http://picasaweb.google.com/evieinlatvia/BeaAndWatsonsMarch07
I didn't tell you much about our visit with Stuart and Marjory Watson, except the singing! To get video clips of that you have to write me privately! We had a really wonderful time with the cadets. I had a great time personally with Stuart and Marjory, too. We had fun touring around Riga, trying lots of restauarants (some that I had never been to and now had someone to drag there.) Beatrice, a friend and cadet from Sweden joined us for a few days. Watsons stayed with Sarah and Aivis and it was fun to have Sarah and Josh with us on some of those days. We don't just hang out often enough. The cadets loved and were challenged by Stuart's teaching. They loved Marjory, too - her teaching and her humor! We miss them and hope they will come back to Riga sometime!
The pictures come from Watsons, Beatrice and me. Enjoy!
and can anyone tell me why I can't get Picasa web albums to link properly?
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
About our Partners in Mission - Ghana
My friends, Dennis and Sharon Strissel have just gone to lead the Salvation Army work in Ghana. Since we in Latvia (and Sweden) are their Partner in Mission, I thought you might want to know what's happening there and how to pray for them.
Check out their blog: http://www.xanga.com/TSA_Spotlight_on_Ghana
Check out their blog: http://www.xanga.com/TSA_Spotlight_on_Ghana
Monday, March 19, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
These days are funny!
So, now that I've announced I'm leaving I have to admit that I occassionally get hit with a wave of sentimentalism. Last week was a rather difficult week and I was not feeling very sentimental! This week we have Stuart and Marjory Watson from the UK with us. Stuart is teaching an OT prophets course and Marjory is working with the cadets on their voices - she is a professional singer. We started yesterday with a Spiritual Day together. (Well, that's after I stuffed them with Lido food on Saturday evening!) The cadets responded so well to them and we had a great time with worship, teaching and fellowship. I also have had a guest from Sweden, Beatrice. She's a cadet and met us at our Northern Training Conference. She joined us on Sunday. It was one of those days when I felt very proud of our cadets. Not that they did anything special, but just because of who they are. Yesterday afternoon and evening Watsons, Bea and I walked around Riga and had a great time. Today the teaching started. First we had prayers together and for some reason I got a bit emotional, listening to Velta share and as the cadets were singing the worship songs. I know they don't have the most beautiful voices (sorry if any of you are reading this!) but, I thought today "I'm going to miss this sound!" I've grown used to our little 'choir'. During the Bible class, I didn't sit in but from the times I was observing, they were really challenged and eager to understand Stuart's teaching. I'm glad for them that they can have some deeper teaching than what I can provide.
But now the fun has begun! We discovered they were nervous about this 'music clinic', as I've dubbed it. They couldn't stop talking about it - but I also understood that they were excited. They know they can be helped by this, so they are very open. I'm not in there, as much as I'd like to be, because I don't want to make them nervous. But, of course I'm standing outside the door as much as possible! They are having a great time! Marjory is making it fun and they are responding well - all of them! I think they are very impressed that a professional has come to teach them. I know some training schools are too sophisticated for this kind of teaching (you know who you are!) For us, this is important - actually for all officers. We use our voices non-stop and whether we sing or speak, we need to know how to use them properly. There's my soap box for today!
But now the fun has begun! We discovered they were nervous about this 'music clinic', as I've dubbed it. They couldn't stop talking about it - but I also understood that they were excited. They know they can be helped by this, so they are very open. I'm not in there, as much as I'd like to be, because I don't want to make them nervous. But, of course I'm standing outside the door as much as possible! They are having a great time! Marjory is making it fun and they are responding well - all of them! I think they are very impressed that a professional has come to teach them. I know some training schools are too sophisticated for this kind of teaching (you know who you are!) For us, this is important - actually for all officers. We use our voices non-stop and whether we sing or speak, we need to know how to use them properly. There's my soap box for today!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
A bit of news
First, a couple of special sites to check out: see http://www.urbanarmy.blogspot.com/ to read a touching story of the Spirit's work through a woman named Hannah (hope you don't mind, Gordon!) And for some good music check out http://www.martymikles.com/ - Transmission has some new music you can listen to there.
Now about life in Latvia, well first of all a few days in the UK. It was great to meet my ICO friends, Helene and her husband Graham and Marion in Liverpool. It is hard to describe how special those relationships are unless you've experienced ICO. The closeness and intimate sharing that happens there naturally leads to a few special friendships. But for our session, I think we all became especially close and even seven years later I miss that fellowship. Unfortunately, Helene had to be at her corps when I arrive, but graciously Graham became my tour guide and we spent a few hours walking around Liverpool. Yes, I went to the Beatles store and then to the Caravan Club where it all started. I'll post a picture or two later. I liked Liverpool and wouldn't mind a few more days to explore it. I had dinner with Helene and Graham and a nice 'catching up' conversation. Of course, we couldn't talk about all 7 years but since we do occasionally email each other it wasn't necessary to share every detail. Then I was off to spend the night at Marion's home. We stayed up and caught up for a few hours, but as I was on Riga time, I finally had to get some sleep. Saturday started as a lovely spring day and we had a nice breakfast looking out on her green yard (I left Riga with dirty snow and rain.) Henrik and Lisbeth came and picked me up to spend the rest of my weekend with them in Manchester. It was so good to see them, check out their new home and see how much taller Lukas has grown just in 3 months or so! We started talking as soon as I got in the car and kept it up until I left Monday morning! It was good to hear how they are settling in to their new British life and especially, Army life. Of course, they miss Latvia but they have so much to offer the people in their division and already I heard the care and hopefulness for the work and people there as they talked. I talked, too, as you would expect! About everything and everyone I could think of here in Latvia. I also went with them to their new home corps, Sale. It is a nice corps and they will enjoy being part of the fellowship and life there, I think. Lukas has friends there (something about Liverpool versus Manchester?!) I have to admit I enjoyed both the band and songsters, as well as the worship team. You can do it all together! Saturday evening they took me out for a good English carvery meal - so good, but so much food. We were all stuffed after the main meal, but none of us refused dessert! Mine was treacle pudding with a whole lot of custard poured over it...delicious! But I could hardly walk out afterwards. Oh well, once in a while and with good friends it's OK to eat like a pig! My flight was at 6:00 on Monday morning which meant Henrik had to drive me at 3:45 a.m.! (He did the same for Ilsters just 2 weeks earlier.) BUT...somehow I made a huge and stupid mistake, which I didn't realize until I was checking in and was told by the lady at the desk "this ticket was for Sunday." Great. No more Riga flights out of the Liverpool airport until Wednesday at the earliest. But there was one from Manchester that afternoon. Back to Manchester on the bus, then a train to the airport arriving about 8:00. (oh, I did have a very large latte in Liverpool before I left.) I went straight to the Air Baltic/SAS desk and the woman, in her lovely British accent, told me she didn't work for Air Baltic until 12:00 so I would have to wait but she would try to help me at 11:00. I tried to be nice but a bit impatiently asked if she knew if there were seats available (I was thinking of going back to bed at Andersens!) She said 'yes, I have just been on the computer checking'. Hmmmm...why couldn't she go back on and sell me the ticket? So, 3 hours in a comfy airport chair with a book, orange juice, a chocolate chunk cookie and a bag of Maltesers. Back to get the ticket which cost me a whole lot of money (thankfully the first ticket was very cheap.) Then 2 1/2 more hours before the flight. I almost finished the book and I did finish the Maltesers! But, at least I got home and without too much hassle. Do these things happen to other people? The worst (or best) part is that I have no one to blame for the mix up except myself!
Today was our monthly Leaders' Day. I like to see everyone and have a few words together between meetings. Goran asked each center to give a brief overview of their program and talked about each property and the possible plans for each. It sounds boring, but actually was interesting and I think it is good for us to hear about each other. Also, we got a little history lesson about The Salvation Army in Latvia and how we got some of our properties. Oh and a bit of news was announced that might be interesting - this summer, after 3 years here, I'm returning to my home territory for an appointment there. It is too much to explain here but if you want to have a cup of coffee and a couple of hours, I can try to tell you how I came to this decision. It's not an easy one, but I do have peace about it. Now, there is a lot to do to get ready to leave - but first, we have 6 cadets to finish training and get commissioned! June 16-17, 2007 if any of you want to join us! And the big, wonderful news - we have 2 accepted candidates for the next session of training in Latvia! So, if you think of praying for us 1. pray that I will finish well 2. pray that the right person(s) will become the training officer(s) 3. pray that the transition will be smooth for the region, especially the new cadets.
Now about life in Latvia, well first of all a few days in the UK. It was great to meet my ICO friends, Helene and her husband Graham and Marion in Liverpool. It is hard to describe how special those relationships are unless you've experienced ICO. The closeness and intimate sharing that happens there naturally leads to a few special friendships. But for our session, I think we all became especially close and even seven years later I miss that fellowship. Unfortunately, Helene had to be at her corps when I arrive, but graciously Graham became my tour guide and we spent a few hours walking around Liverpool. Yes, I went to the Beatles store and then to the Caravan Club where it all started. I'll post a picture or two later. I liked Liverpool and wouldn't mind a few more days to explore it. I had dinner with Helene and Graham and a nice 'catching up' conversation. Of course, we couldn't talk about all 7 years but since we do occasionally email each other it wasn't necessary to share every detail. Then I was off to spend the night at Marion's home. We stayed up and caught up for a few hours, but as I was on Riga time, I finally had to get some sleep. Saturday started as a lovely spring day and we had a nice breakfast looking out on her green yard (I left Riga with dirty snow and rain.) Henrik and Lisbeth came and picked me up to spend the rest of my weekend with them in Manchester. It was so good to see them, check out their new home and see how much taller Lukas has grown just in 3 months or so! We started talking as soon as I got in the car and kept it up until I left Monday morning! It was good to hear how they are settling in to their new British life and especially, Army life. Of course, they miss Latvia but they have so much to offer the people in their division and already I heard the care and hopefulness for the work and people there as they talked. I talked, too, as you would expect! About everything and everyone I could think of here in Latvia. I also went with them to their new home corps, Sale. It is a nice corps and they will enjoy being part of the fellowship and life there, I think. Lukas has friends there (something about Liverpool versus Manchester?!) I have to admit I enjoyed both the band and songsters, as well as the worship team. You can do it all together! Saturday evening they took me out for a good English carvery meal - so good, but so much food. We were all stuffed after the main meal, but none of us refused dessert! Mine was treacle pudding with a whole lot of custard poured over it...delicious! But I could hardly walk out afterwards. Oh well, once in a while and with good friends it's OK to eat like a pig! My flight was at 6:00 on Monday morning which meant Henrik had to drive me at 3:45 a.m.! (He did the same for Ilsters just 2 weeks earlier.) BUT...somehow I made a huge and stupid mistake, which I didn't realize until I was checking in and was told by the lady at the desk "this ticket was for Sunday." Great. No more Riga flights out of the Liverpool airport until Wednesday at the earliest. But there was one from Manchester that afternoon. Back to Manchester on the bus, then a train to the airport arriving about 8:00. (oh, I did have a very large latte in Liverpool before I left.) I went straight to the Air Baltic/SAS desk and the woman, in her lovely British accent, told me she didn't work for Air Baltic until 12:00 so I would have to wait but she would try to help me at 11:00. I tried to be nice but a bit impatiently asked if she knew if there were seats available (I was thinking of going back to bed at Andersens!) She said 'yes, I have just been on the computer checking'. Hmmmm...why couldn't she go back on and sell me the ticket? So, 3 hours in a comfy airport chair with a book, orange juice, a chocolate chunk cookie and a bag of Maltesers. Back to get the ticket which cost me a whole lot of money (thankfully the first ticket was very cheap.) Then 2 1/2 more hours before the flight. I almost finished the book and I did finish the Maltesers! But, at least I got home and without too much hassle. Do these things happen to other people? The worst (or best) part is that I have no one to blame for the mix up except myself!
Today was our monthly Leaders' Day. I like to see everyone and have a few words together between meetings. Goran asked each center to give a brief overview of their program and talked about each property and the possible plans for each. It sounds boring, but actually was interesting and I think it is good for us to hear about each other. Also, we got a little history lesson about The Salvation Army in Latvia and how we got some of our properties. Oh and a bit of news was announced that might be interesting - this summer, after 3 years here, I'm returning to my home territory for an appointment there. It is too much to explain here but if you want to have a cup of coffee and a couple of hours, I can try to tell you how I came to this decision. It's not an easy one, but I do have peace about it. Now, there is a lot to do to get ready to leave - but first, we have 6 cadets to finish training and get commissioned! June 16-17, 2007 if any of you want to join us! And the big, wonderful news - we have 2 accepted candidates for the next session of training in Latvia! So, if you think of praying for us 1. pray that I will finish well 2. pray that the right person(s) will become the training officer(s) 3. pray that the transition will be smooth for the region, especially the new cadets.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Sorry I left you in the middle of Assessment Conference. We made it through the day with plenty to eat and for me, relatively little stress. It is such a blessing to be able to sit and just listen as the delegates tell their stories. I am constantly amazed at the many 'miracle' lives we have in Latvia. We followed the Assessment Conference with Candidates' Board, which is the official group who decides on accepting candidates for officership. This went really well. I can't give you details, but the dialogue was great. The process worked well and I believe we were sensitive to God's leading. I'll report on the results later.
The cadets reportedly had a great time in Lithuania. I haven't had a chance to talk with them and now they are free for the weekend. But, rumors are that they enjoyed their trip. The translator in Lithuania said the same thing from their side. That is a real answer to prayer. I can't wait to hear their stories next week.
Today Chris and I drove to Daugavpils to visit the corps leaders, Guna and Andre Van der Leij. They are helping with the training for our cadets there, as I have not been able to give them the attention they deserve. We had a good afternoon of conversation and planning. And I got to see Manuela who is so big and has changed dramatically since I saw her in December. She still has a big smile! The drive home was not fun. It was foggy and getting dark, so very hard to see on the narrow roads which have lots of pot holes and with lots of trucks coming towards us. I held on tightly to the steering wheel and we made it home just fine. I was really tired when I got home and needed to pack because tomorrow morning I'm going away for the weekend. Yippee! I got a cheap Ryan Air flight to Liverpool, UK and will visit 2 ICO friends and then go over to Manchester to see Andersens for a couple of days. I guess you could call that my spring break. Just checked the weather and it's supposed to rain every day. I don't care - I'm just looking forward to 3 stress-free days. I'm taking a book to read and some papers to grade (I know, that's work but I can never get it done here.) Otherwise, no computer and no studying!
The cadets reportedly had a great time in Lithuania. I haven't had a chance to talk with them and now they are free for the weekend. But, rumors are that they enjoyed their trip. The translator in Lithuania said the same thing from their side. That is a real answer to prayer. I can't wait to hear their stories next week.
Today Chris and I drove to Daugavpils to visit the corps leaders, Guna and Andre Van der Leij. They are helping with the training for our cadets there, as I have not been able to give them the attention they deserve. We had a good afternoon of conversation and planning. And I got to see Manuela who is so big and has changed dramatically since I saw her in December. She still has a big smile! The drive home was not fun. It was foggy and getting dark, so very hard to see on the narrow roads which have lots of pot holes and with lots of trucks coming towards us. I held on tightly to the steering wheel and we made it home just fine. I was really tired when I got home and needed to pack because tomorrow morning I'm going away for the weekend. Yippee! I got a cheap Ryan Air flight to Liverpool, UK and will visit 2 ICO friends and then go over to Manchester to see Andersens for a couple of days. I guess you could call that my spring break. Just checked the weather and it's supposed to rain every day. I don't care - I'm just looking forward to 3 stress-free days. I'm taking a book to read and some papers to grade (I know, that's work but I can never get it done here.) Otherwise, no computer and no studying!
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