A Man of Many Talents

Last week we had Austris and his children, Daivis and Lalita, over for dinner and fun. Austris, a good friend, is a cook at a local vegetarian restaurant, and came prepared to show me how to cook rice "the right way". I have now been introduced to the wonders of clarified butter and homemade curd. While we were waiting for the rice to steam, he built the tallest domino tower I've ever seen, which, as you can see from the picture, delighted one and all! Austris, a man with very deep religious convictions, is currently a member of the Hare Krishna faith. He brought some of his Church's traveling leadership to our apartment a couple of weeks ago so that Russ and I could meet them. They also are very gentle, sincere people. We had an interesting, informative conversation - everyone came away understanding each other better by the end. Afterwards, I couldn't help but contemplate what rich, unusual experiences I get to have here on a daily basis.

Rollin' in the Dough

One afternoon I went to my friend Zane Senkane’s house to teach her and the her boys how to make cinnamon rolls. Jekabs (6) and Gustavs (3) , her older boys, used to be a little leery of me - this tall woman whose words were nonsense to their ears. But today they met me at the door with hugs and full-on grins. Gustavs chattered away at me and I was actually able to understand a lot of what he said. I guess the good news is that I can finally understand a little Latvian. The bad news is that I apparently have the vocabulary of a 3 year old. These little boys were so excited to help with the baking – they measured (with supervision!), stirred, and kneaded with great delight. When it came time to roll out the dough and form the pastries, Jekabs learned the string-cutting technique and did a great job, so pleased about his new skill as he cut the tube of dough into separate rolls. We let the rolls raise again, then baked and frosted them. What great little chefs! I wonder how many batches of cinnamon rolls I've made over the past 3 years. Sometime I'll have to "guestimate" it. Must be thousands . . . .

A Day Off

Saturday, May 3
Russ and I left in the morning for Klaipeda, Lithuania, to spend the day with Mindaugas and Zina Pečiuliai. President Pečiulis is branch president of the Klaipeda Branch, and he and Zina have been offering to take Russ and I on a tour of the sights around Klaipeda. Today was the day! We took Elder Gardner with us because he is recovering from a long term virus, and he can't work for a while. Anna Ransheva came with us to translate between our English and the Pečiuliai's Lithuanian. Anna's native language is Russian, but she also speaks Latvian, Lithuanian, and great English. She's an amazing, powerful, humble young woman whom I love dearly. So we toured old churches, outdoor museums, scenic little towns, and a rock museum (not music, the real metamorphic thing.) The rock museum was outdoors, and was really a sculptured garden with odd-shaped and carved rock built into the landscaping - very unique and beautiful.
After a full day of being tourists, we went to the Pečiuliai's favorite restaurant, Joseph's. It was a holiday, so there was quite a line and a long wait to get in. Zina disappeared for a minute, and then reappeared at the front door and waved us in. It was a test of courage to walk past all of the other people in line ahead of us and just sachet in, but we did it and were led to an empty table. Seems that Zina has a friend who works there and she pulled some strings. I forgot my guilt immediately when the food came. We stuffed ourselves, and then left there to go to Lucy's restaurant for dessert. Lucy is a Chinese member of the Church who owns a restaurant (of course Chinese!) in Klaipeda. She had wanted us to come by, and had her house specialty desserts all ready for us when we got there. Lucy and her daughter Meggie treated us like royalty and wouldn't even let us pay for the dessert. I am DEFINITELY getting spoiled - and rounder by the minute - from all this good food.

Ties That Bind

Friday, May 2
After the Latvia's Zone conference today, I caught Russ and Elder Lindstrom in the middle of a tie exchange. They had been admiring each other’s ties and decided to pull a switch right then and there. Ties are the only variety the Elders get in their wardrobe, and there is significant bartering and trading in the mission. Elder Lindstrom is a sweetheart – Russ had admired his tie, and he had liked Russ’s. I’m not sure who initiated the switch, but both appear happy with the trade.

Mmmmm. . . . . šašliki!

Saturday, April 26

Brother and Sister Spalvens and their daughter Lydia are the glue that hold the Daugavpils branch together. They are amazing people, and know how to love and serve. The know that we are leaving soon, and wanted to have us over for a meal before we left. The road to Daugavpils follows the Daugava River, which made for a beautiful 3-hour drive this time of year. The leaves are out in earnest now, and everything is the intense Baltic green that I love so much. When we got to the city, Anna (Our friend who came along to translate) directed us to Spalven’s home. They have a good-sized yard, in which they have planted several vegetable gardens, and a greenhouse where they grow their spring vegetables. When we got there, Brother Spalvens was out in the backyard preparing šašliki, a shishkabob dish that is native Latvian. Today it was pork dipped in spiced mayonnaise and put on the skewer. He had a homemade barbecue grill, which was a metal box with ventilation holes in the sides, and laid the skewers across the box full of coals to cook the meat. It smelled wonderful! Sister Spalvens had prepared plates of fresh vegetables – cucumbers, tomatoes, pickles, spring onions – and some boiled potatoes, so we had quite a feast. She also served us some home-canned spiced pumpkin that was delicious with the šašliki, as well as another home preserve known as “mother-in-law tongue.” It was also really tasty. Anna and Lidia did the translating as we talked and ate, so we were able to carry on a pretty good conversation. As we were leaving after dinner, Vera presented me with a jar of each kind of preserves – gratefully received!

Veggies, Anyone? Anyone . . . .

Tuesday, April 22
The Boehms, a Senior Missionary Couple, came to the mission home today. Sister Boehm and I were cooking up a storm when we realized we were missing a few ingredients that we needed, so we sent Elder Boehm to Dairs Veikels (like a 7-11)to pick up a few things. Elder Boehm was gone for quite a while, and we were just starting to wonder what had happened to him, when in he walks, slightly breathless and grinning from ear to ear. He had the following story to tell:
He went to Dairs, but they didn't have what he needed. He continued down the street, and passed by the tirgus (open air market). He thought perhaps he might find what he needed there, and wandered in. He was smiling and greeting people when he spotted a young man watching him. Elder Boehm looked right at him and said, “Hello.” The young man (Caspars) was excited to speak English to an American, so he came closer, and checked out E. Boehm’s name tag. He asked, “Are you from Utah?” E. Boehm said yes. Caspars said that he had talked to our missionaries from Utah before, but had stopped seeing them. E. Boehm told him he needed to talk to them again and listen to what they had to say. Caspars asked E. Boehm if he would like to come with him to meet a couple of his friends. E. Boehm was a little hesitant, but figured he’d go a little way with him. They went to a café, where they met up with 2 more young men and a girl. Caspars introduced everyone, and said of E. Boehm, “This is a good man, and he goes to church every Sunday. We should go to Church on Sundays.” They chatted a while, then E. Boehm told them that he had to leave. Caspars said, “Wait! I need to give you something.” E. Boehm told him that he really didn’t need to do that, but Caspars would not take no for an answer. Out from behind his back he pulled a 12” parsnip, and gravely presented it to E. Boehm, who received it with as much dignity as he could muster, under the circumstances!

The Beginning of the End

Sunday, April 13, 2008
Kadri, Kennet, Piibe Jogi

I found myself looking into the faces of the people in the congre- gation – so many that we’ve grown to know and love – the Chans, the Koivs, the Lepps, Marika, Luda and her baby, the Jogis, the Timokovs – and I was hit strongly with a deep sense of sadness that once we left the mission, we might never have the chance to see these people again. I was struggling with the emotion of this thought when they announced the closing song, “God Be with You ‘Til We Meet Again.” Not fair. The nose turned red, the tears came, and all I could do was bite my lip and try not to sob out loud. More nose blowing and eye wiping during the closing prayer, trying not to look too smeared and swollen for greeting people after the meeting was over. Marianne Timokov, who’s about 7, danced up to me after the prayer, handed me a chocolate candy bar, said “I love you” in her sweet little Estonian-soaked English, and hugged me. That completely dissolved by composure. I think it’s going to be a long 2 ½ months with way too many good-byes.

I Get No Respect Around Here

Journal Entry - April 1

This morning Elder Thompson called me with the following information: “Sister Watterson, Elder Wallace and I were out morning contacting this morning, and he was attacked and bitten by a German Shepherd.” My heart dropped to the floor and I started asking questions: “Is it a bad bite?”
“Yeah, it’s really bad.”
“Where was he bitten?”
“On the leg.”
“Where on the leg? Thigh, calf, front, back. . . .”
“He was bitten on the front of his thigh.”
“Will he need stitches? Are you at the hospital?”
“Yeah, we’re at the hospital and I’m filling out all these forms, and I can’t remember what day it is. Do you know?”
“What DAY IT IS? No, let me try to find a calendar . . . .”
“Oh, wait, Sister Watterson. Someone here just told me that it’s April 1. That would make it April Fool’s Day, wouldn’t it?”

Can anyone spell “gullible?”

Baltic Missionaries

The title, Baltic Missionaries, refers here to missionaries that grow up in the Baltic countries and then accept mission calls to serve elsewhere in the world. Among the youth here who are active in the Church, it is practically a given that they all serve missions, the girls as well as the boys. Gunita Graudupe is one such wonderful young woman. (She is 4th from the left in the pink shirt.) She received a call to serve in the Salt Lake Temple Square Mission, and left for the MTC last week. She is brilliant as well as beautiful, speaking her native Latvian, and in addition, excellent Russian and English. Next time you tour Temple Square in the next year and a half, look for her to guide you through that historic site, and reminder her that President and Sister Watterson love her and are proud of her.

Departures

Each 6 week transfer period in the mission begins with arrivals and departures. I love the arrival days and dread the departures. We grow so fond of these great young men and women, that to send them home when their missions are over is a wrenching experience. If it weren't for the fact that I know there are ecstatic mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and sometimes girlfriends/boyfriends waiting on "the other side", I wouldn't/couldn't let them go. When my own children were due to return from their missions, I thought they were as excited to come home as we were to get them here. I now know that probably wasn't the case because I have watched the returning missionaries going through what amounts to a mourning phase as they leave. I have no doubt that if given the chance to extend, most of them would. But it's time for them to move on to the next chapters in their lives - school, marriage, families. . . .We host a departure dinner at the mission home the night before they get on the plane, followed by a testimony meeting. After that there is a dessert reception for parents who have come to pick up their missionaries, and for the senior couples to have a chance to say good-bye. Elders Foote, Gaggini, and McKee (top row middle) left in February. We love them and wish them well.

Arrivals

Receiving new missionaries is one of the most fun aspects of our calling. In February we welcomed 17 new ones to the Baltic Mission - our second largest group ever. When arrivals come in, we take them to the mission office for orientation by the staff there. Then it's off to the mission home, where Russ interviews all of them. We feed them dinner, show them the New Missionary Orientation powerpoint presentation, introduce them to their new companions, and then put them to bed. Sounds simple, but it's quite the operation. 17 people coming for 1 1/2 to 2 years, means a LOT of luggage, so we have them leave most of it at the mission office, and just bring overnight bags to the mission home. And 17 new arrivals plus their 17 companions means dinner for about 40, including Russ and I and the Assistants to the President. I do the cooking, with help from the young people, who are eager to pitch in. It's a good time for me to get to know them in the relaxed atmosphere of my own kitchen. Interviewing 17 missionaries and seeking inspiration as to who serves with whom leaves Russ a little drained. We keep the new sister missionaries in the guest room in our apartment for the night, and the new Elders sleep in the bunk room next door in the Assistants' apartment. We send them off the next morning with their companions, and then I tackle the mountains of laundry (sheets and towels) that that many people generate. Thanks goodness for automatic washers and dryers....

Hello, Goodbye

It seems like just yesterday that we were sitting in the New Mission Presidents' Seminar in Moscow with other brand new mission presidents and their wives - jet-lagged, nervous, excited, exhausted, and in my case, terrified. Now we're at the other end, seeing our release with a huge mixture of emotions. It's literally painful to think about leaving all the missionaries and friends we've made here, yet breath-takingly exciting to contemplate being with family and friends again. I remember the first year at Christmas I was decorating the tree, with tears in my eyes, thinking, "I have to do this 2 more times before they let me go home." The second year, while again decorating the tree, I thought, "I only get to do this one more time before we leave." Last December I remember thinking, "I'm not leaving this place and they can't make me." Funny how perspective changes over time. Good friends in this picture include the Andersons (Donesk, Ukraine), Davises (Kiev, Ukraine), and Sandbergs (St Petersburg). We entered our service at the same time, and will finish together in July.

Soggy Sochi

The Europe East Area's Mission Presidents Seminar was held in Sochi, Russia, on February 14 - 16. They brought us to Sochi because it is supposedly warm there, on the Black Sea. We were there a couple of years ago for MP Seminar, and it WAS lovely. This year, however, we had more winter in the 3 days we were there than we've had in Riga the whole season. It snowed, sleeted, rained, froze, thawed, and stormed the whole time. Oh, well, the Spirit and the friendships were warm -

New Hat

Elder Stowell and Elder Glauser, the Assistants to the President, wanted to get Russ a shopka for Christmas. I chipped in on it, and the hunt for the perfect hat began. Christmas came and went, but the ideal hat could not be found. Shopkas, as you may or may not know, are HIGHLY personal items (!) and have to be bought with precision! Finally, their quest ended in the tirgus (open air market)where they found a sweet medium brown mink shopka. They presented their gift to Russ at the end of January, who was pleased beyond measure at the thoughts of how great (read that WARM) the shopka was going to be when he had to plow the roads in a snowstorm in Granby. Who knew the many benefits of serving a mission?

A Fist Full of.....Screws?

One of our Elders, who shall remain nameless, was playing soccer on sports day. Playing goalie, he was scored against, and took his frustrations out by punching a brick wall, managing in the process to break a couple of bones in his hand. We took him to the hospital, where it was determined that he'd have to have surgery, inserting pins and mini-screws to help it heal. Our Area Medical Adviser said that it was fairly siple surgery, so it was decided that he would have it done here. He's a spunky kid, and bore up under the stress well. Surgery is frightening enough, without the complications of language barriers, unusual hospital conditions, and rumors of the horrors of local surgery. He showed remarkable courage through the whole thing, and the surgery was a success. Now his only concern is the ribbing he has to take from his fellow missionaries over the origins of the injury . . . .

Fly Baby

We went with a few of the Latvian Imanta Elders to visit President Graholskis, at his business, which is building small planes for private individuals. He has a fairly large hangar where he works in the winter. It was bitter cold in there, but I forgot how cold I was when I saw some examples of his work. He builds large toys for "big boys" to play with. He had ultra lights, biplanes, and a few other odd looking flying machines. Then he took us over to the large hanger where people had stored their small aircraft for the winter. Again, there were several different types of flying machines there, from ultra-lights to small amphibious planes. I was surprised at how interesting it all was to me, considering how much I LOVE to fly . . . .

Tennis, Anyone?

We met Alexej one night on the highway about 10 kilometers out of Tallinn. His car, traveling in front of us, was shooting sparks and smoking like crazy. We honked and flashed our highlights until he pulled over. He didn't know what to do about the car, so we took him and his mother into Tallinn to their apartment, getting to know them on the way. Alexej is a tennis champion and coach in Tallinn, and a great young man. We told him that we had a missionary serving with us, Elder Peterson, who has offers of a tennis scholarship waiting for him when he's done serving here. Logical outcome - we set up a tennis match between our missionary and Alexej! When I called E. Peterson to see if he was game for this, he could hardly believe his good fortune. When the day came for the big match, we met Alexej at the sports club where he teaches. We brought E. Peterson and his companion and a set of Russian speaking missionaries. It was SO fun to watch. Alexej pretty much toyed with E. Peterson, who didn't even care because he was playing tennis again. They smacked that ball around for an hour, with Alexej running the legs off E. Peterson. When all was said and done, we had one happy missionary and one new friend. After the match Russ and I took all the missionaries to dinner at Caramba's, the only Mexican restaurant we've found in the Baltics. The Russian speaking missionaries are teaching Alexej. What a great guy!

Teach, Bake, & Eat!

Who knew that my most used recipe in the Baltics would be . . . cinnamon rolls! The mission- aries love them because they're a touch of home, so I bake away, and love every minute of it. I decided to make rolls for Estonia's Zone Conference and wanted them to be fresh, but had to figure out how to get a kitchen to use. I called the sister missionaries in Tallinn and asked if they would like cinnamon roll lessons, and did they have any investigators who might like to learn too. They are teaching an American girl who, as it turns out, was thrilled at the prospect, so we met at the sister's apartment and mixed, kneaded and laughed our way through 5 dozen cinnamon rolls. While the dough was raising, we taught our investigator a lesson on the Word of Wisdom. It was a great afternoon, and the missionaries had cinnamon rolls for Zone Conference brunch the next day - A winner for everyone.

Resolutions and Gratitude

One of my New Year's resolutions is to update this blog on a weekly to bi-weekly basis. Trying to catch up on 2 month's worth of news is just TOO FRUSTRATING!

That having been said, I simply can't express by gratitude to God adequately enough for the opportunity to serve here. To work with these wonderful young people, spreading the good news, joyful message of the Gospel, is fulfilling and enriching beyond measure. I highly recommend it!

Happy New Year!

On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day our mission- aries stay in. It's just too crazy out in the streets, and people aren't in a condition to talk about spiritual things anyway. This year we had all the Sister missionaries in Latvia come stay at the mission home. They don't get to see each other often, and this is a great time to relax a little and bond. Some of the member young women joined us for the sleep-over; we ended up with 17 staying with us - good fun. We watched Disney and Church videos, ate, wrote in journals, ate, talked, played games, ate, read, napped - it was a low-key day to simply recharge our batteries.
Some of the Elders stayed next door in the Assistants to the President's apartment, so we had them over for lunch and dinner. Russ was afraid that they were starving over there. . .

We've moved!

At last we've moved into the new mission home! I begged and pleaded with Raitis the contractor that we be in by Christmas. He promised that we would, and sure enough, on December 21 we began moving into our new home. It's on the 3rd floor of a newly renovated condo building overlooking one of the busiest streets in Riga. It's not as quiet as our last neighborhood, but we don't have to contend with threatening landlords anymore - the Church bought this place. We have all new furniture - the old had seen better days - beautiful window treatments, and a modern kitchen with a wall oven and wood cabinetry. I love it! It was quite the job to get in, get settled, things put away, and decorated for Christmas, all by Christmas Eve for the Christmas party, but we got it done. It's nice to have the space to host large groups again. Should anyone care to write us a letter, the address is Brivibas iela 139 - 7, Riga LV-1012, Latvia

Christmas Eve at the Mission Home

On Christmas Eve we had all the missionaries serving in Riga come over for dinner and a party. I made BBQ pork sandwiches and the missionaries brought everything else. We have some great cooks in the mission, so we ate well. After dinner was a talent show. We had singing, piano playing, readings - Russ gave "The Night Before Christmas - from memory! The show was followed by a white elephant gift exchange - great fun. We ended with the reading of Luke 2, a tradition that has existed in our family since we were a family.

Christmas Zone Conference

At Christmas we have a special round of Zone Confer- ences, one in each of our 3 countries. We have the usual talks and work- shops, but we also do some things unique to the holiday. I make a power point show with pictures that the missionaries have sent me. I ask them for 2 pictures each: one showing activities typical of missionary life, and one showing the real reasons we’re here. The pictures they send me range from the very moving to the absolutely hilarious. We take group pictures, which they can forward to their families. We also do a Christmas Reader’s Theater program, based on scriptures that foretell His coming as well as Luke 2, all interspersed with Christmas music performed by each district. After that we go out to dinner. It helps bond the missionaries together, as well as increase knowledge of and love for the Savior, and reminds them of the importance of their work here.

Christmas party

We had a Senior Couple Christmas party on December 5. Everyone came to dinner at the mission home, and then it was on to the ballet at the National Theater to see The Nutcracker. The Theater is spectacularly oppulent - gold leafing everywhere. It performance was excellent; even the few among us who had a problem with men in white tights had to admit that the ballet was beautifully done. After the ballet, we went to the Hunter's home and had dessert and a goofy gift exchange. It was great to get together, relax, and enjoy the spirit of the season. Missions do have their lighter moments!

True Love

The older widows in the Baltics unfailingly adopt the missionaries as their own and become quite protective and possessive of them. They overfeed them, over doctor them, and give them advice on just about everything. Nedezda (in Tartu) is the self-appointed guardian and protector of the Elders there, and it nearly breaks her heart when transfers come or missionaries go home. We get heart-rending emails and phone calls from her, pleading that we don't send "her boys" away to some other city. She loves them, pure and simple. One of our Elders was ill in December, and Nedezda sent me an email about his condition, using words like angina, pneumonia, death. I immediately called him to find out what was going on. He had a good laugh and then explained that he had a sore throat and was staying in for the day. He is in a threesome, so his companions had to stay home with him. Somehow Nedezda found out and felt the need to alert me to catastrophies ahead. She was sure he was on death's door and wanted him taken to the doctor right now! She also wanted one of the young sister missionaries to sit home with him so his companions could be out working. She just wouldn't understand why we wouldn't do this! Bless her heart, mother-of-the-world . . .

Budding Artist

Julija Ujuk bore her testimony and spoke about how she and her husband had taught their children in Family Home Evening about listening to the talks in Church. She had suggested to her 8 year old daughter Rebekah that she take notes of some kind so she could remember what the speakers said. Julija forgot about her suggestions until church started this morning and Rebekah took out a tablet of paper and markers, and got right to work. She listed who spoke and the main thoughts of their comments. She also drew portraits of the people on the stand, includeing Russ and I. After the meeting Rebekah gave me her portrait of us. It was a pretty good likeness of Russ and I, considering her age and the limited number of markers she had to work with.

Hotels

Most of the cities where we have congre- gations are large enough to have really nice hotels, a wonderful surprise considering that I came here expecting to suffer as we traveled. In the capital cities, we stay at the Reval Hotels - first class all the way. Some of the smaller cities have more quaint lodging, bordering on the quirky. In Tartu, we stay at the Pallas Hotel - pronounced Palace - whose name outreaches its reality a bit. Each of the rooms has a theme. Russ and I seem to constantly be assigned what I like to call The Big Cat room, so named for the mural on the wall opposite the beds. We discovered that it's their handicap room - I'm hoping that our constantly being given this room is a reflection of record keeping rather than our physical appearance. It's clean, but very bare bones - 2 slightly caved in single beds, and a thin carpet that valiantly attempts to hide the rises and dips in the cement floor beneath. It's a little unnerving to go to sleep under the watchful eye of the mural's 2 reclining felines. I always feel a little as if I'm being assessed as dinner. On one visit, they assigned us to a more sophisticated room. We unlocked the door and found ourself face to face with a mural depicting naked people cavorting about on the walls. We went back to the desk and asked the clerk if there were a different room available. She replied, with genuine surprise apparent in her voice, "You don't like dancers?" Bring on the tigers. . .