The People in Your Neighborhood

 Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood?

In your neighborhood?In your neighborhood?Say, who are the people in your neighborhood?The people that you meet each day...
We have to admit, we don't  know our neighbors in Riga, Latvia, very well.  We seldom see people in our hallway, the Soviet buildings were designed so doors don't face each other.  There are only three apartments on each  floor of the building.   Sometimes we pass someone on the stairwell and say, "Lubdien" (good day) to them but it isn't often. We have had a handful of people actually keep the door open for us as they see us walk up the steps to our building.... most just close the door as they walk through never bothering to see if anyone else is coming up. Getting to know your neighbors isn't easy in Riga. But last week, we did learn something about  a couple of our neighbors. People who lived in our building.Here's the story:We were walking back from the parking lot where we keep our car, when Sister Davis nearly ran into a group of people  stopped on the sidewalk outside our apartment building. She glanced up and noticed there was a small crowd staring at something. There was even a man with a camera taking pictures.   As she looked around, she noticed several people bent over  lighting candles next to the wall of our brick apartment building...there were probably 8 candles already lit. Elder Davis decides to find out what the fuss is all about.  
The camera man tells him a famous poet lived in this building and he died the night before; Feb. 27, 2013.  Well, we didn't know him personally but we could tell he was well liked since more and more people began to show up to lay flowers on the ground or light small glass candles with ventilated lids on them. 
 Now, in the west, a poet isn't a huge  celebrity, but in Latvia, poets, song writers and storytellers are more famous than politicians. These are the people who preserve the cultural heritage of the Latvian people...the only heritage that is really theirs to keep.  They have been occupied by so many other countries that to preserve Latvian music, arts, folklore, etc. is a big deal. These cultural icons are revered and honored by the Latvian people.  
A poet was a person in our neighborhood,In our neighborhood,  in our neighborhood,Oh, a poet was a person in our neighborhood....

Imants Ziedonis was more than just a poet. Highly educated in Soviet-occupied Riga, he also worked as a teacher, librarian and literary editor. Born in 1933, Ziedonis published his first major collection of poetry 'Zemes un sapņu smilts' ('Sand of earth and dreams') in 1961.  He rose to prominence by publishing three more books of poetry within the next 8 years. Always a bit of a Soviet dissident, Ziedonis considered defecting to the West but chose to remain in Latvia to help preserve Latvian literature in case the Soviet government got it into their minds to destroy it (something not unheard of).
In the 1970s,  Ziedonis became interested in Latvian folk tales.To study the folk culture he decided to build a house in the countryside. The very thought of building a privately owned  house was a defiant act in Latvia during the Soviet occupation, so the choice to do so was partially a political statement, but he was allowed to build the home.During the 70's he began to collect and write folk tales and children's books, endearing him to his countrymen even more. He walked a fine line in his poems and stories between dissidence and acceptance of the Soviet regime. He was awarded a National Poet prize by the Soviet government in 1977.He became a leading voice in the perestroika period near the end of the Soviet era and an outspoken advocate for the reemergence of Latvian culture. After Latvia got its independence, Ziedonis was awarded the Order of the Three Stars, the highest honor of civic merit in the nation. He wrote 163 books that have been translated into 38 languages and he wrote more than 400 songs performed by popular Latvian singers. All this acclaim accounts for the memorial that developed at the base of our building. 

The people first put the memorial on the side corner of the building....











...but soon people were leaving their candles and flowers on the front steps.

  The candle collection grew each day and the flames were really pretty at night.. 

 Every time we left the apartment we came back and saw new flowers on the steps.   One person left a peacock feather.

 Now imagine this ...by the end of the week,every step, top to bottom, was covered with candles and flowers. Candles were burning all week long. Luckily, they left space on the right to walk up but it was a fitting tribute to the well loved Latvian poet. 

An Olympic Gold Medalist is a person in our neighborhood,

in our neighborhood, 

in our neighborhood,

Yes, an Olympic Gold Medalist is a person in our neighborhood, 

A person that we meet each day.

Okay, we may not meet Uljana Seminova everyday but we do see her occasionally as we head down the stairs or are waiting outside. When we first moved in, the Young Single Adults  told us to be on the look-out for her since they knew she lived in our building.  It is hard to not see Uljana, who, at 7 foot tall and wearing a man's size 21 shoe, was the leading women's basketball player in the 1970's and 80's.  She was actually born in Lithuania (1952) but moved to Latvia where she played basketball for the Riga team during Soviet times. She lives a floor below us in our apartment building. 

Her Riga team won the Women's European Champions Cup 18 times. She won 2 gold medals (1976 & 1980) and 3 world championships for the USSR and never lost a game in official international competition.  She said on national television that it was a shame she couldn't have played for her "own country" but that was  "politics" and Latvia was a part of the Soviet Union at the time. 

She is well loved by the Latvian people; she was voted Most Popular Athlete in Latvia,...

 12 times!

In 1993, Uljana Semjonova was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, the first non-US woman to be given that honor. Uljana has been called the "gentle giant" on and off the court. On court, she was guarded aggressively (for obvious reasons), and according to one reporter, referee's often turned a blind eye to dirty play against her  because she was so big, she could "take care of herself". But Uljana never lost her temper, she just focused on playing the game well.  She has a reputation for having a friendly manner and we have noticed that ourselves. She is actually one of those people who will hold the door open for us if we are going out after her.  

We have learned a little about two of our neighbors,  Imants and Uljana, and it makes us look at the people around us a little differently. Each "neighbor" has knowledge or talents that we can learn from.  How many times have we lost opportunities to get to know our neighbors?  What about that oft over-looked commandment... love thy neighbor as thyself?  

We enjoyed learning about Imants Ziedonis and Uljana Semjonova but it makes us realize that every single person we meet is someone important to God. 
So, here is a question for you: Who lives in your neighborhood?  And what do you really know about them?

Banana Splits and Branch Conference

Banana splits are a rare thing in the Baltic...and rare things are usually desirable. 

Sometimes missionaries are called upon to help other missionaries out.   Elder Adams was made a Latvian District Council Member (in fact, he is the only council member besides the District Presidency). He wanted to help make the branch conference in Liepaja (Lee-a- pi-ya), Latvia, a special event. He planned a game to  teach  the responsibilities of each member of a branch council, thus helping members know the duties of each office in the church...a good learning activity. But somehow Elder & Sister Davis got mixed up in the whole thing...someone told the District we were driving  to Liepaja to help out and there you have it! We were then asked to teach the entire branch "how to be better teachers" during the 2nd hour of church.  Well, isn't that what CES missionaries are supposed to do?  Yes, we promote better teaching...

So we packed a suitcase on Friday and headed to our favorite Liepaja Hotel; 

The Vilhelmina.

 The owner actually remembered us (we had given him some church literature last time) and he warmly welcomed us back. We were given a room with a bathtub! But the fascinating  thing about this very old building is the original staircase.  We had an attic suite on the third floor and as steep as the stairs were, we didn't mind climbing them because we loved the room.  The stairs are so old, the wood has been worn down by the feet of all the people who once lived here. This was the view of the staircase from our balcony...

                                                                                   ...and our room, complete with two skylights. Look at all this space!  The added bonus of the Vilhelmina?  It is so reasonably priced.

 So we needed to find a place where we could get something to eat. We set off from our hotel on foot and within a minute we found this place...

 Pastnieka Maja (Postman's House). The food was so good we ate here twice on our trip. The menu tells the story of the postman who once lived here.

Sister Davis loved the spinach and pumpkin soup.  It was so delicious, that it was hard to believe it was actually good for you.

This is the best part of a mission, visiting with new friends you have made. Missions  bond  you together with other missionaries in a way you can't imagine if you were back at home. We have become great friends with the Adams from Mapleton, Utah.

You can tell from this photo below, we both finally got haircuts.  Elder Davis got his usual no-nonsense haircut from Sister Davis and she got the deluxe treatment  from her wonderful stylist Svetlana.  Which just goes to prove that you do not have to speak the same language to get a good haircut from a Latvian/Russian stylist.

              

       A simple, elegant and tasty "postman's salad".

Sister Davis loves this "typical" Latvian winter shot, below. Those aren't flashlights in the photo, they are the reflectors that everyone in Latvia are required to wear in the winter so drivers can see you in the dark.  We forget we wear them until they "show up" in a picture.

The next day after Elder Adams did apartment checks for the young missionaries, we went sightseeing.  We started off at the harbor where there were still large chunks of ice floating around in the water.  BRRRR!

                                                                                               And we saw some of Latvia's Navy....

What a cute little torpedo-thing on this boat...

Lonely bicycle racks waiting for spring to arrive!

For lunch, we found the original Delisnack, one of our favorite restaurants in Riga. The first one opened in Liepaja and now there are at least two in Riga. They sell juicy burgers, great fries, spicy tacos & burritos and the best chicken strips around. 

The next day was Liepaja's Branch Conference. Liepaja used to have a lot of members, which is why they have a large and beautiful church building. Sometime around the collapse of the economy in 2008, many church members left  Latvia for jobs in other countries and others members just stopped coming to church.  The Branch has been slow to grow back to it's previous membership numbers, but at Branch Conference we were pleasantly surprised to see around 50 people attend.

President Scerbinins is a dedicated branch president who is a Russian native that married a Latvian girl from Liepaja.  He gave an excellent talk about self-reliance to his congregation. We of course, had our translator headphones on the whole time and struggled not to fall asleep to the drone of a faceless voice whispering in our ear. One of the members in Liepaja is from Indonesia. She met her Latvian husband online through a LDS singles website. Since they both speak English, the communicated by email, Skype and phone to get to know each other. They eventually got married, so every week there is at least one person that needs translation from Latvian to English in this branch. She is a marvel to us....she understands so little Latvian, yet she comes to church every week (she is the branch organist, a real blessing to the members here). 

The second hour, Elder & Sister Davis taught all the branch members, except the primary children, how to make their lessons and talks more interesting and spiritual.  Their branch president had told the District Presidency that his members were giving  uninspiring lessons on Sunday...so he wanted his members to learn how to be better teachers. We handed out a "Teaching Checklist", that members could check off as they prepared a lesson or gave a talk. Most of the tips are helpful with talks or lessons...like planning at least a week ahead of time, starting with a prayer and studying the scriptures on the assigned topic before you do anything else. Then we asked them about ways they could make their lessons more interesting. We shared story ideas, object lessons, parables, music, etc. that can spice up their lessons. But most importantly we stressed how important it is to get their students to think for themselves and gain their own testimony of what is being taught.  As one of our Apostles, Boyd K. Packer said, "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior."

The third hour, Elder Adams divided the whole branch into two "teams". Each team member was assigned a calling in the church...from branch president down to primary child. As responsibilities for each calling were read from strips of paper, the team had to decide which one of them had that specific responsibility. They all had to think about what other people in the branch had to do so they could understand how the members all have to work together to make a branch run smoothly. 

It was a great activity...and the best thing? Elder Adams likened what they learned to making a BANANA SPLIT! Each person is a different part of the banana split, whether you are ice-cream, chocolate syrup, banana, whipped-cream, or the cherry on top.  

You can imagine the delight of the branch members when they were told everyone gets a banana split before they go home. Excitement rippled through the congregation...even though the children had probably never heard of a banana split. We had some members ask us, "Why is it called a banana split?" We didn't have to tell them, we showed them!

Since the cutest banana split eaters were the children...that is what most of our pictures are of. 

 

Young....

...and old can enjoy Banana Splits!

"The priesthood discussing important matters...

"What's your favorite topping ... chocolate or caramel?

 Elder Adams, President Martins Birkenfeld and President Yuris Kovalevskiys

 Elders Driggs, Schmidt, & McClellen enjoying the "fruits" of their labors.

Elder McClellen and Elder Stucki, Russian speakers, with their little friend.

This little girl was fascinated by the funny-talking American missionaries and followed us around everywhere we went. That's why you see her in several of the photos above. 

As we were cleaning up, we found her eating the peanuts. Spoonful after spoonful of nuts went into her mouth.  Oh  well, "sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don't"! 

This was the little girls mom...

And then it was time for a missionary photo-op.  Ever since Sister Davis heard that missionary  mothers check her blog for pictures of their Baltic missionary kids, she tries to include pictures of them in her posts. So here it is, all you Liepaja missionary moms:

 Sisters Peterson and Nelson, Elders Driggs, Stucki, Schmidt and McClellen

Wait! We forgot the senior missionaries....everybody in place! 

Dedicated missionaries...