A visit with Ziga

Ziga (pronounced as it looks, with a long "i") is a 30ish young woman who has been attending the Riga Center Latvian Branch for 4 years. She has 4 young children, a son 9 years; twin girls age 7 and a 3 or 4 year old son. She brings 2 or 3 of them with her each week. She has not been baptized because she lives with the father of her children and he won't marry her.

Ziga boarded the bus one day as we were going home from work. She loves to use her English and is a very friendly, outgoing person. So, we had a very enjoyable visit on the bus. She showed me her "Hymns Made Easy" book that she had taken to work. There is a piano where she works and she can practice playing on her lunch hour. She works at a facility/institution for mentally handicapped adults and teaches them sports. She told me she loves her work.

Ziga participates in Relief Society and stays after to learn how to play the piano and lead the music (Sister Gubler is teaching 3 of the sisters). There is a keyboard that they take turns taking home with them. She even bore her testimony in sacrament meeting last month.

She's a delightful young woman and I pray she will be able to marry and that they will all be able to be baptized. Sadly, her situation is not uncommon here. Another young woman will be married this coming Saturday and then baptized the next Friday. She, too, is learning to play the keyboard and lead the music and participates fully in Relief Society. She travels 2 hours each week to and from Church and to receive the missionary lessons.

Some amazing people here.