saying goodbyes...again

We are finally at that point where the summer is coming to a close. We leave for the airport in about an 45 mins and it is crazy to think that we will be on our way back to the states in a matter of hours. This last week has been so great catching up with old friends hanging out and having some time to debrief a little and start to process our experience this summer. The journey home is going to be a long (and I fear rather emotional) trip mixed with sadness of leaving people and excitement of seeing family and friends.

There are so many thoughts racing through my head right now as I know I have not even begun to describe our experiences here in Latvia and Russia adequately and wishing to express everything that we have seen and done and all the people who have touched our lives in such a brief time. This has truly been one very interesting and very amazing summer. The Lord have moved in so many more ways than we could have ever imagined and it has been such a blessing to be here see Him be glorified!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support and for keeping up with us, it really means more than you know!! All the pictures have been uploaded now, so you can find them from the links on the right and hopefully can have an image of what all we have been up to!

the return to riga...

So we have been away from the internet for a while so sorry for the long delay since the last post! We are back in Riga, Latvia at Dan and Courtney’s now however and will be here until we fly back to the states on the 7th. I hope to be able to get some pictures up from our time in Syktyvkar and also from the camp in Moscow today or tomorrow and to post about camp as well.

Here is a somewhat short version of our time in Moscow before camp. Sorry still for the length…

July 25-27

Friday (25th)
After settling in at the seminary we went to lunch with one of the students there and then had a bit of time to relax and read and nap while Michael went to the Embassy. We met up with Kira and some of her friends from Florida and a group from the States that went on the Emmaus walk with her for dinner. The place we went was on this street downtown that is blocked off and has a lot of souvenir shops and touristy things (even two Starbucks, sounds like home, huh?) so after dinner we parted ways and Michael, Brandon, and I walked around and bit of shopping before the next day when we would be with the team from Missouri so we could make sure we were able to go everywhere we wanted to and cater to the team the next team. Deciding it was too early for bed, we ventured around the metro stations and walked a ways home to see the city at night and it was well worth it.

Saturday (26th)
We met up with Kira and the team from Missouri at one of the metro stations close by and then wandered to the open market for some shopping. The market was awesome and had just about anything you could want; clothes, food, souvenirs…and the further you went in to it (and it was massive) the cheaper it got and the more like a lot of garage sales combined together. We spent a couple of hours in there and needed every minute of it to make it around to everywhere. Next we ventured down the same street we had been on the night before and really got a chance to get to know some of the team. We made a stop at a mall as well (which, wow, was huge. I mean like 8 stories. With every possible store you could imagine, an internet cafe, food court, bank; even a Build-A-Bear. It was impressive to say the least.) We took a boat ride around town and got to see a lot of what we had seen from walking around from a different view and it was really nice to be able to sit and talk with people and get to know them before camp began.

Sunday (27th)
Mike Stallion (who we had been planning with and who was the leader for the Missouri team) split his team up for church in the morning. Some of them came to the seminary for the Russian Korean service (they had a girl on their team who had been in Korea for the past five years doing mission work so she was going to translate) and the rest went to other churches in the area. To everyone’s surprise, the service was not in Korean, but Russian because they had a guest speaker for the day. This was also a surprise because the guest speaker was Pavel, the pastor from the church in Syktyvkar that we had just spent the week with! What a small world it is. After the service we had a traditional Korean lunch (which was rice and vegetables and spicy sauce with even more spicy sauce/vegetable mix to put on top on the side. It was so delicious! And dessert was rice cakes with nuts in them which were also pretty tasty. Everyone met up at Red Square in the afternoon to walk around and see Lenin’s tomb and St. Basil’s and then take a tour of the Kremlin. It was a very touristy day indeed, but a lot of fun. The team is great and after talking about the plans for the youth camp we were pretty excited about what was in store for it! The majority of the team went to the ballet (it was Don Quixote) however the guys opted out so Brandon and I joined Mike and three of the guys Trevor, Kevin and Jesse to chat at this very hidden, very local, cheap little restaurant wedged downtown in an alley between Tiffany & Co. and Dulce & Gabanna. The team has been staying at the church in Vnukovo (which is where the dedication will take place on Saturday) so we parted ways for the night with plans to meet up at camp the next day.

pictures from wesley days!

more to come on facebook, but here is a sample for now!!


*last night of worship of wesley days...Front-Courtney, Liga, Anna, Lauren, Trevor, Dagnia ; Middle-Vivita, Sniedze; Back-Brandon












Pictures top to bottom:
*meal time at camp
*at the beach…Trevor, Lauren, Vivita, Brandon, Sniedze
*some of the leaders goofing off at the beach :)
*in the sanctuary…Sniedze, Lauren, Vivita, Trevor, Brandon

wesley days!!!

July 1 – July 5

Since camp was so crazy busy, we are going to give a brief overview of the week. (but be warned – this will still be a long post!!) We have so many more stories than we could even begin to express here about the kids, the other leaders, and camp itself, so we decided to not even try to describe everything for words would not suffice to explain how wonderful this past week was.

Breakdown of schedule for each day:

8:00 – wake up!

8:30 – breakfast (generally eggs, bread & cheese, pancakes, something like that)

9:30 – morning devotion (generally one or two songs to open and then each morning a different person led)

10:00 – Bible study (each morning a different person led with generally a couple of songs beforehand and maybe one after)

11:00 – working in the camp! (There were five teams that each had one leader. Each leader had a specific project that they stayed at all week. Their team would stay together but move fro each project to experience all the different work sites at camp.)

13:00 – lunch (generally potatoes of some kind with a type of meat, most times in a soup or stew fashion with a dessert like whipped cream of some flavor in a liquid or a pudding type dish)

15:00 – working in the camp! (These are the five leaders and their projects:

*Brandon – pulling out stumps (a ton) from the orchard & then clearing brush along the road and making a stack by the firewood) *Lauren – clearing the basketball court of the large rocks and creating a seating area in the back & then cleaning, creating, and decorating a new prayer chapel in one of the old barns *Vivita – cleaning duty (dishes, floors, bathrooms…etc.) *Steve (the leader of the team from Alabama) – fixing the doors in the hay barn & clearing hay off the field *Dan – clearing out the ditch in front of the dining hall and making the pump work for clearing the water)

18:00 – dinner (again some sort of potato dish)

19:30 – evening program (led by a different country each night)

22:00 – evening devotion (led by someone different each time, generally by the country in charge of the program)

23:00 – late evening snacks (bread & jam or cookies – and always tea)

23:30 – leadership meeting (to talk about the next day and how the day went)

*this is the tentative schedule and sometimes things did not really begin or end on time, but you get the idea.

The devotions and Bible studies each morning were very different in how they were led, but all very good in their own ways. To write each one to fully record their worth would take forever, but they were very much enjoyed and appreciated and were deeper than it may seem that I am making them out to be. Some of them were quite moving and talking to the kids really did well to make them think about Jesus and who He is and what that means for their lives. The evening programs were very cool because we got to share and experience different cultures. Here is a very brief description of each.

July 1^st: Yanis did the morning devo and spoke about Isaiah 54:10 and how God can move mountains! Steve had Bible study and talked about how the Lord provides. The Latvian group did the evening program and we were taught how to dance traditional dances and sing traditional songs of the country so it was really exciting to experience true Latvian tradition! We played a lot of silly games outside that were a lot of fun before coming in to Trevor’s devotion (he’s what we’d like to refer to as pseudo-Latvian…as are Dan, Courtney, Brandon, and I. We are not a part of the American group, but we aren’t Latvian by blood, only in spirit). He spoke about Jeremiah 18:1-6 and Mark 12:28-29

July 2^nd: Vivita did the morning devo and spoke with such compassion about Psalm 139:1-5 and how the Lord loves us the way we are. She showed a video that was as if the Lord was writing us a letter and it was very moving. John (from Lithuania) did bible study and we split into our groups to act out the story of the Good Samaritan. We went to the beach after lunch today and some people (who were crazy b/c it was cold outside and the water was FRIGID) went swimming and other went dune jumping and just hung out. The American group had the evening program and taught us dances from the fifties and recited the preamble and a bit of our country’s history. We had relay races outside where we were in our work groups and had to move from station to station after completing it. Louanne (from the Alabama group) spoke after showing a vide of the drama to the song Everything by Lifehouse. If you have never seen this drama, you need to. It is simply amazing and such a wonderful visual representation of God’s love for us. Fireworks and smores completed the American night.

July 3^rd: Grezina (from Lithuania) did the morning devo speaking about Psalm 136 and used the movie Happy Feet as an example of wanting to fit in. Courtney’s Bible Study led us on a prayer walk through camp as we discussed as work groups what it looked like to be a servant. The night devo was a bit different, combining all three countries in leading it on the beach. We walked silently in random pairs to the beach and there each collected stones to lay at the foot of the cross (that one guy from each country helped carry down to the seaside). We went out in our pairs to find another rock to exchange with one another as a symbol of prayer as we prayed for one another at the foot of the cross. Lastly we went out in our work groups to find a piece of driftwood that we piled together while Trevor played a special song. We all circled up at the end holding hands around the cross to pray and ended with the Lord’s prayer being loudly proclaimed in three different languages. It was truly a powerful moment. I have chills just writing about it now.

July 4^th: Kay did the morning devo and spoke about loving one another and how we express that in so many ways. Her main focus was on the word Mizpah in Genesis 31:49 which literally means “watchpost”. The verse says “May the Lord watch between me and thee while we are apart” and since we would soon be leaving each other this was only appropriate. I had the Bible Study and tried to focus on why we follow Christ instead of how we do it or what it looks like. The scripture I used was Ephesians 2, John 1:14, Hebrews 1:3, and Colossians 1:15-23 and my prayer was that we would all know God more both at camp and after we left. We played Breath of God by Shane & Shane as the closer. I just hope and pray that the Lord spoke though me and that it wasn’t just me up there rambling! We had a talent show before dinner that was hilarious. People sang, danced, did skits, rapped; you name it! It was a lot of fun for the kids and so much fun to watch! The Lithuanians did the evening program and we learned some songs and games and then went on a walk thought camp to the Stations of the Cross. We came back for an incredible time of worship that was so full of energy and was just so great to be a part of! Some of the leaders stayed up for a while talking and hanging out after our meeting since it was our last night all together and we had gotten really close; especially Brandon, Trevor, Sneidze, Vivita and I and the two of us and Dan and Courtney. It amazing how the Lord moves in relationships that are centered around Him. The Lithuanian band didn’t arrive until 2am so there was a lot of moving around on our last evening at camp.

July 5^th: Steve’s team did the morning devo and Bible study and we played a lot of songs since the worship was so amazing the night before. After worship Laura recognized Brandon and I am brought us up to give us each a little gift to say thank you. I was ok at this point, and I was ok even when some of the girls started to cry and come give us hugs, but when one the boys there, Alturs, who is 12, started crying when he gave me a hug, I lost it. It was such an emotional day for us leaving everyone. Instead of working today, we had different craft stations set up to participate in before lunch. There were places to make bracelets, God’s eyes out of yarn, necklaces (of the nails bent into the icthus which the American team got the idea from mine and Trevor’s necklaces – he had made one with ARM several summers ago and I had made mine in Bolivia; which we had gotten the idea from ARM – again, crazy how small the word is), painting rocks, making bookmarks and drawing. The number of bracelets and crafts the girls made for us is innumerable and the gifts from everyone were so gracious. The leaders throw us a “going away” party with cake and tea and gave us each a card they had all signed. The circled around the two of us and laid hands on us to pray for the next step of our journey. The tears were too hard to fight for most everyone in the room and hugs lasted forever as we said goodbye. Leaving the kids and the other leaders was so hard to do, much harder than we ever expected it be when we first arrived to Latvia. We were driven to the bus stop by a handful of people and then departed for Riga on the bus for a very sad journey back to Dan and Courtney’s place.

The Lord moved so much this past week in the relationships with the kids and the other leaders and we were able to not only share the love of Christ and the Gospel with those around us, but we were blessed beyond belief by those conversations and were discipled by those around us as well. It was truly an experience of a lifetime that we never expected or could have dreamed of. The Lord is so amazing!!

quick update....

We leave for Russia tonight!  

Camp was really busy, and without the internet it was hard keeping up with the blog, but we will be posting an overview of the week when we get settled in in Russia, so more updates on Wesley Days will be coming soon!

We are taking a train into Moscow and Kira will be meeting us there and then from there our next part of the journey begins.  Keep us in your prayers as we travel and prepare for this new experience.  Also, pray for comfort as we are really torn about leaving everyone here in Latvia. The tears have been frequent the past couple of days and our hearts are filled with sadness leaving behind so many new friends.  We are excited about what is to come, but we pray tat the Lord will be with everyone as Wesley Days are finishing up today.

We hope to update ya'll soon on more!!

june 30

June 30

Today begins the first day of camp!   The Alabama team went into Liepâja today after breakfast to do some more sightseeing and shopping and such while everyone else stayed at camp to do some more last minute projects.  Courtney, Brandon and I finished the flower arrangements that Courtney and I began last night (under Maria’s directions – she is quite talented in the field of floristry!) and had a little help from Kristine (not the same Kristine from Riga) and Altis who are from Latvia so it was fun getting to know them a little better and talk to Altis about the Bible and Brandon got a chance to talk a little more with him later about the power of the Scripture and how it has changed his life.  Kristine goes to the Baptist church so it was good to hear the differences and similarities in her church and the Methodist church in Liepâja.  Brandon and Altis helped Ingmars with a project building little houses for part of the program tonight while Laura, Courtney, Kristine and I peeled potatoes. 

Dan arrived just before lunch and helped fix some leftovers and such to eat.  The four of us had a brief meeting afterwards to clarify some things about the coming week (which has been slightly confusing as to what we are doing and what our roles will be).  Brandon and I are both going to be team leaders which, as far as we know, means that we will be heading up small groups (mixed with some people from each country on each team) for the work projects that we will have every day.  Brandon is speaking a little tonight about one portion of the house and I am leading a bible study later in the week. 

That’s about all we know for sure right now, but it could very well change soon. Who knows.  We are learning to be patient and just roll with whatever is thrown at us.  The group from Alabama didn’t get back till around four and hadn’t eaten lunch so Courtney and I prepared something for them and then made necklaces for all of the campers so we will know who is registered.  We tied washers to yarn and the washers are to symbolize the cleansing blood of Christ that has washed us clean and how God is the beginning and the end and like the circular shaped of the washer, He is never-ending.

The opening service began with John Wesley coming to speak to us a little about his background and encourage us for the week.  Yanis dressed up as him, wig and all and it was really funny. Everyone at camp went out to put the new sign up, and then the Alabamians led worship.  The youth were split into five groups for the evening project of building a church.  Each group rotated between the leaders and received a piece of the church (the walls, the floor, the roof, the door, and the cross) and what that part represented, and then they nailed the pieces together to make the five small churches.  We had a bit more worship before heading out to the fire for a later dinner of a delicious stew the cook had prepared. After the leadership meeting a few of the leaders played some cards before heading to bed…only to be greeted by the dog snoring again.  It seems odd that the one who is getting the most rest is the canine who will not be doing any work…

june 29

June 29

This morning for church there were two groups going to two different places. One group went to Liepâja and the other went to Tashi which is a smaller church and where we went.  The church is actually in more of a house on the second floor where they have a room for worship and then a room for fellowship.  It felt like family.  We did a lot of singing, together and a few solos.  The music director played the guitar and was joined by two other ladies and then sang a solo and the music was beautiful.  She is a very talented musician!  The group from Alabama sang “Better is One Day” while Brain (one of the youth in their group) played the guitar.  Brain also did a song solo, which was pretty awesome.  Brandon preached and Laura translated and it was a very good message.  The pastor had read Psalm 84 and Brandon referenced it so it was really cool to see how the Lord is connecting us hearts and minds to one body ready to worship and serve Him.  We had fellowship time afterwards with snacks and tea of course but we got a surprise as well.  Some of the young mothers had made these knit socks/slippers and they gave each of us that were there a pair.  They are so fun!

After church we met up with the other half of the group in Liepâja and had lunch downtown before walking around for just a bit and making a pit stop at the Rimi (supermarket) before heading back to camp.  Dinner was pasta and sauce that was homemade from a real Italian recipe (Dan’s mom is Italian) and it was delicious. Some of the girls from the team were able to help out a little in the kitchen before dinner so we had the guys clean up after dinner to even things out.  Ingmars graduated from his specialty school in carpentry the other day so we had a small celebration for him with cake to say congratulations!  We still had a few more projects to do before all of the campers arrived so Brandon helped Ingmars with some things while Courtney and I help Maria with some decorations in the sanctuary.  Poor Trevor has been kind of sick so we tried to let him rest a bit while the house was still kind of quiet. 

Side note on the sleeping arrangements: In one room there are six female leaders (four on two air mattress and Courtney and I on the floor).  In the “living room” there are four male leaders (Brandon on the couch, Trevor on a cot, Yanis on an air mattress, and when Dan returns tomorrow he will be on the floor).  In another small room Joe and his son Jim are both on cots.  A few more of the leaders may be sleeping upstairs after tomorrow. In the back of the sanctuary the team form Alabama is staying on air mattresses and mats.  The groups that are arriving tomorrow will be in tents in the barn and in the yard just past the apple orchard.

Some of leaders watched the final of the Euro Cup (Spain vs. Germany) so that was really good, especially since Spain won :). Courtney and I were the only girls, so at halftime we organized the craft stuff and were very productive.  It was just Courtney, Laura and I in our room so we chatted a little before bed and before the dog came a decided to sleep with us, and snore…very loud…all night long.

june 28

June 28

This morning we began with pancakes and eggs before talking a walk to the beach for the first session of the retreat for today. While on the beach, were to find a rock that describes us.  There are so many rocks on the shore, so there were so many options to choose from.  We also had a time to walk around and then write a letter to someone (that we could send or not, or it could even be to ourselves or to the Lord).  Some people spent their time on the shoreline, and some of us went into the cemetery that is right there to write.  After this time of reflection and time to get out what we wanted to say on paper, because often it is so hard to say what we want aloud, we returned to camp.  Some particular John Mayer lyrics have been stuck in my head all day…say what you need to say.

For lunch we had a wonderful meal of rice, sausage, tomato and cucumber salad, and bread.  We did a bit of last minute cleaning in the dining room and organized all the sleeping bags and tents in the attic before playing some more King Mau.  The last part of the leadership retreat was a prayer walk.  We picked names from a hat to make partners, and then went for a walk around camp in pairs, talking about our anxieties about the coming week and praying for one another.  It was a very special time, and we were all hoping for another day together in our small group because we were really opening up to each other.

The group from Alabama arrived just before dinner, so after some unpacking and settling in, we had pelmeni (the Russian pasta filled with meat) covered in kreums (a cream type sauce) and cheese and sliced tomatoes and then baked.  After we had our fill, the team had some meetings; Brandon worked on his sermon (he is preaching tomorrow at the church we are going to in Tashu!); and Courtney and I went with some of the other girls to pick some flowers.  It is always an adventure here. When we agreed to help pick flowers we were unaware of the task before us.  We drove in the direction of Liepâja, and whenever they saw flowers that were worthy, we pulled over on the side of the road and cut them down.  We were pulling on limbs and climbing trees and going through ditches to get these flowers that were beautiful, and very wild.  Despite the thorns and prickly stems of several of them, we were able to gather a good bit to take home (the whole back of the van was full).

As camp is beginning to fill with people, we are finding out that sleep may be a luxury.  Adding two three year olds, a seven year old, and a dog to a small room that already had four adults, makes for interesting sleeping arrangements.  Pray for energy and patience as we begin camp!  

june 27

June 27

We slept in today, trying to get some rest and prepare for the weekend and next week.  At breakfast we manna (kind of like cream of wheat or grits, but not really) and eggs and it was a good way to start the day.  Everyone arrived around noon and we started the retreat with a simple lunch of bread and cheese, potatoes, and cucumber and tomato salad.  The theme of the retreat is recharging ourselves before we prepare to lead others.  The two main verses we are focusing on are Deuteronomy 4:5-6 and Mark 12:29-30.  The first session began with discussion about the theme and an activity. There were seven of us (nine including Dan and Courtney, but they are the leaders) so we split up into two teams to build a working stool with whatever we could find. We then talked about how we need to be fed spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally.  The analogy that was used was the stool, with the seat being the spiritual aspect, and the legs comprising the other three and how all parts need to be taken care of for it to be ok to be used.  The second session was a time for recharging spiritually.  We had an hour to go wherever and spend time in the Word, journaling, praying, whatever; we just couldn’t talk or be with other people.  As a semi-guide we had a (lecio devino) over Psalm 46, especially verse 10 that says, “Be still and know that I am God”. The time was very much needed and very refreshing.  Being able to just stop and forget about every anxiety and distraction is something we are so bad at doing as humans.  It is so hard to just take time to stop doing and just be, but when we do, it is such an amazing time.

We had a break before dinner and so there were several things going on. Vivita and Sneidze cleaned the bathrooms, Dan started preparing dinner, Brandon and Trevor built the fire and Laura, Kaiva, Courtney and I drove back into town to get some more stuff from the store for the next couple of days.  Hamburgers on the grill with toasted bread for buns and baked potatoes in the fire pit made for a wonderful dinner outside.  The session after dinner was an art session in the sanctuary where we were to display artistically through some craft our interpretation of some passage of scripture.  There were beads and markers and paint and rope and all sorts of things that could be use to make our creation.  We shared the meaning behind our pieces of work and discussed the emotional side of our being that needs to be recharged.

The plan was to take a walk to the beach, but halfway on the journey it started to rain so we headed back to camp to have some ice-cream and play cards instead.  By this point, it was just us, Dan and Courtney, Vivita and Sneidze, and Trevor (who, randomly enough, is an American here for Wesley Days.  As if this coincidence was not enough, he is also from Alabama.  And he is our age, having just graduated from “the other school” – the University of Alabama that is. Small world.)  We played cards for a while, playing King Mau, which is so much fun, but quite confusing as well; much to confusing to explain on here. 

We have an early day tomorrow so it’s time for bed, but today was such a great day and we’re even more excited about tomorrow for the rest of the retreat and for the team from the states to get here tomorrow night (who coincidently enough is of course from Alabama).

june 26

June 26

After a full of day of traveling, we relaxed for most of the rest of the day.  We put our stuff in the church in Riga and walked to a little restaurant near all of the fishing boats for dinner before Gatis picked up us to go back to camp.  Little did we know we were in for another adventure.  Gatis had a small car, and a full trunk.  Since there were four of us and all of our luggage, we had to pack strategically.    By that of course, I mean that we had bags between our legs, behind our heads, and in our laps.  Saying it was a full car would be an understatement.  So as though we had plenty of space, we stopped at the store on the way back to camp for some stuff.  All three of the guys went in and then packed even more stuff on top of us and in any open space we could find in the car.  Pair this with pumping euro trance music and you have one interesting ride.    We watched the last semi-final game of the Euro Cup (Spain vs. Russia – Spain won) before heading to bed.  It seems that travel days just seem to leave us whipped out.  Tomorrow begins the leadership retreat so we are excited for more people to show up!

june 25

June 25

As the stores reopened and life began to return to normal in Latvia, we were awoken with a beautiful sunrise.  The Lord has been able to shine His glory through the sun’s rays so often on this trip. In the morning we headed to Riga 1^st to join a small celebration for Inga, one of the young adult members of the church and a friend of ours.  Small snacks and tea aided much conversation and joy in the fellowship room.  After we had enjoyed our fair share of cake, we headed home to grab our stuff and enjoy a small lunch of rice and beans to fill the space that the sweets did not satisfy.  Courtney and I headed to the train station, while Dan and Brandon headed to a coffee shop to read and discuss.  As I am writing this, we are on the train back to Riga from Liepa, so I am unsure of the details of the guys’ day, however when we talked to them last night they were watching the soccer match and had had a great day discussing theological matters and relaxing in town and at home.

The train ride to Liepa was so peaceful and simply beautiful.  The setup of the cars reminded me much of public trams in the states, with seats facing both forwards and backwards in small clusters of four. However the ride was far from anything to be deemed normal.  The serenity of the lush greenery slowly passing by the windows just captivated me.  Everyone on the train appeared so differently, each one carrying a silent story that explained their purpose.  As I looked around, pondering each of these stories and trying to guess the reason for their journey, I wondered if they were doing the same to us. 

We arrived in Liepa to the Hope Center to find out that we would be joining the girls for dinner to celebrate two birthdays.  One was for Liga, whose birthday was yesterday, and the other for Sabine, one of the girl’s daughters, whose one year birthday was today.  We decorated cards for them and joined the grilling outside to celebrate.  The Hope Center is supported by the Methodist church and is a place where girls can go who are pregnant to be supported, or if they have had their child they can go and stay as they search for a job and stable life.  Right now there are five girls living there, all of which have had their babies except for one, who was due at just about any moment.  Most of the girls who come through the Hope Center are young, some under 18, and most have not had such favorable past experiences.  The small amount of their stories that I know are incredible.  The pain and the hurt that these girls have been through just breaks my heart.

Grilling sausage outside, we played with some of kids and just had a good time talking and laughing.  We took some pictures, and have hopes to make baby books in the future for the young mothers so they can have photos of their children when they are young.  The girls were very excited about this luxury we tend to take for granted nowadays.  We watched Princess Diaries 2 with the girls and shared a lot of laughter which was so wonderful to hear and share in with these young women.  After a short intermission, the girls wanted to watch another movie so we watched The Incredibles.  We said goodnight to an amazing group of young women, and headed to bed to catch the 5:30am train home.

When we get back to Riga, we will pack up the remainder of our stuff and catch the 10:15 bus to Liepaja to go back to Camp Wesley.  We will be there until July 5^th, having the youth leadership seminar this weekend and then Wesley Day beginning at the start of next week.  We may be away from the internet for more than a few days during this time, however, I will still write and update when I can, so be prepared for multiple posts in one day :)   As the youth are preparing for camp, we ask that you would pray for them that they would come with open hearts prepared for truth to be spoken to them throughout the week.  We ask that you pray for the leaders, that they would exemplify Christ in their words and their actions and that the Lord will provide them with guidance and patience during camp.  As we still don’t know what our role will be, we ask that you pray comfort and patience over us and that our hearts would be those of servants, ready and willing for whatever our task may be.  Your prayers are so important and your support means so much to us; we are so blessed to have such loving family and friends.  Know you are much appreciated and much loved!

june 24

June 24

The rain has continued today and has made for a somewhat gloomy day here in Riga.  The wind was harsh all day and made the outdoors far from inviting, so we stayed in the warmth of the flat.  We did much of what we did yesterday, reading and talking, and just chilling.  It was good talking with people from home and very comforting as well.  The weather seemed to have us all in a much more quiet and pensive mood today. The high points of the day were by far the cuisine. Dan graced us with his wonderful talent in the kitchen with an incredible lunch of such tender meat in noodles and sauce that were mouthwatering and had such an amazing flavor.  We were treated to homemade bread as well with dinner that was another homemade dish, this time being quiche.  I know I keep repeating it, but the food has just been quite tasty.  For a little comic relief, we watched the Pink Panther tonight after dinner and also some clips of Captain Positive (Dan’s friend who plays a super hero for a series of shows for the Boys and Girls Club - quite humorous) and ended the day with laughter. Hopefully the rain will cease tomorrow and we will be able to get some fresh air!

*On a side note, I was unaware that it was not enabled for everyone to be able to comment on the blog, so if you have tried to comment and were unsuccessful in doing so, you should be able to now. So sorry about that!  We would love to hear from ya'll so hopefully now it will work!

more pictures :)

again, just a small sample of pictures... here is the link to another album on Facebook (just click the link or copy & paste!)....

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2243850&l=f8799&id=7001107

in downtown Riga

us with dan & courtney in the park in Riga

in the park in Riga... we're mimicking the statue if you can't tell...

in the church in Liepaja with Yanis, who translated for us

(the flowers are from the church thanking us for coming)

june 23

June 23

What a glorious day it has been!  We were awoken this morning by the smell of bacon and pancakes and it set the tone for the whole day.  Dan and Courtney are simply amazing and such a blessing to us while we are here.  Not only have they taken us in and provided us with a place to stay, they have provided us with food, conversation and such wonderful hospitality with open arms and without thinking twice.  They have been, and they are continuing to be, such an encouragement to us in our time here in Latvia.  I just praise our Father for placing us in their pathway! They both just have such a sweet spirit about them and have been mentors in several ways to us during our stay.  It is such a time of learning and sharing and it is just so needed to be I community with them.  Our Lord is incredible in His provisions!

Today is Yanis day as I described a little in the last post, so while most of Latvia was partying and celebrating, we lounged around in our pj’s for a while reading and talking.  And it was wonderful! After a while, we went on a walk and stopped by the 24 hour rental place to get a movie. We watched a British film named Millions about this boy who finds a lot of money and his journey of faith and learning that money isn’t everything. It was a little strange, but pretty good overall.  Coke and chips never tasted so good as we continued to rest on this rainy day of celebration in Latvia.  Dinner was homemade guacamole, bread and olive oil with garlic and pepper, homemade scalloped potatoes, and sasliks (which is meat that is marinated and sold in the marinade in a small bucket and then put on kabobs and grilled) and it was all quite delicious.  It was pretty overcast all day so it was good to be inside and just chill and read and talk.  Hopefully some of you have gotten the chance to look at the pictures and are able to see a small bit of what we are experiencing.  I will try to upload another few tomorrow and put up another album on facebook as well so check back!

pictures!!

These are just a few pictures (it takes a while to upload them to the blog) but here is a link to an album on Facebook (for some reason I could upload 60 on there in the time it took to upload 5 on here).  Again this is a very small sample of the pictures we've taken (and you don't have to be a member of Facebook to view the pictures, just click on the link or copy & paste!)...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2243452&l=4efdd&id=7001107

the church in Liepaja

Camp Wesley

june 22

June 22

Church this morning was at Riga First United Methodist.  Gita spoke over Matthew 7:1-6, Psalm 119, and Romans 14: 10-20 and talked about not being a stumbling block for others.  Tomorrow is Yanis day (John’s day) and the longest day of the year.  In Latvia they celebrate not just your day of birth but also a day of your name.  Yanis is the most popular male’s name and Liga is the most popular female’s name and it is celebrated on the day after Yanis day.  Since Yanis day falls on the longest day of the year, they figured, why not celebrate and close most everything down and declare a holiday from work and everything else.  The traditional Latvian way to celebrate Yanis day is with cheese, meat, beer and these wreaths made of leaves that you wear on your head.  There are fun and games and the holiday is almost bigger than Christmas here.  We are staying in Riga for the festivities and will be taking the day as a time to relax and rest up for Wesley days. Perhaps a stroll in the park or a picnic with some meat and cheese, however I’m glad to say the later two traditions will be omitted.  After lunch the five of us went to lunch with Rihards and his wife and Daniels at a place nearby the church.  Thankfully making a pitstop at the flat for the cameras and a change of shoes, the five of us headed to the Occupation Museum.

The museum was so much information to take it all at once.  It was mind-blowing to see all of the artifacts from both Soviet occupations of the country and the Nazi occupation.  Photos of the mass deportations and executions were so vivid is describing a past that is rarely taught in the states.  It was so enlightening to see history from this view after never really being exposed to what happened in this country.  To think that in 1991, only 17 short years ago, Latvia finally regained its independence is so hard to grasp.  The pain and the suffering of this nation were incredible.

After this amazing experience we ventured around town and walked to the park and down all the little side streets of town just enjoying the beautiful weather.  We stopped at a little ice-cream shop that was quite refreshing and ran into some other missionaries that Dan and Courtney knew.  The world is so small.  We had to run so as to make sure Hadley (who, if I have yet to mention, is an extremely intelligent man) made it to the bus station, but we were able to meet some other Americans here in Latvia trying to follow the will of God.  After saying our goodbyes to Hadley we went back into town to continue of journey of the gorgeous architecture only to run into our new friends again on our way.  Together we all went back to the park and chatted for a little while before deciding to join for dinner at their flat.   There was a large group of us, and it was so good to be in the company of other believers our age as a few of the group were in college or had just graduated as well.  Grilled cheese sandwiches, chips, homemade cookies, ice and great conversations made the evening.  Being able to talk with other young people who are here for the summer and who understood the same joys and frustrations of being here and what it means to live as a witness in Latvia and do mission work in a short amount of time was such an encouragement and a blessing.  I know for me it was such a blessing to have some more girls around and one of the guys was a Electrical Engineer as well so Brandon had someone to bond with as well!  It was such a great evening! 

Upon returning home, we watched the end of the Spain and Italy match and finally got to watch a shootout.  Spain won on penalties so it was quite exciting for us since we were all for Spain (well Dan was just against Italy and Courtney didn’t like their uniforms, and Brandon didn’t really have a preference, but hey no one wanted Italy to win).  We are all hoping to get a long nights rest and sleep in in the morning so I think it’s time to call it an evening. 

june 21

June 21

This morning there was a meeting for the children’s camp that Courtney was coordinating that will be happening at Camp Wesley while we are in Russia.  We had time to read again this morning and after lunch as well and Romans even taught us a little Russian as we prepared lunch.  Around 3pm we headed back to Riga by bus with Romans and Agate and two other ladies who needed to return to Riga.  Romans wife was coming back from England so the were coming to pick her up form the airport and both he and Agate were very excited to see her as it had been a while.  It was a quiet evening in Riga after a day of travel.  Hadley, a friend of Dan and Courtney’s through school friends who is teaching in Lithuania, was in town visiting so he stayed with us for the night and the five of us had a lovely meal at home that Dan prepared. We had chicken, rice, cucumbers & mushrooms, bread and this wonderful tomato & garlic mixture that Courtney made (on top of the bread it resembles bruchetta). It definitely hit the spot.  We watched a little soccer and were able to talk on the phone a little before calling it a night.  Traveling always makes you very tired. It was so good to be able to talk to people back home and hear familiar voices :) We really appreciate everyone’s support and prayers and your thoughts are such an encouragement to us!

 

 

june 20

June 20

 

Today was the day we’ve been planning for...the pastors finally arrived! Some of the ladies at the church in Liepâja came early to prepare coffee, tea, some cookies and other small snacks for the pastors.  After small talk and once all the pastors finally arrived, we were introduced and then Brandon spoke from Matthew 13 and 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 while Kristine translated for him.  His message briefly was about how the church and it’s pastors need to be rooted in the Gospel or the will not be bearing fruit for the kingdom.  His imagery was the old tree in the front of camp that is very big, but barren and dead because the roots were cut.  Much like this tree, so will the church be if our roots are not laid in truth and the Gospel.  After some time in prayer, the pastors meet until lunch while we helped in the kitchen preparing with Romans and the same ladies from the church.  Lunch was very good with and assortment of chicken, fish, potatoes, cucumber salad, tomatoes, lettuce with cream, and cottage cheese. Dessert consisted of two different types of fruit cakes (one with oranges, and the other with chocolate, something akin to grapes, and poppy seeds - which Latvians seen to enjoy in their pastries) and another special treat that was by far the favorite; fresh picked strawberries and fresh homemade whipped cream…and it tasted simply wonderful. 

 

While the pastors continued meeting after lunch, we did some reading and helped clean up in the kitchen.  After all was finished and the “adults” had left, Romans, Dan and Courtney, and us drove out to the beach to walk around.  It was good to have them with us today (especially since with Courtney here today, and the other women around earlier I haven’t been the only girl over the age of seven!).  But seriously, they are such a comfort and an encouragement to us and to Romans as well and we are so thankful for them!  We had some leftovers from lunch and Dan also cooked some sausage and made mashed potatoes from the boiled potatoes we had earlier to round out our dinner.  After Romans departed, the four of us decided to watch a movie he had left with us, Luther, about the life of Martin Luther.  Tired from a long day, and knowing we have an early start in the morning and a day of traveling, as there is another meeting about the children’s camp and we return to Riga in the afternoon, we decided to turn in for the evening.  

june 19

June 19

 

Preparation was the theme today.  The morning was spent reading and studying, as Brandon was preparing to speak tomorrow for the pastors that are coming and I was enjoying the quiet time to dive into my books.  Around one o’clock we began working in the dining hall sweeping and cleaning and setting up the seating arrangement.  I picked flowers for the hall to make it pleasing to the eye, while Brandon screwed together the box of chairs (more like small wooden stools) for the tables.   It looked pretty good when we were finished putting it all together.  We also cleaned the Alabama house and set up the tables and chairs in the living room for the pastors to have their meeting.  Lunch was sausage, beans, cabbage, and potatoes (the later three were leftovers) after we finished our work.  Romans was supposed to arrive around 2 but the van still wasn’t ready when he went to pick it up, so we knew he would be later than that getting to camp. So after we finished lunch (close to five) we were able to do some more reading while we waited for his arrival. 

 

When he and Agate arrived Romix did some yard work, Agate and I played on the swing and Brandon kept preparing to speak.  It was a very productive day.  Dinner was pancakes and strawberry jam as we watched Portugal and Germany in the Euro Cup (soccer that is, for those of you unaware that this is taking place). Only these pancakes were more like crepes, but rolled up like burritos, and stuffed with something akin to cheese or cream.  They were pretty tasty. Romans has not steered us in the wrong direction about our food yet so we are very open to trying the things he suggests.  Agate had shared some pictures of her at school and with her parents earlier in the day, so after some tea and this delicious chocolate covered wafer cake thing (that’s the technical term for it) I shared with her and her dad (and Brandon!) some of the pictures I had brought of friends and family and it was a lot of fun to tell the stories behind the pictures and share how much the people in my life mean to me!  It was great for him to see the faces of the people that are praying for him and his ministry here and that are praying for and supporting us as we are here.  We are so thankful for that support!  The Lord is so faithful in providing for us, not only in food and shelter, but also for the restoration of our spirits.  His providence is so evident here and we are so thankful for the opportunity to experience His kingdom here in Latvia with other brothers and sisters in Christ as we journey together to fight for the heart of our King!

june 18

June 18

 

There is never a dull day in Latvia.  We ventured to town today and hung out at Romix’s house for a little while in the morning while he went to get the van fixed and were able to use the internet and such. Then we met up with Ingmars and Niks and walked around and went bowling because we had promised Agate that we would.  The bowling ally was very nice, much nicer than any I have seen in the states and very clean.  Ingmars won by a lot but it was a lot of fun for all of us!  The bowling ally was located in the center part of town which was basically a giant park were it was pedestrian only.  There were some small cafes and a miniature golf course (minus the windmills and all that fancy jazz most places have that we think of) and some engineless go-carts that kids were peddling around.  The playground was enormous with several swings and slides and things to climb on and to be quite honest I had to keep myself from running to play on it!  Alongside all of this was the beach so we took a stroll down by the waves, which were numerous.  On the sand near the walkway was another small playground with these crazy swings for two people and monkey bars and all other sorts of bars.  Naturally, all of the guys decided to do pull to do pull-ups and dips and all the other manly things that men do when they are together in the presence of things to climb on.  And naturally, Agate watched and laughed and cheered them all on. 

 

Once we ventured back downtown, we had some wonderful Latvian pizza (I specify because it is different than what we are used to, mainly thinner and different toppings) for lunch at this little place before heading off to get a car from a friend to drive since the van was not ready yet.  After our fun-filled day of playing we returned to Roman’s house for some coffee and cake while we watched the movie Cars (which all of us highly recommend, by the way).  The journey back to camp was, well, eventful.   A little over a kilometer outside of town the car just stopped going.  Now, this car was old and was a stick-shift so when it started jerking we didn’t think much of it and Romans thought the gas light just didn’t work, however we came to found out otherwise.  We weren’t far at all from the gas station so we pushed (yes, both of us) the car to the side of the road and then went to the gas station to fill up the water bottle we had in the car with gas.  Upon return Romans tried to start up the car and we did not have success until he started it while we pushed.  I imagine it was a funny site to see these two crazy Americans pushing this tiny little car and then running after it and jumping inside!  But all is well and we are more than fine and now we have a funny to tell.  We had more gas at camp for Romans to fill the car with before returning home so it is all good.  Tomorrow we will be doing more work to finish preparing for the pastors that are coming on Friday so it will be a busy day indeed. So now as the darkness is starting to finally consume the horizon at a quarter to one in the morning I think I will head to bed. Ciao.