Letter - December 20, 2010

Su Šventom Kaledom!!

Hello Family!

Merry Christmas to you all. This last Saturday, a young girl which Sister Alldredge and I taught over the summer was baptized. We both wish that we could have been there. It is wonderful to see the Lord preparing the hearts of the people here, little by little. We are seeing some hopeful investigators sprout out of the snow, like daisies. Speaking of which, we had daisy tea last night at an investigator's house. The word for daisies is equivalent of "calm flowers," or calmies. Kind of cute, eh?

We enjoyed a wonderful zone conference, enjoying a Christmas pageant afterwards. Sister Alldredge and I were Shepherds. Each zone conference is like a re-charge session. The spirit has a way of speaking to the heart that is unlike anything else. There are questions, trials, and worries so deep that I find myself overwhelmed and unable to express them. The spirit really can act like a balm, drawing out the natural man, consoling, cleansing, and really changing one's desires. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission. I have a testimony of the power of prayer.

Yesterday at Church, I was feeling troubled that someone a few weeks before had walked into the church, looked around, and left before any of the missionaries talked to him. I was so busy running around with church preparations that I didn't say anything to him either. I said a prayer, promising that if I ever saw someone new in the church building, I would immediately introduce myself. During the third hour, I saw someone in the foyer, and instead of talking myself out of it, I went and talked to her. Turns out she was just passing by after doing some grocery shopping. We are hoping to meet with her and her family before Christmas. I know that we are surrounded by opportunities everywhere to do missionary work. Last night we went knocking. We are focusing on finding and teaching worthy males who can become Melchizedek priesthood holders. I felt a desire to pray for this specifically, and we were able to teach two lessons to men last night. I know that the Lord is waiting anxiously to bless us if I will just exercise the faith to express the desires of my heart.

I am so excited for Christmas. I know that my Redeemer lives. I am so grateful to be able to serve Him at this time. I could not ask for better learning experiences, or a more wonderful people to serve. We visited in the home of a mother and son. She's 73. He's got to be in his 30's. They live in one room without a kitchen. There was no where to sit together. The walls were decorated with pasted grocery ads. Donatas, the Son, has autism. He is very intelligent, speaks four languages, but sometimes his thoughts get stuck on a track that just repeats itself. He had brought his mom to church the previous Sunday, and we set a time to meet. He seems to already have read the book of Mormon, or most of it, and has even received a spiritual witness that it is true. His mother has a desire to know more of our message because of the impact it had on her son. The spirit has really prepared this family.

Love,

Sister Paul

Letter - December 13, 2010

My hands are still numb....Dear Family,

The Baltics are a beautiful place around Christmas time. I am immensely enjoying the opportunity to serve here. However imperfect my offering may be, I feel the Lord really does accept my sacrifice. I feel a sort of longing, maybe a sadness today, as I think of less effective or less diligent moments in my service. However, I know that there will come from these reflections a more committed Sister Paul.

We've been teaching a wonderful progressing investigator. His name is Gediminas. He is one of the first doors I harvested while serving with Sister Edgin. He has read through first Nephi and is living the Word of Wisdom. It's great to see him searching one step at a time for the truthfulness of this message. We always have to teach with members present since he's a male. At the end of the Word of Wisdom lesson, I said, " If you will keep this commandment, you will become more sensitive." Of course, Gedeminas got this confused look on his face, since, by inference, I had just called him insensitive. I was sure glad the participating member chimed in, "She means, spiritually sensitive, that you'll be able to feel the spirit testify to you."

The Lord sends us wonderful experiences to keep us going. Last Saturday Sister Alldredge and I were searching for a couple named Hortas and Irma. Their teaching record had mysteriously ended in 2006-ish, and our efforts late on a previous evening had ended in frozen failure. We returned, found the building, and tried the doorbell at the bottom of the stairwell. There was no ring and the apartment seemed vacant. We then knocked a few neighboring stairwells and headed off to our next activity. As we neared the bus stop, I looked up to see a passing man with a pleasant look on his face. I said hello, and he seemed to recognized us as missionaries. We talked, and I asked if we could come by and share a Christmas message with him. He said "Sure. Here's my number *******, and my name is Hortas. If my wife answers, her name is Irma." Our jaws just dropped. We told him that we had prayed that morning to find him. He smiled. " My wife and I have been living near Kalingrad for a couple years and have just returned." We are excited to go by to see him tonight.

I've got to run. Thanks for all your prayers.

Love,

Sister Paul

Letter - December 6, 2010

The Perfect Picture for your Christmas Card!
Dear Family,

I got a kick out of how wonderfully Amish Sister Alldredge and I appear in this picture. Transfers were last week, and we're now serving together in Vilnius. In this picture, we're in Riga, not Lithuania.

Thanks for all you're doing

Sister Paul