Called to Serve!

One of the YSA's were are working with in Latvia received his mission call and we were so excited for him.  Lauris hasn't had an easy life and we have been mentoring him.  When Elder Millet told us Lauris's mission call had arrived from Salt Lake City and was at the mission office, we asked Lauris if he could wait two days to open it at June's Break-the-Fast.  He said, "Yes, I can do".

After all, Lauris has been living on his own since he was 15 years old, and we wanted to make sure that opening his mission call was a grand experience for him. We invited EVERYONE who might be interested...which meant Sister Davis had to make 4 huge casseroles for dinner. Luckily, one could be made in the crock pot and thus we only had to cook three in the oven (one at a time, of course) and then worry about how we could keep them all warm until dinner time.

Below, is Latvia's newest senior missionary couple, Elder & Sister Adams, who were supposed to go on a mission to  Mongolia but were denied entry visas.  They came to see what Break-the-fast was all about and were a great help.....hmmm,  maybe we need to invite them more often.

 

 So after a hearty dinner....Elder Davis has everyone who ever served a mission tell Lauris one inspirational story or one thing they liked about their mission. Dainis is translating into Latvian...Elder Davis is telling about his mission to England, a looooong time ago....and Lauris is nervous. 

It's Elder Adams turn to talk about his mission.....listen up Lauris!

Everyone is excited for Lauris....Lina is filming the event for the 20th Anniversary of the Saints in Latvia which will be celebrated in two weeks......Svetlana,  Natalia, Alexandrs (Sasha) and Maksims...all Russian Latvians.

Dainis had surveyed everyone in the room about where they thought Lauris would be serving....Lauris had already told Sister Davis he did NOT want to go to Russia (even though he speaks Russian!).  Some of the answers were pretty funny...like West Africa, Washington D.C., and even Latvia.  And now Lauris...it's time to open the envelope! He tries opening it from the back and the glue is just too strong.....

So, Elder Millet steps in with his trusty pocket knife and slits the top right open, impressing everyone in the room! And the call is read...."You are hereby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine Mission.

Well, Lauris is excited about that and will be heading for the Missionary Training Center in Madrid, Spain the beginning of August.  Congratulations!