Labas Visiems!

32 Lits is about $13, the exchange rate now is about 2.5, it was up to like 3 when I got here, but has pretty steadily declined, but maintained at 2.5 for the past few months.

Tonight, we'll probably eat kebabs, not like shishkebabs, just kebabs. They have them all over Europe, I think, at least in Germany for sure. It's some grilled meat, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and then some sorts of sauce, wrapped in a tortilla type shell. Way delicious. They are a Turkish food actually.

This week we had some training on planning, which totally shocked the system so to speak. Since there are generally very few investigators and the majority of every day, and all days in general, is spent finding, planning has been somewhat of a joke. Now, Elder WHicker and I at least, are striving to take planning seriously and use our Area Book better to have more meaningful activities throughout the day. We also created a vision for our area to guide us in our efforts, due to a quote in the training, which was originally given to mission presidents, that said "where there is no vision- the people perish". I thought that was a pretty strong statement, so we decided to follow that. Thankfully in StudGov, mostly due to Dylan, we often talked about vision, so it was something I have been prepared to do, which most people haven't. The vision we developed was to strengthen the Klaipeda Branch, through strengthening members and finding new people that will become strong members.

This week, we taught a couple of teenagers who had some questions for us. It was a very interesting conversation, ranging from if we really believed that there were gold plates to where black people came from if Adam and Eve were white. We had the opportunity to testify and left them with a larger idea of what we believe, which is always a good feeling.

Had a lesson latter that day about prayer mostly, to help them believe in Christ. He believed in God, but not Christ, so we taught about how through prayer we can receive revelation. It was a good lesson.

We met with a few members this week in various stages of activity, to see what they thought they could do to strengthen the branch. Most mentioned that previously the branch was like a family and they gathered together and had activities all the time, which is not the case now. So, we having been trying to think of how to develop that tight relationship that used to exist.

Saturday was my birthday. I had received my package Friday, thanks it was wonderful, but waited until Saturday morning to open it. Elder Whicker made birthday pancakes that spelled out my name and a 20, as well as some mickey mouse heads. We did make syrup with brown sugar which was absolutely delicious. All the winter stuff was perfect, I tried on all the thermals and they should be quite cozy. Still haven't quite figured out the Rubik's cube, but working on it. Silly Putty of course, is always appreciated. Thanks so much. I can't believe I'm twenty though. I just feel so old. I remember looking at people who had gone on missions and just thinking that they were ancient, but I definitely don't feel that way...haha. He sang every rendition of Happy Birthday he knew, in a variety of different voices. He made a chocolate cake, which was delicious, not quite as good as yours mom, but very good nonetheless.

Sunday, a member of our english class came to Church, so we met with him and taught him a lesson. He's very interested in spiritual things and wants to grow spiritually. He was open to the message and wanted us to speak Lithuanian so he would understand, but he wanted to speak English to practice, which was fine with us. He was willing to be baptized if he feels it is true and will help him, which is sweet.

Later that night we were on our way to an appointment, but arrived a little early so were knocking on some of the doors nearby and were invited in by a woman, who seemed normal at first. We soon realized she was a little crazy after she asked if we wanted tea for about the tenth time. She was also basically blind, told Elder Whicker that Whicker is not his name, showed us a picture of her son after giving it a fatty kiss. Elder WHicker ate a moth that flew into his mouth. Then we shared a verse and prayed to leave. She asked if we had holy water and could bless her house, we said no the holy water, but that we could bless her house in a prayer, so we prayed again asking specifically to bless her home. Then we ended and she crossed herself. She pprayed. Then she asked if we could pray for her dead mother, even though she doesn't believe in an after life, which we did. We then left. Our appointment wasn't home, but we had a lesson. Crazy.

Hope all continues to be well with all of you. Enjoy Harry Potter on Friday. The new Narnia comes out soon too, doesn't it? They have posters up here, along with Christmas decorations everywhere. I can't express how much I love being here, it's wonderful. I pray for you and appreciate all your prayers and letters.

Love,

Vyresnysis Conor Hilton

PS TOmorrow we have zone conference with Elder Schwitzer, the President of the Europe East Area, which should be fantastic.