Alright, Miracles of the week.

The biggest is Saulius. We met with him 6/7 days this past week. He is incredible. He reads the Book of Mormon, asking for chapters that will help prepare him for baptism, knows that he needs to change before baptism and that baptism seals the change that was already completed. When we teach, he adds comments often quoting from his scripture reading, building off of our thoughts and connecting the lesson together. It is amazing. I taught him before, with Elder Warner, but at that time he was using narcotics- heavily. I would look into his eyes and see nothing- they were just empty holes. On Sunday, I was thinking about that and looked into his eyes while we taught, noticing the light ad life that are now behind them, it's amazing. he is on his way to baptism.

Second, we had a lesson and ate with Janina, Jonas, and Zilvinas. Jonas has not come to Church for about a year. He came on Sunday and was asked to exercise his priesthood and blessed the sacrament. Woohoo.

Third, in District Meeting we built our vision for the transfer. I had some ideas, but wanted to make sure that the district was in support of the vision. We worked on creating it together and the ideas that I had fit in beautifully with suggestions from the other district members. Showing me, that those ideas were in fact inspired. The Spirit is incredible.

Fourth, we were on a crowded bus and then saw a member of the Russian branch sitting down. He waved to us and then turned back to the book he was reading. I looked closer and noticed that he was reading the Book of Mormon, in public, on the bus. Yeah, for public showing of faith!

We also met with Birute and Zivile. Birute's other inactive daughter, Kristina, happened to be there again. She was much more comfortable this time and not immediately closed at our presence. Progress.

We delivered cookies to a couple members and to Saulius, our investigator. All were very gracious and happy to receive our gifts.

Well, Christmas was wonderful. It was marvelous to talk to you and hear you. I hope you enjoy the remainder of your break and continue in the Spirit of Christmas. I love all of you. Thanks for all you do and have done for me.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!

Su Šventomis Kalėdomis!!!!! (Merry Christmas)

I am still in Vilnius, in the same area, with Elder Hyer. Elder Hengst was transferred to Kaunas. It's a little weird adjusting to being back in a two-some after being with three, but it's good.

We are also still without snow, hoping for a Christmas Snow Miracle.
We don't sing in Russian here, since we are the 'Lithuanian' branch and there is a bit of language pride, so we stick to Lithuanian hymns. There are a few more in the old, not entirely approved hymnbook, so we might sing some of those on Sunday.

We also are only having Sacrament meeting on Sunday. Woohoo.

Ainis I believe was baptized by Donatas, the branch president in Klaipeda. He is indeed the very same, who I taught and had anti - parents. With time, it worked out.

Now onto the miracles of this week.

First and most incredibly, Tomas was baptized, confirmed, and ordained to the office of priest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am beyond description filled with joy. It just makes me smile and laugh with rejoicing even thinking about it. He bore his testimony at the baptism and it was so pure and amazing. the Spirit strongly testified to me that he was speaking truth and firmly believed it. It was amazing. On Sunday, he will bless the Sacrament, which I will then be able to partake of. Incredible.

Second, Zivile, who had been active, but the past month hasn't really come to church, came. We had a lesson with her and her mother and focused on her needs instead of the mother's and it bore fruit.

Third, District meeting. I talked about Christ being the Captain of our Salvation and how we are all sailing under his command. Then I talked about the importance of always being aware of our purpose and errand, even while at port- for us, preparation day. It was very spiritual and everyone seemed to accept the challenge to further sacrifice, by focusing that last bit. As President Boswell said, quoting Elder Lawrence, to Close the Gap, the last 5%.

Fourth, we set some rather high goals for ourselves this past week, which at the time seemed in reach, with the belief that all would work out positively. Unfortunately that didn't happen, quickly leaving us with close to nothing, making the reaching of our goals only possible with many many miracles. As we planned Saturday evening, we prayed, asking for a miracle, explaining that we had done all we could, we had tried, we knew that it looked unlikely, but also that if God willed it, it would be done. The next morning, Elder Sherman called to say that they had committed an investigator to baptism, who would be coming to Church and that this individual, Saulius, lived in our area. Thus, our goals were much closer to being realized. We didn't reach all of them, but there was a miracle, because we pled our case before God.

We had Zone Conference yesterday, hence my email today. It was excellent. We talked about closing the gap and taking everything to 100%. It is a high order, but what must be done to achieve what God expects of us. President Boswell shared some thoughts on Christ, based around different titles, and one really hit me- Man of Holiness. I thought about how to be given such a title, He needed to live in a way that people saw holiness as his defining characteristic. Such as a man of letters is a person who reads and is knowledgeable concerning books and language, in all places. The question I had was, what can I do to be labeled a 'Man of Holiness'? That was my pondering question.

I wish you all an enjoyable break and will hear your voices on Sunday. I love Lithuania and all to do with her. I love seeing the change that the Gospel brings. It's incredible.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!!!

Alright, first to answer your questions.

We are having a Christmas Zone Conference like we did last year. Woohoo. I haven't received the package yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to stay in Vilnius, time will tell. We have 'Zone Conferences' on about a quarterly basis, but more regularly than that gather together for 'training conferences' or other things that are exactly like a zone conference, just with a different name.

Ella- we didn't sing Christmas hymns, because we only have two, so they try not to repeat them too much. We sang a Christmas song in district meeting last week.

Now for some miracles.

First, Ainis was baptized on Friday!! Awesome.

Second, Tomas had his interview and is set for baptism this Saturday. Incredible.

Third, relating to Tomas. We had him come with us to a lesson. He was a changed person from when I taught him. He was mature and showed his true desire for baptism and also his incredible knowledge of the Gospel. He would answer questions before we could, ranging from age rules of missionaries to what tithing is used for. The Gospel changes people.

Fourth, our English class opened up. There were only a couple of people and so we talked with them during the break and they began to ask questions that led to discussing the apostasy and restoration. It was incredible. They have been coming for months and haven't ever showed interest, but finally did. They weren't quite willing to accept wholeheartedly everything, but they heard it.

Fifth, on an exchange, Elder Kezele with Elder Hyer and Elder Hengst, met with a less active in Elder Kezele's area. In this lesson they talked about how they were on an exchange and where they live. It just so happens that we live in the same area of the city as the less active woman's daughter and husband. Due to that information, she gave us their information. 2 referrals!!!!

Sixth, we were given a free ride in a marshrute. We were waiting at a bus stop with the snow blowing fiercely in our direction, when a marshrute pulls up. THe driver waves us in, I try and just brush him off, since you need to pay for marshrutes, but he continues to frantically wave us in. I look closer and recognize him as the driver who always drives us from Vilnius to Kaunas. We hope in and he took us where we were heading, free of charge.

Seventh, District Meeting. I taught about the tongues of angels. I specifically invited us all to live by the guidelines contained in the Missionary Handbook concerning language, not that we have terrible language or anything, but as a mission, the 'culture' was contrary to what's written. Everyone agreed and was willing to put forth the effort and just needed the push and direction given to them.

Eighth, we achieved Victory as a district!

Some humorous experiences form the week:

We talked to a man who believes in the one and only true god, the SUN. His reasoning- if the sun explodes, we will all die, therefore, it must be god. He ranted at us for a bit and then started into America bashing. He was so over the top, it was hilarious.

We were contacting when a woman called out to us. We stopped and she engaged us in conversation. Soon we realized that she was drunk, old, and repeated the same four or five ideas. She 'sang' to us in Lithuanian and Spanish. Using 'sang' quite liberally. She also offered to give us haircuts and told us to never forget her number, which she never gave to us. We eventually removed ourselves, at which point she called out to wait and began to chase after us, we stopped and she dug into the depths of her pockets to give us each a piece of candy. We then walked away, debating what to do with this candy that has probably been in her pocket for years, next to all sorts of bacteria and disease. Elder Hyer pulls his out to discover that it was open and nibbled on. That sealed the deal. The candy was disposed off. Hilarious.

At church, we were asked to cover, on the spot, for the valiant primary class. They were thrilled that they wouldn't have a teacher, so when we showed up they drove us out of the classroom, shut the door, turned out the lights and held the handle so we couldn't get in. We walked away and returned a few minutes later. We attempted to provide some sort of spiritual thought, while they yelled fought and one pretended to snore. Then some of the girls found a string of beads and wrapped it around my shoulders/neck, almost choking me. It was awesome.

Well, a hope you all have success this last week before break. Alistair- good luck with your finals, I know that your studying will pay off. Just make sure to take a little time to relax or your head will just explode and that will do no one any good. I love serving the people of Lithuania, in Lithuania, in Lithuanian. It's incredible.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Miracles from the week-

Well, last week in his email, President Boswell talked about the Spirit World and Pre-existence and the importance of us discovering our past selves. In District Meeting, I talked about Thinning the Veil, along similar lines- which I had been inspired to teach prior to Monday. THe following day, Wednesday, was Zone Conference- where further teachings were given about the pre-existence and the importance of what happened. All of these built off of each other and I believe helped us as missionaries by more prepared to learn and receive further insight. That is the beauty of inspiration- you become guided by the man who knows how all the puzzle pieces should fit together.

A miracle of Unity. I was on an exchange with Elder Sherman. We had a couple lessons- one with Tomas and another with a Family, Rimas, Daiva, and Skaiste. In those lessons our teaching was even, equal, and unified. Due to that, the lessons went incredibly. It was the best lesson that Elder Sherman had ever taught to Tomas. Wonderful.

Third, about planning. Planning has never been my favorite part of missionary work, in regards to planning numbers. I am much more of an idea person than a specific number nitty-gritty detail person. Also, winging it has usually worked fairly well for me. I realized at Zone Conference, due to the Spirit witnessing truth, enforcing what President Lawrence and President Boswell taught, that the planning of numbers is essential to my future success. Maybe not that specific thing, but the skills learned while doing it. I then prayed, trying to find how I could do so, while still being true to myself. What focus did I need to have. I found it, in taking my love for a vision or a grand idea, cause and seeing that to accomplish that the numbers need to be cared for. It's like building a house- I would have the grand idea for the house, what should be in it and everything and then let someone else take care of specifics, but for that house to really be built, I need those numbers- they are essential. As I realized this and focused on planning in that way, I felt much more effective and actually came to enjoy planning. Woohoo!

Fourth, translating. Generally while translating I have felt as if I am a spectator, not really getting anything out of the meeting- solely relating information. This Sunday, Fast and Testimony meeting, I actually felt as if I was the person speaking, feeling everything that they felt while bearing their testimony. It was marvelous.

Fifth, Elder Hyer asked a question about the Atonement during companionship study the other day and I explained what I thought, or how I understood it. The question being 'what does it mean that Christ took upon himself our sins, but was still without sin'. I explained, based on my understanding of Alma 34 and 42, that He took the punishment that Justice required, since sin is the breaking of Eternal Laws, that must be satisfied. As Christ did that for each and every one of us, He enabled us to repent and allow Him to satisfy Justice, so we don't need to. As I explained this, which I've known for awhile, I felt a glimpse of what that pain really was, what Christ actually did, for me, for everyone.

Sixth, was a miracle of Openness. We had a lesson with Janina, an active member and her less active husband and son. The son, Zilvinas, recently returned from Spain and has been inactive for 5-6 years. We taught about the Book of Mormon and invited them all to read daily from it. He said that he had been inactive for that amount of time and is trying to reactivate but can't do it all at once. He has come the past 3 or so weeks to Church and doesn't need any forcing of his mother. He said that he would do his best to read, but made no promise, since he didn't want to promise and not keep it. Hoorah, for honesty!

Seventh, Victory! We achieved our district goal!

We also had two lessons with women named, Nijole. One is a member and the other an investigator. The first, went well. We talked about gaining hope from the Book of Mormon, growing closer to Christ. The second was eye-opening to some gaps in the investigator's understanding, which she felt was perfect. Now, we know what we need to cover to get her up to par.

Well, that was the week. I love all of you and wish you luck this coming week. Enjoy the Christmas season! We are still without snow, it's a bit warmer than last year- maybe a good sign. Lithuania is amazing.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Miracles!!

First, District Meeting. As always I was inspired about what I should speak, that being 'Look not behind thee', inspired by the story of Lot and his wife. It went quite well. Again, everyone seemed attentive and was taking notes, so I assume that if I didn't say specific things for them at least the Spirit was present to teach them.

Second, I had an exchange with Elder Kezele and on this exchange we taught Radvile, who is preparing for baptism. We taught the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom, with Tomas. SHe already knew what was required to do, so we quickly reviewed that and focused on why God has commandments. She easily accepted. Tomas was wonderful in the lesson, close to the best behaved I've ever seen him- it was incredible.

Third, about Tomas. I was talking to Tomas yesterday, who is struggling a bit due to his concentrated effort to quit smoking right now. He expressed that it's hard, but this time he has a different strength so no matter how badly he wants to smoke he won't. He also said that the wants to really badly sometimes, but just can't. He doesn't know why, but it just won't happen or he can't do it. Miraculous. That is the power of God.

Fourth, our activity. We were a little worried that there would not be sufficient food for everyone. As it drew closer and closer to starting it seemed less and less likely that we would have enough, but then people showed up with food and the food on the table seemed to keep lasting and lasting, with leftovers. It was not quite as drastic a change as the feeding of the 5000 but similar in happening. THe miracle was not just that the food lasted, but that members brought food, helped prepare, and clean up after. Also Luiza's father, who is not a member, searched and found a turkey for this Thanksgiving feast.

Fifth, we had a lesson with Birute and Zivile, an active mother and recently reactivated daughter. To our surprise the mother's less active daughter was also there, so we adapted our lesson and focused on her. She didn't know we were going to be there, so it was a little weird at first, but that was overcome and it was a nice lesson.

Sixth, we were able to attend the Genocide Museum. It was sobering. Like 9th Fort in Kaunas, worth seeing, but I still don't really know what word to use, since it's not 'cool' or 'awesome'. Anyway, you get the idea. The museum is a building that was used by Nazis and the Soviet Union to house prisoners, torture and kill people. It talked about the freedom fighters from Lithuania, and what happened in the building. A member, actually was imprisoned there during the Soviet Union, we believe we saw his cell. It made it that much more real. At the museum I had some revelation come. First, an excitement for defending liberty and freedom and the right, even if results may not be immediate, as the freedom fighters of Lithuania did. Second, part of the reason why Lithuanians hold so tightly to their Catholic traditions. One, the Soviets tried to remove them, so anyone else that does so becomes linked with the Soviets. Two, they used their belief in God to keep them alive and separate from the Soviet ideals, during the Soviet Union. Now, they would feel almost like a traitor to Lithuania and the freedom they or their forefathers paid for dearly. It helped me be more understanding and therefore more able to be on their level.

We also met with an investigator Aurimas. It was a good lesson. He doesn't believe in God, but wants to find truth, so we testified pretty strongly that this is true and that he can come to know that himself.

I love all of you and pray for you. I love serving and indescribably love Lithuania, her people, language, and culture.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

This week contained a few miracles.

First, my driver's license was extended. Everything worked out.

Second, we were considering moving because our apartment's old and small, but nothing worked out. We all felt that we shouldn't/wouldn't move, so we stopped looking and called the landlord to see if we could get a few changes. He came over and was willing to change things at no extra cost to us. It worked out beautifully.

Third, we met a couple weeks ago with Nijole, who Elders Hengst and Hyer taught a year ago. She expressed that she wanted to be baptized but was afraid of her family's reaction. We gave her a For the Strength of the Youth pamphlet, which President Boswell suggested, and briefly told her about it. Of her own accord, she read and discussed the pamphlet with a friend, shared the Book fo Mormon with her granddaughter, and has a couple of other friends who she would like us to meet with this week. Awesome.

Fourth, happened on an exchange with Elder Tomas. I had previously recommited myself to bus contact. He then bus contacted, without knowing about my goal, which helped give me the courage to do it myself. Later we discussed a goal, and found out that we were both working on the same thing, so we decided to work on it together. I have used my opportunities on buses much more effectively since then. Woohoo!

On the exchange we met with Tomas. It was so good to teach him again. He's struggling a bit with adjusting to Elder Sherman and Elder Tomas, so I think it was nice for him to be with me, whom he knows well. I love him so much and hope that he can do what he needs to to get baptized.

District Meeting went well. We talked about working with members and had a nice discussion. It was successful.

That was my week. Oh, Ainis, who I taught in Klaipeda and had a baptismal date, but then couldn't get baptized and had some other issues, is set for baptism on December 3rd! Elder Whicker upon his return to Klaipeda called him up and miraculously Ainis had just been thinking about the church and read a bit in his triple combination. They set up a lesson and he expressed a desire to be baptized. Awesome.

I love all of you and love serving. I love Lithuania. I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving and have a fabulous holiday.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!!

Thanks for the Birthday wishes. It was a good day, a bit stressful, but everything resolved itself, so it was good. Elder Whicker called me and wished me a Happy Birthday and of course sang. I opened the package that morning, so we decorated the apartment. The primary sang to me as well and all wished me something, which is a birthday tradition here- you all wish the person something for the year- happiness, love, money, good luck, those sorts of things. That was very nice. A senior couple, the Flakes, who will be serving in Vilnius, arrived this week. THey are staying in the apartment I was in, so yes, I did move, but the address is the city post box we have, so it's the same for everyone in Vilnius. Anyway, since I was the last one living in that apartment I was kinda designated the one to help them get settled in. We moved stuff up Thursday. Answered many a phone call Friday. They didn't have heat or hot water. We went over Saturday to try and fix that, no luck. Then, they set off the alarm by opening a box of sorts and were unable to turn it off. THe alarm would then sound every time they tripped one of the sensors. We called the landlady, she didn't know about the alarm and said that the heat and water should be working, but she couldn't come until the next day, Sunday to look at it. Sunday we see them at Church, still nothing. We went over to help them after Church. We had no idea how to turn off the alarm, but tried for an hour or two. Then the landlady, husband and son arrive. We stay to translate and act in behalf of the Flakes. They figure out the heat- check. They look at the water, it should be hot now- check. They don't know what to do for the alarm, so they call half of Lithuania, pulling strings trying to get a phone number of someone who would know what's up. They try a bunch of things and finally get the alarm entirely shut off- check. A successful, exhausting day. Crazy. Miracle.

I got the letters- thanks. I enjoyed the drawings and notes. Dad, I really liked that article about Religious Freedom. I noticed that he had done a conference in LIthuania- that was sweet. I had the thought to try and volunteer or do something with that International Center for Religious and Legal Studies when I get back. Exciting. Oh, I had a question- did you ever listen to the Lithuanian music or try and watch the movies? Just curious of what you thought.

I'm glad that you were able to go and hear Elder Warner speak. That's excellent. He sent me a quick email saying he was glad that you came and expressed how wonderful you all are.

Answers: I do have some pointy shoes and occasionally wear them here, but will definitely wear them at home.
It can be windy, it definitely is in Klaipeda and is on and off here in Vilnius.
I don't know if I'll ever serve in Siauliai- it seems that most missionaries serve in 3 out of 4 cities. Some only 2, others all 4.
Serving in a threesome is interesting. It does occasionally feel like we totally overpower the investigators or whoever we are teaching, but it's nice. It's much easier to keep conversations going because there are two others listening and able to comment.

Alright, so some miracles from the week.

First, we ahd a lesson with an active member, Viktorija and her less active mother, Liudvika. Viktorija has two brothers who had not wanted or been unable to have contact with the missionaries recently, both members. This lesson both were there. One talked to us for a few minutes and then left, and the other just briefly came in and said hello. Progress. The lesson went quite well. We committed them to daily read from the Book of Mormon together.

Second, I needed to organize some visa work for Elder Hyer and Elder Rich. Got that taken care of and it went smoothly- they are both now legal.

Third, District Meeting. Since it was the beginning of a new transfer I wanted to establish a Vision for our district, that all members wanted to work towards. I compared our district to a Phoenix. As change occurred it might appear that the glory and beauty we had was lost and destroyed, burnt to ash. While that may have been temporarily true, now the Phoenix may rise again from the Ashes. I thought about it and what I wanted, but left it more open, wanting it to be the District's vision, not just mine. In doing so, I didn't know exactly what was going to happen, but it went incredibly well. All participated and shared thoughts, building off of each other to create the following Seven Point Vision.

1. Be Vessels of the Spirit
2. Consistently Focus on Priorities
3. Be Fearless (Cast Out Fear with Love)
4. Look Not Behind Thee
5. Thin the Veil
6. Speak with the Tongues of Angels
a. Speak no evil of the Lord's anointed
b. Build each other up
7. Victory!

And thus shall the Phoenix rise.

Pretty epic, huh?

Fourth, Romune. Romune is incredible. She thinks very scientifically and not spiritually, so wrapping her mind around the spiritual side of things has been a bit difficult. She wants to learn and know about Christ, but can't the same way she does learning math or something, for example. Elder Hyer and I both shared experiences from our lives of making decisions and explaining what motivates them. Afterward, there was a change in her. She seemed touched and recognized the possibility for change and what really she needed to do. She also thanked us very sincerely for sharing those with her.

That was basically the week.

Glad to hear about your weeks and how they went. I pray for you and appreciate your prayers. I love Lithuania. It is beautiful and amazing. Enjoy your next week!

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!!!

This week was crazy. It was sad saying goodbye to Elder Warner, but it wasn't a permanent goodbye, so not to bad. Elder Whicker was transferred as well, back to Klaipeda. I am now in a threesome with Elder Hyer and Elder Hengst. In the area that I started in. Crazy. It's been good so far. Being in a threesome is a little different than a normal companionship, just because there's two other people instead of just one. Elder Hyer is from Logan, Utah. Elder Hengst is from Germany, one of my MTC companions. He and Elder Hyer served together in Vilnius about a year ago. It's quite the group. I'm still the District Leader. It should be good.

As always, here are some miracles.

First, Tomas, who I am no longer teaching. Elder Warner and I had a very emotional lesson with him. Elder Warner shared ALma 38 making it his last instructions to Tomas. Tomas cried for a long time. He didn't want to meet with other missionaries and said he wouldn't, but as the time came he has, almost daily met with Elder Sherman and Elder Tomas, the Elders now in charge of that area. I'm glad that he's meeting with them and know that they can help him do what he needs to.

Second, with English class. English class was held on Saturday at the same time a regional conference was going on. Miraculously both were able to occur without problems. Everyone was satisfied. Woohoo!

Third, we were near a member's house so we thought we would stop by and say hello. They weren't home, so we went and worked a bit nearby and then passed again, tried their number, still no answer. We walked away, running into the member and her less active son, who recently returned from Spain. We talked for a bit and then they invited us in. We shared a short thought with them and then on Sunday, the son came to Church!

We met with a family this week, Saulius and Marina, and their three children. THe lesson went well. We shared a short thought about being courageous and ending the conflict with sin. It was quick and powerful.

We also stopped by an investigator that Elder Hyer and Elder Hengst taught last year, Nijole. She's doing well, wants to be baptized, but is afraid of her families reaction. We read from the BOok of Mormon with her and she said she would come to Church the next week.

For District Meeting, I had people share things they had learned throughout the transfer and then shared some things I had learned and noticed all of us learning. I came up with five points- 1. God guides and cares about the details
2. All of us have Potential for Greatness inside us
3. Inside every Challenge is an Opportunity
4. THe Power is in The Word
5. Recognizing the Many Faces of Victory
It went well. The spirit was definitely present as all shared what they had learned.

Serving is amazing. That's all there is to it. I love Lithuania and all things Lithuanian. I'm excited to be able to serve with Elder Hengst and Elder Hyer, it'll be good.
I wish all of you a great week. I pray for you and appreciate your prayers.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

PS They are building a new stake type center in Riga!

Here are a few miracles from the week.

First, a miracle which I partially shared last week, that I was able to know what to teach for District Meeting. The revelation did not come all at once, but was slowly developed over the week. It worked wonderfully. I have been trying to have more participation in the meetings so everyone is involved and especially worked on that this past week. By doing so, the topic changed slightly from what I had thought it would be, but was guided by the Spirit and the members of the district, helping them gain the most from it. We talked about weaknesses becoming strengths by using the Grace of Christ, building from what Pres. and Sis Boswell taught in Zone Conference. It was marvelous.

Second, occurred with Luiza. We were riding on a bus back from the church with her to Center. She was planning on going to hang out with some friends, who were not going to do the best things. She then asked us how to make a decision. Elder Warner and I were able to help her choose to not go with those friends and rather go home. She did and in the process ran into a different group of friends who know her standards and don't ask her to break them, allowing her to still have an enjoyable time, while keeping the commandments.

Third, I finally was able to have a coordinating meeting with the Branch President. For various reasons, until Sunday, I had not done the standard meeting with the Branch President. Yesterday I was able to and he, President Skliutas, was incredible. He was amazingly supportive and willing to do whatever was necessary to help. He offered suggestions and listened to what I had to say. It was marvelous.

We met with Tomas multiple times this week. He's doing ok, but still rather emotional. Reading from the Book of Mormon still provides the best lessons for him. While teaching this week, he has been very deep in thought at the end of lessons, showing that what we are saying is hitting him. Hopefully, he can act on that knowledge that he has.

Serving with Elder Warner has been incredible. His dedication to following the Spirit and caring for the promptings he receives has inspired me and helped me do the same. His drive for perfection and self-correcting attitude has also helped me recognize that need in my life. He is wonderful.

I love being a missionary. I can't put into words how I feel. It's incredible and every day I realize more and more the blessings and marvelousness of our calling as missionaries. It's incredible. Lithuania is wonderful. Lithuanian is beautiful. The Lithuanian people are fantastic. It's awesome. I love all of you and appreciate your prayers for me and my investigators. I pray for you and wish you all a Happy Halloween and a fantastic week. Live it up!

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

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Sveiki Visiems!!

This past week was great. As always I'll start with miracles.

First, District Meeting. As I mentioned last week, I received inspiration about how to begin district meeting. I used that, in teaching about the Book of Mormon. I compared us as missionaries to knights, serving not an earthly king, but The King of Kings, even Jesus Christ. Our weapon is not physical, but rather spiritual, The Book of Mormon- our sword. We all shared testimony of how the Book of Mormon has blessed our lives, bringing a strong spirit. We then discussed how the Book of Mormon and a personal love for it is essential to helping our investigators accept baptism. Transferring a little of our love to them, helping them love it and find answers for themselves within its pages. Elder Whicker received personal revelation during the meeting that he should read the Book of Mormon in the next two weeks recording every question asked and the answer given. It was incredible to hear that he received that, helping me see that often we need to creat an environment for the Spirit and then the Spirit will answer directly to others needs, we can help, but sometimes the words don't have anything to do with what we say. It went well.

Second, an activity. The Russian branch has been planning an activity and invited our branch and then us specifically to be involved in the planning as well. It was incredibly unorganized at the start of the week, but everything miraculously seemed to come together. It all should be in order to bless others this Saturday when it occurs.

Third, Elder Warner and I contacted all the members in our area! It didn't really seem possible with what was going on, but we put forth effort and God took care of the rest.

Fourth, Tomas. We had a pretty awful lesson this week. He refused to pray at the end and we felt that he needed to pray so we waited in silence for about 15-20 min for him to pray. He wouldn't and eventually stormed out. Later, Elder Warner wrote him a letter expressing his love and appreciation for him, which Tomas appreciated. Tomas wrote Elder Warner a letter expressing the same things and his knowledge that he needs to read and pray and his desire and commitment to do so. He is struggling because Elder Warner is leaving and he has never really said goodbye to someone that he trusted and cared for as much as Elder Warner. As you know, he is already a fairly emotional individual, so that stress adds a little more extreme to his emotion changes. It'll work out.

This week we also met with Erik and Dedukas. Erik is doing well, we read a story from the Liahona with him, to strengthen him and keep him company. We shared a short spiritual thought with Dedukas, but he can't really hold a conversation. He enjoys our visits, hopefully because of the Spirit that we bring.

Zone Conference yesterday was incredible. Thanks to President Boswell, Sister Boswell and the Assistants. It leads perfectly into what I have felt impressed to talk about in District Meeting. It's incredible how the Lord works, coordinating everything. Seeing the little connection like that really strengthen my testimony of God's knowledge of the little things. If He cares so much about them, how much more does He care about the big, super important ones? Crazy to think about.

Oh, last week you asked about Halloween. It's not an official holiday, but the youth celebrate it, part of the spreading of other cultures. They are actually holding a Halloween party, they being the youth, and we are the chaperones, so to speak. It should be sweet.

I love all of you. Thanks for your writing and care. I pray for you and appreciate your prayers. I love Lithuania, Lithuanian, and the people of this country. They are magnificent. Serving as a missionary is incredible. I realize more and more how sacred and great the responsibility and therefore blessing is, of being the Lord's servant. It's mindblowing.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

I am doing wonderful. As always, I'll start by sharing some miracles from this past week.

First, Tomas. He has shown increasing trust in us and a stronger desire to follow spiritual things. We had a lesson about the Atonement of Christ, during which he wasn't super cooperative, but it was apparent that the words we said were hitting him. He understood and wanted to use it, but doesn't really understand how or fully believe that it will help him. He's tried to quit smoking so many times that it's difficult for him to have faith that it will work another time. We need to show him that it is possible and that God loves him enough to prepare the way.

Second, a second investigator at Church, Mindaugas. Mindaugas is a member of our ENglish class, who mistakenly came to the Church looking for ENglish, which was not held due to watching General Conference. We talked to him and instead of leaving, he decided to stay and see what this Conference was all about. He was very thoughtful while watching and found it interesting. I believe that fruit can come from this and at the least he was exposed to truth that can bless his life.

Third, a personal miracle with prayer. I have been striving throughout my mission to pray in a way that is actually conversing with God. I have put forth significant effort recently. As I have done so I have received more revelation for myself and others and strengthened my relationship with God. I feel like I actually know Him as an individual now. It's been wonderful.

Fourth, revelation received during General Conference. While watching in English there were multiple revelations received, particularly last week as I was thinking of what to teach for District meeting. As we watched the Saturday morning session in Elder Scott's talk he mentioned sacrifice, which stuck out, so I thought maybe that, but it wasn't the theme of his talk so I kind of discounted it. Next Sis Thompson spoke saying many things, one of them 'revelation can come in as little as a line from a conference talk'. Right to what I was thinking. I then felt that I should, but was still unsure because Elder Warner had planned on talking about it to our zone at the next training, so I didn't want to take that from him. As I had those thoughts, there was the talk about acting immediately on revelation without delay. Needless to say, it was clear that I needed to talk about Sacrifice. Also yesterday, while watching, I received revelation on how to begin this week's District Meeting. It wasn't connected to anyone's comments, but because I was in an environment to feel the Spirit, it came. Conference was, in a word, marvelous.

We went to Klaipeda for an exchange this week. It was nice to be in a District Meeting as a participant, and to notice what Elder Erickson did while leading. He has an incredibly good heart and pure desires for good.

We met with Erik and Dedukas. Both lessons went well and uplifted them spiritually.

As I mentioned I taught about Sacrifice in District Meeting. It went very well. I talked mostly about how we can't serve two masters, illustrating that principle with numerous examples, including Anakin in Star Wars, the children in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Ron and the locket in Harry Potter 7, Gulliver's Travels, and some other analogies that I came up with. It then led to how we serve solely Christ, by sacrificing all worldly desires and passions. While preparing it helped my notice that as I have desired to make changes and sacrifice, Christ has helped remove the worldly desires from me, making it easier. It's been fantastic.

We went to Trakai last week. It was cool. It looked beautiful, with the leaves all changing colors. Magnificent. It's in the middle of a lake as well, just the perfect most beautiful location. I sent a couple pictures of our district there.

Lithuania is wonderful. I love it and her people, so much. I pray for you and appreciate your prayers. Have a fantastic week!

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!

First, there is a fairly goodsized primary here in Vilnius, but I don't think they do a Primary program, maybe because they can't really sing- who knows. On Sunday they watched Priesthood and Relief Society, the sessions of Conference, during the 2nd and 3rd hour and volunteered the missionaries to be crowd control in Primary so all the parents and others could watch. That was exciting.

Our week was pretty good. I'll start with a couple miracles.

First, as a District we set a goal each week from one of the 'key indicators' (lessons, baptisms, baptismal dates, new investigators, etc) and we reached our goal! Woohoo! The goal this week was progressing investigators, we wanted 4 as a district, but got 6! Victory!

Second, Tomas. He is improving incredibly in our lessons. We have stopped preparing specific lessons and begun to read a chapter from the Book of Mormon with him. He is more mature, reads, understands, and pays attention. The power of the Book of Mormon.

For District meeting this past week I taught about the potential that all of us have. I used a quote I heard in the MTC as the basis, 'Explode the Giant Within.' Then I read scriptures with them about how we have the potential to become gods. I shared some thoughts after that about how we can reach this potential, taken from a talk by President Monson 'Finishers Wanted'. He gave 6 marks of a finisher. 1. Vision, 2. Effort, 3. Faith, 4. Virtue, 5. Courage, and 6.Prayer. I illustrated this 6 points with Hook. I talked about how Peter Banning found his inner potential to be Peter Pan. Showing that we, in the past, recognized our potential more fully and now due to our own choices and the veil, have forgotten who we truly are. It was successful, I believe.

We met with Erik and talked about doing good works to gain salvation. He agreed and we talked about some things that he personally could do to do good works.

That was about it. We taught English class, which went well, but nothing exciting or out of the ordinary.

I love all of you and wish you luck this next week. Thanks for your prayers and writings. I love serving and love Lithuania.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

PS I really enjoyed Elder Christofferson's talk from conference and then Elder Wardell(sp?) from the Priesthood session also gave a very thought provoking talk. We still have yet to watch the Sunday sessions. That will happen this week. Oh, Elder Holland's talk served as another reinforcement that I feel I need to do something about religious freedom. A few thoughts that stuck out.

Sveiki Visiems!!

Glad that conference was wonderful. We have yet to watch it. We will watch it in English throughout this week and into next week and start watching it in Lithuanian on Sunday and finish next weekend. It'll be wonderful as always.

Sweet that Skyline won the Emotion Bowl. Woot! Ella, I don't know if you'll ever have a dog. Maybe one day. Henry, Lithuania actually loves basketball. Kinda strange since it's a European country, but basketball is sometimes called their second religion.

Last week we ate Indian food at Chandler's restaurant. It was scrumptious. The meal we ate was called Alistair's Butter Chicken. For real. Crazy huh?

Miracles:

First, Tomas. We had a very open lesson with him, where he actually told us why he wants to quit smoking and we were thusly able to help him by reminding him of those reasons. He went to the hospital this week because of some blood problem in his leg. He's better now, but it still hurts and isn't completely resolved. He wants to be baptized, but has a lot of roadblocks, which need to be overcome. In another lesson this past week, he also listened quite closely and commited himself to read the Book of Mormon, so that the truth within could set him free. Hopefully he follows through on that, since he needs the strength.

Second, Eugenijus. He is a member that has some psychological problems, which require him at times to be hospitalized. He has been in the hospital since I arrived in Vilnius, but this past week we ran into him on the street and were able to teach him a lesson. The lesson started beautifully, but spiralled a bit into unpleasant waters. He was smoking when we ran into him, so we asked about that at the end. He then told us that smoking brings you spiritual strength and other such things. We tried to tie it back to following Christ and his prophets, since Eugenijus believes that Joseph Smith is a prophet, but it wasn't working. He rambled and wouldn' listen to us, trying to say that we shouldn't talk about it, so I just bluntly said that as missionaries we are called to preach repentance, that is our purpose. I then told him that he needed to repent by giving up smoking. Elder Hyer, who I was teaching with on an exchange, said afterward that he felt the power or authority as I said that. That was exciting to hear. We ended with a prayer and bid farewell. The miracle being that one, we found him, two, we know that he has a smoking problem which is deeper than an addiction, three, I exercised spiritual power.

For district meeting I taught about the worth of individuals. I used several scriptures, the worth of souls in Doctrine and Covenants, the 99 and one lost sheep, and Christ blessing the children individually in the Americas. I applied it in two ways, first to the members and investigators here, that we should focus our efforts on them as individuals not lists. Particularly because we are trying to contact all the members in our respective areas by Oct 23. Second, to the missionaries themselves. Following the idea that we are all important and have our own roles to fill, all of which are equal. I compared us to the Power Rangers. How they would fight the monster individually in their zords, but would fail, and how they needed to join together to conquer. That each member was an essential part, without one, there would be failure. I invited all the elders to discover why they are where they are with whom they are with. It went fairly well.

Also with Elder Hyer, we met with one of their investigators, Egle. She had a lot of doubts and concerns. Specifically about how church will bless her and why bad things happen to good people. She seems to be letting the doubts poison her faith. She believes the Book of Mormon is true, but has some problems with seeing it work in reality. Hopefully things get worked out for her.

We met with Dedukas. He's not doing so well. He's 87 or so and not totally there, so we just visit, chat a bit and try to share a short uplifting message. He seems glad to see us, so that's nice.

We also taught Jurga a lesson with Elder Rich. She is Elder Rich and Elder Whicker's investigator preparing for baptism. They aren't sure if she's ready, so they wanted our opinion. We also couldn't tell from that one lesson, so we decided to hold a pre-baptismal interview interview and judge by the Spirit's presence or lack thereof if she is ready for baptism. Hopefully that goes well and she can show her faith and be blessed by baptism.

That was my week. I'll try and get my license stuff finalized today. I didn't have my driver's license with me last week, so I couldn't do it. It should be pretty simple though. Thanks for your support and love. I love all of you and pray for you. Good luck this next week.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!

First some miracles, as always.

First, some new investigators. We were in the teaching center having a lesson with Tomas, when two guys walked in randomly, who wanted to know about God. There were some Russian elders there as well, so we did a mini exchange and Elder Warner continued to teach Tomas and I went to teach these new individuals, Kestutis and Arunas. We talked about the Restoration and how because of that we can better follow Christ. They wanted to learn more and we set up a return appointment. Woohoo! They live in the other elders' area though, so we passed off their information to them.

Second, Tomas. He wants to be baptized and quit smoking. He has been working very hard to quit, even following the steps in a pamphlet we gave him. One of which is to drink grapefruit juice to cleanse his body of the nicotine, which he has been doing even though he thinks grapefruit juice is gross. We had a very thoughtful and spiritual lesson reading from the Book of Mormon with him. We read and talked about the vverses, in the first part of 1 Nephi 14. It was quite good.

Third, Chandler. The name might sound familiar because it is the same Chandler that I taught over a year ago in Vilnius. Awesome. We had a pass over lesson with the other elders, since he lives in our area. It went beautifully. He really wants to read the Book of Mormon and know if this is true and he needs to follow it. He knows he needs to be baptized, but is a little afraid, but said if he learns the responsibliites, and feels capable of fulfilling them, he will be baptized.

District Meeting went well. I gave everyone in the district a responsibility to fulfill, to help them feel useful and equal. Elder Warner leads the language thought, Elder Sherman provides a joke, Elder Whicker fills the program (prayers and hymns) as well as writes on the board, Elder Rich shares a short spiritual thought, and Elder Hyer leads us in reciting our mission culture. We did all those things, which went well. Then we discussed our vision for the District. I had thought of five points which are as follows:

1. We will be as One.

2. We will experience and recognize miracles.

3. We will not be satisfied with where we are and therefore will continue to progress.

4. We will recognize the skills we have and will further perfect them.

5. Victory.
We discussed them a little and everyone seemed to be in agreeance. We then moved on to talk about miracles. I shared some scriptures about how God is, was, and will always be a god of miracles. Everyone shared what miracles are to them and then I talked about recognizing miracles and what stops us from performing them. I shared that fear is one major obstacle, then discussing what overcomes fear- perfect love, as written in 1 John 4:18. That is one of my favorites, perhaps my favorite. Anyway, it was wonderful. I am also going to have a miracle jar, so we can share our miracles from the past week with the district.

We met with Dedukas and talked a little about God strengthening us in all parts of our lives. It was good, short, but boosted him some.

We also met with Erik and shared with him thoughts on the melchezidek priesthood. He wants to receive it and understands that there is more responsiblity, but also more opportunities to help others. It was a great lesson.

Last night after Church we ran into an interesting character. He stopped us and asked where we were from, we told him. He told us he grew up in Salt Lake, but has lived here for about 10 years. He small talked for a bit and then told us what gets him about the Church. The facsimilies in the book of Abraham. We looked at them with him and he told us all these things he learned while studying Egyptology, which rocked his world. He basically decided to trust in men over the power of God. It's obviously difficult when things seem to contradict, but that's what faith is for, right? After he told us what the facsimlies really mean, he ended like this- "And guess where I was when I was your age? (points to us with his finger) The same place you are. (Puts his hand up in a wave, turns, and walks away saying) Good night" It was a perfect stage exit. He seems to have practice timing his speech, so that no defense can be given. Which is ok, since there is no point in bringing up other ideas with those types of individuals. It's sad to see people that once had the truth in their hands and then for some reason or another rejected it. He was a fairly polite individual, just wanted to share his new found 'light' I suppose.

Well, that was the week. Sounds as if you all enjoyed yourselves. Keep up the enjoyment. Lithuania is wonderful, I am doing wonderful, and pray that you will keep being wonderful.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!!

Alright, so about Transfers. As you know, I am now the district leader here in Vilnius. Elder Warner and I are together again, for his last transfer. He is a zone leader, yes. The district is almost the same as before, Elder Whicker and Elder Rich are together, but now Elder Sherman is here with Elder Hyer. It'll be fun. As district leader, I do have extra responsibilities. I lead district meeting, take attendance in sacrament meeting, coordinate with the branch president, collect numbers from the district on Sunday nights, and go on exchanges with the district members. I lead my first district meeting tomorrow, so I'll tell you how it went next week.

Glad to hear that your weeks went seemingly well. Oh, Alistair, I'm excited to listen to that new Jack's Mannequin CD when I get back, should be awesome. Try and get to their concert, it would be a blast. Glad that thinsg are going better. Was your Chem exam in the testing center? That joyous place...haha. If you go there check out the music room, it's upstairs, kinda hidden, but much better than the normal area. Also, there's a TV screen as you exit that shows your test score, sometimes good and sometimes it's better to wait to find out. Ella, people do wear some shoes that look like slippers, but I don't know if they're the same as what you are talking about.

This week was great. As always I will start from the miracles.

First, with Tomas. He again expressed a strong desire to quit smoking. He was struggling and so we reminded him of the reasons that he wanted to quit, which helped him. Also, his behavior is improving. We had a few successful lessons this week, whereas before it would usually only be one per week. We talked aout healing most recently and how he can be healed through the Savior and his own belief in Him.

Second, Skirmantas. Skirmantas is a less-active young man about 18 or so. I taught him before when I served in Vilnius and it was always difficult to come up with a topic, so Elder Warner and I were stumped. He understands all the right answers with his head, but doesn't really believe it with his heart. We tried to think of a way to make it interesting for him. I thought of music, since he likes music, so as I was pondering what to teach him the lyrics to the song 'Help!' by The Beatles came to mind. We took the meaning and applied it to each of us. That we all need help and the way to get that help is through Christ. We also shared Christ and Peter walking on the water and how Peter needed Christ's help and received it. The lesson went well. Skirmantas knew the words immediately, and agreed to ask Christ for help the next time he needed it.

Third, was about District leader things. I had been thinking of what to do since you called and asked me to serve as District Leader. I felt good about it, but wasn't sure if it was quite right, but as we talked Friday morning with the Assisstants, everything just clicked. Helping me realize that the ideas that I had were actually inspired and I was starting to do what God wanted. It was quite reassuring and comforting.

This week we also met with a recent convert, Vitalis, Dedukas. He wasn't doing very well, but we visited with him and shared a short inspirational thought. He was able to come to Church on Sunday, so we talked to him some more there, which was probably enjoyable for him.

We met with Erik and talked about spiritual gifts inviting him to find out what his are and what he would like to develop and to further develop those. He was pretty excited.

We met with a member Grazvidas, who was recently in a car accident and hasn't been able to attend Church for a few weeks. We talked about the importance of scripture reading and he testified strongly of the blessing it's had on his life. How when he's feeling angry, he'll open the scriptures and read and then it calms him down. Way awesome.

I love all of you and appreciate your prayers in my behalf. Lithuania is the best. I love it beyond description. Oh, mom, Lithuanians are also very bold and open with what they say, so maybe it's just American culture that keeps things back. Don't worry, I won't grow a goatee, even though I have considered it. I was further convinced not to on Sunday. Two former missionaries, from about 10 years ago, were visiting. one was sporting a goatee, and I just thought that there is no reason for that. The general authorities don't, so why should I? Just my personal decision, and counsel from President Dance prior to his departure. I wish you all the best. Enjoy your week.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!!

Well, first of all, transfers are this week, hopefully I can remain with Elder Warner, but whatever happens is what should happen.

Usually for the second hour we go the Gospel Principles class, for investigators and recent converts/ youth, so I'm not sure what the schedule is for Gospel Doctrine. We talked about prayer and thought about what prayer and other simple gospel things meant to us personally.

Ella- I am excellent. Church was good. There was a guest, who works for the Church filming things. He was looking for people to highlight on Mormon.org as a part of the I am a Mormon ad campaign deal. He's been touring all over the world, pretty crazy. Crazier is that he used to be Elder Warner's neighbor, long, long ago. I led the lesson in aaronic priesthood, we have two aaronic priesthood holders here, one's 12 and the other's 14, as well as a few investigators about that age, so we have a separate class for them. We talked about eternal families. It went fairly well.

We had a lesson with Tomas on Sunday, which could have gone better, but what can you do. We ate salmon and mashed potatoes for dinner. It was scrumptious.

A couple miracles to share this week.
First, Rita, a recent convert, taught by Elders Warner and Manning, was in Vilnius for one last day, before being fulltime in Kaunas as a student. We were able to meet with her and have a fantastic lesson. Elder Warner was back earlier than expected from Riga, so he was able to help teach, much to his delight. She is doing well and has a great grasp on the gospel and the power of Christ and his Atonement.

Second, Tomas. A small miracle and tender moment that we had this week. We were talking to him on the phone and it was a fairly average conversation, more just to occupy him so he wouldn't smoke than anything else. We then somehow arrived to the topic of prayer and his testimony. He said that he had never really felt anything while praying, as he expressed this concern he began to cry. He really wants to feel and know for himself, but had never had that experience, or if he did, didn't recognize it. It was incredibly touching that it was important enough that he would cry over it. As that began to happen, Elder Warner began to praise him for his good desires and overall goodness. We changed tactic to lifting him and testifying that God does care and love him because he wants to do what's right. It showed that he really does want to know, in the deepest part of himself.

We met more with Tomas throughout the week. Some lessons went well, others not. Elder Warner and I both receive so much revelation for him, it's amazing how much God loves him and wants him to be helped.

Hilarious story to share. First, a little background. There's a man who lives here named Boyd Hale. He comes from the well known city of Preston, ID. He was a doctor there, and came here and is married to a Russian woman. He's a little unique and says a lot of things that would be better left unsaid, but he's an enjoyable character if you don't take what he says to seriously.

Saturday there was a baptism in the Russian branch, which we went to with Tomas. Boyd and his wife were there, because they attend the Russian Branch and his wife was probably friends with the woman being baptized. Afterward, we were walking to the bus stop, which Boyd was also walking to. He comes with us and his wife checks a different bus stop to see which is faster. He then says to me "You should grow a goatee when you get back from your mission. Without mine, I have the exact same profile as you and a goatee is much cheaper than plastic surgery to give you a bigger chin." At this point his wife comes and drags him away to another bus stop. Elder Warner and I laugh about it, because it's a bit amusing.

Sunday morning. We got to church early because we were going to teach Tomas a lesson. When we arrive the Russian branch was about to start their third hour, so everyone was in the foyer. Boyd immediately hooks his arm in mine and leads me to the couch so he can explain himself. We sit down and he starts to explain how he wanted a chance to lovingly say what he meant. He didn't mean to bombard me with some random comment, so he had prayed for the chance to lovingly explain where he came from , so I would understand what he had meant. He then proceeds to explain how when he went to medical school in the Phillipines there was a presentation once by a plastic surgeon. The best presentation he had ever seen in his entire medical career. The surgeon was talking about how the most beautiful face, from the profile, you can draw a straight line from the nose to the chin. He showed some examples and then took examples from the class. one being Boyd's profile. He then asked the class what they could do beautify Boyd. Some suggested to cut his nose or lips, others to break his jaw and slide it forward, etc. Boyd didn't like any of those options, so he grew a goatee. Which gives the illusion that his chin is closer to his nose. A cheaper alternative to plastic surgery. Boyd also told me how flexible the Church is with facial hair, although there are some narrow minded people. 'You have to be some what of a rebel, like me to do it.' Hilarious. So, should I grow one, after graduating from BYU, of course? ;)

That was our week. It was good. I pray for you and appreciate your prayers. I love you and Lithuania. I absolutely adore serving. It is magnificent beyond description. Enjoy further your week. I think I answered all your questions. I was kinda thinking all over the place, so sorry if the email is way jumpy and randomly fit together, but I think I said all I wanted to say.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!!

Thanks for the pictures, they were fun to see. Oh, I got the package, last week, or sometime, anyway- thank you.

Happy Birthday ISABEL!!!!!! and

Happy Birthday HENRY!!!!!!

Enjoy your birthdays.

Ella, congrats on your baptism. I'm so excited for you and glad that you felt so good afterward.

This last week was quite good. Here's the miracles.

First- we got a sim card and can now use our phone!

Second- Tomas, on his own, expressed the desire to quit smoking and be baptized. He is working towards the 30th of September. As I mentioned earlier, Elder Warner and I have tried to avoid pushing him towards anything and letting him make the steps, since pushing didn't seem to be working. He seems to be moving forward, of his own accord, not because of some obligation he feels to us.

Third- Virgis became a new investigator. We have been trying for about a month to set up a lesson with him and finally it occured. He is an incredibly faith filled man, who really desires to follow Christ. He has been baptized in another Church, not too long ago and asked if he would need to be baptized again, after we invited him to be. We then said yes, and explained about the Apostasy and following Restoration. He prayed at the end of the lesson, expressing his love for God and his desire to follow him. Asking to know if he needs to do as we said or not. It was beatiful. As soon as he understands authority, he appears to be willing to do whatever it takes to follow Christ.

This week we also met with Erik. We just had a short thought about Christ and using his Atonement in our lives on Earth. It went quite well.

We had a lesson with the Skliutas family, active members. It was wonderful. We talked about missionary work and the joy that comes from it. We committed them to do three things. 1- to write their testimonies in copies of the Book of Mormon, 2- to pray about with whom to share the Gospel 3- to give a copy of the Book of Mormon to that individual God told them they needed to share the Gospel with.

I went on an exchange with Elder Whicker. It was marvelous. He is so caring and wants to help people. We talked about some goals that I had and got around to being ourselves with all people, from the beginning of our interactions. I have been trying to do that, particularly with investigators and members. Our talk helped strengthen my desire to do that and renewed the fire. I have been thinking of more specific ways that I can initially be myself and be more open and social with people. It's a little rough, since it's changing about 20 years of habits, but I'm working on it. It's kinda rough, since I'm more reserved and just keep to myself naturally, rather than chat up a storm with whomever I'm near to. Always, time to change though, right?

In our district meeting we talked about vision. I really enjoyed it, especially the idea that Elder Whicker discussed of a vision including three aspects. 1) Where we were, 2) Where we are, and 3) Where we want to be. I had generally associated vision with looking only forward, but in reality to get there, the knowledge of where you were and where you now are, is essential to get to where you want to be. It was a very enlightening and simple concept. He based his thoughts around a talk Elder Holland gave as President of BYU, However Long and Hard the Road. It is a magnificent talk. I'll send it to you, because it's definitely worth reading and gives motivation for anything. He uses an incredible quote from Winston Churchill. Oh, it's just so awesome.

Elder Warner is amazing. Serving with him is great. I noticed as I've been writing this that I keep putting commas in places that they are unnecessary. Partially due to the fact that I overuse commas in general, but also whenever I pause in my thinking I seem to place a comma in the typing, perhaps to represent the pause in my thoughts. Anyway, random little commentary on what's going on in my head.

I think that's it for this week. I love serving and love Lithuania and the inhabitants thereof. I love all of you and pray for you. I appreciate your prayers. Enjoy another week at school, it'll be fun, if you let it be.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!!

I'm sorry that you all have school tomorrow, but ya know- you gotta do what you gotta do. Just remember that it'll be better if you try and like it. Since you have to go and do might as well enjoy doing, unless you enjoy being miserable.

Answers: The guy I was talking to just started pulling my tie off and Elder Warner thought he was going to choke me, so he ran over and pushed the guys arm off, but since he ws holding my tie, it came off in his hands.

no we don't have to wear gas masks. We do have smoke and CO detectors. Elder Whicker's and Elder Rich's went off last Sunday, so they spent the night with us, but they aired out their apartment and everything was fine.

With translating we rotate some. Elder Whicker hates doing it, so he doesn't. Elder Warner plays the piano, so he usually doesn't. Elder Carrol has and I don't mind, so often I do translate, yes. I translated again this past week actually, it's fun, Elder Warner overheard some and said that I did a good job, which was cool to hear.

Dad, the idea of Fear is very interesting. I've thought a lot about it in a general sense, especially while I was studying the Christlike attributes. I noticed that they are all very connected, I prefer to find the source in Charity, especially based on the scripture in Moroni that Charity is the only thing without end and that all else will fail. Along with that is 1 John 4:18, that perfect love casteth out fear and that if you have fear, you don't love. I came to the conclusion that all positive attributes lead to the source of Charity and that their opposing negative attributes can be traced back to Fear. An interesting idea, since fear is a very accepted element of life, but in reality we shouldn't fear anything as we gain the gift of Charity. I don't know what my list of fears would be, it's something I've thought about on and off, especially because a popular get to know you question is: what's your biggest fear. I don't know. Just some interesting thoughts. We actually shared that scripture with Tomas this week because he seems to be afraid of something, which is causing his drastic switches between wanting baptism and not. We don't know what it is but just taught him that God's love can remove all fears in his life. I shared that experience when I was in Kaunas on the bus and the drunk guy was yelling at us. Then I tried to feel God's love for him and he immediately calmed down. It was a good lesson.

This week was quite wonderful. As always, I'll start from the miracles.

First, Tomas. He had expressed a strong desire to be baptized, again, but then turned around and said he didn't want to. That was a little dissappointing for us, since we've been trying to do everything that we can to help him come unto Christ. We came to the conclusion that our approach would be to go at his pace. Express our dissappointment when he didn't do something, but to show our love always as well. He matured quite a bit after our decision and a lesson with a member- Luiza, just recently baptized. She testified strongly and did a magnificent job in the lesson. It didn't have an immediate impact, but later in the week, Tomas was more serious. He listened and we were actually able to fully teach and have a fairly normal lesson. It was fantastic.

Second, Saulius. He is still seemingly under the influence of some substance. He expressed a strong desire to change and be baptized and do whatever it took for that to happen. He also has developed a relationship of trust with us, offering to make some calls and get our phone back for us. I hope that he will be able to overcome his addictions by relying on Christ.

Third, is a small happening. While Elder Warner and I were returning from Kaunas after exchanges, there were two young people behind us. They heard us speaking English and then asked where we were from and we had a nice conversation about why we are here, testifying of prophets and we were able to share a little about the Book of Mormon. They weren't incredibly interested, but at least we were able to give them a taste of the truth and leave a positive impression that can be built on later.

Besides the aforementioned lessons, we met with two recent converts- Vitalij and Erik. With Vitalij we takled about the healing power of the Atonement and how through Christ all mankind can be saved, if they so choose.

We discussed the Gospel of Jesus Christ with Erik, sharing the connections between the steps and refreshing that doctrine for him. It went quite well.

On my exchange with Elder Manning, we met with Ieva. The lesson went wonderfully. We taught the law of Chastity, mostly reading from True to the Faith. She understood and accepted it. We were also able to resolve some of her concerns about repentance. We then talked to her about talking to her parents and how she needs to do that, especially now that they know that she is meeting with us. Her parents are quite against the Church and want to speak to our leaders. Ieva is still quite set on baptism, I just hope that her family life won't become difficult because of her righteous choices. I'll let you know what happens.

Enjoy your week back at school. It's an exciting adventure. I know this idea will probably not appeal to you at all, but I just had the thought pop into my head, so I'll share it: Set some goals for what you want to accomplish this school year. Academically, but also spiritually. I would suggest even some missionary work goals, since every member is a missionary. I know it's rough, but just pray about it and share things that are exciting in a normal cool way. I don't know exactly how to do that, but you can practice in home evening or something. It'll be fun and excellent. Just a thought. I love Lithuania. I love all of you. I love Elder Warner and serving with him. He's awesome. Thanks for your prayers and I pray for you. Find joy in the journey.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!!

Miracles- The first is that Vitalijus (Dedukas) was able to leave the hospital and come to church. It was wonderful to see him there and he seemed much happier. We visited him as well this week and it went quite well.

Second is a miracle within a trial, I suppose. This week Elder Warner and I were verbally harrassed by some young men about our age. They then stole our cell phone and my tie. Crazy. The miracle within this trial, was that we escaped physically unharmed and were able to return home safely and fulfill our responsiblities without a phone.

We met with Tomas twice this week. The first time was a member present, with Brigita. He did not act very respectfully, which was a little trying of our patience and frustrating since we had sincerely thought about him and planned specifically for his needs, as well as the fact that Brigita was there. We decided that we were going to let him be for a bit and hope that he could figure out what he really wants in life. We did that, talked occasionally on the phone, some of the most sincere conversations I've ever had with him. We met with him again on Saturday and he was fairly behaved, listened and participated, which was fantastic. I think he better knows what he wants and what our role is.

We taught Erik as well. We taught a short lesson on patience. It's something he has mentioned he needs to work on and currently in his state of trial, we thought it would be applicable. He seemed to be very attentive and shared how reading the scriptures helps him in his life to be more patient. It was great. Afterward, Elder Warner commented that he has seen a change in Erik, from when he got here, for the better.

We also met with Sergeijus, a less active. We shared the story of Christ healing the man with palsy, who was lowered through the roof. Sharing how Christ cares, not just spiritually, but physically as well. It was good. He then shared some ideas that were not based on doctrine and some concerns about Warren Jeffs being a prophet in our Church. We helped to clarify those and share the truth with him. Always good to be able to correct misconceptions.

Luiza, an investigator of Elders Whicker and Rich, first taught by Elder Warner, was baptized on Saturday!! It was wonderful. She invited a lot of friends, youth that aren't members and they came as well as her father. It was fantastic. She led the lesson in Sunday School the next day about Temptation and Sin. She did a fabulous job.

Lithuania is awesome. I love serving and Lithuania. I love all of you and appreciate your love and prayers, know as always, that I pray for you. Enjoy this crazy time of moving on. Alistair- good luck at the Y, it's a beautiful place. It'll be hard, but a blast. Try and take advantage of all of the opportunities as well. International Cinema, free music things, other random free things, cool places close to campus- the dollar theater, the Velour- where We Shot the Moon likes to go. It's awesome. Well, those are my thoughts for the day. Just don't worry and love it, life in general, not just BYU.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!!

On the movies- they should all be dubbed in Lithuanian and have English. I'm not sure if they work on normal DVD players or if they would work on the laptop, maybe give it a shot and let me know, in case I need to get a DVD player here, so I could watch them, or something. The hat I bought on the street here in Vilnius last year and yes I probably will give it to Mr Sanders. Feel Free to listen to the music, hear a little bit of the beauty of Lithuanian.

Henry- You could wiki Lithuanian history. That would be cool. You could learn about Gediminas, Vytautas, and Mindaugas, as well as Kestutis. Apparently, Lithuania stopped Ghengis Khan from getting any farther. You could also look up anything. Maybe start making a list of things you want to learn more about, and then wiki those things.

Miracles from the week.

First, Tomas. On Monday, and yesterday, we met and the lesson went magnificently. He participated, expressed his desire to change and follow Christ, as well as his knowledge of the truth of our message. Those lessons were beautiful and every time something like that happens, it reminds me of who he can be and how worth it it is to help him gain salvation.

Second, Jurga. This miracle happened while I was on an exchange with Elder Rich. We had a lesson set up with Jurga, outside by the opera house. We were supposed to call her when we arrived and then she would further direct us to where she was at. We arrived, called- no answer. Her phone was turned off. We tried a few more times, waited for about 15 minutes and then started to leave. We began to leave, walking around the opera house a bit to see if she was somewhere else, but no luck. We got to a bus stop and we were trying to decide what to do. I felt almost glued to the spot, so we waited for a few minutes there, not really doing anything, when miraculously, Jurga walks towards us. We met and had a great lesson, where she testified of her belief in the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. It was incredible.

The third miracle is one I noticed, of God working through other individuals. Erik, a Brazilian living here, playing soccer, was evicted this past week because of some language barriers and problems with his manager, etc. He came to Church and was telling a member, an American working for the Department of Defense I believe, Bro. Esplin is his name if I am not mistaken, about his hard situation. Erik then went to pass the sacrament, leaving his scriptures next to Bro Esplin, who slipped 200 litas into Erik's scriptures. His wife asked him about it and he replied that Erik was just having a little bit of a hard time. It was incredible to see such love for others.

We met with Tomas almost every day this week, trying to help him quite smoking. It's hard for him and occasionally difficult for us, but as I mentioned earlier, those incredible lessons always remind me of who he truly is and what he really wants. He's trying and recently began talking to a member, Brigita, about his addiction and she has stepped in to help him quit. We have a lesson set up with both of them tonight, which should help him behave and overcome his problem.

We also met with Saulius, who has a drug, tabacco, and alcohol problem. He wants to overcome them and is working towards that, with a doctor. We taught about the strength that God can give us through prayer. He agreed and understood that prayer is a means to help. He seems to be improving, but it's hard to tell how much he understands because of the influence of the drugs in his life.

Tomas came to the baptism on Saturday of a member's daughter. He even helped to control some of the younger children a bit, which was exciting to see. Meaning, that it showed his recognition of the sacredness and importance of the event.

I translated on Sunday for Erik and Bro Esplin and his wife, who has an Ipad 2! It was good. Church went well.

We had zone conference yesterday, which is why I'm writing this today, sorry I didn't warn you, I totally spaced it. It was excellent, as always. It's so good to be with other missionaries and be uplifted together. Elder Warner and Elder Sherman led a portion and talked about how we can help people out of the mists of darkness, with our light. They also talked about using members and studies, as means to increase our light. I helped connect the ideas a little bit, which was fun. I haven't really come up with any analogies such as that, of late. Maybe I should think about that a bit more. Anyway, zone conference was excellent.

I love all of you and all of the people of Lithuania. Things are going well here in Vilnius. Elder Warner is fantastic, it's so great to be with him. It's his birthday on Sunday, so that should be fun. Thanks for your prayers and know that I pray for you. Enjoy your fleeting summer!

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!

Happy Birthday ELLA!!!! Hope it's awesome.

Well, transfers happened. I am now in Vilnius with Elder Warner, in the center area, different from the area I was in last year.

Elder Whicker is also in my district, which will be fun. He's companions with Elder Rich, who came when Elder Whicker and I served together in Klaipeda. Then, just like the last time I was here, there are no sisters, but elders in that area. Elder Hyer and Elder Carrol. Elder Hyer was in the MTC with Elder Rich and they were serving together in Klaipeda. He's from Logan, Utah, if I remember correctly. Elder Carrol came in with Elders Sherman and Nelson. He's from Arizona. Elder Warner was born in Connecticut, but grew up mostly in Orem, his family now lives in SPringville. He has one transfer left after this one. Crazy. He's pretty awesome.

As always, I'll share some miracles. First, was at the start of the week with Elder Leishman. We visited Ale and Antanas, a very active couple. They have a reputation for keeping the missionaries for a long time and feeding them much more than they can actually afford. Due to that reputation, they had not been visited by missionaries for a very long time. We decided to give it a shot and at least see if that was still the case. They fed us some, but a fairly reasonable amount, but we were able to get in, eat, and share a spiritual message in 1 hour and 15 min. It was miraculous. They were very glad that we visited and because we were able to keep it reasonable, missionaries can visit in the future.

Second, was here in Vilnius. We have an investigator, Tomas. He's 16 and trying to quit smoking. We also teach him piano lessons. From what Elder Warner has told me, it's been a little difficult to teach him. Most of the time, they don't even finish the lesson, but this week, we were able to teach fully what we had planned and he was fairly well behaved. He also came to church on Sunday and wants to continue meeting and work towards baptism.

This week we also met with Vitalij, or Dedukas. He's a recent convert, older and in a hospital for now. We visited him and shared a short, inspirational scripture- 2 Timothy 4:6-7. He enjoyed it and talked about keeping his faith. It was enjoyable.

We also had a lesson via telephone with Rita, another recent convert. She is incredible. We talked about receiving strength through the Atonement, so that we could bear our trials. She loved the stories we shared and understood the significance of what that strength can be.

We also taught English class, which was fairly good. Our class is small, three regular students and we had one nwe student this past week. The new student, Adomas, knew a lot, and enjoyed asking unanswerable questions about English. A bit frustrating when we were trying to teach, but we just told him we didn't know and that was that.

Church was crazy. There are hardly any youth or children in Kaunas, so Church is close to silent. Vilnius on the other hand, is packed with kids and youth, relatively speaking. It was incredibly loud, not bad, just very different from what I've been experiencing for almost the past year. That's crazy to think. Tomas came to church, with a fwe friends that are also investigating to various degrees. Pretty sweet.

We escorted the elders to the sisters' area, where I was last year, and I just started having flashbacks like crazy. I haven't been to that part of Vilnius for about a year, since I left last september. It was super bizzare, but cool. I was sad to leave Kaunas when things just seemed to be getting going, but I'm excited to be back in Vilnius and to serve with Elder Warner. It should be a blast. I love all of you and Lithuania. I pray for you and appreciate your prayers in my behalf. I hope you have a fantastic week!

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Labas Visiems!!

TO answer your questions- weather wise it changes. Both types of rain happen, generally the rain does cool it down a bit, which has made this summer much more bearable than last summer, not nearly as hot.

Transfers, we know some things. That I will be leaving Kaunas probably, but where to? I don't know.

Sounds like you mostly had an enjoyable week- besides naomi. It can't have been that bad. Glad to hear you could celebrate some for your birthdays.

Oh, I also sent some stuff home, just some books and things I've bought, that I didn't want to carry with me, so they should be there some time.

This past week has been incredible. Chock full of miracles, just a testimony to me that God will bless us after our efforts, we were tried, and then abundantly blessed.

First- Ieva. Yes, she indeed made progress. We met with her on Tuesday, barely finding a member to teach with us earlier that morning, after trying Sunday and Monday night. We taught the beginning of the Plan of Salvation, up until our life on earth, then tying in a baptismal commitment. She was reluctant at first because she didn't feel ready right then, so we explained that it was to have baptism as a goal and not that she would be baptized the next day. She agreed that she wanted it as a goal and accepted. The lesson flowed fantastically under the Spirit's direction. We met with her again that week on Thursday to teach the rest of the plan of salvation. The lesson went well, again led by the Spirit. She had a few questions that we answered at the beginning and then we began teaching. At the end we said that she didn't need to take our word for this being the truth, but that she could get her own confirmation from God. She asked how would I know? The perfect question. We explained about the SPirit, shared the fruits of the Spirit as found in Galatians 5, and testified of how we came to know. We then invited her to pray and find out for herself. She agreed to do so. It was beautiful. We also invited her to talk to her parents about her meetings with us, as she has yet to do so. We offered our support, saying we could talk to them, they could come to a meeting, or to CHurch, anything that would help them be comfortable with her decision.

Second- Nerijus. We were contacted by Nerijus in a park a few weeks ago, while he was a little drunk. He was interested in learning about Christ though, so we wrote down his number and finally got a meeting set up this past week. We had planned to just teach about Christ, but he had some questions about the plan of salvation, which we had already planned to teach to Ieva later that night, so we felt prompted to go that way and did, emphasizing the necessity of Christ in our lives. We talked about how the Gospel can bring us pure happiness and a fullness of joy after death. He didn't care and was one hundred percent content with his life. We were a little crushed, since it's always hard when people have no desire to follow Christ and do what we know will bless their lives. Two days later he calls us. Says he's been thinking a lot about what we had said and that everyone around him is telling him he's an alcoholic and needs to change. He asks if we can help him stop drinking and change his life. We respond in the affirmative, reminding him of what we taught about Christ earlier. We will meet with him tomorrow, to start helping him.

Vygantas, we taught about miracles and how God is, was and will always be a God of miracles. We shared from the miracles that had happened to us and mentioned his Church attendance as one. HE acknowledged that he has seen miracles in his life due to the Gospel. He again attended Church, all three hours. Woohoo!

The fourth miracle I was actually not present for, since I was on an exchange with Elder Nelson, but I'll mention the bit I know. We had a lesson set up with a less active, Giedrius, who we haven't been able to meet with for awhile. He didn't show, so we call him and a woman answers his phone, says he's at work but that both of them will come in about an hour. THey came, taught her about the Restoration a bit, and priesthood authority to perform eternal marriage. She accepted a Book of Mormon and we will meet with her again this Friday.

A small fifth miracle was finally having a meeting with Tadas, an investigator, after about a month. The lesson went well, he expressed his determination to read the Book of Mormon, learn, and find out if it's true, then get married and accept baptism.

I wish you all a fantastic week. Thanks for your prayers and I pray for you. Lithuania is fantastic.

Love,

Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas

Sveiki Visiems!!!!

Alright, first- Happy Birthday Mom and Dad!!!!

Second, some random things. We heard from an investigator about an iMac touchscreen, is that for reals? It sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie, but possible. Alistair, some more music you can check out- it's actually Elder Leishman's cousin, but it sounds like it would be a We Shot the Moon ish sound. His group is called I am Echo, or Raven's Watch. There's also a music video for a song astrocars, the drummer in the video is Elder Leishman.
Now some miracles.

The first is more light-hearted, but I would say a miracle nonetheless. We had met with the Motiejunas family, who as far as we know have not been visited by missionaries for a long time. Probably because they are so solid in the church, but regardless Elder Leishman and I had both had thoughts that we should visit them, so visit we did. The lesson was fantastic and afterward they gave us a cake of sorts to take home. We were traveling home, when we were approached by a drunk youth, who looked like he wanted to bother us. He asks what we were offering and since he wasn't in a condition to feel the Spirit, I offered the other item we had- the cake. He was shocked and confused. He began to back away quickly, profusely apologizing. Thanks to the cake, we were able to avoid what could have been an otherwise frustrating experience.

Second, Du Wei, who we were unable to meet with this week due to an increase in his work schedule and other conflicts, still came to Church. The second week in a row!

Third, is Vygantas. I personally have been meeting with him almost weekly for about 5 months. Up to Sunday, he had not attended Church for 6 years. We met with him on Saturday and talked about the path to eternal life, using 2 Nephi 31:15-21 as our scriptural basis. We drew it out talking about how he is on the path, but needs to continue to keep all of God's commandments to gain eternal life. He often works on Sundays, but this Sunday he wasn't working. He did say he might go to a party, where he would stay the night, making it impossible to come to Church. We strongly and boldly testified that Church was more important than anything else he could do that night or the next day and that it was a necessary step if he wanted to move forward towards Eternal life. He listened and came to Church, being warmly greeted by almost the entire branch.

Fourth, is a media referral we received this week. Ieva is her name. We met with her on Thursday and had a great lesson. She brought a friend, Motiejus, because she was a little scared of meeting with us and we had Valdas there. Her friend and Valdas had a little bit of a heated discussion at the beginning and throughout the lesson, but we managed to take control, get a prayer said and then the lesson flowed together incredibly well. At the end, Motiejus said he understood, but wouldn't take the Book of Mormon because it wouldn't have been with true intent, but Ieva said she would need to read it and see what it teaches. She also said she would come to Church, which she did. Afterward, with no prompting from us, she asked when we could meet so that she could learn more. We set up another lesson and will meet again this Tuesday. Fantastic.

We also met with Stefanija and Loreta, two older women in the branch who don't have any family in the Church and are rather lonely. They were both thrilled that we were coming over and really enjoyed our company and the spiritual thought we shared.

We met with a young guy, about our age, named Juozas, or Joseph. He's Catholic and his family is pretty high in the Catholic Church, priests, archbishops, etc. He speaks English incredibly well and was super friendly. He learned from watching Cartoon Network as a kid. I have observed that the best English speakers here learned from cartoons and that they are some of the friendliest most polite, and personable people I've met. Random little aside. Anyway, we explained what we believe and taught the Restoration. He's met with missionaries before and said that wherever he's at they keep finding him, which to me was a sign that he is prepared and needs to accept the Gospel. He's very spiritual and has a lot of faith, it just needs to be focused in the best way it can. He lives in the other elders' area, so hopefully they have luck with him.

We also met with a woman in the other elders' area, we were in a threesome covering both areas for the first part of the week, Aldona. She is old and rather hard to keep focused, but after many remainders we finally got her focused. We taught about the Apostasy and Restoration. Elder Leishman and Elder Nelson explained it, she didn't quite get it to click so I reviewed it. I made a visual aid of a napkin. The napkin was the Church and as Christ and the Apostles died the Church fell and broke, I ripped the napkin into pieces. Then I talked about the Apostasy and no one having the whole truth or the whole napkin. Which brought us to the Restoration, bringing the napkin back together again, into one whole. It was pretty cool.

This week was just full of things to do, which was fantastic. We also didn't have any hot water, which was not quite so fantastic, but helped to wake us up in the morning. Today should have been our last day, so hopefully, we get our hot water back. It helped me realize how blessed we are to have hot water, something I just kind of took for granted.

Well, as always, I love serving and love Lithuania. I pray for you and appreciate your prayers. Have a fantastic week!

Love,
Vyresnysis Kanoris Hiltonas