Lots of photos from October

Some pretty fancy hotels close to the sea

A really cute hotel

old building 

A cool bridge

ducks

A super huge ship on the side

boats

Lots of boats on our way along the river out the sea

Selfie by the River by the Sea

Kayleigh by the River by the Sea

Go Utah Jazz?!

Our view coming out to the sea

Some cool boats and cranes I guess :)

what !?!

our walk

fall leaves

We carved a temple into a pumpkin for the branch halloween activity spiritual thought

Mostly American soup and Chinese salads/potatoes for a Halloween activity in Lithuania

The finished products!

The weather on Halloween is so nice, warm, and sunny!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween :) We found the grim reaper

Hi Friends and Family!

I love you all so much. We had such a great week! The biggest thing I learned was the power of prayer. I know that prayer is really so much more than we think it is. I have begun to understand a little more of its power in my daily life. It truly is a sincere conversation with our Father in Heaven. I know that if we truly pour out our hearts every time we pray, that is when we really speak to the Lord. As we pause in our prayers, we can hear and receive answers so that it is a two way conversation. Each prayer is a gift and we can have our hearts open to prayer throughout the entire day.

This week we had a branch Halloween activity! The members actually dressed up to celebrate with us and we carved pumpkins together! Lithuanians don't normally do that, but we have the cutest members here in Klaipeda. We love them so much.
We were able to meet with Victoria, who is a student from Spain. She came to church with us Sunday and we had a really cool lesson about the restoration. 

I love you all! Have a great week

Love sese dzerman

A cute square in old town that we found

Selfie on the Square

The other side of the square

Cute colorful houses on the street too

Part of the big square

A cute restaurant and souvenir shop

This is Forto Dvaros, the classic  traditional Lithuanian food restauarant

Eating at Forto Dvaros

A bread bowl of soup, how cool

Loving God and His Work

Eating at Can Can pizza in Acropolis

I love missionary life! And I really love the Lord. This week was full of His love and tender mercies. I am so thankful to be a witness of Him :) 

On Monday night we were able to have family home evening at Lucy's house with her daughter Maggi. They are chinese members here and truly are amazing. They will be going to visit the temple in Holland to do ordinances together as a family. It was so cool to talk about the temple and the blessings that come from being worthy to enter. There is so much we can do, including family histroy work, when we aren't physically in the temple. We can always be thinking about the temple and living worthy to receive the many blessings that come from it. I love the temple and family history work. 

On Tuesday we met with an investigator who has no belief in God whatsoever. Starting from square one is a really cool experience. I love trying to help him because I realize where and how my testimony started of God. Hearing his disbelief has truly strengthened my knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father who cares for our every need. God has asked us to knock so that He can answer. He wants to bless us and will if we allow Him to. 

On Wednesday we helped the elders in a lesson with a girl named Violeta. She has been investigating the gospel for a really long time. She is the sweetest girl ever! She knows the Book of Mormon is true and faithfully comes to church. She is so loving and accepting to all-I love learning from her example. Talking with her is always so spirit filled and uplifting.

On Thursday I was able to go on exchange with a Russian speaking sister! It was the best day ever :) We found quite a few russians to talk to which was amazing. God truly directed and guided us to find those people. We had so much fun being able to invite others to come unto Christ. Sharing the gospel truly is the greatest joy on the earth. This sister has constant headaches but so happily went about her day being so positive. I love positivity and enthusiasm-her example is incredible to me. I have no right to complain about anything :) We met a lot of cool people and got some great potential numbers. It was cool seeing the guidance of the spirit throughout our day.

On Friday we had zone conference!!! I loved it so much! President and Sister Porter came from Moscow Riga. President Porter is the area east president! He is such a spiritual giant. The spirit is so strong with him, and I so I learned a lot and can apply so much for the rest of my life. He discussed how pray is such a crucial and amazing way to talk with our Father. Each time we pray, we should pour out our soul and truly talk with Him. Each time we pray cannot be a routine check mark to do. We should pray all throughout our day and pause in our prayers to listen for God speaking to us. We receive answers in our mind and in our heart from the spirit. We can get better at recognizing the spirit by learning to have both of these instances occur. Our thoughts are clear and our hearts feel peace. He said that if we read the Book of Mormon every year, we will never fall away from the church. Go scripture study! Obedience, humiliy, and choosing to desire to spread the gospel are important parts of our life. Our choices come down to everything :) But I know that as we choose God, He will empower us.

On Saturday we again met with Violeta to help the elders. We talked about Jesus and priesthood power. She knows that this gospel is true and wants to be baptized but is not allowed from her parents. We committed her to read the Book of Mormon with them, and she said she would!

On Sunday we traveled in a baby bus at 7 until 11 with 5 members to go to Vilnius for District Confrence with all the members from Lithuania! It was the best day of my life. IT was so amazing seeing so many familiar faces there full of love. They are the most loving people. I loved being there with my Klaipeda members and seeing the members from Vilnius and Kaunas. They expressed such great love. It was a powerful feeling to be all gathered there in the chapel to hear President Porter testify of member missionary work. Member missionary work is the coolest thing ever! It can be done in so many ways and bless the lives of so many people. And it is the happiest work of all, so who would'nt want to do it? I know that we all can invite others to come unto Christ to help Him fulfill His work on the earth.

Sister Griffin and I at mission leadership council in Riga on Monday with Sister Webb in the back :)

On Monday Sister Griffin and I had a great experience. We almost missed our bus to Riga for mission leadership council. Oh man. We called a taxi to get to the bus staion by 6.30 but it never came. We desperately jumped on a city bus and had to call another taxi at 6.20 when we realized the first wasn't coming. Then we ran to our second taxi by 6.29 and told him to speed to the station. Our bus pulled away at 6.30 so we blindly chased a bus down on the freeway leaving Vilnius. I was praying so hard the entire time. A miracle from God occured, and the bus made a stop at a mall before pulling out of the city. We pulled up just in time to jump on. I know that God lives and is aware of each of us. His timing is perfect and He expresses His love to us everyday. We just need to look for it. I am so grateful

At the conference, President Porter talked about loving God. This is the desire that pushes us to do hard things. This is why we do missionary work. This is why we do hard things and serve others, because we love God. This love comes from daily repentance. This love drives us to accomplish anything. I know God lives. 

Love you all, Love Sese Dzerman

Our apartment 

The trees outside our aparatment

Walking down center of Klaipeda

We made borsch, beet soup. A classic lithuanian meal, so good!

Sister Walles is a saint for shredding all the beets

We moved the avocado tree inside for the winter :)

Labas!!

A cute traditional Lithuanian restaurant

Sister Walles and I :)

Classic Lithuanian meal of potatoes, meat, and veggies

Labas!!

It has been another awesome week in Klaipeda where I have been able to learn so much and see the many tender mercies of the Lord. This past week we taught english class on Tuesday about eating healthy to follow the word of wisdom. We had our two great students, Algis and Edmondas, come along with a student from the Elder's class. A mom and a daughter also showed up for the first time and will now be attending. They are all really good english, so we are able to have some great discussions. Before coming into english, the mom found an injured baby bird and kept it in a tea box throughout the entire english class so they could take it home after. Lithuanians really love nature and taking care of animals :)

On Wednesday we were able to visit a girl in a hospital to give her a Book of Mormon to read while she is there. She is super lonely and has nothing to do, so it was perfect! We have really been focusing on the Book of Mormon and the power that comes from applying the precepts in our lives. I love that this is how we partake of the fruit of the tree of life. If we simply study the word and let it grow, we will come to use the atonement of Christ and be happier than we can imagine :)

We also met with a new investigator who has been investigating the Jehovah Witness Church for a few years. He said that he is thinking about leaving them and maybe trying this chruch instead. We testified of the Book of Mormon and the peace that comes from it. I know that anyone can come to know of the truthfullness of the Book of Mormon through prayer and application.

I was able to go on exchange in Vilnius with one of my trainees! It was so fun to see how much she has progressed and her love for the gospel. She is excited about every phase of the work and definitley shows us. I love that the gospel gives us this bright countenance if we let it become a part of our lives.When we were returning to Klaipeda, I jumped off the bus to go to the bathroom, as I usually have to go quite often. Coming back I quickly realized that our bus was pulling away. With a miracle from heaven, the bus stopped and let us on. I know that Heavenly Father is always aware of our needs and is so merciful. He is there to answer every prayer and ensure that everything will be alright.

 I was thinking about our lesson with a guy a couple weeks ago who doesn't believe in God. He talked about how once we are looking for an answer from God, we start to notice things around us and accept them to be our answer. I thought about that and then remembered all the experiences that I have had in my life where God has shown His love and power to me. There was no doubt that those answers and signs of love were from myself. They were and are truly from a loving Heavenly Father. I also looked to the power of the atonement in my life. Because I have received outside physical, mental, emotional power to overcome hardships and sin in my life, I absolutely know that Christ's atonement is real. That does not come from me at all. It is by the power of the atonement that we are able to change and receive more power from God each day to do His will. This is evidence in our lives that He does exist. We don't just have to go off of an answer we receive, but can look to the divine power that comes from an all powerful God.

 On Friday we met with a girl from South America who is really believing in God but struggles to accept any written words as scriptures. We talked a lot about the words from prophets and how they help us. The scriptures can seem like a burden to read sometime because we are so busy, but they are such a precious gift to us :) Only to help us.

On Saturday we met with a less active to talk about the sacrament and atonement. I love partaking of the sacrament every week. It is always fun to see other church members and so important to have those bonds, but renewing of our convenants and receiving this forgiveness of our sins is the best motivation for being there. It makes me so happy, I look forward to that peace every week :)

That night we were able to help a lady with english and share a quick message about God. She was so nice and loving. I love good people! There are so many in the world!! I love my Lithuanians especially. We got to help the Elders take the sacrament to a single old lady in our branch who can't leave her house. It was great to see the power of the atonement be offered to everyone and realize the importance of it. 

Today I studied about how Satan is after our agency. I have always known this but realized the importance of our agency and the choices we make everyday. They have such huge importance on our lives! We know what is right, and it is up to us if we choose it or not. As we do, Satan can have no control of us. I know that God is watching over us and will take us how we are if we are trying our best :) I love you all!

Sese Dzerman

The path outside our house walking to the bus stop

The trees outside our house have so many colors!

The piles of leaves outside our house

This bakery smelled so amazing! They had so many yummy bandeles

Traveling to Vilnius for an exchange

Follow the Prophet :)

I love Sister Walles so much!!

We posed for a picture in a train inside the Acropolis Mall

Happy October!!

Time is really going by quickly, but it is going good! The leaves are changing colors, and it is so very pretty here. We found out that we are getting a senior couple here in November, so yeah! This past week we were able to meet with a couple members which was really awesome and pretty unusual for Lithuania. It happens more often here in Klaipeda though because there are just four missionaries. We met with a chinese member who is an amazing example of living the gospel. She is constantly serving, laughing, and spreading the gospel with neighbors and those she works with. A really good way to share the gospel is simply living it and allowing others to see your example, as Christ did. She also fed us a lot of really good Chinese food, so it was great :)

On Tuesday we traveled 20 minutes on a bus out to Kretinga, which is a little city outside of Klaipeda. There lives an older couple from Vilnius who had us over for real Lithuanian food! She made homemade borsh, chicken, black bread, and veggies. It was super delicious :) We were able to talk about God's lost sheep and how our efforts can make a big difference in inviting people to return again unto Christ. They have really strong testimonies of the importance of meeting together oft to worship the Lord and strengthen each other. They are amazing examples! That night we taught english to three men who are truly so great. They are very humble people who live really good and honest lives. One actually has and asks a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon and Christ visiting the Americas. I love discussing the Book of Mormon with them! I just love these people and their examples.
On Wednesday we asked a member to help us in a lesson with a less active. After the lesson with the less active fell through, we were able to share a quick thought with this member about the grace of God. His grace comes by the means of Christ's atonement, but we do have to do our part to receive it. And we can receive it every day if we are simply trying! This member is also the greatest person who is willing to help us whenever. She is the sweetest person who shines with the light of Christ and serving others. 

On Thursday we met with a previous investigator who is a little crazy... He is really energetic and service oriented but also really loves to worship Mary. I have seen that a lot more here in Klaipeda, maybe it is just because we meet with some interesting people. But it is fun and challenging and very rewarding to testify of the power of the Godhead. That night we met with a potential investigator who committed to read the Book of Mormon. The power of this book and the conversion that comes is such a miracle and blessing and reality. 

On Friday we met with a person who is really struggling in life but has been free of alcohol for the past two months! He is reading from the Book of Mormon and making some progress. It is such a reminder to me how the basic steps such as prayer and scripture study each day give us the strong foundation to face the world. They are so fundamental :)

We had a really cool opportunity to meet with a family actually who met with the missionaries a while ago. They don't believe in God as a person, more as just a powerful force. It is hard for me to imagine not having this knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father in my life. I am very grateful for the answers I have received from Him that He does exist, and He does know each of us.

On Saturday and Sunday we watched conference!!! It was in Lithuanian at the church. For Saturday we had a less active come with his family, but they had to leave early with screaming children. So it was just us missionaries. Buton Sunday with the sacrament before, we had a few members come. I love the members and their great examples to me. I learned so much from them and from the spirit. I know that applying the revelation we received straight from the Lord into our lives is what will bless us. Not what we wrote down or heard, but what we are now doing. I know that if we don't have a meaningful morning prayer and scripture study, we will be easily attacked by the world throughout our day. I know that God lives and that this is His restored church. I know that He speaks to us through His spirit every day if we are worthy and listen to it. Each day we can receive power from Christ's atonement to change the desires of our hearts and become better. I know we have this priceless gift because of God's love. 

I love all of you so very much.

Su meile, Sese Dzerman

extra note to Mom:  Yeah we got a phone call from Elder Anderson to go look at two apartments and pick the better one for..... the Suisses!!!!  (Senior couple from aunt Cami's ward in Hyde Park who served in Vilnius and will return in November to serve in Klaipeda.) I was so surprised but am so excited. Wow, so fun that I will not only get to see them in Nov but serve with them so closely!

My companion's mom's name is Jennifer.   You will love her. Sister Walles is the most amazing companion by the way. I love her so much- I am so blessed. 

That is really cool to hear about being called to a certain place, thanks so much for sharing. This has been the hardest thing for me to do in my life, but I love it and know it is where I am supposed to be :)

I love you so much mom, thanks for letting me be here. Love sis kay

Eating Lithuanian food at Delano's

Coming outside our apartment

Fall in Klaipeda

Fall is here!

We are at a Chinese Member's house for a lesson

She made us a lot of Chinese food-it was so good!

We got a sakotis, a traditional lithuanian cake, from an investigator. It is pretty dry, kind of like waffle cone

The sunrise outside our apartment