Elder & Sister Davis got to visit the third largest city in Latvia... Liepaja (lee-a-pie-ya) the lovely. It is a 2 1/2 hour drive, through beautiful farm land, from Riga and is located on the Baltic Coast, with a beautiful white sandy beach. We had two goals for our trip over there...attend Institute and Seminary and make sure Sister Zommerovska was packed for her mission.
Heading down the highway...
Sister Zommerovska was called to serve in the Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission! She was so very excited and we are happy for her. She has been patiently waiting for her visa to America to come through and once it did, she was supposed to leave immediately...but she wasn't quite ready. Elder & Sister Davis took her to the American Embassy and then to her home in Liepaja.
Missions are very important to the YSA's here. Their testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ grow ever so strong by going on missions and when they come home they become the leaders of the church. Missions prepare these kids for that responsibility. As Sister Zommerovska told us about her city, you could feel the love she has for her home town.
We dropped off Sister Zommerovska in Karosta (a suburb of Liepaja) so she could pack while we went to get some snacks for the class we were observing. Karosta is a military harbor built by the Soviets during the 1890's.
This is the Liepaja Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We had such a pleasant surprise while attending the combined Institute/Seminary class. Christina was one of the best teachers Sister Davis has ever seen...inside and outside the church! This young mother, a member for less than 10 years, was an enthusiastic dynamo of a teacher.
She started the class with an impromptu skit. And then asked her students to talk about what happened and why. She taught with love & humbleness, searching the students minds to see if they really "got" the principle she was teaching.
Twice she stopped in the middle of the lesson and had the students (8 total) write what they had learned in their spiritual journals that they bring to every class! They all take turns reading scriptures, answering questions...she spoke softly and looked into every ones eyes as she spoke. And she did this all by sitting at the table with them and not standing up in front of them.
A good teacher engages her students in a variety of ways....
We were so glad we witnessed this class. It is always exciting to watch a class where real learning is going on! In the class photo: the man in front is Christina's husband and Branch President. Sister Zommerovska was coming home with us to Riga for her setting apart as a missionary and to catch her flight to America. We drove home late because we had some shopping to do the next day to make sure our missionary had everything she would need in the MTC. And the next afternoon we headed to the Mission President's home for Sister Zommerovska to be set apart as a missionary. Christina came to watch with her daughter Sara. Christina has been like a mother and spiritual mentor to our new missionary....
And the next morning we are up early to say goodbye as President & Sister Boswell take our new missionary to Riga's Airport. Good Luck Sister Zommerovska!
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