Email from James - October 4, 2010

Hey Dad,

    Ya with conference, we are going to start watching them this wednesday. The missionaries, here in Kaunas are all going to go up to the Morrels Apt. and we are going to watch them on Elder Morrel's laptop. We are going to watch one session a day so we still are working lots. I'm so excited to watch them. That's so cool the choir from the MTC came. I emailed Elder Wood and he emailed back. He sounds like he is doing really good. He told me he sees Tanner and Jantzen and Taybor. I saw Taybor at the MTC the week I left so I was shocked that he was still there! 

    Ya mom emailed me and told me about how they showed that short of the Kiev Temple. That's so cool. That was such a memorable day that I will never forget. We need a temple here so badly to help people want to learn more about our church and want to join. :D  hahah oh dad, trying to learn lithuanian on your own would be so so hard for you. I learn a lot more by talking with the natives and asking them how to better say something or how to pronounce things. Knyga (book) is nomitave and Knygą in accusitive is said with a very hard to hear accent. I haven't gotten a somewhat hang of it but I have to catch myself with pronunciations. I have a hard time reading in english and pronouncing some english words because all my focus in on Lithuanian. :D I will gladly help you learn when I get back lol. Your going to be too busy especially with work and the ward you won't have time to work on learning russian or lithuanian. :)

    WOW the ward is changing again! That makes me a little sad cause we have so many good members in our ward. Now would be a good time to reactivate all the less actives. With more people leaving the ward, they can fill up the seats.

    Oh how I miss corn mazes and halloween decorations :D Elder Leishman and I are going to have some fun today though. We said we would do this together before our transfer was over. We are going to buy big pumpkins and carve them tonight and put candles in them. ahahahah i'm so so excited. I love halloween and fall weather. Not so much here cause it has gotten way way cold. We are already wearing gloves and coats. So when we get money, I will get my coat asap. I'm not cold without a coat so no need to rush. Just when I can get one, let me know.

     I still have yet to see the pics of your office. I'm excited to see what it's going to look like. Keep working hard! That's something that always keeps me going is the hard work drive you have. I am seeing it's coming into me. It's a very good Sanford genes. :D

     I will make sure to watch the money. I am really cautious of having to spend things cause I know the money at home is tight. We will worry about the camera later, maybe christmas :D


     The work here is going really well. All the other elders here, except me, got a bad cold. Elder Leishman and I had to stay home on wednesday cause he wasn't feeling good. So I read my book of mormon and studied as much language as I could. I am on 3 NE 20! I'm getting close to being done. Good job by the way of finishing. :D I laughed when you said, " it might have taken 5 years but we did it" :).
 
    We were able to talk with a very cool man. We knocked on his door and at first he said he wasn't interested and said he was busy. So we kindly said thank you and moved to the door across from his. After about 10 seconds, he came out and was going out to smoke. He looked at us and I smiled at him and he said, so what exactly are you doing? We told him that we were trying to teach people about Jesus Christ's Gospel and about the Book of Mormon. He looked at it and then said, Come outside and we can talk more." We were able to teach him a short first lesson and give him a Book of Mormon. He agreed to read it and that we could meet again. 
    Last night, while out harvesting, on one of our last doors, we meet a really cool Russian man who spoke Lithuanian. He warmly invited us in. He told us that he had been taught by some sister missionaries about 3 years ago and when they went back to America, they never met with him. He said he read some of the Book of Mormon and knows some about Joseph Smith and our church. We were able to have a good visit and we gave him a gospel pamphlet and asked if he would read it to refresh what he had been taught and set up another appointment for next week. 

   I know there are people out there ready to hear our message and want to change. I love when we find a person after searching for so long for someone to teach. It really makes the joy of teaching and helping people so much better. Times are changing in the Baltics. It is becoming ever more clear every single day.

   OH, ask mom if she got my letter I sent a couple of weeks ago. I want to know if it got there. It was a letter to mom and one to anna and I put some pics in it. I got a letter from grandma and it made me laugh cause she was worried about how many letters she could put in it. Tell mom not to worry people about mail. :D I'm not in Africa and mail gets here fine. :D 

   Nothing much else to report. However! I am hitting my half year mark this week! CRazy! Time is flying by way too fast. It makes me excited and at the same time I don't like it. Next week is transfers and I have a feeling I will be going to a new area. Everyone thinks i'm going to Vilnius but we will just have to wait and see. You'll have to make sure to update the blog with my new address cause some of my friends that write say they check it. 

   Thanks so much for all the love and prayers and support you give me. It really helps a lot especially at those times when the work gets really hard or frustrating. When it gets hard though, I know something good is about to happen right around the corner. The Lord just needs to humble us at times to make sure we are still comitted to the work. :D

     Tell everyone hi and a hug and I love them!
                 Su meile,
                       Vyresnysis Sanfordas