The state of Utah has a rather unique holiday that celebrates the courage, faith and perseverance of their ancestors. It is called Pioneer Day or more correctly, Days of '47. Mormon pioneers were the first settlers in the Utah territory, led by President Brigham Young, to a place where they hoped to be free from persecution and harassment. A place where they could practice their religion in peace.
Church members around the world like to celebrate pioneer day to help remind them of what early church members went through to establish the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
The members in the Baltic are also pioneers. They need courage, faith and perseverance to keep the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prospering in a place that often rejects doctrine we teach.
Mormons are still harassed for their religion...just this last week we had a young missionary that was kicked in the back (as he was turning to go down the stairs of an apartment building) by someone who just didn't like our church. And these things aren't isolated incidents but are happening all over the world. Our missionaries are often yelled at, punched and spit on for no reason other than they wear a name tag and suit. Our missionaries are trained to not be pushy and walk away from those not interested in the message. Why people can't politely say, "I'm not interested" and leave it at that...just shows that Satan still puts hatred into the hearts of people everywhere.
Now, Pioneer Day is usually celebrated July 24th but we are often behind the times in Latvia. On Aug. 11th, the tiny branch of Jelgava invited the members in Riga to a Pioneer Day celebration on the tiny lawn in front of their tiny building. Elder & Sister Davis decided to go.
And we were pleasantly surprised that some of the members actually dressed up in pioneer clothing.
What are these two young missionaries doing below? Stick pulling! A pioneer game that most every member of the church has played or watched. This is Elder Schmidt and Elder Lynch (from Scotland).
The goal is to put feet together, bend your knees and pull on the stick with enough strength to pull the other guy up and over your head. That didn't happen but Elder Lynch did end up with the stick!
Pioneer Boswell and his pioneer sweetheart made it to the party...
The young missionaries had been asking, and begging for a contest between Elder Davis and President Boswell but both were reluctant to compete. And then, with a little encouragement they decided to give it a try.....
Only, unbeknownst to everyone else (the wives were in on the secret), the two men had prearranged to just pretend to pull on the stick and act like they were really trying hard.... "grunt, ugh, umph", President really hams it up and most think he is really struggling against the mighty strength of Elder Davis. They start cheering him on.....
And then Elder Davis takes one hand off the stick to scratch his head and the stick doesn't move at all. President Boswell just keeps it in the same place....President Boswell starts laughing out loud...but some of the watchers still didn't get that it was a set-up...that neither of them was pulling on the stick. Elder Davis lets go of the stick and it still stays in the same place! President starts laughing for the sheer fun of it! Priceless...
Elder Davis putting the blame on President Boswell....hey, he has often told us when we have problems, "Don't worry, I've got your back".
After eating a wonderful array of food brought by everyone, it was time for playing musical chairs with country western music that was downloaded from the Internet....some of those songs were mighty strange!
Walk slowly and keep your eye on a chair......waiting for the music to start.....
Start walking....
Music stops....Maksims is fighting for a chair.
Elder Davis is still in the game...
Music please. Going around the corner is always the hardest spot to be in...
Who will lose their chair?
Sister Boswell (she was probably relieved!)
The numbers are getting smaller...
And people are getting more competitive....
And finally, two people are left...President and Rams.
We won't tell you who won....
but sometimes doctors ARE better than lawyers.
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