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.

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!

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 12

June 12
Today we ventured to Camp Wesley in Liepâja by bus and met up with Romans who we will be staying with for the next week to help prepare the camp for the upcoming Wesley Days. Dan and Courtney came with us, but they will be returning to Riga tomorrow. By a happy mistake we missed our bus (the internet said one time and the station differed) and were able to walk around the market in Riga. It was so cool to wander around because most of the market was outside and then the rest was held inside these old blimp hangers that were used during the Second World War. The history of Latvia as a country is very interesting especially during and post Soviet occupation and during the Second World War. I don’t have enough space to expound, but it is worth looking up if you have some time. We got some fresh strawberries for the ride, which were awesome, and took the next bus to Liepâja, which took almost 4 hours outside of Riga. After some meetings at the church, Romans took us to a small local restaurant for some more local Latvian cuisine before actually making the trek out to Camp Wesley where we are staying until the 21st. Camp is serene and very secluded, with the sanctuary occupying the second floor of what used to be a barn. An apple orchard is on the land as well and sunset around 10 is breathtaking with so much nature around. Hopefully some pictures will be coming soon. We have really been blessed to have been paired with Dan and Courtney and it has been so encouraging getting to know them and hear how the Lord is moving in their lives and how they have grown in their faith over the years. Their hospitality and honest love has just blown us away. The Latvians that we have met have been much the same and very easy to talk with and eager to share. We are excited for what this next week looks like as we do work to prepare for camp and hopefully have more opportunities to start deepening relationships. We don’t have internet at camp, so until we return to Riga we might not post much…

day 1 continued

Tonight we ate dinner at this more traditional Latvian restaurant that was kind of cafeteria style place with Dan, their friend Inga, Kristine, and her brother Daniels and his precious little daughter Dita and had an interesting assortment of “pickeled” veggies, egg dipped and fried pork and chicken, rice, and of course, potatoes. We tried a typical drink here, almost described as a Latvian root beer of sorts, called Kavass had, well let’s just say an “interesting” taste.  But we are up to trying new things – which as we speak we are enjoying a nice evening cup of tea to finish the night as the sun finally sets behind the gorgeous architecture as the clock strikes 11pm.  After dinner we had a small bible study about the Lord’s Prayer with about 8 of us which was really cool to see the Lord working through the language barrier (mainly through our company knowing English). It was so beautiful to hear the prayer in Latvian and English at the same time as we held hands around the flickering tea lights in the sanctuary.  The fellowship was so genuine and rich as we shared in the church and continued to a coffee shop before calling it a night.  Their hospitality is so amazing. This is such a beautiful place and it is already becoming a home away from home with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

day 1

June 11, 10:44am in Stockholm, Sweden (3:44am in Auburn)

The longest part of the initial trek is over.  It felt like the flight that would never end.

After leaving Auburn yesterday, driving to Atlanta, flying to Philadelphia, and continuing on in flight to Stockholm, we are exhausted, but we still have one more flight to go before we reach our destination.  Travel thus far has been relatively smooth and easy, and for that we are very thankful.  Simply being able to stretch out and regain some energy in preparation for the journey ahead is more than we could ask as it is beginning to sink in that the day is finally here for our arrival in Latvia.  The Lord has been so gracious in watching over us and already it is evident that His hand is at work as He goes before us to prepare the way.  Our excitement rises as we prepare to board the plane to Riga…

3:32pm in Riga, Latvia (7:32am in Auburn)

We’re here!!  After a surprisingly easy final plane ride and entry into the country we have been picked up by Kristine and Dan and have been more than taken care of already.   Welcomed by a sign, smiles, and very pretty flowers - which is a custom when receiving visitors in Latvia – the transition has been great. We are staying at Dan and Courtney’s apartment (which is simply amazing, and absolutely adorable).  Tonight we will venture around Riga and enjoy some local cuisine and get to know our surroundings and go to a bible study for the youth.  Tomorrow begins a packed itinerary traveling to Liepâja and working with camp Wesley and we can’t wait!