Adam really does work hard and is so deserving of a weekend break.
It was gorgeous outside on Friday and we desperately wanted to go out in the sunshine. But when we got home Thursday night, we found that the internet wasn't working. Three men are working on refinishing the walls in our stairwell:
Doesn't that wad of wires look like they're right up to US code?
It's super dusty and we all have smudges of drywall dust on our coats now. But in their moving of things, our internet somehow got disconnected. Thankfully, we have Birute, and she was able to call our landlady, who then called the internet company to come fix it. They did come, but we couldn't leave the apartment until they did - and for a while, we weren't sure what time they would come. It was frustrating to feel trapped inside with sunshine outside. As a solution, we walked to the donut shop around the corner and tried their bagel sandwiches, which were as delicious as their donuts! And used their free internet to work, but it was incredibly slow and we eventually gave up. However, we soon got the call the repairman was on his way - he was there by about 1:30, so not all was lost. He confirmed that our wires had been affected by the remodel and soon had us working again. But the man put us to shame. Within a 20 minute period of time, he came up our stairs 3 times and was never winded! I still feel the burn by the 4th floor every single time!
By the time the internet guy left, we were all into the what we were doing and the wind picked up outside. Our only other outing for the day was to get groceries. The wind made it too cold for anything else. Lame.
So, when Saturdays role around, we usually give Adam the choice of what we go do and where we eat. Unfortunately, it rained the entire day, which really changes up what we want to do vs the reality of what we can do. One Saturday morning tradition that doesn't change is having a big breakfast together. It starts our day off right and together!
We began our outing with a visit to the Winter Thaw cobbler exterior since Adam hadn't been there yet.
Cobbler shop door and window
Courtyard to the right side of the shop door and arch.
Beautiful set of buildings across the street from the entrance to the cobbler shop courtyard.
We then walked through the Gates of Dawn and headed right to go to the market. Adam had never been there and wanted to check it out and look at the clothes, which are cheaper there.
I wanted thyme and pecans for our Sunday dinner, and I found both right at these 2 booths! I couldn't find either in our express stores.
I should have gotten a shot of the clothes section. Next time. But Adam found a couple of men's clothing booths and Tyson get really excited when he saw suits. He tried several on at a couple of different shops. There were some great looking suits, but none of them were conservative enough - having things like bright stitching or colors that were too light. Right at the end, he found a wool, navy blue suit. It's a great cut and he was in love with it. And so were we at only 85 euros! Adam found some pants for him, so all were happy.
Interestingly, while were looking around, we ran into 2 of the sisters in the Russian Branch who were working in 2 of the booths. It's so frustrating to not be able to communicate! One sister is the RS President. She was working next door to one of the suit shops and saw Tyson trying on suits. I finally just turned on my phone and used google translate to tell her we were happy to see her and that we were looking for a mission suit. The other sister is one of our Sunday School teachers, Tatiana. She is one of the oldest members, meaning she's been a member the longest, in this area. She has a rock solid testimony and is truly a pioneer in Lithuania! We were humbled by their circumstances to be making a living at a booth at this market. I truly stand in awe of how hard people work here, especially the older generations who have so many memories of the history of this area and are victims of the struggle. I just love these strong and beautiful women!
So back to our story of how spoiled we are. We can never seem to find a restaurant we can all agree on. It's the number one thing we fight about. It's a relief to just know Adam will choose on Saturdays and we all have to go along with it. Most restaurants here are pretty good, but there is a lot less variety - lots and lots of pizza! But regardless of how original the food sometimes isn't, I will NEVER get tired of having views like this out the window while we enjoy a meal I didn't have to make!
This building is the Vilnius Philharmonic
We had seen a Bach organ concert being advertised. The adults wanted to go. The kids, not so much. So we said goodbye to them after our late lunch and they went back home. We adults wandered as we headed towards the church at the Vilnius University.
Miraculously, the St Casimir Church was open. It's the church with the huge black dome we see so perfectly outside our apartment window, but it's only open for a few hours in the late afternoon and we always seem to miss it. But today it was open and here it is inside:
We made it to the University in plenty of time to buy our tickets, look around and get a great seat. Well, the location of the seat was great, but the seat itself was horrible - worse than the tabernacle!
A selfie during the concert. You can see we still had our coats on. None of the churches are heated. At least not heated well.
I got to the point where I couldn't sit there any longer, so I got up and walked around while I listened and got some fun shots of the church.
Globes used for teaching in the 1800s
The front of the church
The organ and pipes at the back of the church
The concert felt a little long. After a while, when there are no changes in volume and organ stops, it all just starts to sound the same. But we didn't want to be rude by leaving, so we stuck it out - hence the added need to get up and walk around! We rewarded ourselves with ice cream at Sopranos afterwards.
Sunday was quiet. I played again in Sacrament meeting and we participated together in Sunday School. RS is harder to comment in, so we listened to the lesson and tried to not fall asleep. It was Lithuania's daylight savings switch, so we were functioning on an hour less sleep. Plus, it was a particularly loud Saturday night outside our apartment and we were all woken up in the middle of the night by sirens. It makes us sad to know some people are so lost in the world - that they seek for joy in the wrong places and don't know where to find the real kind. I need to be a better missionary!
Sporting our translation headsets in Sunday School.
Transfers were this week for the missionaries, so there was a new Sister and a new Elder. I would tell you their names, but they are written in Russian on their name tags and for the Elders, they are Russian names. So even if I knew how to say their names, I wouldn't know how to translate that name into an English spelling. However, the Elder who wasn't transferred is also the Elder who didn't get to come to dinner when we fed the Elders last time because they were on splits. So now that he has a new companion, who also hasn't been fed by us, we decided to have them over for dinner. Since they are both from this area, Russia and Belarus, we wanted to give them a taste of the USA. They don't have turkey here, so I settled on pork chops, but we served stuffing and Sandi Bates sweet potatoes just like I make every year for Thanksgiving. They loved it! We also had Wes over (the cameraman) since he was at church with us and doesn't get home cooking while he's here. Sarah rocked the chocolate chip cookies again, too, so it was a yummy evening!
Adam did a switch on the message. Since Tyson is getting ready to serve, Adam asked him to give us a message. He did a great job teaching us from President Benson's talk on pride. Wes stayed for a round of Bluff and lied his way to victory!
Monday was beautiful out again. If it weren't for some wind, it would have felt pretty warm. We had some of our morning stuff to get done, but made it out the door at lunch time. The boys wanted Boom Burger. Again. But at least we didn't have a fight about it! Our trade off for going there again was that we would get to go to H&M to shop. We have seen the store there, but hadn't been in this one yet. We have also heard there is a mall along Gedimino street, but we hadn't been there yet either. Well, we learned that the 2 are one and the same. H&M is in the mall. Do you wish our malls looked like this?
Sarah and I have already decided we will be going back there without the boys.
Tyson headed home from there to get homework and work done. He's sorting through the thousands of pictures being taken each day on set and organizing them for Kaleidoscope and BYUtv.
The rest of us got picked up by Vitas, our favorite driver, and taken out to set. Vitas has a good handle on the English language and he likes to talk, so we have great conversations when we're in the van together. We ask all of our questions and he willing answers - and even asks a few of his own.
I want to tell you all about the shoot. It's frustrating. But I will say that it's fun to watch the cast get to know each other and build friendships. Most of the crew knows at least enough English for basic communication, but it's not always possible to get to know them. But they are all talented and hard working and I really admire them all!
These pictures are dark and grainy because the lights were turned down and we can't use a flash on set.
I have to explain what is in Sarah's cup because it is yummy! For this tea, you add 3-5 pieces of fresh ginger, a slice of lemon, a large scoop of honey and hot water. Let it steep and cool for about 10 minutes and you have a very yummy and warming drink!
Not another smoulder!
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