The Shining Moment Continues

 Improve each shining moment.

In this you are secure,

For promptness bringeth safety

And blessings rich and pure.

Let prudence guide your actions;

Be honest in your heart;

And God will love and bless you
And help to you impart.

We woke up early Sunday morning (Feb. 17, 2013) the second day of our YSA mini-conference and we were pleasantly surprised to see several girls  already out of bed and nicely dressed for church. Elder Davis made pancakes for everyone, handed out bus tickets to each girl and sent them out into the chilly morning to walk to the bus stop.  Elder & Sister Davis hiked the block to our car and drove to the Senkans house to pick up some of the boys and get them to church. There was still snow on the ground but the weather wasn't bad. We were going to the Imanta Chapel for a special YSA sacrament/testimony meeting.  President and Sister Boswell were there when we arrived.  Testimony meeting in a Latter-day Saint congregation is a simple but inspirational meeting. Anyone who feels prompted can go up to the podium and tell what they know about the gospel of Jesus Christ and "testify" to everyone what they believe.

Sister Davis was a little afraid that if no one wanted to bear their testimony she would have to do all the talking, but never fear, these YSA's had so much to say, we actually went a half-hour over time. One after another, these wonderful young people got up to support each other and testify of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and how much His gospel means to them. The testified of prophets, the Atonement, the Book of Mormon, the importance of keeping the commandments and about how getting together with other YSA's  strengthens them and their faith. 

Sister Davis was overwhelmed by their sweet sincerity, with tears in her eyes, she got up to tell them how wonderful they were and then testified of her love for the Savior to them. Then she told them, "This was the best  testimony meeting of my entire mission." She turned to her mission president and apologized since she had attended several missionary testimony meetings. But President Boswell got up after her and with tears in his eyes, agreed with Sister Davis...It was a very special testimony meeting.

We came away from church on "cloud nine"... happy to been able to experience the strength of the Spirit in that room. And we weren't the only ones to feel it...Artures, an investigator, from a town outside of Riga, was there. As we drove home afterwards he said, he wanted to get up and speak but since it was only his 2nd time at church, he didn't know what to say. He loved every minute of the YSA mini-conference...

“In the external scheme of things, shining moments are as brief as the twinkling of an eye, yet such twinklings are what eternity is made of -- moments when we human beings can say "I love you," "I'm proud of you," "I forgive you," "I'm grateful for you." That's what eternity is made of: invisible imperishable good stuff.”

―Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers

The bus to Lithuania didn't leave until 6:00 that night. Since we were going to have 5 Lithuanian girls at our apartment all day Sunday, Sister Davis invited the out of town boys to come over as well. That meant Sister Davis was now making lunch for 11 people.  She was lucky  to have some leftover chips and vegetables from the dance the night before to serve. With some bread and fruit, we had a nice spread.  The YSA's started to play the card game Uno and  Elder and Sister Davis took a nap in their room.

We woke up an hour later, hearing a lot of voices that sounded like someone was having a lot of fun. And when we got to the front room, it seemed to have shrunk in size. Instead of 11 YSA's there were now 17. Where had all the others come from?!?  Someone must have sent a text message to someone else and said, "We are having a lot of fun, come on over" or something to that gist.  And we ended up with a few more YSA's than we originally planned. They were all having so much fun playing "Mafia" (we know, it's a strange choice for the Sabbath day) that we didn't have the heart to tell anyone to leave. And they all stayed until the Lithuanians needed to go to the bus station at 5:20. We hoped they all would be able to purchase bus tickets home...some still hadn't purchased theirs.

In the meantime,  it was Aliona's birthday. While Rihard took her for a walk around Riga, Brigita was busy making a birthday cake. Here we are getting ready to sing Happy Birthday to Aliona.

Brigita brought a crown and scepter for the Queen of the Day....

Then it was time for that new birthday tradition we learned about the day before...lift up the chair 23 times. The boys have to be strong in the Baltic! 

Cutting the cake...

Eating the cake....

Waiting for a piece of cake....

Eating and talking, the best thing for YSA unity, whether at the table....

...or on the sofa.

Julia trying to get a home run on the baseball game.

It was a very fulfilling day and an excellent end to a wonderful YSA mini-conference!

What do you get after having a big party in a small apartment? 

A couple of tired but satisfied senior missionaries.

And as for the Davis's Bed and Breakfast?