Serve One Another

Missionary work is about service.



There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon where King Mosiah (a prophet in ancient America) tells his people,  "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings,  ye are only in the service of your God". 

It's a scripture that sums up missionary service around the world, those of our faith and those of other faiths.  We aren't weird, nor crazy,  to give of our time and talents to serve other people, we are just following a Christ-like pattern. The Savior, after all, was the ultimate example of service.  He healed the sick, taught marvelous doctrines, raised the dead, died for our sins and was resurrected.  All to be an example for us.

And the Savior himself said in John 12:26- If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

So this blog post is about some of the service,  missionaries give in Latvia. 

Last week, Elder & Sister Davis gave a lesson in FHE on the scripture that states, "All things Testify of Christ".   Just imagine....all things ever created in the heavens and the earth tesitify of Jesus Christ in some way or another....an interesting doctrine to discuss.

We talked about the sun, solar system, water, rocks, trees, days of the week and even our need to sleep each night and waking up each morning... just to name a few of the things that testify of the Savior.  Christ Himself said he was "the Living Water."  And Peter called him the "Rock of our Redeemer".  He is also called the "Bread of Life".  The scriptures are replete with examples of things that remind us of Christ.  We had some good discussions about them all.

The young missionaries are wonderful examples to us of  Christ-like service.

We have found that every missionary is uniqe and special, but that every mission has some Elders that "stand above the rest" because of how they teach, speak, act and think. Elder & Sister Davis were sorry to see the two young Elders below finish their mission...it meant they were going home and we likely wouldn't see them again. 

Elders Mills and Thomas (Assistants to the President), were both wonderful leaders and extremely dedicated to missionary work.  Young men like them are the future priesthood leaders of the church. They were leaving the day after this photo was taken and were still "busily engaged" in missionary work.

They were the Elders that taught Marta #2...that led her to be baptized.

So what happens when the missionaries who teach you about the gospel of Jesus Christ, leave for home?  You don't have to worry...another set of missionaries will take their place.

The next week,  Elders Koltko and Grover (the new AP's) came to our apartment to teach Marta about temples.  She is the sweetest thing and we hate to see her move to the Netherlands where she doesn't know anyone. She already found the address of the branch where she will be living and said she would attend church there.

And she insisted we have our picture taken with her as well....

And our other service opportunities?  We are teaching an Institute class every week, cooking  (we made 24 hamburgers for FHE!), inviting people to activities, organizing YSA conference for the end of August and trying to keep up with what our families are doing back home.  We appreciate all the blog updates we get so we can see how our grandchildren are growing!

We skype with our fellow MC's (missionary couples) who might feel a little isolated in Lithuania and Estonia.  We realize we have the best spot here in Riga, since there are two other missionary couples living close by, and we try to lift the spirits of the others who don't have that support system.

And we are organizing a teacher training day for the Latvian saints who are new to teaching or just don't have a clue what they need to do to engage their students. And speaking of teachers....we watched Eva (the new member of three months) teach the Gospel Doctrine class in Sunday School for the first time.  She did an excellent job!

And lest you think we are perfect missionaries....we still have our moments of insanity. 

Like when we come home from being out and we find signs on our apartment door that we can't understand.  We now take pictures of the sign....go upstairs and have google translate what it means.  The translation isn't perfect but we get close.  We found out that one of the signs was from a "clean, single young man looking to rent  a room." 

The sign below said,  our hot water was going to be shut off, July 20th from 9-4:00:

That's good to know...we will go out that day!

And the picture below shows how far our parking lot is from our apartment....see all the way to the end of that street?  Well, that is where our parking lot is.  A long, city block away.  But  every once in a while, we find a free parking spot at the side of our building and we are so excited we don't have to walk back from our parking lot, we take it! 

And the next day, we totally forgot we parked there....so we walk all the way to our parking lot and can't find our car! Has someone stolen it?   And then one of us remembers...we parked on the street!

That has happened several times to us. We roll our eyes and head back down the street to our "perfect parking space" that didn't save us any steps at all in the long run...

because we can never remember we parked there!

Missionaries are far from perfect...

but we do feel good about serving our "fellow beings."

For the Love of Heritage

The following pictures may help you understand the Latvian people a little better....

Two pretty girls, happy to celebrate a national holiday, dress up for Ligo; not in traditional Latvian dress (way too much skin showing)  but with traditional materials and a modern twist....

wearing shoes that would fit into any American teenagers closet....

Old and new,  traditional and modern, the Latvian people are trying to redefine themselves as "people open to the world." They love American songs, movies, clothes, and food but also cling to their own heritage. We saw their love of heritage (while embracing other cultures) the other day during the  Baltica Folklore Festival 2012.  We were just lucky enough to have it in Riga this year.

Folk singers from all over Europe (and even further) come to sing,  show off their authentic costumes and learn from each other.   Everyone of these folk singing groups seemed to be having a great time.
It started with a parade that unfortunately we missed.  We found some photos online to show you...

We did see old Latvians ....

and very young Latvians, participating in the event. You could tell that Latvians have a love for their heritage and are passing it on to their children. 

And Latvians wave their flag as proud as we do ours.

In the photo below, notice the American flag.....that is what first piqued our interest in the music we heard playing from a nearby park. It sounded country/western. That is one type of music we don't hear a lot of in Riga, (though we have seen a group of people at a park one evening, doing line dancing to country music).

Yes, a group from Tennessee came to the Baltica Folklore Festival!

Hurray for the Red,White & Blue!

So when Elder & Sister Davis, along with several other senior missionaries, came to the park to investigate that country music we were hearing... we saw this very American group,  singing country folk songs, clogging, square dancing, etc. with Latvians clapping to the beat, and thoroughly enjoying the show.

What fun! An old-fashioned hoe-down in downtown Riga, Latvia.

And then to be truly united folk singers, Latvians were invited to join them on stage. They played songs together and then they grabbed people from the audience and taught them a simple square dance. It was so cute and the Latvian people readily joined in the fun.

We don't know what country this folk singer was from but he sure enjoyed watching the Americans.

The free open air concert was soon over and all us missionaries decided to stroll around the park where people were selling homemade food and craft items. There was one booth selling folk costume patterns. Sister Davis would have loved to buy one...unfortunately, they aren't printed in English!

This was the hat booth...

And all the various folk groups were wandering around the park, some tired from the parade and other festivities. But one thing we noticed, as soon as they saw a camera pointed at them...they posed for pictures!

Younger .....

and older.....

and in between....

Everyone wanted their picture taken.  :)

And we were happy to oblige. The colors were so wonderful to see. Everywhere we looked were people dressed in colorful costumes, that someone had taken great pride in making.

These people were gathered around  a small stage where a man and woman were singing....

And these two  love-birds were dancing to the music.

Some people were tired and needed a rest....

 

Some needed entertainment...

This young lady needs a good foot massage, but her companions seem content with life.

We  saw some really beautiful headbands...

on really beautiful women.

And everyone was proud of their heritage.

It was a very fun event, that we might never had known about, if  our curiosity about music hadn't been piqued.   And these gnomes below?  They look bewildered by it all....

And here is Elders Davis...

who was taking this couple's picture and they said,

 "No, you must be in the picture, too!"

And so he joined them.

Remember this.....the Latvian people, so stoic on the street...so aggressive in their cars and in the aisles of the stores...so very independent...are the warmest people in the world when they are celebrating their heritage!  

Zip-zap, How About That!

Elder & Sister Davis thought Youth Conference was over and done with (and we are left with some wonderful memories) ...until we discovered a stow-away when we unloaded the mission van.  An errant basketball, that didn't belong to us,  ended up in our apartment. We thought, "Oh no, Edmunds may be upset his basketball disappeared."
So we decided it needed a trip home. But when?

Monday, of course, was FHE.    Elders Koltko and Mills showed up early to have a missionary discussion with a YSA investigator in our apartment. We have been hosting teaching moments a lot lately.  The young Elders have discovered that our home is a perfect place to teach those people who speak a little English.

The atmosphere in a members home is warmer than in a classroom at church. And Elder & Sister Davis love to share their thoughts during the discussion. The investigator,  Renars,  has been coming to FHE for a month or more and felt very comfortable in our apartment.

Look at all the young men we have:

Svetlana (at the table), Ilza and Marta (in the kitchen) were the only females amongst 15 males.

 Eva has a new job and works most Monday nights, she and Dainis are still "dating". Marta #2 (we currently know 4 Martas, so we have numbered them to keep them straight in our minds), has been accepted for a nanny position in the Netherlands for the rest of the summer. Marta #1 will be living in England for a month with her mother. Elina is in Germany going to school. It sure is hard to keep the young women in Latvia! 

So after the lesson was over, Sister Davis and the girls went for a walk and left the guys playing Uno and Chess. The weather has been perfect lately.  Sunshine with a breeze....clouds roll in and drop a few showers.... the sun comes out again....it's been in the upper 60's to low 70's.  Wonderful walking weather.

So the next day was Tuesday, the day we have the least going on....lets take that basketball back to Kraukli and have a day to unwind from missionary work.

Disclaimer: If you think Senior Missionaries are all business, ALL the time, please don't read any further on this post,  we hate to disillusion you.   Missionary work is serious business! We are here to bring souls to Christ...but sometimes you just need a change of pace.

E/S Davis invited E/S Adams along to see Kraukli (and, of course, to return the errant basketball), as they have never been out of Riga.  The weather looked nice, and we set off early.  We decided to try a new route to Kraukli...through Sigulda (hey, it's only a little longer route). There is supposed to be a castle in Sigulda that we wanted to explore...only we couldn't read the small signs and kept getting lost. We ended up going down this hill and into a forested area. Time to turn around....

"Wait! What are all those cars on the side of the road. Let's go take a look!"

Tarzans?!

Like in... King of the Jungle?

It looked like a fun spot to stop.  Piedzivojums means adventure ....so Tarzans must be an adventure park. And the sign showed lots of adventurous things to do...including a zip-line through the forest! So four senior missionaries get out of the car to look around and that is how we ended up getting our exercise for the day.  Yes, that is right...missionaries need to stay in shape for the rigors of missionary work.

The first thing that caught our eye was the lift-chair ride up the mountain. That seemed tame and we could get some great pictures from the top.... 

So for $1 we could ride up and for another $3 we could Bobsled back down. Hmmmm. That sounds like fun... and since Sister Davis is so short she had to "hop" to get into the chair lift before it scooped her up. Good exercise.

Elder & Sister Adams were behind us....

Sister Davis is twisting to get that shot...good exercise!

Sister & Elder Adams enjoying the view.

Are we CRAZY or what?

Once at the top, both of us had to "hop" off the chair before it dragged us back down the mountain and we hiked all over the top of the mountain getting some great photos....good exercise.

That is a sod roof you are looking at, below,....next to the bungee jump.

                                                                     Wonder how they mow that thing?

There were  good views no matter where you looked.  We found out, this small hill is the main ski area for all of Latvia.  It actually has two lifts operating in the wintertime.

Sigulda is located in Gauja National Park. This is the Gauja River flowing past Tarzans.

There were even more attractions of the top of the mountain....

But finally it's time to head back down.  The small bob-sled track looked steep but Sister Adams is fearless.  She got on first and flew down that mountain, never using her brake until the end.

Sister Davis was more timid and got on last so not to slow anyone else down.  She used her brake often on the way down...so much so,  her sled stopped well short of the stopping point.

Okay,  that wasn't as much exercise as we thought....so what's next?

Well, there is that zip-line to try....do we dare?  It would be good exercise (and only $14).

Everyone was game except Sister Davis....hey, someone had to take pictures.

This is the instructor teaching the zip-liners how to steer, stop and stay safe.

There are quite a few ropes, clips and harnesses to deal with.

Hmmmm it looks more complicated than they thought. But it's going to be good exercise!

This is the route of the zip line...

Another chair-lift to the top and they are set to go.

Now, this is going to involve some serious exercise!

 Who will go first?  Oh, no doubt about it...Sister Adams whose nickname is "dare-devil".
Oh, wait, that does NOT sound like a good nick-name for a missionary....how about Sister Adams the Brave-heart.

She ZIPS!

She ZAPS!

 Now, at first, Elder Davis and Elder Adams struggled a little with landings. You have to time it just right to get on that platform....too slow and have to pull yourself up; too fast and you slam into the platform.  And the one glove they give you?  Put it on your hand and it becomes your brake.

This time Elder Davis was a little short of the platform and that is where the REAL exercise comes in!  You have to pull your body weight uphill to get to the platform.

"Three people up a tree, two are crazy and then there's me!"

I better check this equipment carefully....

The young guy on the platform was the guide, who lead the way from tree to tree until they got the hang of it.  How would you like his job?   Playing Tarzan everyday in the summer!

Now, lest you think Sister Davis wasn't getting any exercise, think again. She was running all over the forest, up stairs...down stairs.... dodging trees, trying to get these photos. She was sweating by the time this ride was over!

Tarzan of the Jungle!

Sister  Davis was sitting patiently on a high set of steps waiting for one of the group to zip across these cables.....

 She missed Sister Adams completely, she was zipping by so fast, but she managed to get Elder
Adams....

And her adventurous companion...zipping in mid-air.

And then came the big meadow they had to cross several times.....

And then Sister Davis lost sight of them...she quickly got on the chair lift to return below...hoping to find them amongst the trees near the bottom of the run.

And on the way down she saw there was another zip-line course that looked like really good exercise... this guy is navigating this scary looking bridge tied to a zip-line....

And this girl has to ride that itty-bitty bicycle across that cable attached to a zip-line. 
Those people are very brave!

There is another whole zip-line obstacle course that people can navigate.

No wonder this place is called TARZANS!

There is even a small zip-line course for kids 5+ years.

There is real grass growing on that roof....but why?        None of us knows...

And then Sister Davis spots her companion coming in for the final landing!  GREAT EXERCISE!

 Well, what do you know...

no one hurt, everyone got great exercise, everyone had fun...

way to go missionaries!

No time left to see the castle,  we have to get that basketball to Salacgriva.

So, after a quick stop for lunch at Hessburger....

We headed north and took some photos on the way.

These houses have some interesting roofs and Sister Davis loves the way the fence is made with sticks.

Some delightful chickens next to a...

...stork nest.

We went through one of the oldest towns in Latvia,  Limbaži.

 We spent so much time exercising this morning that once we got to Salacgriva, we gave Edmunds his basketball (we don't even think he knew it was missing) and a plate of chocolate chip cookies and headed back to Riga.  But the Adams had yet to see the Baltic Sea...so we stopped where we always stop to see the Baltic and took some pictures of the Adams...

Oh, another form exercise!  Building a sand castle...actually the Adams found this one already on the beach so the only exercise for them was getting on their knees to pretend they were building one. But at our age, bending down IS exercise and so is trying to get back up!

And thus we say, so long for another day....
                                                                              from the Baltic Sea to you....