Like I promised, this is the rest of the e-mail. Sorry it's been all over the place but hopefully you're having too much fun to even notice. Yesterday's zone conference went really well and was followed by two awesome lessons! Learning the gospel and feeling the spirit just charges me up and then you go into a lesson calm and confident. We taught a man named Maris who's the best friend of Sanita, one of the twin's who was baptized last winter. I saw Sanita at a baptism of a woman in the Latvian branch last week (whom Sister Reber and her companion taught!) and she told me about a good friend she has who might be interested. So she gave us his number, called him up, he came with Sanita last night and it was one of the most comfortable and spiritual lessons. He doesn't really believe deeply in God, but has just seen “how happy and cheerful” Sanita has been since her baptism. At the end of the lesson we asked him how he felt and he said that it was odd because he had never believed in these things but he could “see in our eyes” that we believed and that he wanted to also. So now he just has to read the Book of Mormon. I love that the Book of Mormon is true because it makes this work a lot easier.
Afterwards we met up with a Russian man (yes!) named Denis who'd been taught by missionaries a year earlier, right before I came to Riga. His first questions was “how do you remember God all the time and always put him first?” I wanted to say I'm not exactly sure, still trying to figure that one out-- but luckily Elder Brown answered and talked about covenants we make with God. Eventually we talked about the baptism by authority and how we promise to always remember Christ. I thought that was a good answer. Overall, he's a sincere, successful guy that cares about his wife and 3 year old daughter and wants them to be happy. It's cool to find good people who are looking for truth in the right places.
Other than that life in Riga is same old-- faster pace, a lot of Russians, high speed car chases, and a little bit more smelly. Just kidding, but then seriously because the forests in Vilnius keep the air a little fresher, which was nice. Elder Brown and I go running in the mornings and it's still exciting to jog through a cement jungle. Oh on sunday we taught two guys from Sweden, one who was born in France. I talked to him in French on the streets and it didn't go too badly, but when we got into the lesson i was in trouble. We watched the Joseph Smith Movie (in french, with Swedish subtitles) and I'm pleased to say that I understand about 90%.
Although it helps that I've seen the movie over 50 times and could probably understand it any language. But I also understood everything he said and just had to
really plan out what I was going to say for it to come out right. I attempted the opening prayer and he came in after two lines to save the day. I was happy though, his tag team solution was a miraculous answer to the prayer in my heart.
It's been great serving around some of the old MTC district, Elders Pratt, Patterson, Schmidt and Sister Nelson-- brings back so many good memories. They all look great, have been working hard and are happy. Crazy that it's been over a year together. I can definitely see a lot of growth, but it still baffles me that time has gone by that quickly. Elder Brown reverently compares a mission to a role of toilet paper, the more that's gone the faster it goes. And the more you cherish every bit.
Welp now we've got to go and will probably write again next thursday. I hope that I asnwered your questions, and if not i probably just forgot so ask again! I feel like a broken record for saying this every week, but do love you all so much and am very grateful for your prayers. I've never felt so supported and sustained, and I constantly realize that this truly is God's work.
Keep on body surfin on-
Love, Elder Barnes #12
P.s. attached are pictures of the Russian family (Ruslan, Tatiana, little Nelly, and Kolja) and our swedish/french friends (Akim and Zryan). I didn't ask but I'm guessing their ancestors weren't from Sweden...
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