I've started to write my official Christmas experience blog several times, but each time I thought "I'll wait until the next event is done and then write about them all." Finally, I am at the end of all Christmas events and if I don't write today, I'll have to include New Year's and this will be an eternal posting. So, grab a cup of coffee and/or some chocolate and sit down for a long read about my 3rd Christmas in Latvia. (I'll post pictures later for those of you who would rather see my story than read it!)

This has been a season of contrasts for me, some quite extreme and others more subtle. Let me try to explain:

Contrasts in music - I attended several concerts and musical events, all very different:

Bach's Christmas Oratorio (in German) - performed in the Riga Dome Church, which is a beautiful setting. I am not that familiar with this work, but loved some of the heavenly music that rang through the domed interior of the church

The Nutcracker Ballet - at the Latvian Opera house, another beautiful setting. The orchestra was excellent, the dancers very good and it's such a fun story. I did sit in the cheap seats which are a great view but I was among many young kids who couldn't sit still. But still, a very nice Christmas experience. I can imagine The Nutcracker becoming one of my Christmas traditions.

Handel's Messiah - for the 3rd year I attended this beautiful concert, again in the Riga Dome Church. This time I paid a couple of lats more and had a wonderful seat where I could watch the very lively conductor and all of the soloists. This was the best of the 3 performances I've heard. I've even decided I like the male alto soloist - he's really good and fun to watch. The soprano was so into the music - either she was a good performer or really believed it when she sang "Rejoice, rejoice greatly!" Whenever I hear this (which I believe is my favorite musical work of all time) I am struck by a particular phrase or idea. This year I often felt as if I was getting a taste of heaven, especially when the chorus sang "Glory to God in the Highest" and "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace!" Someone in our small group has expressed some negativity about heaven being filled with singing and music. (I won't mention who that was, but she doesn't think of herself as a singer.) I can't imagine heaven without music - it does lift my soul right to God.

Harlem Gospel Choir - and finally something totally different, last night I went for the 2nd year to this concert. Only I actually went with people (!) this time - Ieva, Ilona and Janis, Velta and we met Linda and Vita in the row behind us. It was fun to be with a group. I thought the concert was not quite as good as last year, but maybe I wasn't in such great need of it this year. The moment for me came as one of the group sang beautifully and sweetly, 'O Holy Night'. I felt like I needed to do something physically in response when she sang 'Fall on your knees'. Just so you know I didn't embarrass anyone by doing that, I just felt it in my heart!

Contrasts of food - it wouldn't be Christmas and it wouldn't be Latvia without lots of food. Where do I start?

I had 2-3 traditional Latvian meals: ham or cutlet with kaposti and potatoes. Once at Riga 2, once in Seda (story later) and one more time which I can't recall! Every time I am served kaposti (homemade sourkraut) someone asks if I've ever had it before. You would think that they would realize that I've lived here for 2 1/2 years and can't count how many times I've had it. The next question "Do you like it?" You would think the heaping portion on my plate would answer that - I love it! And finally (really, every time this same thing happens!) - "Do you eat anything like this in America?" And always the answer is yes, in fact my mother really liked sourkraut and we had it quite often. They are always amazed at that answer. I wonder how many years I would have to live here before they stopped asking those questions?!

On Christmas Day I was with Graeme, Zoe and Sian. They fixed a traditional English roasted dinner - chicken, potatoes, veggies, with gravy and Christmas pudding - which was also very good. The next day (Boxing Day for those of you who celebrate that) I had Smiths and Ilsters over for a traditional American brunch - egg bake and french toast. And because I had the urge to make it, we also had salsa and chips (traditional Merritt family Christmas menu item!)

And throughout the season there has been chocolate and a very nice gift of Starbuck's coffee from Michelle and Carol at home.

Contrasts of people and fellowship - This theme perhaps struck me the most and has been running through my mind and heart this season.

At all of those concerts I saw hundreds of people dressed up in their Christmas finest, spending time with family, enjoying culture and the holiday. But, except for the Harlem Gospel Choir, I was on my own in all of those settings. It wasn't unpleasant, but my situation was a contrast to most of those around me. Perhaps my experience was also unique or uncommon as I sensed the true meaning of the season - the celebration of the coming of Christ to earth.

There were a lot of joyful people around me this season, too. I spent Christmas Eve with the Riga 2 corps, as well as had dinner with them on the 26th. They have a great fellowship and I love being with them. Their children's Christmas program was excellent and fun. But even there, we had 2 people come in who sat on their own because of the smell coming from them and because of their unusual behavior. A real contrast.

Our small group went bowling for our Christmas party. A little bragging, we played a pre-game game of pool and I put 3 balls in the pocket in a row. Hanna and I still lost to Stuart and Cai, but just barely and I was amazed that I remembered how to play after so many years (I don't even remember the last time I played pool) And...I actually did OK after several gutter balls, making 3 strikes in a row. Sarah put a team together which maybe included the least capable (me) and maybe least competitive of us (no offense to the other team!) which meant we had lots of fun. But, both Aivis and I surprised ourselves by doing better than expected. It was a really nice evening, with great fellowship.

Finally, Dana and I went out to visit the cadets who spent the month of December with the Liepa corps and it's outposts - Drusti and Seda. I think I've talked about Seda before. It is a depressed town, with very little opportunity for employment and most of the people look empty and hopeless. Sergejs lived in the little flat there and visited with the people every day. He provided some hope and fellowship for them. But, I was struck by the extreme neediness of this town and it's people - physically, socially and especially spiritually. This was such a contrast to the rest of my Christmas experience and was disturbing - what can we do to reach these and so many people in similar circumstances? They even contrasted with the cadets, especially Ilona, who continues to be full of joy and enthusiasm for the work she's called to and for all she is learning in training. Sarah called people like her 'soakies' - eager to soak in everything that they can and excited about it all. What a joy she is to me and the rest of us! And it seems the next session of cadets will have one or two similar people - the Lord is good! But, Ilona was struck also and disturbed by the neediness she saw as she served in Liepa and it's surrounding communities. There is one particular area which is so deprived - no water, no electricity and no hope. Again we ask, what can we do to reach these people and lift them up?

Contrasts in the 'spirit of Christmas' - This Christmas I have been impressed over and over again with the truth of Christ coming to earth for us. I frequently thought about this verse "I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly!" John 10. Whatever life brings me I know that there is something more available - more abundance of the life of God in me. Contrast that with this ad from one of our shopping centers who played the Marilyn Monroe version of 'Happy Birthday' but ended it not with 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President' but 'Happy Birthday, Mr. Jesus!' What do you think about that? I've gone from offended (realizing what the rumors were about Marilyn and Mr. President) to shrugging my shoulders to thinking 'at least they know it's about Jesus'.

While you are coming down off of your sugar and other carbs from Christmas - remember the true meaning - life abundant in Jesus!

Something for Christmas

This article needs no explanation:

http://www.thinkchristian.net/?p=1007

Need some new and fun Christmas tunes? Check this out:

http://www.saytunes.com/saytunes/saytunes.nsf/fm_home - download "The Singing Company Christmas Musical" - from the same group that brought you the Red Book Sessions! Or check out their website: http://www.thesingingcompany.com/christmas/index.html

Mark's visit and vacation

Old Riga buildings and tourists!


The castle is where we heard Vivaldi


Art Nouveau Riga

It's been a very busy few weeks. I can't begin to catch up on all of it. I have read some great things that I want to share but I'll do that later. Last week we had a really amazing time in our small group, studying John 17, one of my favorites. On Sunday I visited the cadets in Riga 2 and Bauska, Velta and Arturs. Both of them are having a great time and I think learning some good things, as well. This week I've been on vacation, here in Riga. Mark Bender came for a couple days before he joined the mission team in Germany. We had a lot of fun seeing as much of Riga as we could in 2 days - very rainy, wet and windy days. We also had some great conversations, mostly me talking about my life and Mark patiently listening. And of course, we tried out lots of coffee shops and restaurants - what would a visit to Riga be without food?! My favorite part of those days was exploring the Art Nouveau architecture. (See pictures above) We also went to hear the Riga chamber orchestra play Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It was beautiful. Now I'm being very lazy and watching lots of movies. Tonight I went with Larssons and Smiths to the anglican church for the English Carol Sing. That was fun, too. We sang slower than I've ever sung the carols and verses I'd never heard of with phrases like

"Christian children all must be Mild, obedient, good as he."

"Hither page and stand by me if thou knowst it telling
Yonder peasant, who is he, where and what his dwelling?
Sire, he lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain,
Right against the forest fence, by Saint Agnes' fountain."

This season I seem to be focused on the word "Glory" and was glad to sing

"Sing choirs of angels, Sing in exultation
Sing all ye citizens of heaven above:
Glory to God In the highest.
O Come Let Us Adore Him, Christ the Lord!"

For those of you who want to keep up with the younger generation (younger than me!) BBC World Radio has done a great week of programming about teens all over the world. Check it out at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/world/2006/generation_next/default.stm

And for a little fun try this and donate some money to The Salvation Army Christmas Appeal:
www.popularfront.com/snowdays/

An update

Besides the youth camp in Estonia, life has been moving very quickly here in Latvia. Last week our new territorial leaders came to visit. Vic and Ros Poke and Kristine Frisk - I helped to host them, which included in one afternoon and evening coffee and conversation at the training center, dinner at Big Lido (of course) and at the conclusion of that we drove them to Leontines' Children's Home. We were stuck in terrible traffic and I was responsible to get us there, which was a little problem as I'd only taken public transportation there - never driven. After a couple of redirects we arrived and of course were given coffee and sweets. So basically their first day was spent eating. The next day they met with our leaders and then in the evening was the welcome and installation for the Larssons. It was a really good day but exhausting. I got to bed around 11 p.m. and had to get up at 4:30 a.m.! I met our guests at their hotel and took them via taxi to the airport where they headed for Stockholm and me to Estonia at 7:30. Fortunately there is a very nice coffee shop at the airport which we all gratefully took advantage of. I think these leaders are going to be good for Sweden and Latvia. I enjoyed the few hours we spent together.

When I got home from Estonia, we were on holiday here because of the NATO summit. They closed the city of Riga which meant our 5000 guests saw a dead city. I'm not sure that was the wisest thing but most people were probably happy for the days off. The down side - some have to work on Saturday, including RHQ. So, I had 2 quiet days with some nice fellowship added: Dinner with Chris Larsson, a walk to Coffee Nation with Smiths (I had to have some pecan pie to replace my missing Thanksgiving dinner) and a concert at the Opera House with Dana and a friend. The concert was great - a Latvian violinist and an Argentinian pianist. The played Schumann and Bartok and I confirmed 2 things about myself. 1. I'm not the biggest fan of violin, but with a piano I can enjoy it. 2. I'm not a great fan of modern classical music - I prefer Schumann to Bartok, especially if it's a choice of a piano solo or a violin solo. But, just to sit in that beautiful concert hall and listen to exceptional musicians and beautiful (most of it) music for a couple of hours was so peaceful and renewing. Just what I needed.

Here are a few unofficial pictures of the leaders' visit and Larssons' welcome. The 'official' ones will be published somewhere else if I ever get around to writing an article. (click on photos for better view)

Andrejs and Olesja got the giggles and we added a new member to the worship team (Vic Poke, new TC on drums)

Dace, in uniform and a little bored! (sorry Dace I couldn't resist)

Ilona and Sarah laughing as they plan worship (!?) and Ilona getting dressed with Janis' help. (Those crazy pins!)

Coffee and getting acquainted with the cadets and Dana

We found Ieva busy in the kitchen

http://www.phillaeger.com/blog.html

Phil Laeger has a new recording available for downloading at his website. It's really amazing, beautiful and you will be blessed. And it's free! Thanks, Phil!

Estonian youth camp

Last weekend I went to Tallinn, Estonia to help lead their youth camp. There were 13 very typically fun and energetic kids there. It was a flashback to my DYS/TYS days and I had a good time. Although, I was reminded that I'm getting old! I enjoyed the fellowship with the other officers and some time to myself and away from the stresses of training work. Here are some pictures from the camp.


House used for camp - very nice.

House behind the camp house and the Baltic Sea just a short walk away.


Fun and crazy kids

Anya Hendersen and Evie trying to play a silly game.

Thanksgiving Day - what I'm thankful for?

Well, I leave in 6 1/2 hours to fly to Tallinn Estonia for youth camp. I'm thankful that I have the resources to fly because even though the bus is cheap, I'm too tired to deal with that. I'm thankful for the many, many special friends I have here in Latvia and around the world. I'm thankful for my family who I know love me and pray for me, even though I haven't heard from them today (poor me!) Most of all, I'm thankful that I live every day in the presence of God. I can't imagine life without Him.

Day 3 of 'what I am thankful for'

What is it that I am thankful for today? Cadets who are happy, learning and know what the goal is. New leaders in Latvia and Sweden who are encouraging and supportive. (at least that's how I feel after a just few hours with the new leaders from Sweden.) Wisdom beyond my own understanding for so many subjects, questions and situations that come up every day. God, who provides peace, comfort and joy no matter what the circumstances. You!

Since this is Thanksgiving week and I won't be celebrating (well, we have our new regional commanders' welcome but it won't be Thanksgiving), I decided to write every day this week and talk about something I'm thankful for. Of course, I'm already one day behind! So, today 2 things:
1. I am so thankful for God's word and that He continues to teach me new things through His Word and His people. 2 new ideas I had recently came as I listened to the cadets. As they were giving presentations on our doctrine about eternal things, each one of them mentioned an important truth about death. It was not God's original purpose for us. We were created to live forever with Him, but then sin came along. I got distracted for a bit and thought about Lazarus' death and that little verse "Jesus wept." I ocurred to me that maybe Jesus was weeping not just about Lazarus and his family but for all of us. He knew that death was not supposed to be part of life and he grieved for us. A question I can ask Him in Heaven! Then on Sunday at the Riga 2 corps we were thinking about coming together for worship and how special that was. Well, that's what I was thinking anyway and I also got distracted and began thinking about the Sabbath as God created it. I had been reading in both in Jeremiah and Mark that morning about the Sabbath, keeping it and keeping it for the right reasons and in the right ways, not as ritual. So, I thank God for the Sabbath. God knew that I (and all of us) would never find time to spend a day in worship and away from work unless He put it in the plan from the beginning. Thank God for Sundays!

2. Today I thank God for packages! I got 2 this week. One from the Winters with a really fun movie, Elizabethtown. I love it! The second today from THQ, really Kristin and Lisa, filled with mail, movies and thanksgiving gifts. Thank God for friends who send packages!

What are you thankful for?

Happy Day!

Happy Independence Day to Latvia and Happy Birthday to Sian! I just finished watching the 'big' fireworks display on TV (for Latvia not Sian...) I thought about going down to see them as it's close but didn't make a connection with anyone to walk with. It turns out they only lasted about 10 minutes. I could hear them both on TV and for real, but it's cloudy so I couldn't see them out my window. It's nothing like sitting on Claudia Rowland's boat in Lake Michigan on July 3rd! This afternoon was Sian's birthday party. She's 3 and as I have been to her 1st and 2nd birthday parties, I would say this was definitely the liveliest! There were 7 kids with parents and me. Lots of running, jumping and some crying, too. It was fun to be with everyone and especially with kids since I don't get to do that very often here. At one point I did wonder why we would put kids through the torture of watching some one else get all the presents?! I'm sure it teaches something but it's so hard both to be the one not getting to unwrap things and to be the one who gets them all! I'm sure there is a lesson for adults in there somewhere.

Yesterday was such a good day. I slept in and then ran a few errands in the morning. After lunch I made a big pot of tea, lit some candles, put on comfy clothes and sat down to read through all of the cadets' summer assignment homework. Yes, I know summer is long over but it takes a while to get all of that work translated and also, I was a little afraid to tackle it and find out how they really felt about their summer. I had nothing to worry about. Even when things didn't go as planned, they wrote about lessons learned and how they would respond in the future. They all had opportunities to teach, talk with individuals about Jesus and observe corps leadership close up. I was blessed over and over again as I read their reflections about those experiences. They are learning and growing! Later in the evening Chris and I went out towards the airport, with the eventual goal of picking up Goran. She wanted to know the way. On that road there happens to be a great mall, so we stopped there for dinner and planning to do a little shopping. We went to Ganbei, a combination Chinese/Japanese restaurant. It's a chain which we go to once in a while but this one is new to me and very fancy. I was so excited that they had hot and sour soup and when it came it really tasted like hot and sour soup! The service was not fast and we sat and talked for a long time, so that the mall was closed by the time we finished. We had to get our coffee at the airport. It was a nice time to get to know Chris a little better and have a good meal. (Restaurants and coffee shops seem to be a recurring theme lately.)

Just saw an ad for "My little Pony", but not so little and with a bottle included. It looks big and pink and scary to me. Please don't buy that for your children!

Zoe came to teach the cadets about Baby Song, known as Little Sparrows in Latvia.




'at work' on a baby craft (anybody want to donate some uniform sweaters?)
the final product

We had 2 days of snow. It's all gone now.
1. outside the training center 2. outside my flat


Larssons with the cadets for Spiritual Day

Olesja begins work as translator/secretary. She's doing great!

Busy days

wow! The days since I last posted anything about life in Latvia have been very full and exhausting. Some of them great and some of them I'd rather forget. I'll try to concentrate on the good days. The first Sunday in November was a Spiritual Day with the cadets. The Larssons were with us all day and we had a really good time. They both spoke in the morning, we went to lunch and then in the afternoon I asked the cadets to tell a little about themselves. As I listened I was so proud of them. Each of them spoke confidently, honestly and maturely. They have all grown in many ways and this was one evidence of that. Tuesday was the first leaders' day with the Larssons and again, it was a good day. For some reason I was feeling stressed - I think a little worried about how everyone would feel and thinking I was responsible to make it all right - of course, not my problem! And it was fine. I was also working out the details for the cadets' Christmas Assignments which seemed to fall apart in one moment and then came back together even better than I hoped in the next. Chris Larsson hadn't seen me stressed before so was not sure about me, but now she knows it happens and we all survived! That evening Johnny Kleman came from Sweden for a few days with us. We ate out a lot while he was here, which was great for a few days but eventually I just wanted to stay home and have a nice, simple meal. On Wednesday I told the cadets where they will be for their practical training in December. They all seemed OK, even excited, so that was a relief. And their corps officers are excited, too - that's really good! Here are their assignments, in case you want to pray for them:

Arturs - Bauska
Velta - Riga 2
Sergejs - Seda (an outpost of the Liepa corps which is Russian speaking)
Ilona - Liepa and Drusti outpost

While Johnny was here, he taught a seminar about the Salvationist and the Sacraments. A few leaders joined the cadets for this day. It was a tough day with translation. It took longer than Johnny expected so he didn't get to really spend time on the important issues. But, we have his notes and some other resources. When the cadets come back in January we will take it up again. We also had another meeting of the training program committee. It was excellent. I love this group and they were very expressive and helpful this time. Usually I talk most of the time, but I tried to get them to talk more and I think they did. I'm hoping to add Chris Larsson to this committee. We all went to lunch at my favorite (or one of them) restaurant which serves a variety of foreign foods, including Indian. I'm not a big curry fan, but they have good food here. If you come, I'll take you there! A couple of days this week also included coffee with Chris. We are getting quite accustomed to afternoon coffee breaks at various shops.

Saturday afternoon I watched Manuela (3+months) for Guna, as Andre was in the hospital. She wouldn't let me put her down for the first hour. I didn't really mind holding her and bouncing, I love babies! On Sunday I actually got to go to Riga 1 and was mobbed by the girls. They are so good for my ego! Sarah preached an excellent sermon from the book of Ruth. After church, I took Larssons to the Lido near us, the one I like the best.

Last week was a bit stressful with the cadets, worried about final homework projects and exams. A few times I felt like the last 10 months had been completely ineffective. This week it all went much better - the last week of the term! Tuesday in Homiletics we (Sarah and I) had the cadets give an Introduction and Illustration from a sermon. We videotaped them (only to find out later it didn't work). They weren't crazy about that or about evaluating themselves. But the truth is they all have improved, some a lot. None of them are bad preachers and a few will be really good as they continue to get experience and learn some additional methods. It was an encouraging morning for us and I think for them. Again I was encouraged on Wednesday morning as Guna and I listened to their presentations on the 11th Doctrine. On the whole, they were prepared, confident and intelligent. All good things!

In other areas of work, I've also been busy. I've been helping to plan the Larssons' welcome meeting for next Thursday - that was Monday's meeting. On Tuesday a few of us met with someone who is volunteering to help us in our work with the government. He also has a missiology degree from Fuller and so I'm very interested in talking with him about helping us by doing some teaching. Wednesday we had our first Strategy Force meeting with Larssons. It was good and I believe we wil continue to move in the right direction, especially with corps planting and development. And Thursday (today) Goran and I met with the pastor of the Intl. Bible Church and his mission supervisor. It was supposed to be a quick hello and coffee but was really good and inspiring, so went on for about an hour. They are very interested in supporting our church planting vision. And both of them are American so it was nice for me not to have to be so careful about my language. They understood me the first time! (this has been one of those weeks for failing to communicate - very frustrating.) So, lots happening - my 'to do' list just gets longer without time to cross anything off. And the cadets can't understand why I'm so excited about them leaving for a month!

Tried to post pictures but it didn't work. I'll try again later.

I think Gordon's MacDonald's article is the best response to the recent disappointment (a weak word) within the American Christian community. I couldn't add anything to his excellent teaching and counsel for all of us who are leaders and future leaders (even though our field of influence may be much smaller, we still need the same warning.)

http://www.christianitytoday.com/leaders/newsletter/2006/cln61106.html

Praying for all UK friends

Today is the day to pray for you! (I think you get more than one day - wonder why?)

http://www.gmi.org/ow/country/unki/overvw01.html

LTS. Steve and Ketsia Diaz

I'm so proud of my brother Steve and his wife Ketsia. I'm sitting with tears in my eyes as I share this (stolen right off of his xanga site!) They were officially recognized as Lieutenants at the congress in Haiti. It doesn't change anything really, but still it makes me proud of them, in case you didn't already know that! And in case you didn't catch it in any of my other postings, they run the Salvation Army children's home in Port au Prince, Haiti.

I love autumn 2 (still over!)

Mezotne Castle and grounds - see commentary in last posting.









Bauska corps: 1. corps officer Ruth with translator Ruta 2. this corps has more traditional programs. One of the things I like (really) is that we sing songbook songs. Here are the songsters singing while I hummed along!



And here's what was outside my window on Thursday morning, even more snow on Friday!