Two subjects: my haircut and my white elephant gift

After receiving many requests to see my haircut, here it is! Although you really don't see the full effect, as it has grown in nearly 2 weeks. So imagine what it might have looked like 2 weeks ago. You can see some of the Christmas letters and cards I received, on the white board above my desk. I really appreciated them and the e-cards and e-mail messages I received from family and friends.

I told some of you about the white elephant gift exchange with the missionaries on Christmas eve. This gift was opened and then ignored as everyone chose other gifts. I finally traded another gift for this one. It was part curiosity as to what on earth they could be, and partly because the candy bar that went with it had a lovely picture of Riga on it, and that's what I really wanted. When we were through exchanging gifts, I opened the package and passed them around for everyone to see. They looked like very large styrofoam Cheetos, only pale yellow. Imagine my surprise when we all realized they were white chocolate covered something like Cheetos, only not orange and not as good. But, they are gone because they were such a novelty and they actually tasted kind of good.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. I was able to talk with each of my children and grandchildren and that made it a great Christmas for me.

Another restaurant experience--and chocolate!

The 8 of us senior missionaries went to dinner to a nice restaurant in Old Towne Thursday evening. I ordered lasagne which was very good, but on one side of the plate was a dollop of a ranch-type dressing and on the outer edge of it was chocolate! I really don't know what the obsession with chocolate on an entree' is.

This was a more upscale restaurant so they did have water on the table. We trusted that it was filtered, but who knows. You usually have to order water--either plain/simple or with gas (carbonated) and there is a charge for either. This restaurant also had a basket with very tasty bread slices (I think there was just one slice each for the 8 of us) and they don't refill--water or the bread. It's not like Olive Garden, for sure. The lasagne was good and was a fair sized piece (European, not American). There was no salad or soup or veggies or anything served with it and it cost 3.8 lats (approximately $7 USD).

chlorinating produce and filtering water

I have failed to share with you the process we go through in order to eat and drink water. The water is not safe for drinking, so each apartment occupied by missionaries, as well as the mission office, has a filtering system. We can only run cold water through that system. It's not difficult once you get in the habit of not just turning on the faucet for a drink of water. There are 3 filters and they have to be changed, each one at a different period of time.

The more challenging thing for me is that all produce (except bananas and oranges or anything else you remove a thick peeling from) have to be soaked in filtered water to which has been added a few drops of bleach. They are soaked and rinsed and drained. That has, on more than one occasion, kept me from buying apples here. (The apples don't look all that good anyway.) The bananas and oranges have been excellent so I'm eating a lot of them.

We bought potatoes and sweet potatoes to cook up for a Christmas eve dinner we will have here at the office with the 10 young missionaries serving in our area. Sis. Harper washed and scrubbed them and set them out to dry off. We have to do that even though we will peel the regular potatoes before cooking them.

We also are advised not to eat fish here. There is a high rate of mercury in the rivers.

A Christmas reading

Sister Dance read from the Book of Mormon about the Savior. I will give you the scriptures with which she began each portion. Sometimes it was just that single verse, and sometimes she went a few verses. So, I encourage each of you, this Christmas week, to look these scriptures up and continue reading each portion until that thought about the Savior ends.
Ether 3:14
1 Nephi 11:13; 19:7
2 Nephi 2:26; 25:19
Mosiah 3:5; 15:1
Alma 5:48; 7:7; 9:26; 19:13
Helaman 8:22; 14:2
3 Nephi 1:12; 9:15

We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and read of it in the Bible. It was wonderful to realize how the Book of Mormon celebrates not only His birth, but His purpose in coming to this earth, and how he fulfilled that purpose, out of His pure love for God's children. Truly the Book of Mormon is another witness of Jesus Christ, together with the Holy Bible.

Have a blessed Christmas and may you feel the love the Lord has for each of you.

Christmas Zone Conference

Late Friday morning we boarded a bus to downtown Riga for my first Latvian zone conference. We got off the bus and walked 3-4 blocks and then into a building and up a flight of stairs to the meetinghouse for the members of the Church in that part of Riga. It occupies an entire floor of the building and has a chapel, kitchen, and classrooms, etc.

Unlike in America and other places where the Church is well-established, the two chapels I have been in here are large open rooms with hardwood floors and chairs, as opposed to benches. The chairs had been arranged in the back half of the room and tables, festively decorated for Christmas, were set up in the front half of the room. There are between 40-50 missionaries (including 3 senior couples and Sister Harper and me). We began with musical numbers from very talented young missionaries, and sang Christmas hymns.

We were then treated to a delicious catered dinner: pork loin roast, delicious whipped potatoes, mushroom gravy, and a yummy green salad. The senior missionaries had brought desserts. It was the first whipped potatoes I've had in Latvia and the potatoes I've seen in the stores are not Idaho spuds!! They are very small, very dirty, and just not that appealing. However, after tasting them cooked and whipped, I decided it doesn't matter what they look like in the stores.

Following the dinner, we gathered again for wonderful training by President and Sister Dance and the Assistants to the President. I was so impressed with the young missionaries and their knowledge of the scriptures and their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. President and Sister Dance are very loving and caring people and are great leaders--building and teaching as the Savior did.

That was the most Christmas-y thing I've done this Christmas, other than my own study and pondering in the New Testament. As we left the Conference, it had begun to snow. That seemed perfect.

Looks like we might have a White Christmas

Yesterday (12/20) it snowed most of the day. It was beautiful and made everything look clean and fresh. I didn't even mind that we had to make 3 trips to grocery stores in it. It was much warmer than in Utah, I understand.

Anyway, our apartment windows look out on a park-like setting with lots of trees and grass. It seems like a lot of the people who live in the apartments have dogs and, no matter what the weather, they take them out for exercise each day. This scene is common. People come together and visit while the dogs run around and take care of business.

We probably had 2-3 inches of snow but it's warmed up and is slushy today. We'll see what the week brings.

Departure dinner for 14 young missionaries

Every month or so we receive new missionaries and lose some. On Tuesday we had two new young elders come, both Russian-speaking, begin their missions here, after 3 weeks in the MTC to learn the language.

On Thursday evening, Sister Harper and I rode a bus to the mission home. It's a lovely apartment, but nothing in Riga looks on the outside like it would in America. We had 10 young sister missionaries who finished their missions here and 4 young Elders. We had a delicious dinner of lasagne and salads (Sister Harper and I made a jello fruit salad and a green salad, which we transported on the bus).

It was so fun to see these great young people, full of enthusiasm for the experiences they had had, and excited to be going home to their families. Following the dinner, we sang a Christmas hymn and each of us had the opportunity to share our testimonies of the work in which we are involved. The young people each expressed love for the people they had served here and especially of the increased love they have gained for our Savior Jesus Christ.

It was a wonderful evening. This was my first real opportunity to get acquainted with Pres. & Sis. Dance. They are very warm and loving people. They are excited that their 3 grown children will be coming for Christmas.