Baltic Misison

May 17th, 2010

2010-05-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

I don't know if I have written about the woman I am about to describe before. If I have, just skip the first part. So she is a less active who is really, really fat. Her house is disgustingly dirty, and when we go over to her house, I dread breathing the air. I think the last time we went there was the worst because I was fighting the gag reflex. She smokes and drinks coffee, recently found out that President Hinckley is not the prophet anymore, and has a lot of grease and cockroaches in her house. So we visit this woman once every six weeks or so. This was Sister Gomez's first time and so when we were describing it w/o the cockroaches she was all for cleaning the house/apartment for this woman. And then we went over and offered. She accepted. So this Friday we are going over and cleaning her apartment. We are going to bring masks and gloves and all kinds of... cleaning supplies so that we don't actually have to touch anything. Unfortunately they tricked me into being the coackroach killer. First of all because Sister Gomez is terrified of them, and Sister Reber because I was killing ants a few days ago while waiting for Elders. Gross. Pray for strength. It probably is going to be more serious than I think it is going to be.

So, some first this week:
A woman said hi to me first (before I did)
And a tramvai went backwards while I was on it.
We have a gym! in our apartment building

Attached are some pictures I took this past week. We observed that the dandelions and ginormous here compared to the ones in the US (at least in Texas and Utah). So see attached. The Sun was out and the Elders were jacketless for the first time in 8 months. It was really weird. So we were walking across a field and we walked passed three men sleeping in the field. The last picutre is a veiw off the 17th floor of our builing! Its not winter anymore!!!

|:D
Sister Keeling/Jalina

May 10, 2010

2010-05-10T14:11:00.001-07:00

Some cool things that happened this past week:
1. Went to Jurmala - a city on the beach
saw some goats and found this cool toilet which The three of us stood over. It was basically a toilet without a place to sit, so you straddled it if you needed to go. See attached picture.
And then after talking to some people we were trying to find there, we went to the beach and took some 'jumping pictures'. Sister Reber really likes to take Jumping pictures. I attached some of the coolest ones.
2. I got to talk to my favorite people in the world! Unfortunately I didn't get to talk to Marc or Preston (why are they on mission's at the same time!?) Attached is some flowers we got for Mother's Day. Happy Mother's day Mom. Your my favorite mother in the whole world! These flowers are for you.
It was really interesting hearing my companions'parents' voices for a little bit. super weird. Also super weird hearing my first name so many times in one hour. AKWARD!!!
In more boring events... we had Zone conference. I usually get like a spiritual boost, but this time, I just wasnt' 'partaking' as Mom would say. I don't know why it was just boring....

Sorry for the quality of this letter, I am not in a writing mood. Hope you enjoy the pictures and I look forward to next week already!

Have a good one! (one = what ever you want it to (day, week, hour, month....))
Maasa Kiilina

May 3rd, 2010

2010-05-10T14:07:00.001-07:00

Dear All,

I am really excited for this Sunday. I hope the phone call goes through. In my excitement I can't really remember a whole lot about what happened this past week, but I will do my best.

I am staying where I was. I am in a threesome I have been in before with Sister Reber (my last companion) and Sister Gomez (an MTC companion). We are doing well. We got a really nice bigger apartment for the three of us. It was such a pain to move, but it is a really fun apartment with a balcony. Šince we moved in I have not been able to sleep through a single night. And I am pretty sure in the past week, all but one day, I gave up around six and just got up and went to the other room to read. I am really tired!!

The girl I wrote about last week got baptized, so that was a ball of stress and a half.

I think that is all for now.

Love you, have a great week so you can tell me about it,

Jalina

April 26th, 2010 Psalms 89:47

2010-04-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

So as far as missionary work goes Transfers are this week. and its perfect timing. We have 2 people who are have accepted baptismal dates (one for Friday) (liana). And The other one's name is Vesma (for the 22nd). This means I am going to get transferred (the pattern thus far in my mission life). I'm kind of nervous. During my interview with President Dance (mission president) he asked how long I had been here, and I told him, and he was a little surprised and said that that was a long time....) AHH!!!

Mom, I would be happy to give you my phone number and time to call for mother's day, but if I get transferred, it will change. If I don't get transferred it is the same as last time (which is on the blog, please remove it). I can't wait to talk to y'all! (/ all y'all)

In the missionary's life:

As far as food goes this past week, I have found you can eat the skin of kiwi's and it doesn't taste bad, or really have a bad texture (which is what I was most afraid of). I thought Mom would like this. You don't have to peel the kiwi's for Valentine's Day anymore. (Janessa, just give it a try first don't complain about it. Then if you really don't like it you can use all the energy you want in peeling it.)

This past week was also the great service day of Latvia, which basically meant that all the people that can't stand all the litter that built up of the winter because of drunks, drug addicts, and smokers, go out and pick it up. It was gross. There is a forest around the church in our area, and we cleaned up around it. We found several exposed drug needles, tons of smashed and whole alcohol bottles, diapers, clothes, cigarettes, car parts (don't know how they got into the middle of the forest), and a big chunk of kitchen. I was surprised by how many string cheese packages were in the forest. I had seen string cheese in the store, but I didn't figure the people who would be in the forest would leave that many rappers. Then we figured out they were drug needle cases. I don't think anyone got poked this year. I heard that either last year or the year before thought a missionary did and may have gotten Hep B from it. But I think it was a false positive. I attached a picture where I tricked some kids into raking a path in the forest, I supervised. Also attached is a picture of my companion with a bottle she picked up.

Last Wednesday was also very eventful. We had a bunch of appointments and we had to keep traveling back and forth between two areas and we got hit on by 5 drunk men before 6 o'clock in the evening. It was really funny. The first few we ignored pretty well, but the last one I harassed. He asked us for a cigarette and then started to hit on us. Then I asked if his wife was happy (pointing at his wedding ring). He told me that the ring was a gift to himself. It was super funny. I put a contact card in his pocket and we hopped on a tramvai (a form of public transportation on tracks).

This past week I finished reading the old testament. Super interesting. I am going to finish the New Testament This week and I have like 50 pages of Jesus the Christ left so I think I will probably finish that too. Then I will only have like 100 pages left of the missionary library. woo!! Just thought I would let you know what I do in my 'spare time' to stay focused. I don't know what I am going to do after I finish it. I don't think I am going to want to start over again.

Your Favorite Missionary,

Jalina/ Sister Keeling

April 19th, 2010

2010-04-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

a picture depciting spring that is not too boring. It has my companion in it. I think this is the first one with flower buds in it.

-Jalina

And one more thing. So last week 'we' were helping the elders clean out the baptisimal font, and when I say we I mean sister Reber and when I say the Elders I mean Elder Craven (it is his first transfer) His companion (Elder Clark) and I were handing them stuff, and mostly just watching them do it. So in my and my companions micheiviousness I was able to capture the attached picture. He is so innocent, it was quite funny.

April 19th, 2010

2010-04-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

Sorry for the crappy letter last week. So here is what I could have written:

This week started off great. We convinced the Elders in our area to play ultimate Frisbee (hence the pictures I sent). It was super fun. It wasn't until after I had emailed that I realized how girly I have become. I broke/cracked two of my nails. enough said....
During that game of Ultimate Frisbee Sister Reber hurt her knee and so this past week we have enjoined walking a little slower up stairs. She gave me the opportunity to help her up the stairs one night, so I carried her up 4 flights of stairs not realizing it was the wrong stair well. So then I carried her up the correct stairwell.

In other events this week I was told that I am average height! What a compliment, right? I don't know why we were talking about it, but the investigator just told me I was not short but average, or at least very nearly average.

So now that I have watched conference in both languages I can say that President Uchtdorf's talk was my favorite closely followed by Elder Holland. And Mom, you were right. I hate to say it, but as Elder Martino said, and you told me from a young age don't shift the blame. It was really hard to listen to conference and not think about home. So much about mothers, fathers, and families-- go figure. And I am really excited for Mother's day and I am trying really hared not to get trunky (less than XX days to go!!!).

So some stuff for this week...

We saw a squirrel. It was the first squirrel I have seen in a long time it has be nice to see signs of spring all over. I have been taking pictures of buds, which I will not attach, but which are very... inspiring to me.

So I have not heard a lot about this whole plane crash thing where all the government leaders were on one plane that crashed, but in church on Sunday sirens all over the city started to go off, so we all stood up and just listened in silence to pay respect for the sign of their funeral. It was interesting. The whole volcano blowing up also effected us here in the Baltics. We had a CES couple that couldn't leave (to go home) because of it.

A closely related to that couple, they gave me an Inside Out CD. I remember listening to this with Ashley Brock, and my High School friends... good times.

I should have attached a video we took of a cat opening a door. I hope it works for y'all. I also attached a picture of a toilet in the same area that was a communal toilet for the people in that stairwell. gross. I don't think I agree with Marc/Leo on the whole don't write as much until you get home. Especially with me. First of all I won't remember everything, and second of all, hopefully there will be things to talk about. I think Marc/Leo is just being lazy. But I have decided not to send any more pictures of myself home. Marc/Leo can't really change that as he has not been sending them home (at least as far as I can tell (BTW thanks for the pic of the car that had it's tires stolen)). I am glad y'all got my package. That was really fast, I only sent it last Monday (the 12th)!

So just to be clear, I don't know if I said it, but that guy who I thought was brain dead who is going to live, I think is home now... I am trying to not to cry (jk). I just can't believe he went from having 'four days to live' to home! Ridiculous.

All for now

Maasa Kiilina

April 12th, 2010

2010-04-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

This week was normal. Nothing really cool to report or say. We had Zone Conference and General Conference. I still have not had the opportunity to watch all of it in English. We watched one session, and not even the full thing. I enjoyed it in Latvian though....

Ran into a lady from England today who is also serving a mission here in Latvia for the Salvation Army. That was interesting. She has been here with 3 children (ages 9-14) for 5.5 years! Of course they get payed to do it.... but yeah all for this week.

Sister Keeling

April 5th, 2010

2010-04-27T14:14:00.001-07:00

Dear all,

So last week after church sister Riber and I went to a man's house whose wife said she would be interested in meeting with us. So we went last week and she was 'occupied' and this week as I was talking to the husband, a drunk russian man proposed to sister Reber. After she broke his broke his heart with a rejection, he asked for her name tag. It was great. We had a great laugh.

So now that the snow is all gone (see attached picture)! The missionaries in our area took some time to enjoy the nice weather. I found an ultimate frisbee I put under my bed in November or so and so I got it out today we played Ultimate frisbee with the Elders in our area (see attached). I think I am going to be sore for a couple days.

In other events... Happy Easter! Had a great weekend with a branch activity which consisted of a very short skit about the atonement and eating food latvian style (basically cut up vegetables with fresh dill on them). And then we roasted sausages on a fire in the rain (see attached picture). The people here are really good at dying eggs. We were given a bunch of boiled dyed eggs that were not solid colors. I am amazed how they do it. They also have this game with them where two people each with a boiled egg hit the ends together and who ever's egg cracks looses and gives their egg to the other person.

So in the white handbook it says that some of the best times to find people is on weekends and holidays. Probably because families are together and have 'time'. Well, not in Riga. With good weather and time, people leave and go to the country, where missionaries are not. Leaving few people in the city. It is weird to be in Riga today (monday) because all the banks are closed and their is like no one out. I am excited for the holidays to end. (me==heartless)

I am excited to watch conference. We haven't had a chance yet, so.... we will see on that. I think I will end up watching it in Latvian before I see it in English. I hope y'all are well and happy and had a great Easter. Found out that Leo (brother) is getting home 3 days before I do. AHHH!!! I am trying not to get trunky.

Maasa Keeling

March 29th, 2010

2010-04-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

This week was incredably soul harrowing. I

I am heartless. This week our investigator (Liana) who has brain and boy problems had something traumatic happen in her life. Her boyfriend/fiance/x-boyfriend was stabbed several times and when I talked to her on the phone I was told he was in a coma and was only expected to live 4 more days. When she told me, I just thought--good, that means no more boy problems. He has recovered a bit and I think is awake now, but I am more concerned about myself now-- heartless. Which happens to correspond to a palm reading a member did for me. My palm also shows that I am heartless. What do you do....

Maasa Kiilina

March 22, 2010

2010-04-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

So we just had transfers again. Sister Largey is now home in the great state of CA. It took her 50 hours, but she did it!

I have the joy of staying where I am (Imanta) and I have a companion I have already been with. Her name is Sister Reber (Reeber). She is a little older than me and from Arizona.
So a few weeks ago I wrote that Latvia was starting to melt. Well, I was tricked. I just thought it was. It got really cold and before this last little week we had snow at least every other day. this past week it snowed maybe once and Latvia really has started to melt. I am kind of sad. And also disgusted. A winter's worth of cigarette butts was covered by the snow, and as it melts I am sickened by how much people smoke. We were sitting on a bus waiting for something and I looked out the window and saw a middle-aged woman lighting a cigarette. Normally not a strange event, but what caught my attention was how the cigarette was. It was the filter and a little bit of white. She got it lit and sucked as much as she could from it. Then she reached in her pocket and pulled out another one-- and did the same thing. We were there a few minutes and I just watched as she did this over and over again. how said. So, to you smokers, this is when you know you have a problem. She had gathered the used cigarette butts from garbage and the ground to smoke because she couldn't afford to buy cigarettes. But I guess that makes sense if you want to die soon, especially since cigarettes are their own filters for third of a smoke, so the last two thirds are the most toxic filled nasty you could get.

I had a first this past Sunday. We had an intermediate hymn! It was super weird. It was the first time I've had one of those in a long time. And we even stood up! crazy.

Missionary work is going fine. A bunch of our investigators are sick, so we have more time to find new people, so it is going well! Remaining optomistic and trying to enjoy the sun. I feel as if it is a long lost friend and I am a piece of paper....

Maasa Kiilina

March 15th, 2010

2010-04-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

I got fed up with being a good little Mormon sister missionary. Sister Largey too. So we went and got tattoos! Just kidding. But we did put on some biker tattoos she got for Christmas. It was super fun. We each had 4. We had matching dragon arm tattoos. I had a star on the top of my back, she had a funky tribal symbol there. I put a cougar on my hip, and a dagger skull thingy on my calf. And she put a skull and cross bones on her foot.

I am pretty sure a few weeks ago I wrote about sister Largey getting fleas, well now I have them. This is the first time I have ever really had them on the mission. My first transfer both my trainers had them pretty bad having over 100 bites a piece and sister Hermann my last companion got them two months ago when she was with me and got about 50. I have been able to count my total flea bites on two hands, until this past week. They really itch. A word to the wise: don't get fleas.

This past week we had zone conference. It was fun. I was pressed into playing the piano and they picked two fast songs, and I suck at the fast songs in the hymn book. Honestly I suck at fast songs in general. I realized this past week that I have almost been playing the piano for 20 years (just 19 for now). I really suck for someone who has been playing that long. I read the parable of the talents this morning as I was thinking about this. The two guts like double the amount of talents they have, I feel like I have been given a lot of talents but that I am happy with mediocrity. I have gained a few more, so I went from like 5 to 7 and a half. Lame. I was thinking about this because I had two dreams last night involving music probably as a result of piano stress. In the first I think I was randomly asked to play the piano by Elder Perry for General Conference (like he asked me at general conference to do it). I went to do it and I couldn't get my fingers to do what I needed them to do and it sucked and I almost ruined general conference. And the second one, I again was asked on the spot to play for some musical thing and I went up to play and there was music and everything, but it was for a meat piano. which had some random oranges on it. I couldn't get the meet to make a sound and I couldn't play the music correctly. It was terrible. So develop your talents.

This week I was also told I have a prideful spirit. I was told this by an investigator a few lessons after I told her I was a little bit prideful. I'm a little hurt, but not surprised. Pride is a tricky thing. Beware!

The celebrate this great holiday here called women's day. The branch celebrated it this past week and as sister missionaries we felt we should go. So we did. It was so funny. We have a general authority in our branch and the district president and their families. So the theme was the opening of a restaurant in book of Mormon times. So as we came in they gave each of us a flower and took our coats (still snowing here). We then sat down and they gave us menus with book of Mormon themed food. It really didn't matter what you ordered, each course was the same. There was a salad with vegetables all over it and yummy green sauce of some kind (called alligator blood). And then the main course was this random grain that I have never heard of or seen before. And then a fruit cup thingy with whip cream. It was actually really good. The district president was the 'chef' and even came out and visited each table of women to make sure everything tasted good. And the general authority did the music. He sat at the piano while a recording of piano music went on in the background. Every once in while he would break into song. And for a Latvian he has a great voice. It was very entertaining.

So my companion is going home this week. So we bought this drink that we couldn't read exactly what it was because it was in Russian, but it was alcohol free, so we decided to be bold and get it. It was bright toxic looking green. It was black liquorish flavored--gross. So we fed it to our Elders at district meeting. She is stressed out and in turn is stressing me out. I want to sleep.

:d
Maasa Kiilina

Sister missionary action

2010-03-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

So in the adventures of knocking we have come across a bouquet of smells. This week, the not quite identifiable smell came from knocking. So we ring the door bell, a minute or less and a lady opens the door. As she does so, a smell hits us like a wave. It was my turn to talk, so I endured without pulling a face, but after her telling us she was Russian Orthodox, she said that she would not be interested in talking about God. So she shut the door. After words sister Largey and I just looked at each other and made the nasty smell face at each other. It smelled like nasty fart. A lot of nasty fart. Continuing down the stair well, we could still smell it and identified it as potato gas. I don't know what we can learn from this, but... yeah.

I didn't write about it last week, but it happened again, and it was fun, so I decided to write about it. Last Sunday night and last night Sister Largey and I were unable to get to sleep. Last Sunday we got up and stretched, lit some candles, and opened the window (in the freezing cold) for fresh air, trying everything we could to get sleepy, but failing miserably. Last night was a little less... effortful. We got up after lying in bed for over and hour and a half and drank warm milk with honey in it (not that good FYI). Then we played cards with the windows open for 2 hours after making fries and ice cream creations. It was super fun. And today I am not that tired. I look forward to sleeping tonight though.

So, I feel like I am getting a lot of action for a sister missionary. This week I was kissed by two Russian men. One I could have might have been avoided, but the other not so much. The first was maxims. For those who know him. I should just stay away from him, he just came up to me hugged me and then kissed me. It was super funny. The Latvian elders were there and just stared with dumb struck faces. I was really surprised as well. The other was an really old man. I saw him come in part way through English and went to see if he needed help (I didn't recognize him). Well, of course he didn't speak Latvian, or really English, and I don't speak Russian, so we settled with bad German. It was fun. After English with Maxims there as a translator, he comes up to me and says some stuff to me including calling me clever because I apparently have a big forehead, gave me some chocolate and a kiss on the cheek thanking me for my kindness. Again the Latvian elders were just shocked. I was too, but this time it was a little bit more... OK, because at least he was a nasty old man with no possible implications. Maxims is single and a counselor in the District presidency. So awkward...

So My companion is going home, which kind of explains her insomnia, but for me I cannot even begin to guess. But as part of the going home process we are enjoying things we wouldn't normally do. We are going to drink a lot of stuff we have feared. And conveniently enough, we have disposal shot glasses in our apartment. We are going to drink many different kinds of dairy products, such as kefirs (a different form of rotten milk) and other random drinks. I will try and remember to write about anything really interesting

March 1st, 2010

2010-03-01T15:34:00.000-08:00

Apparently while the world is being torn apart, Latvia is leaving the ice age, i.e. melting. We were told to get some rubber boots by the members, but I think I will just have wet feet for a few weeks and get over it. Or I will build a boat to be able travel on the side walks. This past week was fairly traumatizing in that my boots broke. The zipper just came undone from the bottom when it was all zipped up. So, I took them to a shoe fixing place and now they are all better. But I wore regular shoes that I bought before the mission which are really not adequate for walking really, but I made it. Luckily Latvia was only partially flooded for this whole thing, so my feet were only partially soaked.
So, I was lying in bed last night thinking about what to write home, and I decided to write about some interesting things my companion and I have talked about the past few weeks. For some reason we talk a lot about the old people here in Latvia. It is interesting, for those who don't know, Latvia is basically a large senior citizen community. So y'all can probably imagine that we talk about. Old people, (especially women) with facial hair, that the smell either like garlic, body odor, or a combination there of; facial deformities such as giant moles and skin tags; false teeth. We were talking about how we can improve Latvia and help it. And somehow one of the first things mentioned was the euthanizing of these old people. That may sound bad, but...yeah. Usually I fall asleep pretty fast, to the annoyance of my companions. For those who have slept in the same room with me, that is one reason, the second is that some people like to talk. So last night while having trouble sleeping we ended up talking about the apostles and how they are holding up physically. It was a very interesting conversation.
In other interesting events, we went to go find a member we had not seen in a while, or really ever for that matter. We had their address and so we got into their building and after going through a small maze found their apartment. They weren't home. So Sister Largey started writing a note to leave them and a girl and her mom come down the stairs. Now this may sound like the beginning of one of those amazing missionary stories, but wait. So we look up and the mom makes eye contact, looks at our name tags and kind of giggles. Mumbles something about no one being home and leaves the building (we were on the first floor). They were Jehovah's witnesses who had gotten in the building to 'proslyte'. It was super funny. They had a bunch of flyers/leaflets in their hands. It was really... just a special experience. We all got a good laugh out of it.

All,
Maasa Kiilina

Feb 22nd, 2010

2010-03-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

Dear All,

I was super sick this past week. We had teaching appointments we had to go to, but we spent as much time as we could inside. My throat hurt so bad... I couldn't talk without pain, and I would wake up several times each night because my throat hurt. I drank a half jar of honey, not all at once, but by teaspoons in cups of tea. I am so sick of chamomile, but that was the only thing we had that tasted okay with honey. I am mostly over it, now Sister Largey is getting sick. We have had a lot of fun inside though. I taught Sister Largey Hand and Foot and she really likes it, so sometimes we play a hand or two at night now. We tried to play gin later, and it didn't work very well because our minds were in a hand and foot mindset and we couldn't get good at gin again.

Last preparation day I went to get my hair cut and I decided to get it all dyed one color. I thought a darkish brown with a hint of red, so that is what I told the hair lady. I was really excited. When she was finished dying it and everything she took off the towel and she was like- see not to red, but reddish. It is so red!! See the attached picture. Luckily I am in the Baltics where the color is still conservative, comparatively.

So I almost peed my pants this week. We invited one, Elders Gvido Senkans to a teaching appointment. I have been serving in this area for about 8 months and have never used this man in a lesson. He is a corporate lawyer. And I never thought about it till after this lesson, but he is also a general authority. Sister Largey knows more about his position, to me he is just the man who sits on the stand. But we had him help us with a lesson, whew. Terrifying. I am a bit more humble now. He also brought his 8-9 year old autisic son. He was cute. So, I can now say that I have taught with a General authority.

I think that is all for now.

Maasa Kilina

Februarty 15th, 2010

2010-03-01T15:16:00.000-08:00

Dear All,
Life is not good. I have been sick for the past week and a half and I am tired of being sick. It happened to coincide with transfers, so my 'new' companion is enjoying the break. At first it was just sniffles and a cough I really didn't feel sick at all. And luckily I still don't really feel sick. But the cough has become a lot worse and we can't go out unless we have an appointment because of it. My voice is terrible and I have been having problems sleeping.
But besides that, life is good. Sister Largey and I have been playing hand and foot, it is really fun. She totally smashed me in out last 10000 point game. The dynamics are really different with just two people.
So we had an adventure which really helped with my sickness. We walked in the cold for 40 minutes to get to a train to go to a city about 30 minutes by train away. We then proceeded to walk around trying to find a less active, as it was getting darker and darker, who we did not end up finding, for an hour and a half. we luckily caught a random country bus that took us back to the train station. We caught the next train and thought that the fastest way would be to get off in an area which looked industrial (train tracky) and walk across the train tracks. We were the only people to get off and no one got on at that stop. There was a wall the way we wanted to go, so we had to look around to find a way to get home. It was still dark. So we find an industrial-like bridge and start going up it. It is covered in over a foot of snow and ice. It was fun getting up. It was even more fun trying to get down the other side upright. It was like a balconied stair case, so there were 3-4 places where it leveled off in the middle. We tried the first step of staits up right, but basically slid on our feet down. We could feel the edge of every step under our boots, so we were concerned about sliding on our buts. But we tried it. It was fun. The landings were not clear of snow or leveled off by people walking on them and I deffinately got snow up between my thighs. It as super cold. We finally made it home. about 4 hours later. While about we thought we would taste the snow. That was a mistake. It was fresh snow, but already tasted like dirt. So beware!!! Because I was sick we stopped and picked up some hot choclate ingredients and honey and tea. I don't think I have ever drinken so many drinks with honey in them as I have the past few days. I am not sure it is working.
I also fell down 3 times this past week. Twice from Ice and once because I was not watching where I was going. I turned to look at a little kid and kept walking and walked into a cement thing about the height of my hips. And it was right in front of the Walmart of Latvia on a Saturday. It was super embarrassing and painful. Luckily no lasting damage. I will be okay.
Something that they do here, which I was suprised is roof shoveling. I guess it makes sense, but I have seen a lot of it this past week. People on their roofs, shoveling them. Not just residential either. I have seen them on top of like industrial buildings, like Walmart-like-buildings, shoveling snow off the roofs. Highly entertaining.
O something wonderful happened this past week. A girl I started teaching in another area got baptized. I did not get to teach her the whole time but I got to see the begginning and the end. She is so great. She is studying to be a doctor. She was lutheran, but as she gained a testimony of the book of Mormon (which she compleltely read before she was baptized, she finished the day of), she understood what she needed to do and had her name removed from her Lutheran church. She is amazing. She made so many changes in her life to be clean and choose the right. I love her! I think that is all for this week.
Maasa Kilina

Feb 8th, 2010

2010-02-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

Dear All,
Life is just trucking along. This past week a lot happened. We had transfers on Wednesday and I am now in.... Imanta (the same place). So this will be my 5th transfer here. I have a different companion though. She was my trainer and now it is her last transfer. I am going to try really hard not to be trunky, but I promise nothing. Her Name is Sister Largey. She is from California.
It has been a fun week. We finally got all her stuff over and somehow my companion left all her underwear. If she asks I did not write this. So we had to take it over to her, she is just in the next area over, (30 minutes by bus). None of us were sick yet, and not now, but me and my old companion both got sick on Thursday and just didn't want to get out of bed or really continue living. We saw no end to the sickness, but we got over it. It was like a 2 day suffer as much as you can thing. We were better by Saturday. Which was Zone Conference. It was super fun. Got to see all the missionaries in Latvia. It was really cool. Its been cold...snowey. It has been good I guess. I just looked at my companions letter and her first line about transfers was that she got transferred to the butwhole of the mission. I think I would almost agree. this is a really hard area. Luckily we have a few investigators and one who is planning on getting baptized.
I have been enjoying reading the book of Mormon. We just finished the war chapters and Wow. I loved them. I remember in the past hating them, but this time I was just in awe. And now we are in Heleman and wow! I feel like I have never read it the way it should be read. What an amazing book. I hope everyone is happy and more or less warm.

Jalina

February 1st, 2010

2010-02-01T16:24:00.000-08:00

Dear all,
So a couple funny stories. So we were teaching english class and one of the students asked what winnie the pooh meant in english, and somehow we ended up teaching them about the word poo. So we talked about that for a while and then they said a word which we didn't know. So to explain a recent member who is just really cute. She is a little taller than me and probably 60 said is like when someone says "F**-you". So we figured out that it meant crude. It was just shocking. I have heard it more here in real life (i.e. not in movies) that I did in the US, I just didn't expect to hear it from her. Sister Hermann and I just started laughing (which probably wasn't the best response). It was just hilarious. She really is learning English pretty well, and she said she hears it in movies all the time.
So Saturday was a young women's activity. We got to go because we have a couple of investigators with teenage daughters. It was so much fun. We are making books from scratch. We made the paper and the convers this week, next week: the binding. My fingers are still slightly in pain from the needle work I had to do for the covers.
So many of you may have forgotten, but I did not. I turned 23 this past week. To celebrate we started our day off at 6:29, when the elders called to sing happy birthday, in a 2part harmony. It was good. We worked out a little. I had chocolate cerial for breakfast. Sister Hermann stayed up late the night before to 'sudy' quote unquote. She decorated with toliet paper banners and lipstick on the mirrors. It was great. Then we got ready, and studied, and then we went to do service for the Red Cross. So, I got to wear jeans. After that we all (elders includede) went back to our appartment and made pizza and played some card games. It was fun. We then had a bunch of lessons the rest of the day. It was fun. Latvians really like birthdays. So everyone who knew was like 'ahh'. Very unJalina. It is so important to latvians here, that they were like, does your family get to call you? ha
So in the middle of the day on Wednes day, the sun was shining and it got to 3 degrees farehnheit. It was so good. It has warmed up since then. It has stayed above zero during the day for the past couple of days. It is supposed to get cold again. Last monday we took the opportunity in the frigid weather to walk across the river. So, now I can say I did have the faith to walk on water. It was so much fun. We went with a bunch of other missionaries. All for now.
maasa Kiilina

January 25, 2010

2010-02-01T16:14:00.000-08:00

Dear All,
Maris got baptized this past week. And he received the gift of the Holy Ghost. After the confirmation, he had this face like, wow. We asked him how he felt, and he said it felt like electricity through his body. IT was really cool.

So I don't know exactly when this happened, but Sister Hermann totally wiped out on the ice the other day. And now her hip and knee are bruised, it was so funny. We were crossing a street to a bus stop and suddenly she was horizontal in the air and then on the ground. We both just started laughing so hard. I fell a while ago, but it was a regular kind of fall, onto my but. Sister Hermann went horizontal and saw her legs in the air. It was hilarious. and a guy saw it happen and he tried not to laugh until he saw us laughing. So funny.
So I finally got over may laziness and converted the freezing temperature into Fahrenheit. We have been told, its not that cold it is only 0, and -10. And this past week it got down to -30 at night, and last night on the way home I saw a digital sign that said it was - 20. -30 is about -22 degrees Fahrenheit and 20 is -13 degrees. Ridiculously cold. So I am trying to stay warm. Our leaders have advised us to plan activities that will keep us indoors as much as possible, and for out door finding stuff, keep it to the day light hours (what little we have).
So this past week I had an epiphany. A lot of times when we contact or knock we get the response I am pareizticigs which I was told means Russian orthodox, but the translation means the right faith. Of course you wouldn't want to change if your religion is called the right faith. So I think if I ever go apostate and want to establish my own church, I will call it the more right faith. That would be the perfect excuse not to do anything.
Life is good I think. A mission is a harrowing experience. I am finding more about myself than I really cared to know before the mission. I am so sorry to you all for my attitude. I'm working on it.
Jalina

January 18th, 2010

2010-02-01T15:59:00.000-08:00

This past week I passed my 11th month mark and my 9th month in the field mark. That is the last time I will mention those types of things. I would like to not be reminded of it, if at all possible. Sister Hermann and I are having a blast. We have a few pretty good investigators and we are just trying to help them progress. And in our 'spare time' we are trying to find people.
Sister Hermann has acquired flees. She got them a couple weeks ago and every once and a while she would get a couple bites. But this past week she got attacked. She has over 35 bites below her knees. It is hilarious. I don't have any!
So here is a question that I don't understand. People here, and maybe everywhere think that because God is one, it doesn't matter what church you belong to. Because he is one. I don't inderstand how these two thought correlate. So, your homework is to respond to how those two statements might relate. That is all for now I think. The guy I wrote about is getting baptized this saturday. I'm excited for him. I'm getting old. Y'all are too.

Jalina

One last blurb. So in the summer there is a basketball court near our apartment building (it is actually there all year). It is enclosed in a fence and just a regular basketball court. We walked by it last night and we saw a family iceskateing on it. With iceskates and everything.l It was crazy. They had shoveled off all the snow and it was really a thick layer of ice that had naturally formed on top of the basketball court area. Hilarious.

January 11th, 1010

2010-02-01T15:52:00.000-08:00

So p-day on Monday. I like it. It makes the week go so much faster. And it helps us focus on getting people to church on Sunday. I really like it. Mondays were always a really slow day for us anyway, and as far as number of lessons, Monday used to rarely help at all. It usually was a full finding day.
In other events, this past week we had Zone Conference. It was awesome. Normally zone conference is either all the latvians, or all the missionaries in Latvia. So either about 25 or 35-40 missionaries at zone conference. This past time, it was like 10-15 people. It was really small. We sat around a table reading from the scriptures and talking about how we can be better missionaries. It was awesome. The spirit was amazing. We had an awesome pot luck lunch of soup. Sister Hermann and I made cornbread. It was so good. I have a new favorite soup!

So mom asked me to send more stories. So here is one, let me know if this is the type of story y'all ike. So on our way home to drop off all of our english stuff, we decided to stop by an investigator who had an accident and had not been feeling well. She has been under some serious medication and is usually just zonked at the end of our meetings. So we just stopped by and gave her the left over cornbread. She was very thankful and made some tea for us and some coffee for herself. Then she brought out this bottle that looked like a very alcoholic holding bottle. She poored some in her coffee and offerred us some. We said no thanks and that we don't drink alcohol, to which she promptly said it was not alcohol. So I was like okay, let me see it. Sister Hermann took a wiff to check and said it didn't smell like alcohol. So then I looked at it, and it was 45% alcohol. I didn't even know that was possible. It was written in a weird place, but wow! It was only later that we thought about that she should not be mixing alcohol with the medications she is on. She was pretty drugged up. Good times in Imanta.
So also, our branch president of 7 years was released this past sunday it was kind of big news. He is really cool and outgoing. I hope that he is going to be okay. The new branch president is Janis (john) Blums. He served a mission in Russia and married a lithuanian elf looking woman. She is great. I hope that with his new calling he will have a bit more fervor for missionary work. That is all for now. Hope yāll are great.
Jalina

January 4th, 2010

2010-02-01T14:50:00.000-08:00

Dear All,
So not much has happened since last I wrote because it was only a few days ago. But. Something really cool did happen I guess. And I may have written about part of it. So a couple of weeks ago sister Hermann and I were on our way out to Pinki (like the Brain's mouse friend) this suburb of Riga about 20 to 30 minutes away. We were riding a bus and I was talking to a few people around me and sister Hermann was standing in a standing area because the bus was pretty crowded. Suddenly a girl next to Sister Hermann falls onto the guy next to her and then collapsed to the ground. It was kind of scary, If I recall correctly she looked like she was having a seasure (?? on spelling, sounds like treasure, but with a see on the front). Sister Hermann threw me her stuff and her and the guy help the girl up and get her a seat so she can recover a bit. She got off a little while after. Anyway, we continued out to Pinki and Sister Hermann went and thanked the guy for being normal by helping and taking care of her. So him and Sister Hermann get to talking and she got his phone number. The Elders called him up and set up a meeting and met with him and invited him to a baptism which was about a week after we ran into him. He went , and loved it. We ran into him after the patism in Pinki and he was just glowing. The elders kind of forgot about him until Sunday when he showed up in the other branch for Fast and Testimony meeting and bore his testimony about the church and how he knew it was true. Between meetings the missionaries tried to figure out who he was but couldn't and met with hime before the next branch's meetings started and committed him to Baptism. He then stayed for that branch's meetings and again bore his testimony in that branch. It was awesome to hear about. That is my cool story for the week.

Jalina

December 24th, 2009

2010-02-01T14:44:00.000-08:00

Dear All,

I think the coolest thing happened this week. I talked in my sleep in Latvian! It wasn't anything profound, just in latvian. And of course I only know that from Sister Hermann telling me.
I ahve been really tired recently and a bit cold. As y'all know it snowed last week, and well... that is just the way it is. I am excited to talk to y'all on the phone (family) and can't wait. Priecigus ziemsvetkus!
Merry Christmas.
We got to go to the Branch Christmas party. It was so fun. We had a great time. The theme was Zarahemla. So there were pyramids and everyone! had indian clothes on. It was super fun. There was a Christmas program and then a lot of really good food. The latvians think for some odd reason that Americans eat a lot of Taco soup. The first time I had it was here at a missionary gathering, and it is not that bad. It is super easy to make, so they made it for the branch activity. They even made it more latvian by adding dill. It was really funny. Other latvian food is really bland. They eat a lot of potatoes and dill. And I guess chicken. There was also nasty sour Kraut. I am sorry I don't know how to spell that. They also eat a lot of hot-dog like sausage. It gives Masa Herman and I really bad gas. I know y'all wanted to know that. Actually, while on that subject, most latvian meat makes us gassy (except chicken and ground beef).
Here is a latvian tradition for you. For children to open a present they have to recite a poem or sing a song for each present. So at the branch activity, the branch president had presents for all the children. And every single one sang a song or recited a poem to get it. And they did it loudly so everyone could hear. It was great. It's a great way to get children to learn poetry. I had to sing a song for a piece of candy later on and all I knew was we wish you a merry Christmas in Latvian. It was fun. All for now. I guess I will talk to some of you soon.

And to family that number for the office I gave you was wrong the last numbers are 67612420 not what I gave you. My number is 29633906 with the country code Practise on the first number or on mine and then call the second one to talk to me!
Love you
Jalina

December 17th, 2009

2010-02-01T14:37:00.000-08:00

Dear All,
It finally happened. It snowed and we are now in the negatives as far as temperature goes. It is so cold. It was all of a sudden too. birrr...rrrr.
On a happier note, we had Zone Conference last week. It was Christmas Zone conference. It was really fun. There was a picture slideshow and an okay lunch and then regular zone conference stuff. We talked about the book of Mormon and we are reading it as a mission looking for how the gospel of Jesus Christ is taught (i.e. faith, repentance, baptism by water and fire, and enduring to the end). We start on Saturday and we will finish on February 25th. It is going to be interesting. I had heard and told people before the mission that the Book of Mormon really does contain the fullness of the gospel, but I didn't really know where until I was on the mission and was studying more from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.
Also this past week was transfers. And for the second time on the mission, I am staying. What I thik is weird is that I am also staying with Sister Hermann. I am really happy about this, but it is just interesting. We both just passed our 8months in the field and 10 months on a mission. I can't believe how fast time is going.
We also, because we stayed together decorated our apartment for Christmas. We had very limited funds, but luckily we were given a small Christams tree and had some other random stuff, so for a mere 10 lats were able to make our apartment Christmassy. I will try and send those pictures. So I was given the most fantastic Christmas present by one Elder Peirson. He is from Sandy and just finished serving. He lived not far away twice this past transfer we got together and played frisbee. He is a russian speaking elder. Anyway. He is almost home. He gave me his ultimate frisbee. I am so happy!!!! I think that was the highlight of my week. I am so happy. If he had proposed after that, I probably would have said yes... Anyway. I am super focused on Missionary work as you can tell, and I am enjoying life. Even if it is cold.

December 9th, 2009

2010-02-01T14:15:00.001-08:00

Dear All,
Another week gone. I am hitting 10 months on the mission this week, and wow, it has just flown by. I am loving it though. I am leaning a lot about a lot of stuff. So last week, I accidently deleted the email I wrote right at the end of the hour of emailing so I couldn't send a big detailed letter, so I will try and recap. (I use so a lot). The picutres I sent last week. 1 is of Sister Hermann and I at Sunset at 3:00 in the afternoon. hence the 3. And the other is sister Hermann and I raising the blue latvian scarf as a declaration for the return to virtue (a joke). It was super funny. We saw this hill and thought, what a great hill to take a picutre with. And there you have it.
So My boots that I bought about 2 months ago, I have walked wholes into. So I bought new boots this past week. I really like them. They are pretty solid and great overall. I am for sure that they will last me through the rest of the winter (only 4 or 5 more months??).
Transfers are going to be next week. I might be with someone else next week. And preparation day has been moved to Thursday for the next 3 weeks. So the letter will be a little later. I am excited to get to talk to the fam soon and hope that y'all are doing great.
Last week we got to do some rocking service. We hung Christmast lights (sort of). We showed up at 10:30 and stood around for 30 minutes with all the missionareis (about 20) waiting for directions. They didn't expect so many of us. And then every task they gave us we got done super fast and then we would stand around for a little while until something else was found. I think they aksed us to do it because of temple square. Mormons just hang lights better (jk). For the holiday season we will be singing quite a bit. I am excited. I think as a group of people mormons sing more too. It is funny.
This week. Both Sister hermann and I got sick. I just had a soar throat and my nose ran occastionally, but she had a soar throat, constantly running nose and headaches. It was fun. Bring sick is a pain. I am almost over it, and sister hermann is in the beginning stages of getting better.
This week, we did family home evening with some members. so after a fun lesson we lit ginormous sparklers. It was so much fun. They were huge. The biggest ones I have ever seen. See pictures. Also in our random wanderings we found a tree that is being protected by the Latvian government because it is so old-- 300 years old. (see picture). Other pictures from this week include a broken elevator and ultimate frisbee. Yeah. We are still working hard. Trying to find and teach, its jsut really cold and everyone is inside and trying to keep warm by sleeping. And the last picture will probably be dirty filters. They are not that bad, I can't believe the water is that dirty though.
:D
Jalina
One more funny note. So I was reading in Levitcus about the Word of Wisdom. What people were alowed to eat and what not, and then there is this verse 11 around v 47 about creeping things. I think the verse may be wrong, but Ithink it is about the law of chastity. It is in the last few verses of the chapter.

Dec 2nd, 2009- pictures

2009-12-08T22:04:00.000-08:00

November 26th, 2009

2009-12-08T21:58:00.001-08:00

Dear All,
So I have had the best P-day today. It started off a little rough from about 6:30 to 7, but then I read a pamphlet about the temple. I really want to go!!! Anyway, then after comp. study (wich mostly consisted of talking about the temple, we went shopping and then we went and played Ultimate Frisbee!!! It was awesome. We got to play for an hour and a half!!! I love ultimate frisbee. It was a little uneven because we had 7 players. But it was so much fun and I am going to be so sore tomorrow... I loved it.
Okay. So we had a lesson with a member at the church on Tuesday. It started and ended as normally as can be expected. So Sister Hermann and I are cleaning up the room where we met and Sanita (the member) and her husband take their daughter saying that they need to change her diaper. So we continue, we finish and realize that we have to run to catch our bus (normal). So we make sure that all the lights are off and that everything is clean, lock up the building and set the alarm. As we are locking the outer gates we hear the church alarm start to go off. We then realized that we had locked Sanita and Normunds in the building. It was hilarious. We felt a little bad. We had to call the security people and tell them that everything was all right and that we accidently set off the alarm. Ironically enough I don't know how to say any of that in Latvian. It was fun.
Happy thanksgiving!!!
Masa Kilina

November 18th 2009

2009-11-18T09:12:00.001-08:00

Dear All,
Well another exciting week has already gone by. Honestly not much has happened. I have been working hard and doing lots of non-interesting stuff to y'all and... yeah.
Today is Elder Brown's birthday. He is my district leader right now. Also today is Latvia's birthday. She/he/it is 91 years old!! Elder Brown is now 21. He can now drink legally in the US!!! To celebrate we are going to Double Coffee, a cafe type place. I am excited.
So some things that did happen this week... There was district conference. It was really good. We have an area 70 in our branch/district so both him and his wife spoke. They challenged everyone to refer one person to the missionaries before Christmas. Music to my ears!! And then the next day we had zone Conference. It was awesome. Again the area 70 was there, because he was doing a mission tour and he spoke about what missionaries teach. Yes we teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, yes we teach about the gospel, but more impotantly we teach truth. And then he defined what truth is from the scriptures and that truth is something that doesn't change. It can not be hidden from everyone all the time and it makes us free. We become free to choose the right, Free to choose because we can see the choices before us. So yeah. It was really cool. He also compared truth of gospel things to truth of the world. And how the world's knowledge changes and adapts to circumstances and how that is not truth. And then he talked about light being compared to truth. And how even now we as people don't fully understand light. Is it a wave, is it a particle, is it a corpuscle. Is it energy? we don't know. It was really cool. I enjoyed it a lot.
This week I realized that I miss the temple a lot. I want to go back. I think I may break the rules to do so... j/k
Anyway. all for now
Jalina

November 12th, 2009

2009-11-12T10:33:00.001-08:00

Dear All,
Thanks to those who wrote me back. As to other things. This week has been good. We just had transfers and I get to STAY!!! I am so excited to not move. I am staying in Imanta with Sister Hermann. We will be together until the week before Christmas. We are having a 5 week Transfer. Things in Missionary work:
So I have meant to write about this before, so maybe I have, but I can't remember. so. Door bells and cell phones. I never knew that they were international. You know those annoying sounds you here from door bells and phones in the US, well, they are the same in Latvia. Sometimes I am not suprised people are angry when they come to the door because their doorbell is freakishly annoying. I would be angry too if I had to hear a dying obnoxious doorbell too. The same with ringtones. All the ringtones that come standard on a phone are the same in Latvia. I still get a little tripped out when I hear one of my favorite ringtones that meant a certain someone was calling.
So we knocked into some really cool old ladies this past week. And when I say old, they are my parents ages (65, 65, and 60) they are all sisters and really don't speak a ton of latvian but they were super sweet and fun to talk to. It was really funny because when we said we were here to talk to people about families, the sister who answered said that there families were all grown up and that they don't have a need for it. I complimented them on their smartness and in generall betterness because they are women and after a brief exchange of words she said it was rude to stand in the door way in talk and invited us in. They fed us a traditional latvian beet salad and what I am pretty sure was black tea, but which they claimed was herbal tea. It was the most disgusting tea I have ever drinken, but I drank it to be polite. I chugged it down while they were out of the room. But we taught them a short lesson and they said they would come to church next week. We will see.
So, in other random events, many of you may recall that I was a fairly hairy person. I was not like Big foot, but I kept warm with my forearm hair. Well, now I am freezing. We were over at a recent converts house this past week and she burned off all my arm hair with a lighter, and I let her do it. It was the weirdest thing that has happened on my mission thus far. We were sitting in her kitchen talking about foreordination when suddenly she looks at me and at my arms and says I know exactlywhat to do. She got up on top of a chair and got a lighter that her husband uses to smoke and came up to me grabbed my arm and started burning my arm hair off. It smelled terrible, but she just kept going until all my hair was off saying 'see, see' 'it looks much better now' and she kept going and every once in a while she would just laugh. It was slightly creepy, but so funny. I realize I am not doing the story justice, but trust me it was hilarious. Good times. I will try and send a picture of it next week. All for now.
Sister Keeling

November 4th 2009

2009-11-04T14:25:00.001-08:00

Dear All,
So this week was really weird because it was fall break for most of latvia's students (at least in public schools) So we had a lot of time to just 'find people'. Luckily it wasn't terribly cold weather and we had a few service opportunities. So it wasn't terrible.
So I will write a few notable things. So last Thursday we had a chance to help an investigator move/put together furniture again. Most of it was trying to put together a really big cabinet that was made of ply wood with broken doors and hinges. Sister Hermann and most of the Elder's tried to put that puzzle together. I was with a a teenager and a few little kids in the bedroom (with the door open so Masa Hermann could see me) putting together a falling apart bed. It was super fun. I took a bed that kept falling down every time you sat on it into a servicable bed with an storage space underneath. And I helped a 6 year old boy learn how to hammer and do it himself. It was fun. That day I wore jeans because we are alowed to wear jeans when doing service. It has been very cold in Latvia this past little while. It has snowed a couple times already and pretty much every morning there is frost on the grass. So, I found out that jeans are cold. Although I love jeans, I was freezing in them. I have discovered that skirts are actually warmer. I now feel bad for the elders in their slacks. I am sure Marc i Mexico feels their suffering from the cold.
I think that was my biggest revelation of the week.
So this investigators daughter we got to take to the churches haloween party. She was really cute. We got her all the necessary stuff to look like a fairy. We traveled with her to the church. She did not wear her costume on public transporation or at the party unfortunately. She is 13. I remember being that old. Being super insecure and being afraid of sticking out so not wanting to participate. It was super funny. But not participating in the games makes it boring, and then you don't like the party, so we made her get involved by leaving. we left her in the capable hands of the members. It was fantastic!
So this week, we had a chance to look for some less actives that have basically dropped off the face of the planet. One girl was baptized when whe was 10 and and was never really seen again until this past Sunday night. She is now thirteen. Her name is Dzintra. She is the oldest daughter in a family of deaf latvians. She is hearing. So we got to talk to her and get to know her and she really is super cool. I am excited to work with her and help! I am also excited to learn some Latvian sign language. I think that will be all for now. Hope you are all well!
Jalina

Preston- my companion like marc's is also typing quickly because we have to go soon and do some other things.

October 28th, 2009

2009-10-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

Dear All,
So last week I did not write a group email, but instead wrote a buch of little ones, so today I think I will do the opposite. First I want to say that I am never going to talk to Preston again. I got several emails today saying that they knew where he was going but wanted him to tell me. He didn't! I found out through Facebook. I am disappointed. (I am slightly joking about all of this of course, but for real.) I don't feel like it has been that long since I emailed, and not much has really changed recently. I am still with sister Hermann in Imanta. I really like serving here. Although not as busy as Center, the branch rocks. So many great people in one little place, it is amazing. This past week for the first time in Imanta for sisters in a long time, we broke 10 lessons. This week we won't because we had a really bad monday and Tuesday as far as lessons go. Do y'all know what getting jaked means? Monday, we had two lessons fall through and Tuesday we had Sister's Conference. It was awesome. All the sisters in the mission were together and we talked and chatted and learned togther. We just got to leran what is allowed and what is not as far as wardrobe stuff. Our Mission presidnt's wife was so funny. She is a non confrontational person, so correcting people on things is really hard for her. It was so cute to watch her try and tell us that we have been too casual in our dress. I am not a very fashionable person but I have learned a lot since being here. I love serving with Sister Hermann partly for that reason. She was in Dance in High School and somedays she litterally dresses me. Fortunately because we are in Latvia, I can recylce my outfits for months on end and no one will think anything of it, because that is what they do.

October 14th, 2009 Pictures 2

2009-10-14T11:17:00.001-07:00

At a Bus stop

Outside a random georgian restaurant

Sister hermann leaning. She is very wet...

A Bricked over door...

In a random patch of forrest in the middle of a bunch of homes

October 14th, 2009 Pictures

2009-10-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

Me In Bed !!!!!

I stole my comps camera, while she wasn't looking.

At conferance

Elders over for conference

knocking

October 14th, 2009

2009-10-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

Part of the view out the window

The hat

Me with the hat

The Kitchen

Sister Hermann Studying

Dear All,

Crazy happenings this past week. So we were out and about contacting as usual and I go to talk to this older woman and she was very sweet, and only spoke Russian. From the Russian I understand she said she was helena (maybe) and that she was russian orthodox. but she was very kind. so we continued on. On our way back home she hadn't gotten very far. she was standing under a tree and we said hi and she waved us over. So we came over and in broken latvian and really loud russian she communicated that she wanted us to help her find a bunch of big colorful leaves. So we did. She took said leaves and made a crown from them and then put it on my head. Said something in russian and walked away. It was super funny. We saw her a couple days later and we stopped and talked a bit (asked how we were doing in latvian and we asked in Russian). I really don't know russian very much at all, but it was funny. Marc (elder Keeling) asked question about it and I didn't fully understand his question, but I asked the russian elders and they told me that russian does really sound like and angry language to them. I told them they don't sound angry when I have heard them speak russian, and they said because it is too hard for them to.
So in other events... I think I am finally starting to have Texas withdrawls. One of the elders invesitgators looks like Michael Cleveland, and I have been noticing trucks. Big beautiful trucks. I miss big cars. Everyone here has small cars that don't take a lot of gas to run. this week though I saw a big silver truck and it looked out of place to me and then I thought about it and remenessed about Texas for a while. It was fun.
So we were gving the Russian elders who live not far from us a tupperware contanier they had left at our appartment. And one of them had been sick so they haven't been doing a whole lot... anyway so we give it back to them and we were chatting a bit and it is like 3 in the afternoon and the Elders see two late teens early twenty-year-olds start to cross the street. One of them has a very large half-full bottle of alcohol in his hand. They come over to us and start speaking russian. They catch on that Sister Hermann and I don't speak russian and so, standing very close to us they switch to English and ask us if we know the elders, or more precisely if we were with them. I think they were asking if we were with them with them. So we said that we knew them but were not with them. They continued to talk to us very closely for a bit and then I decided it was time to go, so they started talking in russian to the elders. It was quite funny. Although these elders are cool they don't like to have as much fun with drunks as we do. It was a little scary. They looked really russianly strong.
Also, we knocked into a retired russian physicsist. He we kind of creepy and kept saying how pretty we were. He spoke with us in English. It was really funny. We figured out that the conversation we had with him was so weird because he was trying to exauhst his English vocabulary. he talked about acceleration and amplitudes of electronic waves-- seemingly out of nowhere. I think that is all for this week. If you are getting this without pics, check the blog.
ar milestibu-
Masa Kilina

Oct 7th, 2009 Imanta again

2009-10-07T12:46:00.001-07:00

Dear Family,
Life is fine. Back in Imanta. Memory loss not a problem anymore. I have not had a chance to watch all sessions of conference. In fact we have only watched one session. The second one. I really liked Elder Oaks' talk on parental love. That is not what he said it was, but that is what I want to call it.
So I am sorry. I forgot to take pictures of the apartment. We finally are all moved in and almost everything is in order once again. It is nice.
Sister Hermann is a woman after my mother's heart. She is so neat and clean and she makes me kind of feel guilty when she cleans stuff. So I am developing great cleaning habits. Mom, I hope they stick.
A few things happened this week that I think are highly amusing.
1)A lady contacted us while we were in a small random town. After talking for a while she told us about an evil spirit in her house that moves her stuff around and opens doors. It was kind of sad. But hilarious at the same time.
2)I have my mother's sense of direction. I have gotten lost more in the past week than I think I have my whole mission. Last night we got on a bus that I thought went by our apartment building but alas it didn't. Luckily I recognized where we were when we were by my old apartment from the last time I was in Imanta. We got off the bus a few stops later and walked home. Luckily our apartment building is in an area where there are a lot of other tall buildings, so we were able to find it.
3)Saw an old lady fall down today. She tripped kind of on a curb. She had a cane and the old man who was walking with her had a cane. We went to help her up and she said thank you in Russian once she was up and her and the man continued to cross the street. It was really weird because after they had thanked us off the man was what seemed to me, angry-yelling at his, at least I think she was, wife. But then I realized that he is old, and that he was speaking Russian. So either he was yelling because old people do that, or he was a nice old man who just needs to speak loudly to be able to hear himself.

So yeah. I think that is all for now. I am doing better and am sleeping in a bed again. I have been in Latvia for 25 weeks and only 7 weeks have been in a bed. Good times.

Jalina

October 1st, 2009- foggy memory,4 year success, lost money puffy coats

2009-10-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

Dear All,
Well we just had transfers, and just like everyother transfer, I have been transferred! I am going back to Imanta. I think the best part of going back is a new appartment... with a dishwasher. I will send pictures next week. I still have not seen it.
My new companion is Sister Hermann from the MTC. She is super cool. I am excited to work with her. We are kind of getting whitewashed into a new area, so we are going to be in 'full finding mode.' So it will be fun. I will make it fun at least.
This past week was really good. We finally were able to help Zaiga, a 4 year investigator accept a baptisimal date- the 24th. Of course I got transferred away from that, but... I'm going to be okay. Also this week we had many great lessons this week. We helped a lot of people come closer to Jesus Christ. Agrita, said she didn't want to get baptized soon but that she would like to do baptisms for the dead. So that's cool. We took some really fun pictures this past week doing weird stuff.
So last week, I don't remember what all I wrote, but I lost a lot of my short term memory last Wednesday. and I wasnot able to retain a whole lot after that and slowly I am starting to not forget. It is really nice to not remember some things. A little refreshing. I didn't forget people or anything, just that stuff had happened. I could remember that we had a meeting, but not what happened. Something super-fun we did this last week, was we watched Emma Smith with a bunch of mostly active members. We made popcorn on the stove and then watched it. It was so sad... Maja was there, and Zane, and Elina. It was in English, so normal investigators could not come, but.. what do you do.
This past week, I also bought some boots. I love them. They are amazingly warm and nice to wear. I wore them for a couple of hours one day, got some blisters. The next day I wore my normal shoes and the blisters healed and now I can wear them without problems.
Here is a crazy story from this past week. So monday--Family Home Evening. We went over to a family who the oldest children (late teens and twenties) are baptized and then from 14 on down not baptized. It is a weird family. The ones who are not baptized come to church everyweek, but the ones who either don't ever come are rarely. So we taught a short lesson and played games with them. I was already having memory problems and this point and so when I went to my purse to give them the treats/candy and it wasn't there I didn't think anything of it. I thought I probably just forgot it. so when we went home I remembered to look for it and could not find it. It was really weird. So after really cleaning out my purse-bag, and looking all over the apartment and asking the other Masas if they had seen it, we figured something was up. They told me to check my wallet, and I did. I had 50 lats, about 100 US dollars in my wallet that was no longer there. This was at almost 10:30. So after determing that their home was the only one where it could have gone missing, we called and the father asked if we were sure. I was. And then he called us back after we had gone to bed around 12 saying he had found it. Not going to lie, it hurt my feelings. Who steals from missionaries? So yeah. I think that is all for this week. I will make sure and send picutres next week. It is getting cold, I love puffy coats!

September 24th, 2009- Scandalous pictures, forgotten days, Moses Boring????

2009-09-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Naked man

Stuck somewhere.... we where having fun with the camera

zone leaders Longs and Miklerens

Sister Riber and I infront of our Apartment building

Me kissing a boy ...

Moses ....

Dear all,
something really weird happened this morning. I woke up this morning and really couldnot remember anything about what had been going on recently. I could tell you vaguely what had happened because I have my planner, but not much more. It was super weird.
So here goes-
We are still meeting with people. Everyone is doing well and life is good. One of our investigators is now pregant-how exciting!! She is worried because she had a miscarriage a while ago and pregnancy is hard on her body, but she sants to have another child. I am excited for her. I am sorry I wish I could write more. I am looking at my planner and I can see who we have been meeting with and I just can't tell you what happened at any of them.
We went out to try and find a less active member on Saturday. It was fun, but she wasn't home. So we were stuck out in this weird place until another bus came so we took some fun pictures.
Also recently there is the US equivallent of Cingular here called Biti. They now have some outrageous pictures that say don't get stripped.
this week we had a member dress up like moses to talk about the plan of salvation. It was awesome. He was so boring, though. But maybe Moses was boring...
All for now
Masa Kilina

September 15th, 2009

2009-09-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

Dear All,
A lot of cool stuff happened recently. This past Sunday was Latvia's first ever Father's day. It is great because honestly, a lot of men here are pigs. So many drink and smoke and abuse and just use women. It is sad. So hopefully with the promise of a great Father's day maybe more men will step up and be better fathers!! Not the best motivation, but there you go.
So last Tuesday I was teaching this woman I had contacted on public transportation over 4 weeks ago. It was our first meeting and she was reluctant to meet because she was such a strong catholic. In our conversation we were talking about why we believe in God in general. And I told her about some of the family traditions we have done such as family prayer and scripure study, and family home evening. She invited us to come talk to a large group of people the next day- Wednesday also known as Prepartion day to the Baltic States. So we were like, what the hey, it is a great opporunity to help people and maybe we can find a way to get some new investigators from it. So we went. It turned out it was for a Radio. Latvian Christian radio. Before we knew it we were sitting in a getto radio studio talking about family prayer with this woman. We were not allowed to say which church we were from and afterwards we found out that we are not allowed to do that type of thing without permission. So we told the people we were supposed to, and luckily nothing bad has or will come of it.
And then last Friday, while Sister Reber was finishing her shower, she noticed that the water was a bit off colored. So she finished quickly and came and told us. We went and looked and we let the water run in the sink for a while and it was discusting. See attached picture.
We started teaching htis little boy who comes to church everyweek with his mom who we are also teaching. He is in primary and after talking to President Dance we decided to teach him in Primary. So using this wonderful artbook I recieved in a package from the best family in the world, we had a member (Martinsh, like Martin but with a ch-sh sound at the end) dress up like Joseph Smith (sort of ) and tell his story. It was hilarious. The little boy named Davis is in the older class and we told them we had a special visitor from a long time ago, and when Martinsh came in they were like that's not Joseph Smith that's Martinsh. And Masa Gomeza said, "yeah they are really similar aren't they?" and then he told about the restoration and gave them candy. It was fun.
So final story, so we didn't have any meetings yesterday, so we decided to go find some less actives that didn't have phone numbers. So we went out to this area called Chankarogs. It is like the getto of Riga. We went, I think, to the getto of Chankarogs. We were on a bus and this guy reached down his pants, not just into his pocket, not to scratch his but, but he actually was touching his but skin and he pulled out two used drug needles. It was scary. Public transportation already is not very safe because of the sudden stopping and going all the time, but add drug needles, and wow. Then when we were out there, we saw at least 3 other drug deals go down. It was terrible. I felt so bad for the children in the area, because this type of thing they are exposed to everyday. How are they supposed to know better? Or attain anything in this life with that kind of foundation.
And Marc/Elder Keeling,
So there is this girl named Elina here. She is pretty awesome. She just came back from a hard life of inactivity and is looking for a righteous man. I suggested you! She speaks almost flawless English and Latvian. Attached is a picture... with her and Masa Reber. Start thinking about it. She wants to name your daughters Juliet and Felicity and said you could name the sons. I think that is just super Generous. Also attached is a fairly recent picture of me with one of our investigators Signe and a recent convert- Santa. they are both super awesome. In reverse order.
That is all for today. Apparently the Hunts are coming Latvia?!!! Cool. I will probably see them in a few weeks then

September 9th, 2009- Being Bold, 1st day of school, Not a prostitute....

2009-09-09T11:43:00.001-07:00

Life is good. I am working hard. This past week there has been a huge emphasis on asking for names. We can work with names. We can pray for names we can call people on the phone. It is awesome. It was fun. The other day we had two of our investigators set up meeting for us with their friends. It is really cool, one we didn't even ask. As to the being bolder, I am. Sometimes a little too bold. But if you don't ever ask someone to do something, they are not likely to do it themselves. And if you don't follow up, then its like asking students to do homework and then never grading it, or at least picking it up. I am working on being more diplomatic in many things. The past two weeks in companionship inventory Masa Gomez has brought up that I have not been very kind and that I have been very negative. I have now been with her (including MTC time) over half of my mission. So she is very honest. I am trying to change, but it is hard. I am sorry for any hurt I have caused to anyone in the family because of my insensitve negativeness. I am trying, really.
In other events, we taught this woman who refused to even take a free Book of Mormon. I felt bad. The Book of Mormon is really a great book. But she invited us to talk about family traditions at a meeting she was going to. So we are going to go and talk about family prayer and scripture study and probably FHE. And then give out Proclamations to the world and offer to help others get FHE started in their home. Thanks mom for being so strong through all of our childhooods.
I want to write about something that has happened recently.
School started. School starting in the Us is similar, but completely different here as well. It starts every year on September 1st. Even if the first is a Saturday. I think if it is a Sunday they change it, but yeah. So everyone dresses up for September 1st. I don't just mean the students, all of Lativa. It is a cool latvian tradition. So on the first everyone who could was either in a suit or a dress which is a really nice dress or a type of ball gown. It was super fun to see. So, there is a bit of Latvian culture for you.
Today for a wonderful preparation day activity, I got to play ultimate frisbee. IT was AWESOME. yes I ment to capitalize that. My English may be bad and there may be a ridiculous amount of mistakes and random capital letters, but really it was so much fun. I realize I am very out of shape, but wow. So much fun. We were supposed to have 9 people there, but only 5 showed up and I ended up being on the team with just 2. You do a lot more running with just two people. wow.
In other events, we were mistaken for prostitutes the other day. I talked to someone over the phone and they were hesitant to meet even though they had already been taught a bit. And I tried to get them to meet and said that we could come to that if it would be ok, or if they were more comfortable, that we had a flat in the city where we could meet. This was all in Latvian on the phone. We got a few texts from him (his name is Alexanders and he was contacted when he was with his girlfriend Rita and their child Daniels) wanting to meet at our house. We told him that we couldn't meet there and then he texted us saying in english: "U don't want sex? If u alone send my text ok?" I was so suprised. I was lying on a couch when I heard the phone buzz saying that we had a text and masa gomeza came and jumped on me so she could read it with me. So we read it for the first time together. It was hilarious. not that I condone that, but that that would happen. It is also excessively sad. I feel so bad for his girlfriend. And Daniels, his child was only a few months old. So sad. Well Thats all for now. Keep it real.
Jalina/Masa Kilina

Sept 1, 2009 New Hair cut, the whole mission

2009-09-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

The whole mission don't we look great

Me on a bus with a new hair cut

Well, I got my hair cut and colored this past week. I am completely different now. I will try and send pictures.
Elder Perry came to Latvia this past week and it was so awesome. We just had an amazing week. He talked to the missionaries in the morning with Elder Rasband (Senior President of the Quorums of the 70). They talked about using the Book of Mormon more. I loved it. Elder Perry is a funny guy. He was cracking jokes left and right. when he opened a water bottle during his talk to us becuase he was thirsty, he threw the cap into the 'crowd.' It was really funny. The musical number that I played the piano for went well. The people who sang really did a great jub. It was Sisters Largey and Beener, and Elders Mann and Seastrand. They really did a great job.
In other events this week I drank some black tea and was hugged by a russian member. Not just any russian member either, a member of the branch presidency. This week was not good on me. I was at an investigators house who knew we did not drink black or green tea. So she brought out this yellow box that said lemon tea. I thought, ok. It is going to be okay. I started to drink the tea and it tasted a little funny. It tasted more than a little funny. I was on splits with a member and she didn't say anything about her tea. I checked the box about mid-way through my teacup and it said lemon extract and a mix of black teas. I felt so bad. And the member I had with me likes black tea and she didn't know what to do either. Before her conversion she had a hard time with giving up black tea. But we finished the tea and she offered us more. We declined.
And the hugging, he said he was going to hug me, and I dared him to and he did. That may sound weird, but really, it was bizzare. I did not participate, i.e. my hands were at my sides, and it was really weird. I only have an hour to write this week, but I love you all and I hope you are doing well.

August 26th, 2009

2009-08-31T17:38:00.000-07:00

Dear All,
So I heard Aunt Janice died in a letter this week. Thanks for letting me know... wow. Scary.
Life is good here. I am loving Riga. We have a few people we meet with regularly and life is just peachy keen. My goal of remaining positive is going really well. At the end of the day it is harder. I sometimes equate positiveness with kindness. I get frustrated sometimes with my companions for not pulling there share of the menial stuff. Like.. dishes, or taking out the garbage. But that is not new to me. If you were ever my roommate you know that I got frustrated with that in college too.
I am pretty sure that this past week was the first time I really understood everything that went on in church. I even did a bit of translating. I am having a blast in this whole 3some thing. It is easier to cook things and it is easier to get some things done. It has its downsides- its akward going knocking.. and doing some finding activities but overall it is not too bad.
I had an interview with President Dance this past Sunday and it went well. I didn't and still don't have any big concerns and am the most comfotable I have ever been with the Latvian language. Sister Rebere is cool and she is really smart. Although she still does not understand most anything, her endings are almost always right and she knows the gospel really well.
this week Elder Perry is coming. he is meeting with the missionaries on Saturday morning and I am participating in a musical number for that. Thanks mom for 'forcing' me to play the piano. I am glad I can help others with that talent. I can't really think of anything else. now that I am back in the main city there are less cats... I hope to have more for next week. lidz nakamai means until next.

Jalina

Aug 20th, 2009 Riga Center

2009-08-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

me with the domes

Elevator panel, Big Brother is watching

Diseased Cat

Cooking with Latvians

little girl took my camera

Dear All,
This week has been crazy! We just had transfers, and I am so excited!!! I still get to be with Masa Gomeza. And we both got transfered to center!!! I am so excited to go back to all the people I started understanding when I was in Latvia. It has been a crazy fun week. So yeah! I'm really excited!!!!

Cats. I know I have written about them before, but still. I was excessivley discussted this week. We saw two cats with skin diseases and one with almost no eyes. I say almost no eyes because skar tissue was and is growing over the 'good eye'. (See attached pictures)

Moving apartments was a blast. We had to clean so much stuff it was amazing. We had already kind of cleaned in prepartation for transfers, but then we found out we were both leaving, and well... It is amazing how much stuff you can accumulate when sister are around. Our new apartment is cool. It has 3 beds and enough space for us. It is cool. I have been taking videos of all my apartments, so it should be fun. It was amazing the difference between Masa Gomez and I. I have moved every transfer and this was her first move. She had so much stuff to move that she had accumulated since the beginning of the mission. The cab driver was amazingly nice and helpful. He has a serious smoking problem and will probably die of cancer in the next 5 years, but he was nice....
In weird stories, we met with this woman who asked us about holy water. And if we could administer it. It was the craziest thing. I was suprised I understood so much of it. She wanted us to administer it to an old friend. It was super weird. I am pretty sure she said she would bring the holy water for us.

Orange Chicken. As we were cleaning out our Missionary stuff to give to the Elders coming in, we were invited for lunch with the Russian Elders. There is and Elder name Elder Udi or maybe Udy. He is from Massachusets I think and he is going to go to school to become a chef. Anyway, he was cooking and he made this amazing orange chicken. It was fun. We also ate with a couple of the members and it was just a lot of fun. Especially because 4 of the missionaries only spoke Latvian (and English of course), 2 only spoke Russian and English, and the members spoke both Russian and Latvian and very little English.

So as I think I have mentioned, Elder Perry is coming to Latvia next Saturday. I have been asked to play the piano as part of the musical number during the missionary meeting. So, although I am very thankful I can play the piano, I am scared out of my witts! AH

I think that will be all for this week. I am sorry last weeks letter was so rough, I was just exhausted and typed out.

Lidz nakamai,
Jalina

August 12, 2009

2009-08-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

Dear All,
Well, what a great week. I have been sick for a week and half now, and I think I am finally getting better!! I still have some risdual symptoms, but my voice is back and I am sleeping wonderfully! I love sleeping.
The past few days have been amazing though. For some odd reason we have been doing Sister Exchanges, kind of. Yesterday we had a Russian sister with us from center and we taught a lesson with her in English and then we had an English class to teach. It was super fun to have her with us. Her companion went with the latvian sisters in the other area and to get them back together, we just met up last night at the Russians appartment and had a slumber party. We went to bed on time, but not until after Banna splits and district leader phone calls. It was so fun. And then in the morning a couple of us made crapes while the others did pedicures. It was super funny because normally, you would do that kind of thing late at night and to be obedient to mission rules we just did it in the morning. Or at least some did. It was esecially hilarious because Sister Wilson is not the most awake person in the morning, her motor skills are seriously lacking in the morning, so watching and hearing her try and paint her toenails was hilarious. And then, Masa Gomez and I took Sister Wilson's companion for part of today. her Name is Masa Rebere. It is her first transfer and she has to go to Estonia today, but because today is Masa Wilson's last real prepartation day, she wanted to go see some cool castles and to do that, she had to leave pretty early, so we got her companion and will drop her off at the train station in a while. Next week are transfers, so I will be emailing a day later. Just to warn you. I wish I had more to write, but alas, I have been forgetting a lot recently. hope all is well.

Jalina

Aug 5th, 2009 one eyed cats and the ugly gene

2009-08-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

Dear All,
how's it kickin! I hope everyone is happy and healthy and enjoying the end of the summer. Latvia is just fantastic right now. The sun goes down by 10:30 every night. It is up before 6 still, but down before 10:30 is an improvement. Masa Gomez has had a hard time adjusting to sleeping in complete darkness. She usually has to go in the other room and try and fall asleep with the light on and then she wakes up and comes back to the dark room to continue sleeping. I hope that soon she will adjust.
I don't know if I have written about this yet, so I am going to. There is an unusually high percentage of one-eyed-cats here. I don't know what is normall really, but I am pretty sure that 1 of every 6 cats has only 1 eye now because of street fighting. I wish I could send some pictures of this, but alas, They don't like to be seen to much.
This week, I was asked to teach the gospel doctrine class. It went okay. Suffice it to say, we read a little from a book and then we split into groups to learn about the blessing of the priesthood and the rituals/ordinances that the priesthood has done and does now (children blessing, casting out devils...). It went well enough. I was suprised that all but baptism required the laying on of hands. Life is good, the work is what it is and I am growing.

As to Latvia. It is a very beautiful place. The people are modern enough. This past week I took a picture of how they cut grass. They are not the most efficient workers. They basically weed wack whole lawns. I have pictures that I will send next week. Every morning and sometimes in the evenings too, I see old ladies with witch brooms sweeping the streets around apartments. That is what they do to earn pention. It is really weird. Occasionaly I even see them sweeping dirt in an area that is only dirt anyway. It doesn't make sense, but what do you do? Most people live in appartment buildings, so thus live in appartments. There is a ridiculous amount of cats. I think it is because there is also a riduclous amount of cat ladies. We were trying to find a certain apartment building and we saw this random woman walk into a group of bushes, drop something from a shopping bag and then walk away. Then we saw several cats converge on the bush. It was hilarious. Most people don't have cars because they don't need them. And there is really no where to park them. I will try and take more pictures of random things. Most apartments are only a couple rooms. We talked to this lady in the park the other day. She is married with a 4 year old son. They all sleep in one room and then there is a kitchen/living area and a small bathroom. Our apartment has 4 rooms including the bathroom, I will try and send the videos I've made of the apartments. I think that is enough for now, but it is very different. They deffinately do not wear long dresses. They are very european in their style and enjoy tightly fitted clothes to their freakishly skinny bodies. So, yeah. Generally, especially the women, are super skinny and show it off. The men are mostly ugly. It is sad. I don't really understand how so many men can be so ugly... for real. Especially with so many gorgeous women. The ugly gene must be on the latvian y-chromosome.

Sorry for the brevity, nothing much more to talk about. I love you all this week.
Jalina

july 15th, sorry it is out of order

2009-08-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

Life is good here. Its fun being with Masa Gomez, we are both learning a lot. And we are still very different people, I amazed at how much I have changed since we last were around eachother. Sometims I fell like she has changed that much, but at other times she is completely different. As to which of us is senior companion I don't really know because we were never told. We share all responsibilities and she defers quite a bit to me.
My new area is really cool. We have a lot of things we can randomly do with members because they do more service as a branch than the previous branch. Something that is really cool is that there is a member of a quorum of the seventy in our branch. He is super cool. I think I am playing the piano for him in a couple weeks. I am not for sure because he asked me in Latvian and I was really in a Latvian mind set. But we will see. This past week I had my first experience berry picking. Its funny to me because I was in the forrest with 5 or six women and we were picking berries and they kept using the word lasit (laseet) which means to read. Great word, I use it a lot, but until that time I had never heard it used as 'to pick.' Which is the second meaning of lasit. It was super fun to hang out with church members and do service. I wish I had pictures, maybe next week. No really cool happening this week, but I will try and pay attention and write more next week. I will be emailing early next week because of Zone conference. All is well... all is well.

July 29th, 2009 -Wrong bus

2009-07-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

How is it going!!! Something very strange happened the last night I wanted to tell you about. Let me tell the story and you can post it if you want. So, we were out visiting a recent convert and she lives in an area where not a lot of buses go and if they go there it is not often. So every Tuesday we get out to her area (Pinķi) and we catch a 7:30ish bus and get there around 8. We go teach her and always get out by 9 to catch a 9:05 bus back. So as usual we thought we were barely going to make it to the bus stop in time. We came up perpendicular to the bus and got on, and shortly thereafter we started traveling. Masa Gomez and I didn't notice anything wrong for a while until we saw a bunch of neon signs that we had never seen before and so we asked someone near by what bus we were on and they told us it was a 32. Shoot! We thought we were on a 4. Neither of us had travled on a 32 and I don;t think I had ever seen a 32 since I have been here. So, it was just after 9 and we were on the wrong bus headed out of our area. The bus was traveling along the outskirts of Imanta (the area where I am). Luckily to get to the other part of the city all cars, buses and motorcylces have to use a bridge. So eventually the 32 started traveling back towards the city. We recognized where we were and got off to catch a bus we knew home. We took a tramvaiji for a while and then a bus to get home. Now this may not sound like to weird a story, but it is because while we were tramvaing( kind of like a trolley in San Francisco) we realized that it was dark outside. The Tram's lights were on and we had never seen that before. I am happy because that means I will probably sleep better at night, and sad because the sun is noticeably going down earlier. Not too long it is going to be dark early on.... :(
In other events, I am exasperated with people. We have been meeting this woman named Ilona in a park near our home and trying to get her interested in the gospel. the first principle we talk about with people is normally God and our relationship to him. She believed in God, but didn't and doesn't feel it necessary to develop a relationship with him. She said that God is for old people. Her grandparents didn't get into God or the Bible until they were old and she plans to do the same thing. I am sad about this. How do you get someone to want to do something, to believe in God enough to want to keep the commandments and... everything?
In other events, last week was Zone Conference and we talked generally about the temple and the convenants we make in temples and how keeping those covenants will help missionary work. Specifically we talked about the law of concecration. Which is the selfless dedication of time and means to help build Zion. We talked about what selfless dedication is. How can we each more fully live this law? As a missionary now I have this unique time to do this. I can forget the I and focus on the others. I am excited to try and develop this. To be more charitable and loving towards others. I am not perfect, so please give me time. I love all those who read this, and not the ones, who don;t, but please don't tell them.
Jalina

July, 20th, 2009 big feet and a visa

2009-07-21T13:17:00.001-07:00

Dear All,

This week was interesting. So. now that I have been in Latvija for 3 months I had to apply for a visa. which I did. A Church Member was there to help us, Velaris. So anyway. My appointment ended up being an hour after Masa Gomezes, so we decided to just sit and read in the waiting area. Velaris, wonderful man, comes over and asks for a contact card, which we give him. He walks off and then comes back a few minutes later and asks us to follow him. Which of course we do and he tells us there is a woman who wants to learn more about the church. So, of course we got excited. So he introduces us to her and walks off. And Masa gomez and I were like.. well ok My name is... introducing ourselves and she said she wanted to learn more and so we got her phone number and information so that she could be contacted. It was a short conversation because she was at work and normally we do not do that kind of thing. So this visa thing was not in our area, so we asked where she lived and had a short conversation about that and evnetually end up telling her that our friends would call her. Our friends being the sisters in Riga-Center. Anyway, we go back over to where we were and talk to Velarijs and it turns out that she just came up to him (they knew eachother a little before that) and said she had seen a sign and knew she needed to get baptized and then asked him what church he went to. Crazy! Missionaries only go to that office once or twice in their mission life. It was a miracle that we were there that day.

Something Masa Gomez and I have been paying attention to this last little while, and pondering about is old people's feet here, especially women's feet. We see them a lot because we are in people's homes and they usually take off their shoes. Suprisingly most feet are large and scary! I kid you not, cross my heart and hope to die. Now this next part may not seem to relate but give me a minute or two. It has been very warm, even hot I would say, this past week. I bought some shoes a few months ago that I could wear that wouldn't have to wear nylons with. But Masa gomez had not. So, her previous companion had left some high heals so she decided to wear them. While walking about (which Latvians do more than Americans) Her feet got super sore from walking on uneven ground. Usually soreness is associated with muscle pains. So we figure that walking around Latica in High heels helps one develop feet muscles and after a lifetime in Latvia, the feet of the older generation are scary. So a word of warning to those in the US. It might not be quite as bad because we don't walk as much in the US, but there you go. Words of wisdom from the Baltics.

This week was also my first time giving a real talk in Latvian Sacrament meeting. I was terrified but I made it through even if the missionaries were the only ones who understood me. Masa Gomez also gave a talk. One of the new members came up to us after and said that if we ever needed help with the language that he could help. It was so... sincere. The members here rock. Honestly though, even if I translated my talk into English it would have sucked, so maybe it is good that I have poor language skills as a cover.

Randomly, Masa Gomez and I were talking about wether Christ could have been married or not. And while the Bible is not explicit in English we think it would be cool if he was. Especially because then at some point someone could have said that they had the perfect husband. And I don't know if I mentioned this before, but in both Latvian and Russian when Christ talks to the woman by the tomb and says 'woman touch me not' woman is translated as wife. crazy...

One more kind of spiritual thing. So at district meeting this past week we talked about charity and how it is the greatest and exactly what it means. It was such a great meeting with such great discussion on charity and examples on charity from Christ's life and the other missionaries' lives that I feel like a changed person. I want everyone who reads this to try and develop more charity. Even if you don't believe in God, try and love better more purer than you ever have.

July 8th, 2009-a Transfer to IMANTA

2009-07-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

Dear All,
Well, I got transferred again. Of the 3 areas where sisters can serve, of the 6 sisters here, Only two of us has served in all three areas. I am one of the two... I spent the first 6 weeks in Liapiaja, then 6 in Riga Center and now I am with Masa Gomez in Imanta. Masa Gomez and I came out together and have only been Latvia for 12 weeks. Which sounds like a long time but in reality is not. Everything will turn out for the best.
Other than transfers I had a great past week. Ivita and Evija are both doing great and progressing to baptism. We have an other investigator who has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and doesn't know it yet. Crazy things that happened this week: So Masa Wilson wanted me to record her knocking on a door. So I did it. The video is fairly normal. Unfortunately it was in Russian and I stopped recording to soon. Just after the woman shut the door Sister Wilson turned to me and said she was completely naked. And she was! But I did not catch her saying it on video. She is training a new person named Sister Reber. I don't know much about her, but I hope to find out more before next week. The rumor is that she is 26 and from Arizona. Unconfirmed rumors though.
So something I've learned here is how simple people can live. Most people live in a 3-4 room apartements and many times with a tiny fridge. And while I definatley would say that they are not the happiest people or the most humble, they do live easily. Once I go home I will never be as satisfied by yogurt or fruit juice of any kind. They just have great yogurt and fruit juice. Yum.
I hope everything is well at home. Sounds like life is continuing in the real world. Crazy how fast time goes and how slow at the same time. Its especially weird to me because a bunch of missionaries are going home today and tomorrow and it seems surreal. Missionary work is a lot harder than I thought it was and I'm just getting started but I know that before I know it, it will be over as well. Mixed feelings all around. And I realize that as I type my English is getting worse and worse. I was writing to President Dance (Miss. Pres.) and I used the word to right several times instead of to write, And for rumor I typed roomer and several variations of it before I got it right, I had to ask Masa Gomez to check. I guess poor English is a sign of improved Latvian? I hope it is anyway.

Inappropriately,

Masa Keeling

July 8th, 2009-Pictures

2009-07-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

July 1st, 2009, Ligo, Name day and monster hand

2009-07-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

So at the Church activity for Ligo, I got to play Ultimate frisbee. It was awesome. what a great game. It was a bit difficult in a skirt, but what do you do. My team totally rocked!!!
So our hot water was completely turned off for a whole day, and the result was disgusting. Our water was brown for atleast 20 minutes after we turned it back on.

Dear All,
I'm sorry I wrote early. Our preparation day got moved because of a Latvian Holiday to a day earlier. Next week I will be writing a day later--transfers. I'm kind of nervous because I think I am going to be with one of my MTC companions and I don't think either of us is that great at the language. I've been in Latvia 2.5 months!
So for some unkown reason to me, birthdays are a big thing in Latvia. Whenever someone has a birthday they get flowers and a ridiculous amount of phone calls from everyone who knows. Those of you who know me really well, know I do not like birthdays especially. So this has been taking some getting used to. Some people in the US are like the latvians in a birthday party sense, but Latvia has something I have never heard of--name days. Many Latvians have the same names (for girls: Ilze, elina, Inesse, Ivita, Evija... and a few more. For boys its like Janis (pronounced yaw-niece) and Alexs, Aivars (pronounced Eye-vars) and Oscars. So after Ligo last week there was a big name day- Janis day. And Janis day is always right after ligo and it is just a huge day to party because seriously every 4th male is named Janis. So Janis day combined with ligo was just weird. Another I think somewhat big difference between latvians and Americans is that Latvians really like to leave the cities to go into the country and be away from the city life. So seriously because Ligo was on a Tuesday most people left over the weekend, took Monday off of work and had Tuesday and Wednesday to be away or wasted. Many of the people we did see were wasted already, it was kind of scary.
For some reason of Tuesday I forgot Monday. I know that sounds weird, but I seriously can't remember what happened on Monday. I can look at my planner and see what we did and Sister Wilson remembers, but I have no idea. It is kind of scary. nothing bad happened, just no memory of it. I think that is all I have, I really have some bad memory problems right now... on a random note, one of the Elders in our area is having a severe alergic reaction to a mosiquito bite. His hand is like a monster hand. scary!

June 23, 2009 A Muslim, a preacher and a little girl...

2009-06-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

Dear All,
So, I hope that because I did not recieve many emails it is because you wait until the day before to email. Sorry I am emailing early, but today is Ligo--or summer sulstace (or something simarly phonetic). It is the longest day of the year and a big holiday, so to not bother people during it and to protect us from drunks we had a preparation day changed to a day earlier. Before 12 today we had already seen 2 completely wasted me lying on the ground as we began to run errands. (See attached picture).
Many interesting things happened this past week. Masa Wilson (companion) Thinks it was her best week for numbers her entire mission. Alot of good things happened too. We had 25 lessons! Which is amazing because normally we are happy with 15. Anyway. The coolest things are these: A Muslim, a preacher and a little girl...
So after getting locked in the church a while back we called a bunch of people we happened to have phone number for. With two of them we were able to appointments. One is named Inese. Formally a sunday school teacher at the local Lutheran church she recently converted to Islam (september). She is really nice and speaks amazing English. I'm excited to get to know her and learn more about Islam. Also she is considering becoming a 2nd wife to a man in Pakistan...obviously no concern about the church's history with polygamy. We have another meeting with her tomorrow with our mission president.
The same day we met with Inese we also met with a Lutheran preacher's family. We have a return appointment with them tomorrow. This past week he was not able to be there, but this week he will. I keep thinking I should be worried, but I know what I know, so..yeah.
And the saddest news of the week is the little girl.
So we were going to an appointment we had in the park and we saw this family. A dad holding the hands of two little girls and the mother pushing a stroller. So Masa wilson goes up to talk to them, we were waiting for a light to change anyway, and the man very upruptly, in English says no thankyou, no thankyou. And Masa Wilson just walked back to me. Awkwardly we were walking in the same direction as they were and one of the little girls let go of her father's hand and came up to us and told us, also in English, that we were not friends and that we would never be friends. And to go away and leave them alone. Note: We hadn't really done anything since the initial no. And then the parents laughed. how sad. Even if you don't agree with someone or don't believe the way they do.... We were shocked. What a sad thing to happen.

well, besides that two of our investigators are getting baptized before the end of the summer. One in particular I want to tell you about. her name is Ivita. Before I came here she had been investigating the church for 4 months. And the only thing standing between her baptism was smoking. She is super addicted. Well, we had a meeting a week ago today and told her that we didn't know what else to do. She had tried different programs and different ways to quit, but only to get discouraged and down on her self and start smoking more than she previously had. well in this lesson, we don't really know what happened, but we told her we didn't know what else to do and that it wasn't going to get any easier. That she was going to have to suffer sooner or later if she really wanted to quit smoking. So the next day we found out she didn't smoke. And Then the next day, and the next and the next! It has been amazing to see her change this past week. If we had asked two weeks ago if she could learn english she would have thought it was out of the question. But since she has been able to quit smoking and her baptism is in less than a month, she is on top of the world. We were talking with her and she is thinking of moving to England, and she is like "I can learn english." (but in latvian). It is awesome the power of the gospel in her life. To see her change the past week has just been a huge testimony builder.

Peace out,
Maasa Kilina

June 16th, 2009 Locked IN

2009-06-17T14:34:00.001-07:00

Dear all,
this week was pretty fantastic. We started poorly but it really was gerat. So the second coming is coming. So this building is probably going to be one of the first to go. On average 40% of doors open in any given building. This building had 20 apratments. Of that 40% 1 person openly admitted to being a communist, and 2 others admited that they worshiped satan, one even showing us his Satan Bible. When you meet this many 'different people' sometimes you wonder about the world it got this bad... Well, Saturday miracles of miracles a 73 year old worman got baptized. We couldn't attend because none of our investigators could and so we planned a meeting to go contacting. Well, just before this we had a district meeting and we stayed in the church for an hour after everyone left for dinner and then we were supposed to meet one of our investigators. Well, we were waiting and then we got a call that she was down stairs and that the door was locked to the building. We don't have keys to the building, just to the church so not only could we not meet with our investigator, se were locked in. And all the people (leaders) with keys were at lest 30 minutes away at the baptism. None of them answered there phones, so we spent a pleasant evening in the church watching a couple videos and reading.
So I feel like I should give a small spiritual thought. So here goes. This one is about faith. I was reading in Hebrews 11. It is a great chapter, really all of Hebrews is phenomanal, but especially 11. So I was correlating the faith with what happened with the faith and pondering the stories that went along with it and wow! Y'all should do this if you haven't. I especially liked (I think this is right) 25-28. Moses, this rich israelite decides to leave the comforts of egyptian royalty and I think it is verse 26 where it says that he choses to suffer with the righteous than sin even for a season. I just really like that. Moses is just a great guy and he does so much and is instrumental to the OT what an example. I really hope Paul wrote that. All is good. We have many investigotars who are slowly stepping in the right direction and we are working hard to help them feel the Holy Ghost and make those descions. Choose good things!

Masa Kilina

June 12th, 2009-skirt man, pot man, zone conference

2009-06-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

Dear all,
3 things I want to tell you about this week: skirt man, pot man, zone conference,
So we went knocking and we ran into two very special people, I will call one skirt man, and the other Alexandars (Formally known as pot man). Skirt man. We knocked on his door he came and was not interested in God or faith. did not think either were important to him or applicable to his life. But he was wearing a tank top and a plaide, very kilt like skirt. so Masa wilson asked him if he normally wore skirts, he said he didn't but that it was hot and he liked the ventallation. It was akward and hilarious. Alexandars. We alson knocked into him. He invited us in for coffee (we think he was just a little high). Because he was the only one home we were not allowed to go in, so we talked to him briefly, and he thought that if God did exist, then it would be important to him to develop a relationship with him. We got his number for the elders. He gave it to us on a small thing of kleenexes. It was super funny. He might come to church this week.
The third and final thing I want to talk about is Zone conference. Once a transfer all the missionaries in Latvia get together to discuss and learn and get rejuvenated. this Zone conferene was about faith and opening our mouths to talk to everyone. President Dance told us some stories from the bible to illustrate that speaking is a principle of faith. God spoke and the world was, say to the moutain to be moved and it would be.... For that same reason, because Satan does not have the power to kill people/take a life, the only thing he could do to try and stop Joseph Smith from praying was to limit his faith, and so he bound his tongue so he could not speak. but Jospeh overcame and ... well, when we voluntarily don't open our mouths and speak, we are letting Satan win. and that is the moral of this story. So Open your mouths and speak. D&C 33 :7-11. Look up the cross refrence about Nephi. Latvia is giong well. one of our investigators is reading the Book of Mormon for the 2nd time now. She is so amazing her name is Evija and every lesson I think, why do you need us why don't we just tell you what we want to teach you and then tell you what we want to read and then let you teach us.
I hope all is well in amerika and that y'all are happy. For my friends in Texas I saw a man the other day who's calfs reminded me of Mason. For others, I am pretty sure I have also seen one Ashley Brock here...
Also, one more story. We are teaching this one girl name Elina. she is already a member, but she has special circumstances. So we met with her and she brought her geometry homework. I got to help her do it and it was awesome. She speaks almost flawless English, the only problem was for me remembering what all the geometry terms meant. It was awesome also to learn some Latvian math words, luckily they were either close to the english or were in the small dictionary I carry. Yay for MATH and the GOSPEL!!
All is well.
Jalina

June 3rd ---a thought to add

2009-06-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

Dear all,
So I have been in Riga almost a week and it is so different from Liepaja. I was so shocked at the difference, even though I spent a few days in Riga the past 6 weeks. We are always busy. Masa Wilson is amazing she obeys the rules mostly and likes to work, but not over work. So, I think once I get into my groove we will work really well together. The best news I have is that Madara got baptized last week and recieved the Holy Ghost on Sunday. I am sorry I didn't get to see it, but extactic that she went through with it. I love her and her testimony is amazing.
So, I wish to tell a few brief things that may or may not be unique to the Baltic States Mission.
The Baltic Curse: there is a curse that many sister missionaries end up marrying Elders from the Baltic Mission. I mention this because I think I have found who I would like to Baltic Curse it up with. His name is Elder Richardson from Sandy. now he is serving in Estonia and came down to Riga for Zone leaders conference. Sadly, it is his last transfer, so I probably won't see him ever again, but I can pray... j/k.
The Book of Mormon: Every time a Baltic missionary drops a Book of Mormon there future companion gains weight if the missionary is a sister and gets uglier if the missionary is an elder.
Mom: Your trainer is your mom. So, I had 2 moms. Masas:moms;; Elders:Dads
Life of a mission: Every missionary is born and goes through life. Has birthdays, anniversaries and eventually dies. I do not think this is unique to the Baltic mission. President Dance (the mission president) does not like the phrase that a missionary is dying.

So this week. I think I went to bed early every day, from exauhstion. We work really hard. We work out almost every morning, sometimes we even run. Then we study and get ready and all that jazz and begin working. We haven't had a full meal time since I've been here.
Sister Wilson is continuing to help me with the language, I teach in most lessons. It is coming along nicely, I guess. I forgot to bring my camera this week, so hopefully next week I will bring it and be able to send some pictures home.

Viss, (meaning all)
Masa Kilina

May 28th A crazy companion, I should fit right in

2009-06-10T16:09:00.000-07:00

Dear All,
Wow, So much has happened. This past week we had a girl we were teaching come up to us on the street and tell us she wanted to get baptized. For the past 6 weeks we had been asking her to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it and she would say she would but would never do it. Well, we saw her on Tuesday and then Tuesday night she did it and she should be getting baptized this Saturday. I am so excited for her. Unfortunately I will not be able to see it because I have been transfered from Liepaja to Riga-Center. One of my companions is on her way home to Salt Lake (Masa Knight). And the other is going to continue there with Masa Hermann (one of my MTC compainions). My new companion is Masa Wilson. I don't know too much about her other than she has 2 transfers left. I am excited to not have to travel as much for things. Last transfer I had a 3 hour ride (one way) to Riga 3 times. That was over 24 hours on a bus or train in 6 weeks. now, I don't think I will have that much time on a bus.
My last day in Liepaja we went to the beach to see the ruins there. It was really awesome. We got some awesome pictures. Although it was freezing there were 4 people windsurfing in the ocean. I don\t know if you can see them in the pictures.
So my new companion: I asked her to tell me about herself and after twiddling with ther hair she said, "oh no." She is crazy. I think she has pills somewhere in the apartment for it though. She is from Arizona. Loves to work with children. She is a convert of 3ish years. That is all for now. I was teasing about the pills. Well...maybe. I can't tell if she is serious. I talked to Masa Largey (my trainer) about it and they got a long and she said Masa Wilson was a blast. I will try and send a bunch of pictures next week.
all for now
Masa Keeling

May 20th, 2009

2009-05-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

Dear All,
This week was amazing. I have been trying something new and it has really helped my attitude. So, I want to go through the best thing I remember that happened this last week.
Last P-day. We attended a funeral of a member's family. One of the Elders (Elder Grey) presided, and he really had no idea how and didn't know the last name of the dead woman. So, the missionaries sang and then we prayed and sort of dedicated the grave, and then Elder Gray carried a 4.5 foot wooden cross from the pavillion to the grave sight. he is super akward and stiff, so it was hilarious in a very solemn way. Thursday- We have a invenstigator with a baptismal date! she is planning for June 13th! the day after she gets married to the man she has been living with for 16 years...
Friday-Service Day. So I got to sear jeans most of the day. We were helping the Red Cross. All the missionaries were vicitims. Some got fake wounds put on..for example, 2 Elders had head wounds. One had scissors through his hand. One of my companions had a fake dog bite. I only got to choke, but it was hilarious. I think we had at least 10 groups of high school students come by, and I probably would have choked to death at least 4 times. Sad. When in Latvia don't choke!
Saturday-Masa Largey made Chicken Trotellini. It was amazing. And we had a crazy ride on a public transportation. Thought I was giong to die. a Member of the branch was driving.
Sunday-I got to go door knocking with just a member. she speaks a little English. She aslo speaks Latvian really fast, so I am getting better with comprehension. It was fun, may have found some single men for the Elders to teach.
Monday-I went to Riga to prepare to go to Estonia. I hung out with Masa Gomez and her companion.
Tuesday-Went to Tallin, and through a series of unfortunate events (sarcasm) Ended up on a luxury bus ride back to Latvia. There was a bus stewardess. She gave us blankets and traveling head pillows, offered us refreshements. It was awesome because I got to hang out with my MTC group. Just the 4 of us, catching up. YAY!!
I got many inquiries about flees. I had them. I do not now. Thank you for the prayers. We think one of the people we teach has them.
Thats all for this week.

May 13th 2009

2009-05-18T11:08:00.001-07:00

Dear All.
Well this week was fun. Instead of being fed a ridiculaous aomunt, we actually ran out of food 2 days ago. Trying to be obedient we ate a bit of rice and bread for a lot of our final meals. Thank heaven for preparation day. Today is Masa Knights 2nd to last P-day. It is really weird. So that means I have 2 weeks to really love her. I have been really struggling to do that. As many of you are probably aware I am not the most patient person. College really didn't help me become more patient at all and in fact made me less patient and more critical of others. now I am reaping my reward for that. I am beginning again to reshape my thought processes to be more in harmony with a Christ centered life. It is hard, but I want to do it. so that is what I am doing. It will be a little easier now because not only do I have flees, but Masa Knight does too--again. So we get to suffer together. What greater way is there to grow in love than struggling and suffering together. I heard that Darriel was mocked for praying for my flees. Why do you mock! I need every prayer I can to get rid of these flees. Luckily my bites don't itch. If you won't pray for me, pray for Masa Knight's flee bites, she has a severe reaction to them. she was bit on the neck three time 2 nights ago, and it looks like a big Hickie. Masa Largey is doing great as far as I can tell. She is really easy to love. I look forward to serving with her more.
This week we also came across my least favorite card game in the world--Phase 10. We play it at least every day now. It is starting to grow on me. I have still not won a single game. The current game we are on looks very promising. In the last game I was on phase 5 when the game ended with over 600 pts! Crazy depressing. But I will push on, with a brightness of hope... If anyone has any ideas for 2-3 person card games they would be much apprieciated.
°In the missionary work, Ena is still planning on getting marriend and Masa Largey and I get to be witnesses. Other investigators are coming slowly along. We are trying to find new investigators and this past week I knocked on 2 doors that went amazingly well. Both were mothers. I knocked and they answered and said in latvian that we were here to share a message about God's love and they said they already knew about it and then they said something and I said something and then they offered to meet on another day. So we set up another appointement. The second door was very similar. she also offered to meet on another day. I am excited to meet with them. I sometimes wonder if I wasn't a member and 3 women in black knocked on my door, what would they need to say to get in. I just don't know.

MAY 6TH 2009

2009-05-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

Dear all,
I think the best way to desctibe the days since I last emailed is holy cow! I ate so much food the past week. WE had dinner with the branch president twice, then we went to a Lativan holiday combined with a birthday party at a member's home and then we had a cinco de mayo fiesta. I think I gained 5 pounds and haven't had the chance to lose it yet.
I'm still working on becoming more Christ-like. Not the easiest task but it will be worth it in the end. Still developing the patience attribute and now I am working again on charity and love. I've been very moody recently, so...yeah.
Have you ever been looking for a scripture where you had no idea where it was and then found it? That happened to me twice this past week. It was crazy amazing. Both time it was in lessons and it was awesome. It is amazing how much more I appreciate the scriptures now that I study them for at least and hour everyday.
In other tragic events, I keep tripping on my own feet. I have not fallen yet, but I stumble more than is necessary for a normal person--on flat ground. It is a bit rediculous.
Language is still coming along slowly. No huge news. Please continue to pray for fleelessness. It worked this past week. Pray with faith, nothing wavering and it will be given you.

your favorite,
Jalina

April 22nd, 2009 1st week in Latvia

2009-05-18T11:05:00.002-07:00

Dear all,
I have officially been in Latvia a whole week! It is interesting. I understand when missionaries speak and now a few slow speaking Latvians. It is really exciting. '
I am serving in a town pronounced Lia-pie-a (Liepaja). It is a fairly small place with not too much. The missionaries are fun. We are largest district in a while. We have a total of 8 missionaries, 2 are 3-somes. I am in a 3-some. I have two trainers because I am that much more special and need that much more help. We have a few progressing investigators. I think we have 2 close to accepting a baptismal date and then one more on the way. We have a total of I think 4 or 5!?? I have not met all of them yet. So my two companions! In the missionary whit-hand book it says not to write bad things home, so I will be focussing on the positive. My oldest companion graduated from Highschool in 04, Masa Knight. This is her last transfer so she has a lot of experience from her mission. She was also here in Liepaja before I came. My other companion is new to the city too. She has been out since October, Masa Largey. They are both great and although it is weird not being able to contribute in lessons I lovethat they can help me and keep me invovled.
I love this little city. I had church on Sunday and the members were really nice and I enjoyed trying to talk with them. Some of them remembered Masa Keeling with the red hair. They asked me why I was not taller. My companions refer to me as the little one. They are not that much taller, only 6-10 inches. :( I enjoy being smaller than most people.
I think the one thing that has suprised me the most about Latvia are the nasty smells. Almost everyone smells like smoke. I think the biggest suprises come when walking down the street and I walk through a smelly patch of air. Always an unpleasant suprise.
There is this woman named Ena who is getting married next week so she can prepare for baptism. I am super excited for her. Although she does not speak slow I can understand most of what she says. It is amazing that after only 10 weeks how much Lativain I have learned. I am able to teach if I had a couple hours for a lesson. I can have small conversations and express feeling and non-complicated ideas. The gift of tongues rocks!!
Jalina

April 17th, 2009

2009-05-18T11:05:00.001-07:00

I am alive and well. I am in Latvia. I have enjoyed the longest plane ride of my life and am ready to wakl around. My first area is Liepaja and I have two trainers Masa Knight and Largy. Not much time to write. But I will write more on my p-day!!

April 9th, 2009

2009-05-18T11:04:00.001-07:00

Dear all,
I hope everyone had a great general conference experience. It was amazing from the MTC. All the talks were amazing and powerful and when the new apostle was called and sustained I felt the spirit confirm to me that he really has been called as an apostle of God. It was a great spiritual experience.
In other MTC life, I am continueing to play volleyball for most of gym time. I played a whole gym time with a team fluctuating between 3 and four playing a team for 3 or 4. It was so much fun playing with people who know how to play. On the slightly funny in an irronic way side of things, one of my companions, masa Gomez tore part of one of the tendons her one of her knees. It was on Wednesday and since that time, I have enjoyed so much watching her walk up and down stairs. She looks like a grandma w/o real hips trying to Latin dance up and down stairs.
In other events, I have continued my strange sleeping habits, but with out snickers, because I have no more. Earlier this week I woke up about an hour after falling asleep ready for the day to go again. I woke up Masa Gomez and she was exauhsted and asked what time it was, looking at my watch I apologized and went back to bed. I woke up again at 4 and then at 5:30. I was so exauhsted.
Some other interesting things is that I had a dream about Texas. I don't know what it was about, but Madeline and Mason were there. I have no idea why, or what they were doing, but I wasn't traumatized or anything.
So, last week I recieved a wonderful letter from a miss Ashley Brock, congrats on your new position!! She told me that a Janey/Janie Baker was coming to the MTC this week and the world got smaller. Not only did I totally recognize her, but she is one of my neighbors. Not only that her and her companion and in my ZONE!!! It was a lot of fun. I heard she was in our zone on Monday so by the time she finally arrived I was overjoyed to see her.
I'm happy and healthy. I'm leaving Tuesday morning at 8:30 from the airport. But don't come, because God blesses us for our obedience. I will fly from SLC to JFK to vienna Austria (with a layover for 6 hours) and then to Riga. I'm getting so xcited. I'm clapping and slapping my face more and more everyday.
My spiritual thought for the week is this, God gave us 2 ears. When we hear something that is offensive it can go in one ear and out the other! --Patience a Christ like attribute

yours in the MTC not much longer,
Jalina

April 2nd 2009

2009-05-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

The church is true!!! I love the MTC. I love studying the scriptures and being saturated in the spirit. This week was amazing. It started with fast sunday, and may I say, fast Sunday at the MTC is the best ever. We got to here from the MTC presidency and then continued on with an amzing sacrament meeting and district meeting (sunday school). I wasn't hungry at all. I feel like I have been on a spiritual high since then.
My zone leader's lung collapsed this past week. He has been in the hospital since last week and should be coming back today or tomorrow. It was scary because the elder in my district had his lung collapse before he came out and it sounds like a very painful recovery because they basically sandpaper the lung and the chest cavity to help them stick together. -gross.
This week was also the first time I was able to teach the second lesson in Latvian. It was a unique experience. Studying the gospel in simplicity to be able to teach it with the bare minimum is quite a challenge. There is just so much to the gospel. It is simple and clear, and also beautiful and complex. It makes so much sense. But not when I teach it in Latvian---arghh!
For April fools we short sheeted our neighbors in the residence halls and switched the flags of our neighbors in the classroom-building. And then made all their desks face backwards. Not the best pranks, but we were limited. I think the best prank I recieved was from sister Bishop, on the 31st. She told my companions and me that the Branch President had told her that we had a special service assignment to help clean in the temple. We said awesome, when? and she said 5:30 the next morning!! I think it was effective because it was an April fool's joke that wasn't done, or told on April fool's. Her companion, unfortunately can't keep a straight face, so we found out really quick. My departure date is the 14th at 5:30 from the MTC. I'm starting to get nervous. I hope all is well in the oustside world. I heard that the US got a lot closer to socialism this week!?!
Please do not email me. Use Dear Elder. I only have 30 minutes.

Jalina

March 26 2009

2009-05-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

Dear All ,
What fun I have had this week. Monday was my 40 day mark, as well with my companions. We had a forty days and 40 nights party in our room. We drank rootbeer and ate snickers, I have pictures I will send home. In case you are unaware, the snickers, 48 of them, are from my family to help me sleep. Also, they do not really have snickers in Latvia, or rootbeer, so we did what we could. We did a little dancing and almost didn't make it to bed in time. It was so much fun. One of the branch presidency's wife told us that 40 days and nights meant that it took as long as it took, so maybe we will have another party before we leave. When I say party I mean a small gathering with church music in the background and toilet paper as a substitute for crate paper.
Pranks this week: I was pranked by the sisters in my zone, consequently they are also my neighbors in the residence hall. My companions were completely aware of it too. They told me something had happened and wouldn't tell me what and said I would find out. Anyway, I was getting into bed last night and I look up, there under the matress above me is a bunch of my stuff and my companion's stuff. There was a brush, a magazine, hanger, sucker, snickers, q-tips, and 'femine products'. I was so suprised. On the flip side I really didn't do much pranking this week.
Spiritually this week was amazing, especially at the fireside on Tuesday. Elder Johnson a quorom of the 70 came and he gave an amazing talk on a lot of inspiring things from our potential as literal children of our heavenly father to testifying an commiting. My favorite quote was that commitments are the threads by which covenants are made. This past week I was really working on devleoping faith and I believe I have developped more faith this week than I ever have in one week. I have been studying the scriptures a lot and very slowly and seeing the teachings of the savior in the NT and in the Book of Mormon in action is amazing. I love the NT. I'm sure one day I will come to appreciate the OT, but not any day soon. I just don't have enough time!!! I have less than 3 weeks left!

March 19 2009

2009-05-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

Still toughing it out at the MTC. My companion this week was Elder Powell. We taught in Lativan and we are finishing up a progressing investigator named Heinz. We teach him tomorrow for the last time. It really has been a fun week. As many of you know, I am fond of practical jokes. I pulled at least 3, two of wich involved small heart attacks for those being pranked. So, the first one was on Tuesday after the MTC fireside (Elder Perry of the 12 came!!!). We got back to the dorms a little early so we went to see our neighbors because we had time to talk. Many of the sisters do not lock the doors because for some odd and mysterious reason we trust those who come into the MTC (and it also may have something to do with a lack of pockets :)) So they weren't there. So we proceeded to hide under their beds and wait. While we were there we had a very good companionship study under their beds. Anyway when they got there Sister Gomez grabbed Sister Longhursts ankles and she screamed and her companion went over to join in the laughter and on her way over sister Hermann grabbed her ankles from a neighboring bed. It was a lot of fun to scare them. Right after that we went back to our room and our roommates weren't back yet, so we hid under the beds again. We scared Sister Titera, she screamed so loud it was priceless. Sister Gomez got in Sister Harris' closet and while the camera was strategically placed, was terrified by sister Gomez and then hid herself behind a bunkbed. It was great. The third prank was on Elders Powells. He fell asleep during personal study, so as dutiful sister missionaries we took his tag and glasses and took pictures with them. Never fall asleep. I am pretty sure I have at least 5 different pictures of him sleeping. I can't get enough of personal study. So much to learn, so little time.
It has been a good week. Myu companions and I have taken to heart Elder Perry's remarks on companionship unity and we have been working on it. I have been ultra sensetive as Aunt Mae is going to come to the MTC again. I 'look forward' to every one of her visits.
Elder Perry is amazing, and amazingly tall. He shared many experiences that I wish to aviod and a few I wish to experience. Companionship unity, in missionary work and in marriage is the key to having the spirit.

A typical day in the life of Sister Keeling

2009-02-27T07:44:00.000-08:00

A typical day in the life of Sister Keeling
I get up around 6 every day. If I didn't shower I might push it to 6:30. Then I get ready by wearing a skirt, nylons (:(), a blouse and my missionary tags. I am in class by 7 with my 2 companions and study for at least 30 minutes. Then we go to Breakfast. I am trying not to eat everything I want and it is paying off because after finishing my second week here I believe I have lost one or two pounds.
Then back to class usually for personal study. Personal study is an hour long and I usually just read the scriptures. I am really focusing on the New Testement, but I make sure to read a little from everywhere (Book of Mormon and Old Testament). It is amazing how much of the gospel is burried in the NT unknown to the rest of the world, or in fact many members of the church of Jesus Christ. After pesonal study we do companionship study in which we plan and study for lessons and possilbe concerns investigators could have. After that we have Language Study for an hour. The language is easy enough, it is not that much different, but I am picking it up so much faster than I thought possible, which I do not attribute to my self because I do not really study for myself, I help my companions because they struggle a little more. We practice phrases and try and analyze senetences for grammar principles we have learned. And then lunch. It is amazing how fast morning study goes by. Every day I wonder at how little I feel I learn in 3 hours. But I learn a lot.
After a fantastically filling lunch I return to class to find one of two of the Latvian teachers, either Brother Flory or Sister Johns. Depending on the day only one may come. But they teach us a new grammar principle every day and then teach us how to teach or a gospel principle with witch we struggle. Brother Flory is more distractable so we learn a lot of stories, while Sister Johns has a schedule and we really focus and study Latvian and techniques to teaching. Sometimes we practice Language scenarios, and sometimes we just talk. Then dinner. After dinner we work out for 50 minutes. I like to run a bit and then play volleyball. I have been having a lot of fun, my overhand serve is really coming along.
After dinner we return usually to find the other teacher and we begin again to study under their inspired tutalage (?? spelling). On Tuesdays after dinner we don't have gym, but instead we study for an hour and then go to a devotional. Last week Elder Ballard came to speak to us. I am out of time for this week. Write me letters via snail mail!

Jalina

1st week in MTC

2009-02-27T07:43:00.003-08:00

I have been incredibly busy. My district in the MTC consists of two elders and my two companions Masa Hermann of Grand Jct. Colorado and Masa Gomez of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. the other two people in my district are Elders Koltko of Ithaca, New York, and Elders Powell of Tempi (?? in spelling) Arizona. So we have people from all over the countries. My other roomates are also from out of state. They are going to be serving on Temple square and they are from Washington State and Ohio. Only one of the sisters that I know is actually from Utah.

The language is easy enough after learning German, not that it is like German at all, but we are being taught the same way I was taught in German, so I am able to apply many of my German language skills to Latvian. The first day of Latvian we learned the alphabet and learned a few basics and then learned to pray. I now can pray in Latvian, bear my testimony, sing and have very basic conversations in Latvian.

Gospel wise, we have taught the first lesson in English three times. We have been working well together and getting much better. I had the best lesson from my branch president (like a pastor or bishop) on Sunday about the Bible, and then on Tuesday Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the twelve came to the MTC for the devotional. It was amazing. I love learning of Christ in the scriptures and while I learn to teach. I hope you are well.

If you would like to write to me free of charge, google DearElder.com. My name is Jalina Keeling of the Baltic Mission, I am in the MTC and my MTC mailbox number is 102. I hope that is all the info you need.

Love,

Jalina

Mailing Address

2009-02-10T18:55:00.000-08:00

So this is my mailing address for the next little while (8 weeks). If you write me I will write you back. I am going to get a list together once email is an option. If you would like to be on the list post your email this blog.
Doing the Lords work,
Sister Keeling

Sister Keeling
Baltic Mission
Provo Missionary Training Center
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604