Busy Times in Latvia
My planned summer activities are coming to an end. The first month in Latvia has been a whirlwind, in a very good way.
A BIG praise...I found a wonderful flat in a great location. It has been completely renovated and is FULLY FURNISHED!! It is located about a 20 minute walk from my office and a 20 minute bus ride to the University! God knew exactly what I needed when He gave me this flat!! It is starting to feel like ‘home’ and is a place where I feel safe and comfortable.
Things are looking really good with the collaboration I will have with the University. I had a meeting and visited the lab with the O&P Director. We already have scheduled a training session for a different technique of Above Knee sockets (Ischial Containment). It seems that I will be doing special lectures throughout the semester adding to different topics. In addition, they want me to provide some hands-on instruction time. It is very exciting to see how open and inviting they are to have me collaborate with the O&P program. Other talks will continue for collaboration with the governmental rehabilitation center.
I made it clear to them that working with university in not my primary reason for being in Latvia. I asked if I could have access to the O&P lab for 'charity work' and his response was, “you help us, we will help you!” WOW!! Nothing is official yet on that end, but he said there should be no problem with me using their equipment when I need to. This is a HUGE PRAISE!!!
I am very thankful to have the opportunity to collaborate with the university in this capacity. I feel that it will be a platform to open many doors of ministry in the future!
I have just finished a wonderful week of ministry in Cesis with a team from FBC Athens. It was great that my parents were with this group !! We spent the week assisting Cesis Baptist Church (CBC) in ministry events around town. CBC was the host church for the Latvian Baptist Song Festival. This was a four day event that brought singers and musicians of Baptist churches from all over Latvia together. It is very large and only takes place every 5 years.
In addition to the Song Festival, a 4 day long VBS was held for local children. The CBC members led the children in Godly Play sessions while FBCA members reiterated the lessons with games, crafts, and music. For me, the best part of VBS was assisted a little girl, Sabine, that was in a wheel chair play the games. We went as fast as we could and played all the games. One game was a parachute game with the ‘wolf’ underneath that would pull the ‘sheep’ under with him. The first time we played the game Sabine was not very enthusiastic about the unknown of the game. The second time we played, I asked her if she wanted to get pulled in by the ‘wolf’. Her response was hesitant but also curious. The game started and she was the first to be chosen by the ‘wolf’. Within a split second, she had jumped out of her chair and was crawling on the ground with the ‘wolf’, in the middle of all the action. The smile on her face was the biggest I had seen all week! I think God brought her to the camp to reconfirm the reason I am here!!
Later in the week, the Global Leadership Summit-X was held for business and church leaders. This prompted deep discussion on leadership practices from a biblical perspective. All events were very well attended and seemed to have an impact on all involved.
As a new missionary to Latvia, I am blessed with the distinct advantage to have an already established Latvian family for support, assistance, and love. They have assured me that they will take care of me. This makes for a much smoother transition into a new culture to have a local support system that has been in the making for many years.
Monday I leave to begin my time in Tukums. I will be living at Mission Pakapieni, a home for unwed mothers that need a place to live during pregnancy and transition after birth of their child. I have agreed to be the ‘House Mom’ for the month of August. This will be the time of my focused language learning. There are currently 2 girls in the house, neither speak English. Through total immersion as well as utilizing the practices I have from MTI training in Colorado, I hope to get a grasp of the Latvian language. I plan to stay until end of October, but will be more flexible after August.
Please pray for this time of language immersion and learning. Also pray for the girls I will be living with that we will form authentic relationships through the language barrier.
I thank you for your continued prayers and support. Without them, this transition would not have been nearly as smooth as it has been.
