Go Chicago!

Yesterday: I woke up early (5 a.m.) so I could listen to the end of the World Series game. I'm too cheap to pay to listen at mlb.com so I listened online to WGN radio in Chicago who were practically doing a play by play. I could hear the cheers from fans in Chicago when the White Sox won. OK, I admit I am a Cubs fan but mostly, I'm a Chicago fan so I'm just happy for the city. It is one of those "I wish I was home for this" moments, though. From that excitement (which no one in Latvia cares one bit about) I spent the morning with a few of the leaders and a group from the UK Raynes Park corps who have committed to support our church planting efforts. It was a nice morning. I am constantly amazed at the number of people who have an interest in God's work in Latvia. In the evening, Liz and I went to the ballet (again!) to see Romeo and Juliet. It was a bit more modern ballet expression, but also very good and the orchestra was great. We also found a new restaurant which serves excellent Italian food. So, a very eclectic day for me.

Fall in Latvia

The leaves are falling fast and we even had a touch of snow this week. Here are some pics from my fall getaway weekend with the Smiths. It was beautiful. (a fun picture of my small group from last night also included)
from the highest mountain (hill) in Latvia
Sian plays in the leaves
Lots of castle ruins in our exploration and beautiful sites
Smiles!

Mission and Prayer Conference

I’m going to start backwards about the Mission and Prayer Conference – tonight’s small group. I asked the girls what they thought about the weekend. It was hard for a few of them because they missed some due to work. But, all seemed to feel good about it and then when I asked specific questions they got very excited. On Saturday we went out on the streets of Riga to pray with people and they had great stories about that – overcoming shyness and being bold in approaching people – all much better than me. I used language as my excuse for standing on the corner and just praying silently. Anyway, then I shared the dream/hope I got during the weekend. It started as I read Red Moon Rising and kept building all weekend. It was confirmed by our guest, Lyndall Bywater, 24-7 coordinator for the Army in the UK. I want to see a Boiler Room (community prayer room – see www.24-7prayer.com) in Riga which would draw together many churches and youth organizations. And while we were out praying I found the building. It’s on the corner of our street and ever since I’ve been here people have been saying (and praying) that they want someone to take over the building who would help the community and clean it up. Why not a Boiler Room? The girls eyes got big and I could sense they agreed with my dream. After some coaxing one of them shared her own dream – that we would have a big worship music festival (like Cornerstone) in Meža Parks. My eyes got big, too. I began to dream about combining the whole thing, making some contacts with connections from my youth department networking days and off we went! Of course, this has nothing to do with the huge task I’m involved in right now and there is no way I could give time to anything like this. But, we can keep sharing the dream and eventually the right people will hear and get inspired, I think!

Red Moon Rising

Quotes from Red Moon Rising (some of these concepts also taught by Lyndall Bywater at our Mission and Prayer Conference)

God uses young people again and again to help restore nations and shape their destiny.  Young people stand at the heart of the salvation story.  Re: Evangelism/Harvest:  Our opportunities are those of the World Wide Web, budget travel, the rise of tribalism and the postmodern desire for community, authentic spirituality and social justice.

Lectio divina:  God’s very self ‘breaks in upon the middle of our prayer, runs to meet us in all haste and restores our weary soul.’

The Vision:  The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes.  It makes children laugh and adults angry.  It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars.  It scorns the good and strains for the best.  It is dangerously pure.

The ultimate 24-7 prayer room is the human heart fully surrendered to God and not a room full of coffee mugs and hand-drawn pictures!  We don’t want to withdraw people from society to live in spiritual bubbles of perpetual prayer, rather we want to immerse ourselves in society, having immersed ourselves in the Spirit – in the world and yet full of God and overflowing.  Maybe this is a new day in which the fullness of God awaits us in the streets and clubs and pubs.  Of course God will attend our meetings…But perhaps there is a weariness, even a reluctance, in his heart as he gazes back over his shoulder, out of the church door and into the street.  We’ve spent (30) years saying “come, Holy Spirit” and he came.  Now, if the Spirit says “come”, the question is this:  Will we obey?  ‘Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.’ (C.T. Studd)

Jesus was intimate with the Father in prayer.  This gave him, and will give us, the passion to continue whatever the odds in loving our neighbor in whatever context God places us.

All of this and more prepared me for our conference and for God moving and speaking to me.  Not sure how it all fits together yet.  I’ll write more about the conference later.  

Pray!

In just a few hours our mission and prayer conference will start and already we have experienced the powerful presence and leading of the spirit as the leadership team met today. Also, already we have experienced the battle that brings - electrical problems in the hall, cold/flu among the leaders, typical leadership struggles with other leaders which seem magnified because they came as we were praying for this weekend. So, if you think about us this weekend - pray, please. We know God has something extraordinary He wants to do in and through us and we have no idea what that might be. I have a sense it is about the people of Latvia taking up the mantle of leadership and specifically the youth. I can't wait to tell you what happens!

I can do all things?

When I was young I took Philippians 4:13 as my verse: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Didn’t everyone?  But, I had no idea what it would really mean and I’m not sure I really believed that I could do all things.  Then, I ‘matured’ and started to believe I could do all things, but not in Christ’s strength.  Simply with my own marvelous personality and giftedness.  So, I came to Latvia and experienced the opposite – I couldn’t do anything in my own strength or with my own ingenuity.  I was completely humbled (and often humiliated.)  Now, I’m headed again toward taking this verse as my own.  Why?  Because I have experienced over and over again that God does give me strength and everything else that is needed for tasks that I think are impossible.  Do I think the process of humility is over?  Oh no, I expect I will be humbled many times in the days to come.  But, do I believe I can do all things through Christ?  Oh yes, much more than I ever believed before I came to Latvia.  It is a process of understanding my own weakness so that I can be strong with the power of God at work in me.  Am I proud? – only of what God is doing.  I know I’m only one ego step away from creating a disaster and I have to rely on God the whole way.  It’s a fun and adventurous place to be.  

I surrender

On Friday morning before I left to do the final things for our Assessment Conference, I felt the need to just sit and soak in a few moments with the Lord to prepare myself for what was coming. I had Phil Laeger’s CD in my player and went to “I Surrender”:

I surrender my life to Your blood
I surrender my name for Your glory
I surrender my heart to Your will
I surrender my dreams to the plans You have for me
Thank You for showing me the emptiness of all I held onto
I surrender it all,I surrender my everything for You.

I sat in my kitchen with my eyes closed and prayed that prayer. I had no idea what would happen this weekend, but I knew it would be demanding, exhausting and emotional. I was afraid I was going in with too much of my own agenda and so surrendered myself to whatever God wanted to do. Wow! He was faithful! First in a practical way, it all ran pretty smoothly and even when some things went wrong we remained calm. The leadership team couldn’t have been better – they were just what we needed. The translators did a fantastic job and were happy to be part of this exciting weekend. The delegates had a great time and we sensed today at the end of it that the Lord was doing some new and challenging thing in many of their lives. So, it’s over. In reality, it is only the beginning of a huge job which I cannot do in my own strength or with my own wisdom. But, seeing once again how God provides all that we need, I can be at peace (sort of) for the future. And tomorrow – I don’t have to set my alarm!

Newest Soldier in Latvia

Living in Riga

A few 'life in Riga' stories: Yesterday I went for an eye exam. The first requirement is to find an eye Dr. who speaks English. So, I did. She was great and we had no communication problems until she handed me a paper with lots of writing on it and said "Can you read this?" "No", I said "but it has nothing to do with my eyes - it's in Latvian!" Fortunately, she laughed but then didn't laugh as I actually tried to read it. Earlier that day I had my first Latvian class (level 1 1/2) which should be fun and maybe even helpful. There are five of us from around the world - Egypt, France, Japan, America and a Russian speaking Latvian. We all had different classes last spring so the poor teacher had a hard time trying to figure out what we know. We each have a different area of knowledge. Some know grammar (not me), some know vocabulary (I'm a bit better here) and others are somewhere in between (that would be me.) I didn't feel completely stupid in comparison to the rest. But, I have lost a lot of what I should know from my last class and need to do some studying. It seems to be a nice group and I like the teacher. So, what I learn may be limited by my brain, but just being with some people who aren't part of the Salvation Army will be refreshing.
Sunday evening I went to the opera and it was so good. I love Tchaikovsky and the orchestra was good. The harpist was amazing. The ballet was good too - I'm not a huge fan or expert, but they seemed to be high quality. Not perfect, but not amateurs either. I wouldn't mind going again. And it wasn't so bad being on my own. There were lots of tourists - mostly German speaking it seemed. So, I felt like I was the Latvian instead of a foreigner. One of the nicest things was that I met my friend, Jill during the intermission. She was in my first language class. We have been trying to get together but had no idea we would both be at the opera. So, that was a pleasant surprise. I had just been praying about connecting with her. I'm not sure I would call that a real answer to prayer but it was a blessing. As I was walking to the opera house a flock of noisy birds landed in the trees in the park. It hit me that the way they fly and chirp and filled the trees was a miracle of creation. It was a passing thought but I guess the idea of God as Creator was stuck in my mind. As I listened to the beautiful music and was amazed at the way the ballet dancers' bodies moved (mine doesn't do that!) I again thought what a miracle is creation - God didn't have to give us beautiful music or the ability to dance. He did that just for us and I believe to see in the beauty something of Himself. From nature to music to the miracle of our own bodies - God is trying to get us to see Him and fellowship with Him. I'm so thankful that I do have a relationship with Him and I know the Creator. That is amazing!
Sunday I was at Riga 2 for church because one of our candidates, Velta, was becoming a soldier (member) of the church that morning. Someday I'll tell you more about Velta, she is a miracle herself and the Lord is doing great and wonderful things in her life these days. Here we are - she's in her new uniform and I think she looks great! (trouble uploading photos - I'll try again later.)

My friend, Pam

I’m trying to work but honestly, my mind is somewhere else today. Here’s what I wrote in my journal last night:

Pam died yesterday. Lisa emailed me today. I was praying for Pam today and felt I didn’t need to pray so much for her but for Donna and her family and friends. I’m sure Pam was so tired and only wanted to be with Jesus. And now she is! Lisa says Donna’s OK – rejoicing. I’m so glad the Lord prepared her in that way. I’m weepy but think part of it is very selfish. I want to be home to share all of this with Oakbrook Terrace and THQ.

I had a lot of other things I wanted to post after yesterday. But, Pam is on my mind. I thank God for her life and her friendship. I’ve been listening to Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir this weekend and these words especially are what I pray Pam’s loved ones will experience:

Lord, I will lift up my eyes to the hills
Knowing my help is coming from You
Your peace You give me
In time of the storm

You are the source of my strength
You are the strength of my life
I lift my hands in total praise to You.
AMEN

Saturday in Riga

A view from above and a bit of the city

Salvation Army grid::blog

My turn - am I too late?

Weekend life

Last night I had Aivis, Sarah and Josh over for dinner, but we had it at their place!  Josh goes to bed early so it was easier to spend the evening there, but I wanted to fix dinner.  It was really fun. We didn’t do anything exciting, just eat and talk – 2 of my favorite things to do.  We tried to talk about things other than work, but I’m afraid we didn’t manage that very well.  Anyway, we had good conversation and listened to a Latvian Christian CD which I’m going to get – my first Latvian music purchase.  I definitely hope to have them over for dinner again!  Sarah has become a great encourager for me.  She and Aivis are such a blessing.
Thursday I sent out the prayer alert and what an amazing response I’ve had.  From Poland, Moscow, Indianapolis, Chicago, London and many other places I know that people are praying. And maybe the most precious assurance of prayer came last night as I was returning from Ilsters.  Miša met me in the stairway and told me that a few of them had been praying for the training program, but especially they were and would continue to pray for me.  He suggested I might find my home enchanted when I arrived (not sure what that meant but if it has anything to do with cleaning windows and dusting, I’d be really thrilled!)  I think the only other time I’ve felt such incredible prayer surrounding me was when my mom and dad died.  Those prayers carried me through a difficult time.  These prayers are going to bring us into something wonderful and exciting.  I keep thinking about Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, [21] to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. “  We are asking for God to do something really great, but the amazing thing is He can do even more than what we are asking and I have a feeling He is going to.  I don’t have any idea what that might be, but I pray that whatever it is, we will be sure to give Him the glory and that it will all be for His Kingdom’s sake.
Today was another of those perfect Saturdays. I slept in, went into Old Riga for a few hours and came home with no plans.  I read Harry Potter (Half Blood Prince) and listened to NPR online.  It’s fun to have that connection to home.  My excursion into the city was great, again.  I made a list of some of the ‘must see’ tourist sites and tried to get in a few.  I went to St. Peter’s church and took the lift to the top of the tower, which is supposed to be the highest church tower in Europe.  It was beautiful and I’ll try to download some pictures.  I also went to Doma church, which has the world’s (?) biggest organ.  Unfortunately it was being repaired and anyway, they charge an extra 2 lats to take pictures.  I’m hoping to go to an organ concert there this fall.  Speaking of Latvian cultural events, I’ve decided I need to do as much as possible before January because when training starts I really don’t know how much time or energy I will have to enjoy the city/country.  So, I stopped at the opera house and bought a ticket to see Swan Lake tomorrow.  I haven’t been to many ballets in my lifetime, but Latvia is supposed to have a great ballet company.  Riga is a very cultural city and there are always concerts, exhibits and something to celebrate.  I have been waiting to find someone to do all these things with but that hasn’t happened.  So I’m doing some on my own.  Later this fall Graeme, Zoe and I, with Sian of course, are going to take a long weekend out in the country.  That will be fun and we are exploring an area none of us have seen before, so that will make it even better.  I talked with Dace about going out again for a day.  We will head toward western Latvia because I haven’t seen anything that way.  This fall should be a real Latvian experience for me.