Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Thirty-Seventh Letter

September 27, 2010
Dear Family

Another week! It went pretty fast actually. This transfer is going to be over in two weeks and it seems like it just started. That's crazy. I guess I'll start by telling a little about my week! Last Monday we just ate and then we went and had that free throw contest with Elder Morrell and we won of course. :) He put up a good fight though! So he owed us lunch and we went and did that on Wednesday. Tuesday we had a pretty normal day and nothing out of the ordinary happened. We just taught English that night and that was good. Wednesday the Morrells took us all out to lunch at this traditional Lithuanian restaurant to get cepelinia (sepilinay) which is grated potatoes that are then formed back into the shape of a potato and there is meat on the inside. It's really slimy and it has a way weird texture, but they are pretty good. It the most popular thing here and it takes some getting used to. They have some pretty weird foods here, but I am coming to like them. I really like the beet soup actually. We call it the pink soup. :) So we went out to eat on Wednesday with the Morrells and that was fun. I was also on exchanges with Elder Manning that day and that was good. I really like Elder Manning and we get along pretty well too. He's a way cool and funny guy. You probably know this, but he will be the quarterback for Utah State when he gets back, so that's pretty cool. Anyways, that was a fun exchange and we taught a really frustrating guy that has been meeting with the missionaries forever! But it was good. Thursday, we just had a normal day and taught English class. Friday the same thing... We went out to one of our areas that I haven't been to before and it is a SEA of DOMES out there! The soviets seriously made a jungle of cement buildings. Yuck! So ugly. I will send some pictures of them sometime. Saturday we were going to meet with a few less actives, but they "Jaked" us. Meaning that they didn't show up. That seems to happen a lot. But hopefully we can catch them this week. On Sunday, I gave a talk in church! It went pretty well, I think. I talked about missionary work and how every member is a missionary and through the members we can get so much more done. It is so nice when we get referrals from members here. They aren't very often, but they are so nice. Anyways, the talk went well. It was nerve wracking of course, but it was ok. Today we are just going to do some shopping I think. I need to get some leather gloves for the winter and a hat too. We have to wear those funny looking golfer hats here cause that's what president dance wants. I just hope that it's not too much. I forgot that I had to buy this stuff. I hate financial stuff! I just want a million dollars. Wouldn't that be nice? :) So that is pretty much it for my week. Oh... We lost Sigitas. I hate to say that, but he stopped answering his phone. Ah... We are going to keep trying to get a hold of him, but I think that he is gone. Thank you for your thoughts about that though dad. Sometimes I think that it is just how so many people are here, but at times I think that it's me... I need to do a better job at extending baptismal dates so that people know why we ear even there to teach them. I don't know. I just hope that at some point I we can get a really solid person. I'm sorry to keep telling you that these investigators leave. Believe me... It's discouraging to me and I hate having to tell you all that it happened again. Anyways, that's it for me about this week! Oh, and I will get to watch general conference starting next Thursday at the Morrells. We will watch it on the Internet and just do one session a day. I'm SO excited to get to watch conference. I have gained so much more of an appreciation for so many things after being out here. There were so many things that I took for granted before my mission. Well, I need to go, but I love you all so much! Thank you for everything and all of the support and the weekly emails. You guys are the greatest. The church is true! I love you all so much! I can't express it enough!

Love, Elder Leishman

257 days down, 473 days to go!