TERE!!
The work:
- So I have been here in Pärnu for a little over 7 months now. What a blessing! Most missionaries in the world don’t get to stay in the same area for more than 3 months or so...but since there are only 2 areas in Estonia open for sister missionaries right now and only 4 sisters in Estonia total, we have the blessing of serving in one area for a long time! The reason I am saying this is because this week I had the opportunity to see some miracles happen from experiences I had in Pärnu back in April and May of this year when I first arrived!
Examples:
- Õde Tullis and I gave a Book of Mormon with our testimonies written in it to a girl we became friends with who then moved to America for the summer. We gave her the Book of Mormon before she left and encouraged her to read it. Well, she spent all summer in America and came back, and we finally set up to get lunch again this week and guess what?? She read the Book of Mormon!! And she liked it!! We are meeting up this week to read it together! I am grateful that I got to be here at the beginning when we gave her the book and now to be with her as she starts reading it even more.
- We met a few times here with a member’s mom back in April. But after a while, she stopped answering our calls. But a few weeks ago, she miraculously answered the phone and set up to meet with us again. Well, she speaks Russian, a little English, and a little Estonian. We asked our mission president (whose first language is Russian) to come to the lesson. We also asked a member who speaks Russian and English and Estonian to come to the lesson to translate for us. That lesson was AMAZING, and since then, we have met with her 3 more times in the last 2 weeks. She absolutely loves the Book of Mormon. She dives into its pages. When we ask her to read a verse out loud, she normally reads that verse and then just keeps reading because it is so interesting! :) Last time, we asked her what it would mean to her if she knew the Book of Mormon were true and God’s word. She said she would read it all day long without eating or sleeping! She LOVES it! She also prayed for the first time in our lesson with us. So amazing. And it is fun to still have a few opportunities here and there to use the Russian I learned when I lived in Ukraine a few months ago!
- I gave a Book of Mormon to a woman on a bus back in June, and we saw her again this week and she said she has almost finished reading it! She loves it! Isn’t that awesome?? We should be meeting this week to talk more about it :)
Overall, living in Pärnu for over 7 months (and hopefully many months more!) has provided opportunities for me to see miracles unfold...miracles that just needed time to unfold. :) Also I feel like Pärnu is my Brigham Young University campus..there are so many friends on the busses and in the stores! I wish you could all meet my dear friends - the cashiers, bus station workers, friends on the busses....oh how I love my little town of Pärnu :)
We are peeling fruit for a feast at a member’s house!
- I spent Wednesday in Tallinn with my dear friend Sister Tullis! The legendary Sister Tullis! Funny story - we needed to enter into one of the apartment buildings but didn’t have keys, so we said a prayer: "Heavenly Father, please send someone to open the door for us--" IMMEDIATELY, even before Sister Tullis finished the prayer, she almost got hit by the door swinging open for us by a man coming out from inside. Hahaha we stepped inside and finished the prayer, "Wow, thank you Heavenly Father for sending someone so quickly!..." Hahaha it was awesome :)
- We also had district conference on Sunday! That means that all the members in Estonia got together for a church service. It was overwhelming and surreal to be surrounded by the pioneer members here in Estonia. There were about 150 people there, it was AMAZING!!! I am grateful to know these dear members in this tiny country of only 1.3 million people!
Culture:
- When the road is icy, Estonians spread around tiny rocks instead of salt! Rocks are less expensive and provide for more traction :) Who knew?
- I have also noticed that all the bus drivers here wave to each other!! It doesn’t matter if they personally know each other or not, but they wave to each other! I love that.
Funny:
- You know how I said that Estonians don’t celebrate Halloween? Well, apparently some do! When Õde Tullis and I were together in Tallinn, we went to old town for dinner, and we walked in on a fire dance party thing! Don’t worry, we took a picture then left pretty quickly because it was kinda scary with everyone in costumes around fire...hahah but it was fun!
- And then we ate a whole bag of candy (all 4 sister missionaries were in Tallinn together for Halloween :)
Improvising a head lamp
Spiritual thought:
I was thinking a lot this week about faith. There are two major parts to faith. Faith in Christ - that He is who He says He is, and faith in yourself - that you are who He says you are. I love what Enos says at the end of his book in the Book of Mormon: "And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen." (Enos 1:27)
Earlier in the chapter, Enos describes his experience growing his relationship with God. If you don’t know his story, I encourage you to go read it! (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/enos/1?lang=eng) After Enos explains his growing experience and after he explains that he had tried to do everything the Lord told him to do, that is when he says, "I know that in him I shall rest." Enos knew that he would make it back to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s presence. But he wasn’t being cocky and confident in himself, per se. He was confident that he had done God’s will.There is a key difference there. And Enos was then confident that God would keep his end of the bargain so that when Enos died, he would see God’s face, and "he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father."
So how do we exactly grow that faith? Well, that comes with growing a relationship with Heavenly Father. It says in the Bible, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3)
What does it mean to "know" God? That is a lifelong pursuit. But I can tell you this - there is a difference between knowing about God and knowing God.
How do we come to know God? The first step is praying to Him! When we pray to Him, we talk with Him openly, talking from our hearts. When you first start to grow your relationship with God by praying, it might feel kind of awkward. You may feel like you are talking to a wall and no one is actually listening! Well, isn’t that how every relationship starts? Think about your best friend (whether that is your spouse, someone in your neighborhood, a co-worker, etc). When you first started talking with them, wasn’t it just a tad bit awkward? Of course! You are strangers at first, so you both had to talk more and get to know each other more before you could develop a trust and a love...naturally! The same goes with Heavenly Father...but there is one difference. He loves you already. No matter what. And He wants to hear from you! But at the beginning, do not be discouraged if you feel a bit awkward talking to someone you don’t see. I can promise that He is listening and that if you put your trust in Him and just try - just try! - to develop a relationship with Him, you will be able to feel His love more in your life than you already feel it.
I love you all!
Trust in the Lord. Choose joy. Find peace.
Õde Smith.Driggs
1 Nephi 11:16-17: And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God? And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
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