8/19/13

Hey!!!!!!

 

This week has been a crazy one to say the least so ill try to put it all in if i can. oh! we already got transfers! it was crazy because we got them on Friday night when we normally get them on Tuesday the next week so that was crazy. Ill be staying in Centre for my third! it's so crazy but nice at the same time. I'm in the nicest apartment in the world so I'm kind of getting spoiled but oh well! Elder Bland is going down to be a district leader in Jelgava which he's so excited for. I'm so excited to be done training! so much more time for real missionary work. My new companion is Elder Mckay Christenson and I love him to death. he'll get here in a couple days but because the Latvian missionaries are such a small group, you really get to know all of us ha he's an awesome guy and I'm so excited to start my third with him! I have some plans to change things up here in this area to get the work moving faster which I'm excited to do but ill let you know about those when the time comes. This area has been in a bit of a rut for the past little bit because of SO much monotony that the Elders follow that live here. As you know, I'm not exactly the biggest fan of monotony so that's going to get flipped upside down starting in a couple days. ill let you know how it goes!

 

It's crazy to think that ill hit my 6 month mark in this transfer but at the same time I've already learned so much. With Arvis, things have been going well but his parents still wont allow him to be baptized until he's 18 which is a big bummer seeing as how that wont happen until February. We had a meeting with him this week and we wanted to talk about things we could do to help his parents be more accepting. When I was explaining the importance of baptism I had the feeling like I needed to ask him if this was something he really wanted to do before he was 18, which brought a bit of a discouraging response. He told me that he feels like this waiting period is what God wants him to do to make sure he really knows this. He said that he really wouldn't be all that upset if he had to wait another 5-6 months. I sat and thought for a while trying to find a way to help him understand that that specifically is what Satan wants him to do. I didn't know how to say it and I didn't want to tear down his thought process in a harsh way so I resulted into asking him if he had prayed about a baptism date. He replied that he had not so we challenged him to do that and pay attention to his feelings. We told him that Heavenly Father was just waiting to pour out all these blessings to him and that all he needed to do was to be baptized. He agreed and now we've been praying like crazy for help and guidance. Ill keep you posted!

 

On a bit lighter note, GUESS WHAT!? so my apartment is 4 stories up and has an incredible view. This week I was in the study reading the scriptures and all the sudden there was a man directly outside our window!! Keep in mind we are a solid 50 ft (ish I cant really tell to be honest) up and there's just this man walking on air outside our window! I freaked out for a second and then realized they were doing construction on the outside of our building and had built a scaffolding directly outside our window. We went to see more of what they were doing and when the night time came they had built this tower about a foot and half outside our window and had built it all the way to the top of our building which is wicked tall. Now, I know what you're thinking. That's no big deal to put a stable tower directly outside an incredibly responsible 19 year old's window right?

 

There's not much else going on here yet but be looking for that to change. This transfer is going to be one for the books with Elder Christenson and I and you'll be able to be here for the whole thing! I love you all and I cant wait to hear more from you! you're the best!!!!!!!!

 

-Elder Webb

letter postmarked 8/2/13

Family! (and whoever else reads this)
Hey!  I'll say hi to Mom and Dad first because they always seem to sneak a peak before everyone else...Hey!  Man I miss all of you so much.  I know I say that all the time but I really do.  You guys are the most important people in my life and I honestly couldn't (and don't want to) imagine where I'd be in life without you.  I'm pretty sure in the premortal life we just grouped up with all our best friends and then God sent us down together.  I'M SO HAPPY WE'RE ALL TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
How are all of you?!  I feel like we never get to talk as much as we should which is why you should Dear Elder me!  Sometimes I wish I could just call you out of the blue and let you know just how much I love each and every one of you, but at the same time I think separation and distance brings a special realization of feelings you couldn't feel any other way.  But man, I really, really miss you guys.  I meet people who I talk with every day who end up always hearing about you guys.  I can't even tell you how many times I've shown some random person on the bus next to me our picture together and then follow it up by explaining that we can be together with our families forever if that's something we want and work for.  We're going to have the biggest party ever up in Heaven huh?  Dad will cook countless briskets for all the Heavenly Host and it'll be a blast.
How is life going for everyone?  As funny as it sounds, I'm waiting for someone to call out, "Family time!  Attendance required!" or walk out to the kitchen to find a fresh bowl of Lizzy-made popcorn that I can steal.  For some reason I have problems sleeping at night a couple of times a week and I end up just sitting in my window sill in the middle of beautiful Riga 4 stories up at around 12o'clock and every time I can't help but wonder what you're all doing.  It amazes me that I'm so far away and can see the night sky hours before you do.  It's like you guys still have the opportunity to make that day truly great and memorable.  I hope you all are using the time you have together in the right way.  What I'd give to go on the walk down the street with the dogs and everyone.  Buzzy would be trying to have Kota and Aspen pull him with that ancient pair of roller blades, Alex and Dad would be cuddling like always (wierdos), Lizzy and Mom would be talking about some sissy flowers or something like that, while Nate and I are trying to shoot signs with our beloved BB guns with a background of chastising and jokes coming from Court and Erin.  Goodness I can't wait to do that again!  Don't get me wrong, again, I don't want to be anywhere in the world more than Riga, Latvia right now but I do think about where I came from and what I'm going back to (waaaaaayyyyy down the line) because I feel like I owe that to myself.  If we recognize the beauty of the hike up the mountain, the hard climbs and eventual summit is always going to be better.  We could just focus on that one single view off the well travelled path and admire countless things, but at the same time, if we can recognize what helped us get there and where we came from, the view now becomes a panorama and a personal story we'll remember for the rest of our lives. 
Life here is still as great as ever and I'm loving and learning more and more every time I wake up for the next day.  I'm creating friendships here that will last a lifetime and I can't wait to bring you all back here and show you so many incredible people and places.  Missions are THE best thing you could ever do besides raise a family like ours with a relationship with a spouse like that of what we see Mom and Dad have.  Missions are so great!  Write me and let me know what I can do for you and please tell me how you are doing.  I still want to be in the loop.  Buzzy-I'll still kick your trash at COD so don't get any ideas.  Lizzy and Alex-NO BOYFRIENDS  Nate-go shave that nasty ferret off your face.  Court-quit hogging all the bathroom time in the morning.  Erin-HI!  How are you?  Dad-keep working out girl scout.  I'll still be able to take you.  Mommy-Love you Mom :)  You're the best.
-Elder Connor Webb

8/12/13

Hey everybody!!!!!!!

Goodness you guys are the best. Thank you all so much for your emails. One of the downsides to email is that I only get an hour and a half and that's it. If you write me a dear elder or a real letter I'll do my best to send back a personal letter. That's much easier to do. Anyway, HI! It was so nice to hear from you all this week. I love love love reading all of your letters.

Basically this week has been a quick one. I cant believe how fast time flies out here and before you know I'll be right back here emailing you guys again. Sorry I wasnt on earlier today but my schedule is a bit strange. Elder Bland and I are helping with a YSA BBQ all day and that's taking up a lot of time so President asked us to do our Monday morning like any other day and then start P-day later on. I'm super excited to go to this BBQ though because the youth here are incredible. Some of the strongest testimonies I've ever seen. The teenages here and young 20 year olds literally are the only Mormon's anyone else has ever seen here in Latvia and they get persecuted for it loads. Drinking and smoking are so rampant here that you're looked at like a weirdo. Honestly it's a bit horrifying when you see a young mother pushing her stroller with a beer in one hand and a cigerette in the other. It really is just a way of life here but I'm trying to fix that. I've found out that being bold is exactly what we need to do as missionaries. I've found that most people really do want to quit but just dont know how. Some of them have been smoking since they were 8 years old (no joke at all) and think that it's something that's just as needed as water. I HATE IT. No worries though, I'll have all of Latvia cigerette free probably by the end of this week...hahaha I can try at least.

We're still working with Arvis because he's incredible. His step mother still hasnt given permission but it'll come soon. I had him draw me one of my favorite scriptures last week (he's an incredidle artist) Alma 62:20. IT'S so SICK. I love it. He's almost finished the BOM now and he's just continuing to grow. Honestly he's teaching us the lesson.  Man I just love all the members here and I cant wait for you to meet them all.

My language is coming along really well I think but it still needs loads of work. I think at the start of this next transfer I'll start SYLing all day everyday as much as I can. It really helps so much.

IM SO GLAD THE HOUSE IS SOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can check that one off of the prayer list!  We really needed that to happen so I'm super happy.

It sounds like you're all doing so great and I love it so much. :) love you guys

What else is new with life?  What are plans for school????  Who are everyone°s teachers?  Oh, Dad I did get your dear elder this week. Thank you so much!!!  You have a letter on the way.  Alex, you better write out that big long email in a dear elder this week!  no slacking!(bad doggy).  Nathan, quit being a bum and just writing "hey, you online?" I want to know how my older brother is doing!!!!!! Let me know!  Buzzy and Lizzy, come on :)  Mom, thanks a million for all the letters and packages and stuff!  I love getting all of them.  Court, thanks a million for the email and I cant wait to get your dear elder!  You're the best sister in law ever!  EMILY!!!!!! hey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! send me an email so I can get your address!!!

Anyway, I love you all loads and I'll write another letter for you all today if I can. If not I will do it sometime this week. Thanks for all the support you give me!  I wouldnt be able to make it out here as happy as I am without you guys back home giving me that happiness. Best.Family.Ever!

 

-Elder Connor Webb

Letter postmarked 7/7/13-our first handwritten letter from Latvia!

Family!
Surprise!  Bet you didn't think you'd be getting a  letter from me huh?!?  Ha oh well, how in the world are you?  I guess I'm writing because as much as I love email time, one day a week is not enough time to write you especially when everyone else wants to talk too but don't worry, you ALWAYS come first.  Hmm...what to tell you.  Life here is still super great especially because I just finished my first transfer!  Basically every 6 weeks are transfer calls and we just got them on this last Thursday.  Nothing too crazy happened though.  I'm still in Riga with Elder Bland and it's great.  As far as Latvia goes, you can get transferred to Liepaja, Riga or Jelgava.  Not too many places to go.  I don't know if I told you already or not but there's only 13 Latvian Elders in the whole mission.  Man, I can't believe I'm actually one of them.  It makes me ponder sometimes just how much Heavenly Father really does know.  He sent me to one of the strangest missions on Earth to learn a language no one really knows and to be 1 of such a select few to teach the gospel to the people here.  I'm definitely getting humbled every single day out here.  The language is still coming along but of course it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do.  I'm finally starting to understand people more and more when they speak, which is the nicest thing ever.  The Latvian people, for the most part, aren't interested in interacting with anyone-but especially not missionaries.  Needless to say but...Challenge Accepted!  My favorite time ever is when we're on the bus and I'll start asking someone close how their day was, at which point they see my name tag and smirk and probably wave me off but they always forget one thing-we are on a bus.  They can't run away and I'm not going anywhere!  Haha, I promise I'm not a weird missionary but once they see that I'm just a normal kid with a beautiful family they almost always open up and start talking with me.  We teach as much as we can but sometimes I'll just have a nice chat with them and let them know we're real people with (kind of) normal lives.  It's wonderful to hear people say, "Wow, Mormons aren't as bad as I thought!"  SOOO rewarding.  We really are just working everyday, all day and sometimes I'm stupid and feel like all our work isn't doing anything real until I realize something very important that I want to share with you that I think everyone in our family could use.  Buzzy-listen up!  Nathan-put down the IPad!  Alex-stop cuddling with Dad!  just kidding.  Lizzy-no more homework!  Court-you too!   Mom...love you! 
Anyway, here it is.  There are always times where we have negative thoughts about ourselves.  Whether they be harsh or minor, they do occur.  When we don't do as well on a test as we'd like, or we feel like we don't measure up to what we "need" to be, whatever the position may be ie. Husband, Dad, Mom, Wife, Sibling, Friend or even Missionary.  These thoughts come and this is what I discovered.  Does your Father in Heaven, the all powerful and all loving God, really want you to think bad about His choice and precious child?  No.  He.  Doesn't.  If those thoughts aren't coming from Him, it's not too hard to figure out where they are coming from.  Satan, we know, wants all men to be miserable like unto himself.  If we allow ourselves to beat ourselves and think we're any less than a literal child of God, then we let him win.  I've come to understand that when I have any type of negative thought, sneaky little Satan is the one trying to pull the strings. Don't let him!  Just smile and he loses instantly.  Now don't get me wrong.  We need to be always striving for improvement in whatever field we are in, but this can ALWAYS be done in a positive and constructive way just like our Heavenly Father wants us to do.  God created us to be happy so why should we ever be anything else?  Granted, I know this isn't the easiest thing but consider this.  Would Satan try to throw a stumbling block in the path of someone already doing his will?  In my opinion, we receive temptations, feelings of doubt and insecurities, and taunts from Satan when he realizes we're on the Lord's path.  If he is trying to throw us off, we must already be on!  How big of a motivation push is that??  Satan, the great tempter, is so threatened by us and our potential that he feels the utmost need to try and knock us down from what he knows we can become.  He knows how great we can be and every time he tries to stop us just remember that it's because he wants you to switch teams.  It's so easy sometimes to find imperfections in ourselves but I want you to STOP.  Always strive to be better.  Always strive to be a better person than you were a day before.  Always strive to find opportunities to grow and enhance who you already are.  I love you all so much and I really want you to know that.  I think of all of you everyday and you're always in my prayers.  I miss you loads guys.  We really do have the very best family in the whole world and I wouldn't change it one bit.  Keep working hard back home because I promise I am here.  You all really are the best.  I'll talk with you soon!  Es Jus Milu
-Elder Connor Webb

7/14/13 HI EVERYBODY!

Thank you all SO much for your emails this week. They really do just make my whole day. Knowing that i have so much solid support back home has become such a priceless asset. This week has been SO great! To start off, Arvis is still doing so strong. He's halfway through Alma right now which is crazy because he's only been reading for a couple weeks. He's still progressing like crazy and if his step mom gives permission he'll be baptized at the end of this month! We're praying and fasting that his step mom's heart will be softened and we're going to be calling to meet with her today right after this, wish us luck! We don't have any other progressing investigators at the moment but we've talked to loads of potentials this week. On Saturday we were going through a really cool park and this young guy was standing on the corner smiling and it appeared that he was waiting for us.....This never happens! we of course go and start talking to him and it's all in Latvian and then halfway in the conversation he just switched over to English like it was his first language! You have to realize that the people here that speak English are always the young trouble makers and the reason they know it is because of school. needless to say but it really isn't all that good for the most part. This guy spoke FLAWLESS English. Honestly better than most people back home and he didn't even have a hint of an accent when he was speaking English. He told us that he really just wanted to talk to us because he figured we were American and because he loved English more than anything. He told us that it just stuck to him one day and he's been addicted to the language ever since. It was incredible to listen to this guy talk. Overall he wasn't super interested in our message but then again, most young aren't. The one thing that did come from it though was that I invited to come to our district language study which is a meeting with the missionaries that are in my district come to for the purpose of trying to learn the language better. I told him to come and that we could really use his help with him being a native of Latvia and a pro at English. He said yes and we're so excited to get him in the church with us. Sometimes people need to see what we're like first before they want to meet and find out more about the truth that we have. Missionary work is the greatest thing in the world and I'm so happy that I'm doing what I am! Last night we had a strange experience (actually is really wasn't that uncommon) that I wanted to share with you. My companion and i were walking down the street when a couple of hoolies (teenage trouble makers) across the street yelled at us about religion and then waved us down to come over. Of course i started walking over with my companion because where else do fun stories like this come from if not from moments like these right? ha  We went over and the three of them were pretty drunk but not super hammered. They asked us what we were doing and we gladly told them what we tell everyone. We're here in Latvia because we want to share the message we have about Christ's church on the earth again today. They all kind of laughed and smirked and started talking about useless things. I told them that we had things to do and that we didn't want to waste our time but they kept on talking to keep us there. We talked about their life they had at the moment and it was so eye opening for me. These guys were 23-25ish and literally had nothing better to do with their lives other than to sit around drunk and high. They went to their jobs everyday and drank every night. One of them was actually fairly receptive to what I was telling him and it really hit him hard that here he saw 2 young men that were using their life to actually do something worth while and hard. He told me that he didn't do much other than drink smoke and work. I tried to bear a simple testimony to him about how life should be so much more than that. Life isn't about going out, becoming dizzy, passing out, and then waking up the next morning with a killer headache. Satan has blurred people's dreams by alcohol and drugs to where he keeps them from gaining their full potential. After I was walking away from these guys I just thought to myself where I would be if it wasn't for my faith in Christ. Honestly I probably wouldn't be much different from them. Id be lost and smothered away y one of Satan's tools against young men today. I'm so grateful for the life I have and the reason I'm here is because I want to share this light we have with everyone. If people could just be aware of Satan destroying their lives piece by piece, I know that they would get out of the hole they may be in and try to better themselves through a better power, that being Christ of course. Anyway, sorry for my soap box but it just hit me very hard last night and wanted to share it. I really am doing so well here and I'm loving everyday more and more. bad news bears though...I think I'm getting chubby :( all this work and no time to work out and play. Mom, do you promise you'll still love me even if I'm a little plump?hahaha no I'm not that bad I promise but it is kinda funny haha

I miss you all like crazy and I hope everything is going great! Love you!

-Elder Connor Webb

P.S. in other news this week, I caught a pigeon in my house!

 

 

 

 

7/7/13

hey everybody! I'm down to my last couple minutes this week but I thought I'd share an experience with you. About a week ago my companion and I were at the church and we found a random number in our planner. My companion decided to call and set up an appointment and it turned out to be a young teenage guy named Arvis that wanted to meet the very next hour. This was Friday and we were just going to go contacting so we set up the appointment. He wasn't super enthusiastic the first time we met but wanted to meet again. The next day he came to a YSA BBQ thing we had all day and then even proceeded to come to church the next day for all 3 hours! We've met every day this week with him and he's getting baptized this month! The only hold up is that his parents really aren't supportive of us and refuse to allow him to be baptized but I feel really confident that their hearts will be softened. We're actually going to meet with his parents this week. The 17 year old kid is incredible. He's halfway through the book of Mormon already and comes to church every week. He texted us last night and sent a super long message telling us all about his new found faith in Christ. Definitely keep him in your prayers! Today I'm going biking with some missionaries out to the caves in the countryside and I'm sure there will be loads of pictures to follow. Thanks for all the support and I promise you that I can feel it here when I'm starting to have a rough day. I'll send a picture of something I've found that really helps. It was something Bryson Toth said in his homecoming talk years ago but it came to mind and now I absolutely love it. I love you all so much and you're smiles and prayers make me so happy!  You're the best! 

-Elder Webb

P.S. Learn how to cook while you can at home. Long story short, my companion and I almost burned down our house this week...hahaha oops! 

 

6/30/13

It's so nice to hear from you! you're a pretty good mom :) just kidding, you're the best! but really though, I find myself talking about you and Dad all the time here. MAN! I miss hoopfest!!!! those were crazy days back then but I'm looking forward to watching them again. I'm glad  to hear about everyone having jobs. Here in Latvia it really isn't all that common for people to have jobs and I know it really hurts them personally and with whatever family life they may have. My language is getting better and better everyday and I know that it's ONLY because of my prayers and studies. I'm meeting with a man named Mark Vanderhart who's from Chicago (teaches Hebrew, Greek, and the Bible...no big deal..) and I love him to death. He's about 60 years old and he's probably the smartest scriptorian I've ever known. Our lessons are so awesome 1 because they're in English (Tender mercy for sure) and 2 because he knows EVERYTHING about the bible. It was actually a super cool experience last week ill share with you. This is probably the 5th time meeting with him and meetings normally goes as follows. We meet and say hi of course and go into an open room. I always ask him to pray because he wont pray with us thanks to the fact that he wont pray with any non Christians (EVEN THOUGH WE ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) but in an incredibly respectful way. he says the prayer exactly like we do and we start with answering all his questions. he has a lot... This last week was super cool though because I was on an exchange with other elders when we were teaching and one asked, "Mark I don't know you very well but I'd just like to know why exactly you're meeting with Elder Webb if that's alright to ask?" he replied by saying, "Well I'm here because I truly do want to learn about your church but I never want to learn about the Mormons through anti material. I want it straight from the teachers. In short I guess I'm here to learn but also to challenge your doctrine a little bit to see if it can be put to the test (PERFECT!)" and then the coolest thing happened. he turned to me and asked my while looking right in my eyes " Elder Webb, Why in the world are you here? you know that I'm a pretty hard nut but why do you keep on wanting to meet?" I paused for a moment and held eye contact with him and said, "Mark I'm here because I feel a genuine love for you and I love meeting because we both learn so much. Granted I don't have 60 years of bible knowledge under my belt but this I do know without a doubt in my mind, Nothing has ever blessed my life more than the Book you're holding in your hands. I'm only 19 years old but I can tell you that I know with the utmost truthfulness that this book is directly from God and that along with the Bible, you can come to a full knowledge of your Savior Jesus Christ. I'm here because I love you mark and because I want this to bless your life like it's blessed mine." what he said next brought the strongest spirit we've ever had in a lesson so far. He looked at me and said after waiting for a moment, "I want you to know that i love you too. Not just as a missionary but I love you as a real person. I want you to know that I want to see you after this life. We may have some differences on doctrine but I want you to know that I love you Elder Webb. When I'm in my hotel room reading your Book of Mormon, I've asked myself many times....What if this book was true.."after he said that he paused holding the book of Mormon just staring at it we waited for a moment and gave the Holy Ghost a chance to flood the room and believe me it did. It was incredible! He flies back to Chicago this Thursday so I'm meeting with him one more time on Tuesday and I talked my mission president into coming with me. it's going to be an incredible lesson. I can already tell. I'm going to get his email and try to keep in touch with him but i think you should send him a message or a letter or something. you know, do what moms do :) anyway he's incredible and I cant wait to see him accept this gospel. Other than Mark, we have Martinš who's progressing in every way except for attending church! come on! people here have the custom that even if they live in the city, the family always owns a small home in the country side where they travel to every Sunday. It's called the Laoukous in Latvian English and I HATE IT. we also just found a new investigator names Arvis who's 17 and totally GOLDEN. We don't even know how we got his number but we've met with him everyday for the last 4 days and he came to church yesterday! he's reading the book of Mormon like crazy and told us yesterday that it brings him a strange feeling of hope that there's something better than just average life...YEAH BABY! ill keep you posted on him too. LIFE HERE ROCKS. it's way hard at times but I'm right in the heart of finding the lost tribes of Israel. We have branches here that have a member from every tribe. We literally are gathering Israel. Also, I started reading Jesus the Christ and it's changing my life. tell dad to give it a look. It's an incredible book all about the life of Christ that opens your mind to so many insights. well, I love you all of course and I love hearing from you. you're the best family in the world and because of the picture that we have together from the morning I left, I've been able to talk to so many people. I've kinda been showin you off :) love you loads!

-Elder Webb

Latvia pictures

this picture is made completely of buttons

 

castle in Sigulda
 

castle in Sigulda
 

castle in Sigulda


 

Connor-"They let us wear chainmail!!!"

Gargoyle in Sigulda
 

Connor does love his weapons
 

This is by Saki.  He has these all over Riga.  This is Connor's favorite.

 

Connor made this especially for his Mom.  I have a great son!

6/18/13

HEY EVERYBODY! Kas Jauns!?

I was so happy to get all of your emails this week and I apologize for not writing on my normal P-day (yesterday) I had my first zone conference and it was so good. It was super weird to see people bear their final testimonies because they were going home before next zone conference because I cant even imagine this incredible work ending for me here in Latvia. I have already fallen in love with the work and I grow closer to my Heavenly Father everyday because I HAVE to rely on him. I know without a doubt I could not learn this language without His help in my life and I'm so grateful for that. I'm also SO thankful for all the knowledge I'm learning about the scriptures and people in general. I LOVE LATVIA.

This last week has been so sweet. We're talking Baigi Labi here in good ol Riga. Last P-day I had the opportunity to go travel to Sigulda which is a little town about an hour ish away by train (every time I get on a train I just wish it was taking me to Hogwarts) and the city there has some ruins of castles and what not. It was so cool! That's where the pictures I'll send are from. It was super funny though because we went in our P-Day clothes of course and for some reason people are A LOT nicer to you when you're not dressed as one of those "Satan-Worshippers-Crazy-Mormon people. It was rather refreshing honestly. Anyway, we went there and Elder Bland and I had a blast. I'll send as many pictures as I can. 

Let me tell you about Aleksandra (sorry wig you already heard about this) who's a member here and she's about 60 ish. When we go to church we're supposed to sit with members here and not your companion so my first week was a little intimidating knowing that wherever I sat, I probably wouldn't understand a word they said to me. I decided my safest bet was with some babushka (grandma). I sat down next to this lady and honestly she still hasn't stopped talking to me. Now, this wouldnt be so bad if I could understand a word of what she was saying but I seriously can only tell you what her name is, other than that I know absolutely nothing about what she tells me, ha-ha. I kind of feel bad but she seems to have a great time talking and always smiles (maybe that's not good...) after. I pretty much just say "labi" over and over again. we'll see how long I can get away with that. 

IT WAS MIRACLE WEEK THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!! Since I've arrived here in Riga we haven't had 1 investigator, which has been pretty tough to say the least. I've been praying and praying to find someone and I honestly talk to anyone that walks by me on the street. We were out on Monday night last week for about an hour contacting session and right before it started, the rain came... :D  I turned to Elder Bland and told him that in the scriptures Rain is usually something people would pray for so obviously rain equals blessings. I went out as happy as I could down the street and started talking to people. For the first 10 minutes we didnt have any luck UNTIL this young guy walked passed me so naturally I said hello. He took out his Headphones and began to talk with us and I actually understood him! We testified of Christ and gave him a Book of Mormon. We asked if we could meet up sometime to talk more about Christ and about the Book he was holding in his hand.  He promptly told us we could meet that very next day at the church. What you have to understand is that we get tons of people that will say they want to meet but then continue to stand you up like a 16 year old waiting for his date. Needless to say, I wasnt completely sold but I was so grateful to my Heavenly Father for putting us in eachother's paths. The next night HE CALLED us to confirm!!! We of course met with him and at the end of a very spiritual lesson, we invited him to be baptized and he accepted before we could even finish asking him!! Since then we've met with him everynight! In our second lesson we were prompted to teach the word of wisdom and see if he had any problems because everyone and their dog smokes here. When we found out that he smoked we asked if he wanted to quit and he said yes. We told him that is was possible but only through hard work. What happened next brought the spirit so strongly... He sat and pondered for a minute and then proceeded to reach into his pocket and pull out a pack of smokes and chuck them across the room sinking the shot right into the trash can. He looked at us and was ready to find out how to quit. What a tender mercy... I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!!!!!!!!!! His name is Martinš (Martinch) so please remember him in your prayers!

Thank you all so much for the support you give me and I hope you know that I pray for every single one of you in my prayers and I think of you every night. Thanks a million for the blessings you give me! Love you all! Help the missionaries at home!!!!!!

-Elder Webb

6/10/13

Lab Dien! Ka iet Maijaaaaaaaaaaa??? here i am again just writing a letter from the other side of the world while you all are sleeping like babies back home. This week has been awesome!!!! Im still working hard with elder Bland and we're having an awesome time. We're out contacting everyday which is helping improve my Latvian so much. The only bummer is that because we're working so hard, I have hardly any time to take pictures; however, I am traveling today to Siguda which has 3 ancient castles so I'll be taking loads of pictures for you next week! Hmmmm....Stories from this week. oh! If you didnt know, It LOVES to rain here in Latvia. I'm not talking like a little drizzle, this is like full on notebook style rain and the best part is that it will come out of no where. Honestly it will be bright blue skies with a couple baby clouds one minute and then the next it's pouring down harder than I've ever seen. It's so funny because the people here don't really like the rain so when it comes crashing down out of no where they all run to the closest tunnel or some type of shelter and just wait it out. Of course I'm running around the whole time in it having the time of my life while all the Latvians look at me like I'm crazy but I can pretty much always get them to laugh about it. Anyway, the last time it down poured, this older gentleman got stuck underneath a really small tin roof of a shop and he probably had about three feet of space to remain dry. Seeing this as a golden opportunity (where he couldnt just run away) we went up and started testifying to him in Latvian of course. Honestly if a photographer would have been there it would have definitely made it on the cover of the next ensign because we're on a beautiful street with a massive cathedral right behind us and my companion and I are standing right in the middle of a sidewalk stream having water soaking us head to toe, handing this man a Book of Mormon who's barely finding shelter under this roof thing. Oh man it was so cool!!!!!!!! but...no picture :( hahaha it's awesome here though. We dont exactly have any new investigators EXCEPT I contacted into this man from Chicago who doesnt speak a lick of Latvian (tender mercy for sure seeing how mine is about the equivalent of a 4 year old with a mouth full of food) and he's here teaching OLD TESTAMENT AND HEBREW. Talk about the hardest lessons of my life. Honestly, we meet once a week and I get the chance to share about our church and he has a problem with mostly everything I say but he continues wanting to meet. I think he knows probably every single verse in the bible which is good and bad I suppose. He's a Calvinist so that makes it super fun too but I love him to death. His name is Mark and I'm so glad we have the opportunity to teach him. Other than him we pretty much just contact into drunks all the time which gets a little weird hahahahahaha the other day I went up and started talking to this man on the street and soon realized he was REALLY drunk. Anyway, I asked him if we could meet sometime when he was sober and he said yes and then told me about how he wanted to quit alcohol. My companion expressed that we could help him accomplish that through Jesus Christ and his eyes lit up. The next second he was on the verge of tears kissing our hands....you know how I am with other people touching me...let's just say that I'm pretty sure my BAC went up a little by the time he let go. man, so strange haha My district is awesome and I'm becoming so close with all of them. The coolest parts are that I'm serving with two of my MTC Masa's here in Centre and the second coolest thing is that there are only 13 Latvian elders and we're not getting anymore elders for the next 6 months. It's so humbling to know that God gave me the opportunity to be one of them. I love my mission with all my heart and I'm learning life lessons I couldn't learn anywhere else. I hope you're all doing great back home and I'm still praying for you everyday all day! I love you all so much and I can feel the blessings of your prayers everyday when I get discouraged at times. Thank you so much for all you do for me and I cant wait to hear from you! I'll send pictures next week!!! Es Jus Milu!

Connor's first letter from Latvia

Mana Gimene!

IM IN LATVIA!!! I am assigned to Riga South right now and my companion's name is Elder Colton Bland (facebook stalk him). IT IS SO AWESOME HERE!!!!!!!!! The language is so hard but other than that it's crazy fun. Yesterday was the first time i got to go to the branch here and the members are incredible. I bet we have about 80 members and they're all incredible. It was fast and testimony meeting yesterday so i took a deep breath and decided to go up. My language wasnt the greatest but i did my best to be as happy as i could. After the meeting some babushkas (russian grandmothers) came up and told me how great i did (i think...) and one lady told me something so cool. She said that when i stood up, i had a smile that was so contagious and she saw it spread to everyone in the room and that my dimples and smile was something these people needed. it was such a cool experience. My district has two of my MTC masa's in it so it's really cool to see them a lot still. My companion is an awesome guy. I feel pretty confident with being able to get along with anybody so i'm not too worried about companions. Man it stinks to be in real life. I had to go shopping for my own food today! Like i would have died if i didn't go get it, and i don't mean just going to the fridge and having food magically being there. Also i've decided that laundry is the essence of Non-funness. We do a lot of contacting here and it gets a little hard at times. Honestly if i got a dime every time i heard "nav laika" (now lyka) i'd be so rich. Honestly it's all worth it though when someone accepts a Book of Mormon, but no worries i promise i'm smiling the whole time regardless of how hard it gets at time. Also, I swear i've already smoked about a pack of cigarettes since being here because everyone and their dog smokes here. I've been so busy i havent really had time to take any pictures but i promise ill send some next week. My mission President is incredible. He actually reminds me a lot of President Dude which is a real tender mercy. he actually loves fly fishing too! tell grandma Diann that sister boswell wants her email to write her if she wants! I really do love it here and im so grateful for the chance i had to talk to all of you on monday. It was so nice to hear you and know you're all doing great.

stories- hmmm......Well we dont really have any investigators right now because the work here is a little slow but no worries, that's going to turn around real fast. When we're out contacting i love to talk to everyone the walks past me except sometimes it's not exactly appropriate. Here in Latvia, apparently clothes aren't very important. Honestly all the girls, which is about 70% of the population here, dress like they're going to prom EVERYDAY. Honestly we do a lot of looking down because it's so ridiculous. Other than them the people here keep to themselves a lot. a lady actually yelled at me the other night for saying "good day" to her because it's not appropriate to say that to someone you dont know. Lucky for me, Mother Teresa backed me up and ended up walking with me for about an hour talking about the gospel. I gave her a Book of Mormon and told her to come to church so we'll see what happens. She kept calling me "berni" which means child hahaha she was so great. 

Im so happy im out here serving my Lord everyday, all day. i wouldnt be anywhere else in the whole world. I would GREATLY appreciate prayers for my language if you could spare some prayer time for me. Know that i pray for you all everyday and that i love and miss all of you so much. Talk to you soon!!! LOVE YOU

-Elder Connor Webb

4/19/13

                                                                                                                                           4/19/13
                                                                                                                                         Miss you


Mom and Dad
     Sorry I didn't get to email this week.  The computers are wacky at times.  Dad, this language is so hard.  I'm thrown to extremes everyday because sometimes it makes me feel so smart but most times it makes me feel like a 6 year old.  I feel like most things in my life I could practice for a couple minutes and be fairly successful at it, but this Latvian is kicking me right in my ego.  I feel like a child all day long trying to pick out words I know but it is so mind exhausting.  I get frustrated so easily because even just simple rules are mind boggling at times.  My teachers are all so great and when they notice me getting flustered, they pull me aside and talk to me.  My Sister Teacher pulled me out last night and said something that really hit hard.  She said that the Baltic mission Latvian speaking is rated one of the hardest missions in the world and that they send missionaries there who have maybe a little bit more pride that the Lord would want them to have.  He sent me to this mission to teach me what to do when things get hard.  I know this mission call was for me because the Lord wants me to struggle so that I can appreciate and relate to others when they go through things that seem so hard and impossible to accomplish.  These three weeks have taught me that nothing is impossible when you rely on the Lord.  I have (and  still am) learned that the hard way.  There are times, like the start of this letter, where I've felt so discouraged and helpless and SO dumb but I know that Heavenly Father will always comfort you if that's what you seek.  I've learned that the comfort from God comes on His time, not mine.  Which is really hard by the way to come to terms with.  I get so down on myself sometimes because I want to be a nice, useful, shiny tool in the Lord's hands with my Latvian and at this point I feel like a hand-me-down, rusty, broken tool.  I told my teacher (Josh Thompson) about these feelings that I have and he told me something so powerful.  He said the man that learns Latvian on his own like a stud but refuses to rely on the Lord isn't even half the teacher than the man who speaks poor Latvian but learned to rely on the Lord and recognizes his knowledge (regardless of how big or small that is) comes from Heavenly Father's grace alone.
     Mom and Dad I'm trying so hard to learn this crazy language but your prayers are soooooooooo needed.  I know now that as much as I've liked to learn things my way and wing it, I know that's not the way my Father in Heaven would have me live my life.  He's teaching me to be humble and to
recognize that I'm less than Dust without His help in my life...And I'm starting to love that.  It's harder than anything I've ever done before, but it's touched my heart everyday to rely on the Lord.  It's brought me closer to him in ways I'd never be if I didn't choose to serve a mission.  At times the language really gets me down but I'm not going anywhere.  I'd never give up on the Lord's work.  He called me to succeed, not fail.  I believe with all my heart that I need to be here and that these 24 months will shape my eternity.  I love you so much and I'm forever grateful for the love and support I feel through your prayers.  I felt like I needed to send this letter so I hope you receive the reason.  I'll see you soon!  Es Tevi Milu

                                             -Elder Webb

P.S.  I said "Mom and Dad" but you can share this with anyone you'd like.  Thanks for everything.

4/11/2013

Family     Gimeni!

Hey!  Greetings from the MTC!  Elder Webb here.  Sorry about the email today, little bit of a scheduling conflict on my part.  I hope you enjoy the pictures though.  I have been taking SO many.  Oh I hope you enjoy your "Hi Momma Webb" pic haha.  She's a goof but a ton of fun.  Her name is Sister Bezdian and makes me cry laughing every day.  Send her a letter if you feel like it!  My zone here is wicked fun.  We have (here it goes...) Sister Mosreal, Sister Jack, Sister Bates, Sister Stout, Sister Woodland, Sister Orsmby, Sister Cloward, Sister Suttner, Sister Bezdian, Sister Nilson, Sister Blanchard, Elder Martinez, Elder Johansson and Elder Mead and me!  My district has far too much estrogen.  My branch presidency here are alright.  President is a good man who gets distracted very easily, I know what you are thinking...we must get along.  No, jerks haha.  no I am very close with the branch presidency which is way good because I'm here for another 7 weeks.  Brutal, but I love it.  Everyone LOVES my tie collection so eat that haters, cough cough...MOM!  Latvian this week was pretty cool this week.  Honestly it started off pretty rough, but I memorized the entire first vision in flawless Latvian...ha!   It's definitely a little messy at places but I have it memorized none the less.  My teachers consist of Bali Brabazon, Mills, Thompson and Masa Mills.  We all get along very well.  Brali Mills is the man and we're becoming best friends.  I'll definitely talk and hang out with him after the mish.  As far as homesickness goes, its kinda hard to explain.  I miss all of you and love to get/give letters but I know this is where I'm supposed to be so I can't think of being anywhere besides Latvia.  The food here destroys your stomach and the lack of exercise kills me.  Oh!  I am playing volleyball every week though but only for almost an hour each day.  I'm really close to the state side Spanish speaking Elders so I'll have to send you some pictures I've taken.  I hang out with them, my Greeks of course, and the Italians all the time.  My patriarchal blessing told me that I'd make eternal friends on my mission and I can already see those forming.  Alex and Elizabeth!  Get your blessing!  Fast and prepare to get it for as long as you see fit and then get it!  It is so helpful to have a roadmap of your life.  It gives me a sense of direction and fulfillment as I see those things come to pass.  Mom and Dad, you're the best.  Thank you for supporting me while I serve the Lord.  I see Elders that don't have that and it makes me so grateful for our family.  Buzzy!  What up Brotha?  Don't waste as much time with silly video games and movies as I did.  Get outside and accomplish things.  You'll miss high school sports and ultimate Frisbee games when you're on your mission I promise.  Kota and Aspen!  I MISS YOU.  And everyone else that sees this.  Thank you so much for the prayers and support.  You'll never realize how much that has helped me.  Es Tevi Milu!
-Elder Webb

MTC Pictures!

Mom and Dad

SO im back on again and i think ill get on in a couple of hours and send you some pictures if you'd like. This week has been so...different. I had a couple of hard days this week because i wasnt receiving an answer to prayer right away but we had a devotional on tuesday and it told us that God gives us answers when HE see's fit. not our timing but his , and i cant describe how much that helped. i spoke with one of my teachers that i really look up to about it and he helped me by giving some awesome advice. He told me that when you're trying to receive an answer to a question, the Lord doesnt always just give you everything. he told me that i needed to come to Him with what i thought the answer was and to tell Him what i believe and only then would He answer me. I received such an incredible witness to my question that my testimony in prayer has increased ten fold. The language is still coming along pretty well. i memorized the whole first vision in Latvian two days ago and i feel pretty confident about it but i know that it's only through Christ that im starting to learn. MTC is going great still of course. conference was incredible too. so many missionaries that all have the same drive in the same room together, listening to apostles speak was truly awesome. I got so much from it and i hope you did as well back home. My companions and i are getting along so well which is a huge blessing. The Swede is my companion for the most part and we have some great times playing frisbee in the halls of our dorm or shooting those almonds you sent me with our gigantic (probably not approved) slingshot. we are having a blast. Everything at home going alright? im glad to hear that kel is still coming over, i know she loves you guys so much (probably more than me). Thanks a million for the package too, they really really help. It's like Christmas morning when i see that i have a package to get picked up. im not really craving anything but buttered popcorn. weird i know but if you could send me a million bags next time that'd be so good. haha my companions go crazy for american food. they want me to ask you if you could send tootsie rolls, red vines and reese's pieces haha their names are Elder Johansson, Elder Mead, and Elder Martinez. Im doing so good here mom and dad. I know that ive been placed here in the MTC at this time, in this place, with these people. Es Tevi Milu. Ill send some pics soon. Talk to you soon!

   -Elders Vebs

4-4-13

Finally P day! goodness it's been a long week. So ill get on my email every week at about this time just so you know.

 

MTC life is SO great. It's definitely the hardest thing ive ever done but at the same time it is so rewarding. Latvian is the strangest thing ive ever heard and it's the only thing that can make me feel like a genius one minute and a total dummy the next. So about my "companionship". My zone was me and 11 sisters until last night when we got three new greek mission elders who are awesome by the way. I guess Americans cant get visa's to Greece very well so they are all European's. I have one Swede, one very proud Englishman, and one Spaniard. Im considered a "solo" missionary which means im the only elder speaking my language. ill be with the greeks for meals and residence time but other than that i am always with my masa's. The sisters are so much fun here. Ive definitely gained a testimony about God placing in the right time and place for a reason. We all are such great friends. Im already making lifelong friends here and it's only been a week. I realized that i didn't pack any jeans or nice clothes. if you could maybe send a pair of jeans and a nice T Shirt with button up over it. Ask Alex what to send, she know's what i liked. MTC life is basically life in a class room. im in THE SAME BLOODY ROOM FOR 11 HOURS A DAY. tell me how well that matches with my personality. but really life here is so great. ive never felt the spirit more strongly or abundantly than i do while im here. I have three teachers who are all pretty cool. Brali Mills is the best though. if you wanted to send him a friend request on facebook for that'd be great, Anthony Mills. he's a short blond guy. Anyway, Thank you for everything mom. i cant write much today because im already behind schedule but i promise ill write more next week. LOVE YOU

Connor 1st email from MTC

Mom! Mommy! MAMA.

President told us it was alright to email you and let you know that im safe and i still have two arms and two legs. So....kinda weird but i dont have a companion. well i do but it's not exactly orthodox. Right now my companions are three elders that leave for Greece on monday. One's from Russia, one's from Finland, and the other is from England so being the only american is a little strange. what's even more strange is that my real companions (the ones i spend the most time with) are 5 Masa's (sister missionaries). No Worries though! they're great! Masa Woodland, Masa Staut, Masa Ormsby, Masa Cloward, and Sasa(lithuanian) Bates. it's a little weird but there's definitely too much estrogen in the classroom. I should be getting new greek companions this wednesday though. oh! another piece of news is that im already a zone leader in the MTC and ill be district leader on monday....that's a little daunting. the language is going great though. i can already pray in Latvian and i will have taught two lessons in latvian by tonight. Im having a blast though mom and i cant wait to write you for realziez on monday. LOVE you

    -Elders Vebs (that's me in Latvian)