Email from James - August 9, 2010

Labas Mano šeimas!

       So i'm about halfway through my second transfer! It's crazy how time flies! Elder Porter and I try ever harder to work in our area and to find people to teach.We weren't able to meet with our investigator this past weekend because he got sick but we will be meeting with him this tuesday after english class and that is where we will be giving him a baptismal commitment! We are very excited! Other than that we keep trying to work hard and find people. This past week was a bit of a slower week for us. I have been everywhere over Kaunas so it's hard to find places to harvest. But this week we are going to go out to some farther places that I havn't done. I'm very excited! 

     Two nights ago, this huge thunderstorm came through at about 3 in the morning. It was crazy. Elder Porter slept through it all but it woke me up. It was so loud. One of our windows in another room was open so I went in there to shut the window and there was a big pool of water all over the floor. It was crazy. The lightning and thunder was out of control. It was so loud! The lightning was so constant and bright that the light sensitive street lights went out so all of kaunas would be completely dark except when the lightning would flash. It was so cool. I watched it for about a half hour. I tried taking pics of it but my camera couldn't catch it. The next day, sunday, everyone was calling it the " hurricane ". A lot of the trees all over town were knocked over and it's a huge mess. They are still cleaning it up. Everyone tells us that they have never seen a storm like that in all their years of living in Lietuva. I'm thinking someone doesn't want us here muahahah. And so the war between good and evil goes on.
 
     Other than that nothing much new has happend. Elder Porter got all of his travel info and what not so he is getting very excited that his mission is almost over. It's so cool to see how excited his family is for him to come home and to see that my mission will actually ending is a haunting thought. Then I realized that at the begginng of October, I will have been out on my mission for 6 months! That's half a year already over! A third of the way done! It blew my mind. I felt the clock of my mission ending was getting closer. Elder Porter was like wow that time is approaching. I started yelling nope nope nope nope i'm not listening. I want to have this language mastered and more work to be done before that day comes. So I still have lots of time til home to reach that goal! My language comes more and more. Elder Porter and I spoke in only Lithuanian for a day and that was... fun and interesting. He had a good laugh out of my bad grammar but I had fun and it helped a lot.

        The branch always ask how my family is doing every week. This really nice lady named Ala always says that she prays for love and comfort from God to you because of the sacrifice you have made with me leaving. Her son is Algirdas who is 17 and she says she can imagine how hard that would be to let your son go off so far away. She is so sweet. 

        I love you all so much and I am very excited to get the letters. I have been getting letters from my friends so I haven been really enjoying that! :D Btw next monday we will be in Vilnius for our zone conference so I won't be able to email til tuesday so don't worry if you don't get an email on monday :D Love you all. Stay safe. And always remember Christ!

         Su meilė,
               Vyresnysis Sanfordas