Dear Family,

Right after last week’s preparation day, things started to look much brighter. We returned home to electricity which was a big boost. Puns intended.

We had a great lesson with that French man who speaks Russian- Volodia. He has a hard time seeing the Book of Mormon on the same level as the Bible, but really enjoys meeting with missionaries. We wanted to teach him why the book of Mormon is necessary and I remembered something Christopher had told me about reading 2 Nephi 2 because it basically teaches the whole plan of salvation. We did and he just ate it up. I’m convinced that one of the biggest barriers for people and the book of Mormon is just the fact that they have never opened it up and read. The doctrines are explained so powerfully that it’s hard to misunderstand. Volodia got sick and was not able to come to church so we’re hoping to meet again with him this week—I’m going to give him the French book of Mormon I bought in the MTC.

The following day we had our first lesson with a 26 year old man named Dima, who had met with missionaries about a year ago. He’s a very cool guy, down to earth and into spiritual-ness. Mariana, a 21 year old member from the Lithuanian branch ran into him a few weeks ago and referred him, so we met together which is always great. I really love working with the members here—it really is the best and most effective way to do missionary work. Especially because when we knock doors, about 70% of the people we talk to and teach are Lithuanian, even though we usually speak to them in Russian.

There are 31 missionaries in Lithuania, 6 Russians: 5 of us in Vilnius plus one in Klaipeda. The mutli-language aspect here makes me wonder about how Christopher must have done Chinese missionary work in France; excluding the fact that there were probably not any Chinese members when he started—wow that would be a head ache. It’s a good think Chisos is a “rockstar”/stud!

The most exciting and miraculous news of the week happened on Monday after district meeting. We were talking about ways to “find through your own efforts” and it had come up how the 2nd bullet point in PMG is “Look for ways to offer simple service.” It’s interesting because sometimes it really looks/feels like doing service doesn’t completely fill the missionary “purpose” of helping people come to Christ through faith, repentance and baptism. But Preach my gospel definitely knows what its talking bout.

As we were walking into center after District meeting to contact in center, Brother Ginadi Ustanovich (who taught the family with us) called to see if we would come over and help him move his fridge. Seeing as we were just talking about offering simple service we said, “JEAH!” We went out, moved his fridge for 10 min, and taught him a lesson about service. We asked which friends he had who we could serve, and he just pulled out his phone and texted a friend from work to see if we could come over. While he was texting, I thought about the family with 3 girls who we started teaching only after missionaries had done a cleaning service project for them. I called them up to see if we could come by and they said we could come right away! Then later that day we met with Brat Ustanovich’s friend and will hopefully set up a time to meet up next week. Service leads to miracles.

The lesson with the family was great, we were just so happy to be there after thinking we probably wouldn’t go back. While we were talking, their Polish neighbor came in after she’d been sucking back on grandpa's old cough medicine. She was nice, but not all there as she got on her knees and started saying a Hail Mary in polish. It was interesting, and testimony building. But the best was when Angelika (the mother) basically bore her testimony of how our church is different and without icons and the members are friendly as they get together and say what they feel. Elder Briggs and I were so stoked. Apparently they weren’t able to come to church last week because they were out of town for a funeral, but they enjoyed church the week before—especially the middle daughter who wants to learn to read better in Russian so that she can sing the hymns (the daughters speak better in Lithuanian, but the mother is Russian). Ah it was so awesome. There are still plenty of things to figure out, especially because they live 23 Km away from church and it’s expensive for Brother Ustanovich to make the trip to pick them up for church (he said would totally be down for it if he could though—ah he’s incredible!). The alternative is 3 different bus tickets for 4 people (one way) which adds up really quick too. I know that we’ll be able to work something out but we’ll definitely need some help from above.

Transfers are next week and I’m thinking I’ll stay here in Vilnius. Better be! But we’ll be moving to a new apartment that’s more central to our area. Elder Klima and Berryhill are heading home in a week and it’s been awesome to work around them and learn from them. The members really trust and love them which has been a big factor in the last four baptisms (in the last 2 months) all coming from member referrals, 2 of which were middle aged daughters of part member families. There is another member’s 11 year old son with a date for early in March and hopefully the family we’re teaching will keep on keeping on, so the work is going forward!

I was asked to give a talk last Sunday in church and I chose to talk on how to find happiness. Last time I read through the Book of Mormon I kept a tally of these words: Happiness: 31, Glad: 37, Rejoice: 79, Joy: 115, Smile: 3. I’m a firm believer the people in the Book of Mormon were very happy. But the connection is clear between being truly blessed/happy and keeping the commandments, doing missionary work and trusting in the Lord.

If I could add anything to that list it would be eating, sleeping and communicating with family, but not necessarily in that order. Thank you for your great weekly e-mails; they are the best and so uplifting. Go Lady Axe! 24 and 0, Holy Moly! It’s great to hear Tigey’s season is coming to a happy ending and even the Ducks won a game! Wow, life is good.

Love, Elder Barnes #12

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT

My dearest family,

The highlight of this week was definitely Sundays baptism! Sikta and Paulina are referals and long time friends of the 1st counselor in the branch, Sasha and wife Zita. Sasha is an incredible man, he's been a member with his wife for 15 years, shares the gospel without fear and he leads meetings like Dick Vitale. He actually baptized Sikta and Paulina which raised my respect for him, because he was in the water the longest. I say that because they got baptized in the pond behind their home. I forgot my cord to send pictures this week, but i promise i'll send them next week. They literally had to break the ice to get in. Ha! It was awesome. I was able to interview Sikta and Paulina for their baptisms and it was so cool to hear about how they gained their testimonies. Sikta (the husband) told me he always just knew the church was true, because Sasha wouldn't be a member of an untrue church. They had been friends since childhood and Sasha had absolutely no belief in God until he converted. In the interview I was reminded of the Risley family and I showed them the christmas picture of their family I carry around with me. It's so cool to think how saintly Jake and Wanda are and Jenny and Nate's missions, and imagine the thousands of lives who have been blessed, and are being blessed because of their service. The gospel is just so true.

I apologize that last week's e-mail was so short! I wrote a good one and then just deleted it all, which is something I don't plan on doing again. You live and you learn! This week we've definitely had some learning experiences as it seems like nearly everything was gone wrong. Ha, last monday our electricity was turned off because of a bill not paid from December, so to this point we've been going home and waking up to darkness. Planning and journal writing by candlelight has been an adventure but I'm excited to be able to see. And then last Wednesday we ate something that just wasn't right; it could've been the 12 lt chinese food (about 6 dollars, I was so stoked about the price of a full meal deal, at first...) or the yogurt we had refrigerated by hanging out the window. We're honestly not sure which, so I've decided to stay away from both.

The worst news of all was the family that we teach (with the 3 adorable girls) didn't open the door when the member went to pick them up for church. There is always hope though, and we'll go to them again some time this/next week. It lifts me up knowing that nothing truly worth it, has ever been easy.

So our teaching pool at this point is down to one man, Volodia. He's originally from France but speaks Russian fluently, although his accent is different than any other i've heard! I spoke a little bit of French, or tried, but i speak so much worse in french than in russian it's ridiculous. I pulled out my French Liahona a few days ago for fun and I still probably read the same in both languages-- although i guarantee my «french accent» is more messed up than ever. Ha what a blessing it was to learn a language growing up though, I really hope someday to re-learn how to speak french. For now Russian is still enough to try to master. But Volodia has met with missionaries before and we found him from the area book and had a good lesson with him so we're looking forward to teaching him again tonight! We also received a referral of another man, Dima, who's met with missionaries, who we're teaching tomorrow. We met him at FHE and he seems really excited. We'll see what happens!

Dad asked about the Russian speakers here and I got some statistics this week that will paint a good picture. There are 18% Russian people here, but 90% of the adult population speakw Russian, including those from Poland, Belarussia, and other nearby countries (way more here than in Riga). So we've done about a quarter or third of our teaching to people who speak Lithuanian as primary language (if adult than we teach in Russian, if teenager than in English-pretty much always). If it goes well than we pass them to Lithuanian missionaries as soon as possible, which we have done a few times.

Zone conference was last friday and it was awesome, as always! President Dance taught us doctrine from Moses 1 that blew my mind, his understanding of scripture is unreal! He reminds me a ton of Dad, especially when he teaches. I'm really excited about Dad's new calling, those institute kids are lucky! And then Sister Dance talked about how we are chosen of the Lord because of our choices. And she showed us in 1 Nephi 17:40 tje scripture that Mom showed to me while you were in Montana. So basically the mission president and his wife are my parents, which is what I'm talking about!

Please make sure to pass a thank you on to the Richeys for the home made carmels. Mhmm!! Those definitely cheer you up after a night of throwing up in the dark. Just kidding, but seriously we are feeling much much better and just loving life. It is good to be in the Lord's service. OK it's awesome!

I love you!

Love Elder Barnes #12

P.s. I sent Emma a letter about a month ago that i hope she got! She wrote me a few times before i got around to writing back so if she's still waiting tell her i say «Hey! I'm really happy to hear the 2nd semester is going great with the roommates! Football champions? Jealous. Give Gary, Ericka, Kelly and the whole clan a big hug and hello from me.Yup yup!

ME = A DORK

Ah i really apologize but i wrote a whole nice solid, somewhat studly e-mail, copied it, was about to paste it and then got distracted, sent an e-mail to President Dance and it's gone, forever.
So in three points
- Baptism this week, from other companionship and they're awesome couple-- member referral.
- Olga's husband freaked out and she didnt come to church but we'll try again this week
- The family we teach with 3 girls is wonderful, came to church and enjoyed it. More details next week but here's the letter I wrote to president, it's also brief but gives a little more detail. Again i'm really sorry, but it's a miracle i wrote to you all individually today, so at least you know i still love you. I love you!

...We’re teaching a nice and humble family with 3 daughters, they live in the same home as a member of the branch (he’s renting a room), and a member of the branch20takes us out there to teach so they’re progressing well. They came to church last week, and we will teach them again tomorrow, and hopefully set a baptismal date!

Our time is short but I think that’s all there is to report.

Love, Elder Barnes
Welp there you go, Sorry again, and i love you!Love Elder Barnes (#12)

FREEZING SMILES

Dear Family,

Things in Vilnius are great! We had another week packed with finding (people and places), and I feel like I know how to get around much better. The bus systems here are incredible, the longest you ever have to wait is never longer than a dozen minutes, and you can get wherever you need to be. Still, one of the best ways to get to know people is by asking for directions. Just by looking at us, they can tell that we’re not from around here so I never hesitate to just ask. In this morning scripture study, Alma’s comment in Alma 26:36 was familiar when he talked about being “wanderers in a strange land.” But Heavenly Father really does have our backs.

Speaking of scripture study, as a mission we’re reading the Book of Mormon and highlighting all of the references to the Savior including pronouns and God. I’d never thought about it, but because Christ is the God of the Old Testament, he is the God of the Lehi’s time as well. Cool hunh?. Well guess how many times any form of his name is mentioned only up until Alma chap. 26, about pg.275 (in Russian) or half way through. A lot.

I’ll actually write it at the end of this letter so you’ll have to guess and patiently wait like one of Grandmas candy jars. I usually did alright at those guessing games, but I’m pretty sure that if I wasn’t the one keeping track, I’d be WAY off.

We’re still working with Paval but were not able to meet last week. Hopefully we’ll be able to work something out; I know there have been miracles in his life to prepare him to accept the gospel. We’re also teaching a family with 3 adorable girls, Carolina, Irina and Agneshka, ages 11, 7 and 4. Gennadi, a member in the branch is renting an apartment in their home, 20 min outside of Vilnius. So another member, also named Gennadi (he’s a saint and a half) takes us out there twice a week. We taught them the restoration last week, and since then the oldest girl read out loud to her sisters 1st Nephi 1, 2. We talked about how she, like Nephi, can be a good example for her siblings and they will “believe on her words.” The lesson went very well and they had great answers to questions, while the youngest one, Agneshka, was smiling the whole time. Right in the middle of the lesson, without thinking, I looked at her and winked. That’s the 2nd time here where I’ve winked almost uncontrollably. I don’t know if you remember dad but when you gave me the fathers blessing the night before I left, you mentioned something about ‘loving/serving with a wink’. It makes me wish I could have remembered all the other fathers blessing you’ve given and notice all the other things come true!

We have done a lot of finding this week, and have been blessed to teach some great first lessons. In the evenings we knock in the apartment domes, and by day we contact to pull people back to a teaching center/office. The church is a building, very similar to the one in Imanta-side Riga (made famous by Elder Glauser's TV appearance) but out of center about 35 min. So we contact in center, which is also where we live. Contacting is probably my favorite, but they are both a joy. This Friday we finished a lesson in center at 7:30. We didn’t have enough time to get out to an area to knock, so we decided to contact in center, even though Friday nights are the most effective time to contact, for somewhat obvious reasons. But after 15 min, we contacted a couple, who were Lithuanian but spoke English very well. They were obviously on a date, but interested in learning more so we invited them to come to the teaching center for 15 minutes, and they said yes! While walking, I asked how long they had been together, the guy answered “well, half an hour.” They had just met on a blind face book date! The lesson was great, despite the fact that they learned a lot about each other in a short amount of time. Let’s just say that she had wanted to be a nun, and he wants to be a comedian. Yup yup. But she was interested in coming to church and meeting with the Lithuanian sisters, which is what I’m talking about.

Other than that most interesting experience, we’ve had a few wonderful lessons with another woman Olga and her son, Karen (21). She also has a daughter with 7 children who we haven’t met. Yet. She is the nicest person I have ever met here. She talks about how it’s a shame nobody on the streets says hi or smiles at each other. We contacted her as we got of the bus and she said that’s why she was interesting in talking in the first place. Before each lesson, she goes to a local stand to buy cookies, which Elder Briggs and I definitely don’t complain about. We’re going back on Friday and I really hope she will come to church on Sunday, I really can picture her as a member of the church. We sang in our first lesson and she said that she would come to church if we sang there, too. Haha, which shows that she’s way nice, because we really don’t sing that well, no offense to us. But she really is a kind and faithful woman that basically recognizes all religions as good. Which is great, I think. But I know that if she continues to read and pray she can gain a testimony that the restored Gospel is the fullness of truth.

I’ve tried to make the talk by Elder Wirthlin from last conference “Come what May, and Love it” the theme for the last couple of days. A smile or a laugh goes a long way when life feels rough, for you or those around. Some crazy and uncontrollable things happen (looking for a man’s home for 2½ hours or getting stopped by the bus police on the first of the month, a Sunday night at 8:30 after completely forgetting to buy a new bus pass,) but as long as I’m doing all I can, I know that the Lord will take care of the rest.

The Savior References up to Alma 26: 3701.I love you all so much! It sounds like Dad is going to be the new Old Michael Phillips, Mom is still an innocent Martha Stewart, Christopher is going to be the new family CPA, Elyse is the next Cheryl Swoops, and Tigey is the next Dale Earnhardt. Hopefully Jr. Keep on keeping on, and smiling!

Love, Elder Barnes #12

P.S. The subject, which I thought was pretty artsy, refers to the temperatures from last week. On sunday I heard it was -15 C which sounds more hard core than it is because it's warmer than -15F. But I don't know if warm is the correct word to use becuase I was much colder than I've ever been. But according to the mission letter, "the darkest and coldest part of the winters are behind us", so you can't help but smile!