each one of us and how much He wants to help His children back to Him. And President has that same goal! We were able to talk a lot about how we can be stronger together and then we are making a huge push in the language so people don't fall away because we can't completely communicate with them. Along with our verses, we are memorizing we are also now memorizing all the terms in the back of our pamphlets. It's hard but it has been so cool to see how the Lord is helping each of us to be able to do this. He loves us and wants us to succeed! 

Then I was able to go on exchanges with Sister Mishchenko. She is from Ukraine and just the funnest. She taught me how to make borscht wahoo! It was so good. We also went to English night and Evita was there and loved it! It was great to be able to see her again too.

Friday we had another mission conference thanks to our technology and talked about MLC. It was so good! Then after I got back with my companions we went and had a lesson with Veronika. She decided she wanted to eat Lido so we start walking and she takes us inside her church she attends which was cool to see. Then we ate Lido and had a great lesson!

Saturday we were able to meet with Dace at her home. We talked a lot about how she has grown. And Diana was so cute the whole time. She kept giving us hugs and telling us we're friends and she wanted to go out and serve with us! I love her so much and being able to see her change through her mom having the gospel has been amazing. She is the best.

Sunday Evita and Veronika came to church wahoo!! And we had a lesson with Liāna which was super great. She is a flight attendant and told me she's trying to get on my flight when I fly home so that would be the coolest!!

In church we had a great sacrament meeting and sang Where Can I Turn for Peace? And it was so powerful! Christ really does understand us and want to help us through everything. I'm so grateful for Him!

Thank you, everyone, for everything! I love you all and have the best 4th of July!

Love, 

Māsa Brūnere 

Pics 

1. A couple who served here forever ago came back and brought these for everyone and so we carried it around the city haha. Great way to spend the gospel. 

2. Māsa Teilore

3&4. Whiteboarding

5. Jūrmalā and handstands! 

6. Jūrmalā 

7. Name tags 

8. Name tags 

9. Jūrmalā 

10. Jūrmalā 

11. MLC

12. Exchanges!