The deer farm on a beautiful spring day

white deer - not native Latvians
reindeer - also not native
Veronika & Nikolai with our favorite deer

I feed and pet the deer (I prefer animals from a distance)


This one shows off
Marina brought the bread
Marina & Dana greet wild boar

A full brain!

Wow! I've been on brain overload most of this week. It's been an exhausting, challenging and rewarding week. Sunday evening we hosted 7 cadets and Herve Cachelin from Switzerland overnight. It was fun to take them to Old Riga, talk about shared experiences of training and cadet life and have a good Lido meal. Monday was a holiday but I was up and taking them to the airport at 7:30. My intent was to work all day but I just couldn't. I crashed for the first half of the day. Later on I worked for several hours on a writing assignment for Barefoot Ministries (www.barefootministries.com). They are a left over connection from my TYS days and I love keeping that relationship even in a small way. Tuesday morning I was up early preparing for our Leaders' Day. I gave a presentation about calling and candidates. I've been reading a great book, "The Call" by Os Guiness. It's one of the books that's been on my 'to read someday' shelf and I thought it would be good help for my work with candidates here. It turns out to be a good refresher for me to as I look at what God is calling me to and where. My term is up next summer and I have to make a decision in the fall (or sooner) so I need some help. If you are trying to find out where God is leading you for the first time or the hundredth, this book might help. I'll put some quotes up later. After a long but good day with our leaders, I came home to study for Doctrine and Homiletics (preaching class.) Four hours of studying (which really wasn't enough but was all I could do) and then to sleep so I could teach for six hours on Wednesday. The teaching was tough. Lots of misunderstandings in Doctrine class but we got through it. Homiletics is hard because we are learning how to study the Bible inductively. Several of the methods are hard for me to explain and demonstrate because I don't understand Latvian grammar. It's fun but sometimes frustrating. I could use Linda Himes' help! By last night I was brain dead. All I could do was watch a movie and think about what else I should do. Today was another holiday (Latvia has a lot of Independence days) and I took it as one. I went with Veronika, Dana and their parents, Marina and Nikolai to a deer park in the country. Dana's friend's family owns and runs it. It was so nice. We walked and fed the deer. Then we sat in the sun and talked and relaxed. I needed a stress free, enjoyable day and that's what we had. I'll post pictures later. Much more I could tell about this week, but I need to sleep and you've probably read enough!

Blessings Great and Small

After my last 'poor me' posting, I decided I need to stop being so pitiful and look for the many blessings I know the Lord regularly provides me. Thanks to the comments from my 'East European' friends, I'm reminded that what I experience is not unique and some have it much harder than I. So, here goes:

First, see the update on MacKendy http://www.xanga.com/haitisteve This one story includes so many miracles and such a great testimony as to how the Church should work. I talked to Steve and Ketsia last night. I really miss them and plan to visit them in Haiti while I'm home this summer. I also talked to my sister Chris and her husband and daughter, Abbie. It was fun to feel like I was with the whole family for a few minutes.

Both morning prayers and the doctrine class were good. I used 1 john 4 in prayers. Of course, before I could share any lessons with the cadets, the Lord had a new one for me. When John talks about fear being removed by love, I was struck by the fact that love itself can be frightening. At least for me! Sometimes I hold back my love because I'm afraid of taking the risk of loving without knowing what the response or the long-term commitment might be. If it is God's love and not my own self-centered, weak and imperfect love, than I don't have to be afraid. He also provides the courage, strength and everything else I will need to love. A promise and a challenge.

Doctrine class was great. We talked about the various creation theories, the problem of evil and just started talking about how Satan came to be. I have a lot of studying to do before next week to keep up with the cadets' questions. Guna has to rest and be very careful until the baby arrives, so I'm on my own for the rest of the term. Keep praying for Guna. There are some serious concerns for her health and that could put the baby at risk.

Small group last night was different. Sarah kept apologizing for a random plan, but actually it was fun. I don't very often get to just sit around and talk about whatever comes to mind. Sarah gave a little direction and then we (especially Hanna and I) took off talking about whatever we wanted. I find I really miss the group when I can't be there.

Today I had lunch with Ieva. She's a great support and advisor. I especially appreciate her prayer support. I know she prays for me and our whole training program regularly and I believe that makes a difference. She also makes sure her corps people pray for us. Today she seemed especially concerned about me and I have to admit, I didn't mind that concern. Maybe I need to pursue more regular meetings with her and even a plan to pray together.

Yesterday, Graeme and I went electronics shopping. Someone from the states donated their tithe to the training center and with that we were able to buy a TV. The cadets will be able to watch the news and we will be able to use DVDs and videos for teaching. That is one of those unexpected blessings. I also treated myself thanks to some generous friends. (OK, shopping does make me feel better!) I've been using my laptop as an entertainment center which has limitations like not being able to work and watch a movie! I finally purchased a multi-region DVD player and little stereo system for my flat. Now I can borrow movies from my UK friends which greatly expands my movie watching options!

These are blessings both great and relatively insignificant, but all reminders of God's personal interest and His love.

What an adventure

Sometimes I want the Adventure to stop!

I’m fond of saying that life is an adventure and this is all part of it. But I have to admit that there are times when I would like to just live a normal life (as if I have any idea what that means.) This week is one of those weeks – not that anything terrible has happened – well, not much. But, I’m tired of still being in a state of newness and feeling ignorant more often than wise and feeling totally out of control. After the Thursday evening adventure, I stayed home on Friday hoping to get quite a lot done but honestly don’t know what I did. Saturday was a regional Day of Prayer. It was well attended and people were so glad to be together praying and worshipping. I missed most of it because I was responsible for hosting. It wasn’t hard and I’m sure I could have had more help, but I wanted the others to be able to be fully involved in the program. For some reason which seemed entirely reasonable at the time, I scheduled another trip to Daugavpils on Sunday. I have so few free days when I can observe the cadets there. So, I grabbed this one. However, apparently my brain ceased functioning sometime on Saturday, if not before. One of the girls who helps with translation and is a friend, Dana, was to go with me. I told her what time I’d pick her up and arrived nearly on time. It was a beautiful spring day and I was actually looking forward to time in the car with Dana and the view on the way. We were making good time, so I decided we’d stop for a drink and a little good Latvian bakery. That’s when I looked at a clock and realized I had made a big mistake. My math was incorrect and we left a whole hour later than we should have. No, the time didn’t change and I was perfectly aware of how long the trip would be. I simply subtracted 3 ½ from 11 (starting time of service) and came up with 8:30. No way would we get there even close to on time and the only reason for going that far twice in one week was to observe the cadets leading and speaking. We weren’t even going to spend any length of time talking with them afterward as they had something else to do. So, after banging my head several times we turned around and came home. I got home in time to get to Riga 1 for church, which was nice. Henrik preached about the spiritual discipline of ‘confession’. Afterward I went straight home and spent the evening grading papers. I accomplished a lot so felt OK about the change in plans. However, grading papers I think was the point of feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about my work here. The thing that struck me is that I really don’t know what the cadets are learning and especially what is sinking in and meaningful to them. All work has to be translated from Latvian or Russian and I can’t be absolutely certain of the translation (Solveiga is great but this was a lot of work for her.) I can’t be sure of the intent of their writing or even the originality of their thinking. Sometimes I feel like what we are teaching is the wrong thing or more precisely, not what they really need to know. But, I don’t know what the right thing is if this isn’t it. That’s when it hits me that ultimately their training is my responsibility. I know, I know, that’s way too much to put on myself and there are a lot of people here who support through teaching, translating, working on committees, etc. But, more than any other place I’ve been, I’m in this one on my own as far as ‘the buck stops here’. Some people like that kind of life. I’m more of a team player and I think this is the reason I’m so tired. Here’s my confession for today – I blew up at Solveiga and then poor Sarah who just happened to walk in, because Latvia has two holidays next week which I was unaware of. That means rearranging schedules and canceling classes so they have the days off. You would think I’d be rejoicing at the free time! No, I just thought about how little time we have to teach them all they need and now I’ve lost two days! If I heed Henrik’s sermon from Sunday, I will have to talk with Sarah and Solveiga tomorrow (see James 5).

Why write all of this? So I can sound totally pathetic? No, although it’s probably true. But, so that those of you who read this with the thought of praying for me will know how to pray. And feel free to give advice, admonish me or whatever else you think might help.

A couple more things to pray about: 1. I had an email at the end of the day about Guna, Riga 2 corps leader and my Doctrine co-teacher, she is pregnant and went to the hospital today with appendicitis. I don't have an update tonight. I had to crash study for her lesson tomorrow - man and depravity - no big deal! Pray for her and for the poor cadets who have to listen to me tomorrow. 2. I have morning prayers tomorrow and even at this late time (nearly 11pm) I'm not sure what to do. Part of that is because I've been studying doctrine most of the evening. The other reason is because I want to challenge the cadets on a problem that is effecting all of them and our atmosphere around the school. But, I'm not sure of the right way to do and when. It's a very big issue which needs to be addressed and I'm pretty sure I'm the one who needs to do it. I have an idea about how, but want to be careful I'm not manipulating them by using prayer time. Anyway, without more details, I'm asking for your prayer support.

Road trip

2 of our cadets are non-residential, living and working at the corps in Daugavpils which is about a 3 ½ hour drive east of Riga.  Yesterday Solveiga and I headed there to observe their ministry.  It was a beautiful spring day, the baby storks were poking their heads out of their nests and some even trying to fly.  I have to confess I’d never thought much about where storks live, but I guess I assumed they were tropical and lived near the water like pelicans (admittedly I’m not very zoologically minded).  But, really they live in Latvia at least during nesting time.  They make huge nests on top of utility poles all over the country.  It’s fascinating.  So, the drive to Daugavpils was great.  The meeting we went to was mostly geared to street people and many of them have serious drinking problems.  It was something to see them singing and praying together.  I am really burdened for this population, which is prevalent in every part of Latvia and pray that someday we will be able to open a rehabilitation center or recovery corps in Latvia.  I have a reputation of being loved by the old Latvian women, especially the Russian ones and it proved true again last night.  As soon as we got in the chapel an old woman (drunk, I suspect) started staring and talking.  I headed over to her and Solveiga said, ‘she says you are lovely!’  She grabbed my hand and kissed me and continued to watch us and smile through out the service.  All seemed to be going great as we headed back home until we got about 45 minutes out of Daugavpils and I was pulled over for speeding.  This is the second time I’ve been stopped by the Latvian police.  (25 years of driving in the US and I never got stopped.)  The young policeman came over and asked me (in Latvian) why I was speeding.  Here’s the rest of the conversation as I remember it. (apologies for mistranslation and perhaps exaggeration for effect)

“I don’t understand Latvian – only a little” (in Latvian)  
You speak Russian?
No, English.  (So he continues in Latvian which means Solveiga has to translate from this point.)
Here’s my registration.
Why is your insurance expired?
I didn’t know it was. (the truth and I did feel panicked but remained calm.)
Your license?...it’s American…you live in Latvia?
Yes, here’s my passport with residence permit. (another panic – I should have a Latvian license by now)
Why were you speeding?
I don’t know.
You’ll have to come to the police car. (Solveiga goes with me – there is another policeman in the car)
2nd man – here’s how fast you were going (shows speed gun).  Why were you speeding?
I didn’t know I was (actually I believe they added 10 klm, but how do you prove that?)
You will have to go to the police station in Riga – you know where that is?
No, but I’ll find it.
(disappointed look)You’ll have to pay 30-50 lats. They will decide.
OK
(disappointed look)Why don’t you have insurance?
Innocently – I have an insurance card in the car, can I get it?  
Smiling – Yes!
On my return with only an insurance card – frustrated they say, This is only for service. What are you going to do about this?
It’s a company car and I didn’t realize but I’ll take care of it tomorrow.
How will you get to Riga without insurance?
(pause…and I think, I’m calling Henrik!)
What are we going to do with you? IN ENGLISH!
(insert – this is the exact phrase used by the police who stopped me before – do they teach that at  the police academy?  In that case I thought I was paying for a ticket until he handed me back my documents and walked away with my 20 lats and I had no paper from him.)
All I can say is I will take care of it tomorrow.
Flip through my documents again – who do you work for?
Pestisanas armija
Flip through documents again and whispering to each other.  Where do you live?
It’s the same address as the company.
Hands me the wad of documents and says get it taken care of tomorrow.
When we got in the car Solveiga said, “I wanted to laugh because they were two country police trying to be tough!”  And we looked all through the documents – no ticket.  In fact, they didn’t write one thing down!  So, I came out of that without a ticket and having paid no extra amount to the local police!  

Pray for MacKendy

Today my brother, Steve and his wife, Ketsia are in the US with MacKendy, one of the young men from their home in Haiti as he is having serious eye surgery. This is a real miracle of God's grace. To get more information and to help you know how to pray for them, you can read the story at Steve's xanga site: http://www.xanga.com/haitisteve

Did I tell you I love London!

Holiday in London

Last week I had a few days off that happened to coincide with my friend, Cathy's business trip to London. So, of course, off I went. Thanks to her work who put her (and me) up in a very nice and perfectly located hotel on the Thames! We had a wonderful weekend of walking, shopping, talking, and eating. I added on a day to meet with some staff from the UK training school. That was great and will prove very helpful for our program here. Here are a few pictures and commentary about our explorations.

View from the hotel!
Cathy and her bag
Palm Sunday procession with the Chalk Farm Band and a stubborn mule to St. Martin's in the Field Church


The only ones on the bus tour, in the rain

We saw "Movin' Out" by Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp - fun!Spring time in Hyde Park - smell the flowers?!

GOOD Friday

The word for today in Latvian translates as "Great Friday". Someone asked me why we would call it 'Good'? Here's my reading for today which I think answers that question:

The purpose of God in the history of man was accomplished when Jesus breathed his last upon the cross. The cry, "It is finished!" was not the mere gasp of a wornout life; it was not the cry of satisfaction with which a career of pain and sorrow is terminated; it was the deliberate utterance of a clear consciousness on the part of God's appointed Revealer that now all had been done that could be done to make God known to men and to identify him with men. God's purpose had ever been one and indivisible-declare to men in various ways, a hint here, a broad light there, now by a gleam of insight in the mind of a prophet, now by a deed of heroism in king or leader, through rude symbolic contrivances and through the tenderest of human affections and the highest human thoughts, God had been making men ever more and more sensible that his one purpose was to come closer and closer into fellowship with them, and to draw them into a perfect harmony with him. Forgiveness and deliverance from sin were provided for them, knowledge of God's law and will, thus they might learn to know and to serve him-all these were secured when Jesus cried, "It is finished!"

from Footsteps in the Path of Life by Marcus Dods (A Guide to Prayer, The Upper Room)

Design for Life report

Thanks so much for praying for us this weekend. I felt great support throughout our conference. While much of what happened is confidential, I can tell you that God was definitely speaking and speaking clearly to many people. Vision for the future was created, new dreams were inspired and plans confirmed, gifts were practiced and affirmed by the leaders and the delegates. The leadership team was great and worked together easily and without stress. When we needed to put some last minute plans together, most of us had similar ideas about what we needed to do and as those plans unfolded during a worship and prayer time, it was evident that it had been the Holy Spirit who gave us those plans. I had a really good time of fellowship and practicing my Latvian. Today I'm physically exhausted, but spiritually feel refreshed and filled with hope. Here are a few pictures of the fun times!

Dace's Getting Acquainted Games

1. Building a car (that's me on the ground in pink - I'm a wheel) 1st picture of Helen and Zoe, part of our English-speaking small group at the corps. 2nd picture - Hanna next to me is also in our group.


2. Quick! Do you know your neighbor's name?


Game of the weekend - Uno Attack! (Linda loved it!)

Church as Community

http://www.24-7prayer.com/cm/articles/748 Here's a great article from the 24-7 Prayer website about the value, in fact necessity for involvement in the fellowship of believers, also known as church.

Design for Life

In a few hours we will be going to Skangal for our Design for Life Weekend. We have 13 delegates who will be spending time listening, sharing and meditating on God's design for them. I'm part of the leadership team, which includes Sarah, Dace, Linda, Guna (Riga 2 corps leader), Ilona (R2 corps leadership team) and a translator. This is the first time we have joined together as a team and the first time we have done this program on our own. I'm feeling a little pressured because I haven't had adequate preparation time for my part. Last year this retreat resulted in several people making decisions for officership and other significant life choices. If you think of us anytime this weekend, would you pray for us?

And it's been a long time since I've had any comments here, I wouldn't mind hearing from you!

Field training in Seda, Drusti and Liepa

Last weekend was our first extended field training experience. 4 cadets, Solveiga and I drove through horrible Riga Friday afternoon traffic (with someone giving me directions for the quick, back route in Latvian - it wasn't quick and while I do know left and right - pa kresi, pa labi - I don't know many more Latvian driving words!) Finally, we were on our way to Skangal, where we were staying for this weekend of meetings in Liepa and it's two outposts, Seda and Drusti. Lieutenants Inga and Janis are the corps leaders and have been asking me since the day I met them, to come to their outposts. First, a bit about the trip. The cadets wanted to practice singing the worship songs they would use for the various meetings - 3 in Latvian and 2 in Russian. Singing wouldn't be at the top of their giftedness - yet! Solveiga and I listened and smiled, I pounded rhythms on the steering wheel until I finally had to stop the CD and give them a little voice lesson. The great thing is they listened and immediately improved! Wish that had worked for me at CMI. They really want to be able to sing well and to lead congregational singing. They try so hard. Here they are practicing that evening at Skangal (they practiced for hours until I told them 'enough!') We laughed and had a really nice bonding experience.

Saturday morning we were up for united breakfast. They don't understand those of us who aren't morning people and would rather be alone for the first hour of the day - so I had to pray for a joyful morning spirit! And again, we did have good fellowship. We set off for Seda on very bumpy back roads. I followed Inga and would never be able to return on my own. As we drove into Seda, it felt like a movie lot. All of the apartment buildings looked the same. Not the big Russian style, but 3-4 story yellow stone buildings. And the town felt empty. I felt darkness and sadness there. We went to one of those buildings and into a first floor flat which Pestisanas Armija uses for soup kitchen and weekly services. Anna (picture below) lives there and cares for the program. Inga and Janis do the services. There were about 20 people seated around 2 long tables. One mom with 3-4 teenage children and the rest mostly older people or people who looked old because of alcohol and a very hard life. But, they wanted to be there and not just for food. When the cadets sang the Russian songs, many of them tried to sing along and several were weeping. I wished I could have talked with them and prayed with them. Most of the people in this town came from Russia hoping for work, but there is no work in this village. So, they are stuck there with no hope and no future. The cadets are still very disturbed about what they saw and heard. Hopefully, they will get a vision for what can be done to provide hope and salvation in that town and the many, many more like it in Latvia.

After a hard 2 hour drive we arrived in Drusti. These outposts are not in suburbs of Liepa, the corps leaders make a real sacrifice to keep these going. Drusti is a much more hopeful place. The Army has an old building, which has possibilities if money could be found for repairs. And when we have more officer/leaders in Latvia, this could be come a full-time corps. The people are lively, bright and there are some who are committed to help. They just need a leader. Saturday was a long day and on the way back to Skangal, it was quiet. That morning I had read from Psalm 143 "Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning" and we had been singing all day in Latvian about God's mercy and love which is new every morning. It wasn't morning, but evening and God didn't speak audibly but he spoke visible through the most beautiful sunset and surrounding sky - the colors were bright and awesome. I could only thank God for the visible evidence of His love and faithfulness through his creation. An 'aha' moment for me. When we got to Skangal, all we could do was sit around a table and eat junk food. I brought Uno Attack hoping we could play, but that required too much energy! And the time was changing, so we had to get up an hour earlier. Fortunately, Sunday's drive was only 15 minutes. We had such a nice time with the Liepa corps people. The cadets led a great meeting and at the end many people came and prayed, some asking us to pray with them. After the morning service, the kids arrived for Sunday School. Since the cadets haven't had much experience with children, I took that assignment. We had fun acting out the story of David being chosen by Samuel and then meeting Goliath. Then we were on the road, after a quick lunch in Cesis, home for a quiet evening before classes on Monday! Thank God for His presence and His blessing!

The Faces of Liepa and Drusti

Sunday School in Liepa - telling the story of Samuel and David - these are 'David's brothers'
'David' and boys acting like sheep
Boys, boys, boys
Love this face!
Solveiga with Inga, corps leader
Anna runs the soup kitchen in Seda
Cadets with Janis, corps leader
Another face in Seda
This is a classic face (lady with scarf)
Solveiga with Davids, corps leaders' son

Turn your eyes to Jesus

We (the cadets and I) had a very eventful and fun weekend which I will tell you about later. But, of course, after we returned some crises came up which could easily overwhelm me. I was praying very emotionally as I got ready and on the way in to work today. Ilona, one of the Riga 2 corps leaders, led prayers this morning. She was right on and exactly what I needed. From Galations 3:5 - does God want us to work for Him or simply to believe in Him and He will do the work? (a simplified version based on limited understanding of Latvian) Then we sang this chorus:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in his wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace.

That's it! What I need to do today - simply look to Jesus and let Him work out the crisis in His way. I was then inspired to listen to the Hallelujah Prayer Chorus CD. I could listen to Pete McBride play the piano all day. But, today it wasn't the music, it was the simplicity and truth of these timeless songs. Especially this one:

He knows, he knows
The storms that would my way oppose;
He knows, he knows
And tempers every wind that blows.

Today I simply want to look into Jesus' face and trust Him.

Where's Aivis

Last week I went with Sarah and family to see Aivis dance. It was really fun. Here a few pictures, unfortunately nearly every time I snapped the camera someone danced in front of Aivis. But, you can see a bit of him and what the event was like - very Latvian!

www.theotherjournal.com

An amazing website which I've just started to explore. Be sure to look through the Creation section. And read this: http://www.theotherjournal.com/article.php?id=98

Words for today

Here are words from Philippians 3 for me today:

...the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord...I want to know Christ...I press on to make it (the goal) my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

www.thinkchristian.net

Here's an excellent discussion forum described as "Blogging about the intersection of faith and culture." It's the replacement for my once favorite magazine, 'regeneration quarterly'. The blog has just started up so not a lot of discussion yet, but the topics and subsequent articles are thought-provoking. Check out 'Can we save culture' - take the link to the full article.

Frightening words

As I have been reading Jeremiah, two phrases leapt out at me as the most frightening warnings given by the Lord.  War, disease, poverty, even death do not seem as terrible as these to me.  “I have taken away my peace from this people, says the Lord, my steadfast love and mercy.” (16:5b NRSV) and “I will show them my back, not my face…” (18:17b) God is removing His character from His people.  He is still there, an obvious Presence, but they cannot see or even feel His nature.  I can’t understand why anyone would choose to go their own way, when this is the end result.  God’s presence in my life, at work in and around me, is the most precious place to be.  So the question for me today is, “How can I make that truth clear to those who don’t know and how can I teach others to proclaim this powerful message?”

Thank God, it is not left to me but in fact, He continues to be at work in the world.  Chapter 18 is the vivid picture of the potter at work.  “The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him…Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.” (18:4, 6)  ‘God is busy molding, forming, pushing and pulling Israel into shape, just as a potter shapes clay.  God is not passive, but actively forming the community in unseen and unacknowledged but powerful ways.  Jeremiah’s words to the faithless but potentially faithful community are themselves an example of a creative, resourceful God at work.’ (The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible)  The answer is to join God in His work.  

Praise note:  The McDowells have a healthy grandson!  They will be home in June and get to see him.  And, I will be home in June (for a few weeks) and get to see him, too!

Saturday's Photos

Leadership Training



Happy Birthday Darta!

My friends need your prayer support

1. Tim and Evelyn Clark are US East officers living in Tartu, Estonia. They have experienced some very difficult days, due to a robbery in their home, probably done by some of their own youth group. You can imagine the difficulties that come with that - police reports, heart break over these kids and loss of some very special things.
2. Jim and Val McDowell are US Central officers in Kenya. They are dealing with horrible drought and famine in their country and trying to find ways to help relieve those needs. In the midst of that crisis, their oldest daughter, Chris, is right now in labor in the States with their first grandchild. It must be so hard for them to be on the other side of the world for this special event.

I read in Jeremiah today: Therefore thus says the Lord:
If you turn back, I will take you back and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth.
It is they who will turn to you, not you who will turn to them.
And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the Lord.
I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless. Jeremiah 15:19-21 (NRSV)

The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible comments: Though the going is hard for the prophet, God continues to demand great things from his servant of the word. Discipleship is not easy, not filled with rewards. People will fight against the truth. Yet the promise is reiterated; God shall not desert those who are faithful and love God's truth more than public praise.

an unordinary day

I hope this doesn’t become an ordinary day.  It wasn’t a bad one, just well…here’s what happened.  I got a call from the car dealer yesterday saying the missing part was in (what missing part, I think).  So, I brought my car in at 9:00 this morning.  Across from the dealer is the Spice mall and usually I would go over there for the time it takes to attend to the car. But they said it would be 2 hours, so I decided to take the bus/tram home and then have someone from the office take me back when the car was ready.  At 9:40 I was one stop from home and my phone rang.  “Your car is ready.”  Should I go to the office and see if someone can drive me back.  No, it will be easier to hop back on the tram to the bus stop and back out to the dealer (which is on the way to the airport –important later.)  Sounds easy, but I have never taken this bus out that way, only back into town.  I usually take the express bus.  It stops right in front of the car dealer.  So I realize I have no idea where to get on the bus.  It should be easy – on the other side of the road from where I got off.  Nope.  I walked around for 20 minutes (it’s now after 10:00) and finally found it, one minute after it left that stop.  The next one would be 30 minutes later.  So, I found a coffee shop and had a real cup of coffee, with caffeine and a sweet roll!   I got on the bus, heading the right way even and felt pretty good about knowing the right bus, etc.  It’s now 10:40.  I left the dealer at 9:00 and still haven’t accomplished anything but walking and riding.  I relaxed in the bus and thought it was all over.  This is not the express bus however and it takes some back roads.  I wasn’t sure where we were but I was sure that we would suddenly come out at the right place, until we came to one vaguely familiar stop.  In the distance I could see flags from a car dealer and thought, ‘maybe this bus doesn’t stop there.  I better get out and walk from the next stop.’  At that moment we turned on to the highway and headed to the airport exit – no bus stops for a very long time.  Still, I wasn’t panicked.  In fact, I was amused!  I thought I was so smart.  There is one stop halfway between the highway and the airport.  It’s in the middle of nowhere but across the road is the stop for the other direction.  I got out, once again pleased with myself for figuring this out.  Except, the bus stop was disserted.  I didn’t want to stand there and watch buses pass me by, so decided to walk.  It wasn’t that far to the dealer.  Well, first the road to the dealer is a highway.  You can’t walk on it!  Second, it is far!  I took a back road heading in the right direction and hoped that it would come out in some familiar place before it dead-ended.  My only other choice would be to walk all the way to the airport and get a bus headed in the right direction.  Oh, and yesterday I left my boots at the office so was walking on snowy, slushy, slippery roads in street shoes.  Eventually I did come out near the highway and saw another bus stop with the right bus number on it.  I had to wait 15 minutes, but it did come and I eventually (11:45) arrived at the dealer.  Quickly picked up my keys and headed to the office.  I never did find out what they replaced and at that point I didn’t care.  The thing I kept thinking was ‘this has nothing to do with Latvia.  It could happen anywhere in the world – especially to me!’  My friend Linda said, ‘you have never had a normal life had you?!’  It’s true.

This afternoon, Linda and I went to Iecava for their Home and Family meeting.  Linda to translate, me to do the program.  I decided to do a little presentation on my travels to Bible lands – Israel, Greece and Turkey.  It was really fun to look back at pictures and notes from those trips. God has really blessed me with incredible opportunities.  And I thank God for The Salvation Army who made them possible.  My program was pretty random but they seemed to enjoy it and even smile at my little ‘funny’ comments.  They are a group of mostly elderly ladies who are very sweet and make me feel special.  Linda and I had wonderful conversation on the way home.  Since training started I haven’t had a chance to talk with some of the young women from RHQ/Riga 1 much.  So, I was glad to have an hour or so with her.  We ended the evening with pizza.  Not an ordinary day at all, but a good story!

An ordinary weekend

Saturday was one of our quarterly Regional Leadership Development Days.  Early that day I was in the car headed to the training center.  I found myself singing “I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart. I will enter His courts with praise.”  I couldn’t figure out why and then remembered that BBC Radio has been running over and over again a piece about Burma, which included a report on the Christian church.  This is the song they played as they started that report.  My first reaction was “Oh no, another embarrassing Christian church story”.  But, it was not that at all and in a country where it is not easy to be a Christian, I had to think about how much those words must mean to them.  It led me to think about when this song was a big part of my life.  I was soldiering at the Chicago Temple corps, an urban, multicultural congregation and I loved it.  We sang this song often, with special emphasis on “OHHHHHH – He has made me glad, He has made me glad.”  For some reason that sent my mind to all the corps I’ve soldiered at while an officer – Oakbrook Terrace, Temple, Grand Rapids Fulton Heights and now, Riga 1.  Each has been such a blessing to me and the right place at the right time.  I have never been able to be an observer, even though not the corps officer.  I’ve always tried to be as supportive as possible and fill in where the need is and where I can, depending on my appointment and schedule.  But what I’ve given has never equaled what I’ve received.  During hard times, those corps became my family.  When I felt alone, they provided community.  When I needed to be challenged and held accountable, there was someone there to do it.  And most of all, when I needed love, it was given.  What an amazing blessing God has given me.  

After that rather long thought process, I was at the training center!  The seminar was taught by a guest and my role was food provider.  I hesitate to say cook because I wimped out with frozen pizzas and salad.  Unfortunately, that kept me from hearing the teaching most of the day.  The topic was ‘ministry in the work place’ and while there were only 9 people there, they were eager to learn and had good reasons for being there (except the cadets who were required!)  All of them seemed to enjoy the teaching and the fellowship.  I had been home for just a few minutes when my phone rang.  ‘Aren’t you coming to Darta’s birthday party’?  One of my small group (past) had her 18th party at the corps.  So, off I went for cake.  I only stayed a few minutes but it was fun.  I always enjoy being with those girls.  As I was leaving they were dressing Darta up and sending her out to the street to give candy to the passersby.  I hope she survived!  

Sunday was the first real field training day for the cadets.  They were entirely responsible for planning, leading and preaching.  We went to a little corps about 45 minutes outside Riga, Iecava.  They did a great job.  It is hard to believe that they have only been cadets for 2 months.  They were confident, sensitive and said good things.  I didn’t understand everything as I had no translator.  But, I understood a bit and I could read their expressions and motions.  (That’s something you could pray about – how to I effectively evaluate these experiences?) I was proud of them and thankful that these are the first cadets the Lord sent us.  It could be much harder!

I have a new addiction (no, not decaf coffee!)  My friend, Peggy Thomas, sent me the West Wing DVDs. All 5 seasons!  I have to keep myself from putting the DVD in the computer because once I start I can’t stop!  I love them.  They are definitely American and I guess I enjoy a little retreat to home once in a while.  I’m in the midst of the reelection campaign (for those of you who know exactly what I mean) and there is a lot of discussion about expectations.  Do you set the expectation high and then chance that you might miss it?  Or do you set it low and guarantee a win, but with little real satisfaction?  I’m battling that a bit here.  Are my expectations for this training program and myself too high or is it better to keep them high and take a bit of a risk?  It would be easy to lower the expectation and meet it, but will that train effective leaders for the future?  I’m just started on this thought so won’t write more now, but any reflection will be appreciated.  

Corps 393

A visit to this corps was one of the significant highlights during my time in Sweden last month. It was part of the training conference schedule and I have to admit that I wasn't expecting much. But, as soon as I walked into the building I knew something special happened there. I can't fully explain it. There was a sense of God at work and the Holy Spirit being very present, even though nothing was happening at the time. Mattias Nordenberg, the corps officer, gave us a presentation of the corps vision and mission and I was getting more and more excited about the incarnational ministry and passion for the community and the lost, especially youth, that is the heart of this corps. We took a tour and at every turn I sensed they had it right - a modern 'primative' Salvation Army corps. My friend, Lennart, who is on the Swedish training college staff, is also a very active part of the corps. Most of the time I was walking around in silence, not sure what I was feeling except something holy and special. But once in a while he would share a story or answer a question and my sense was confirmed that God is at work in that place. At the end of the evening I had a few moments of conversation with Mattias and Lennart which ended with an amazing time of prayer.

The website can't really explain what I experienced, especially since it is in Swedish. But, take a look at the pictures and please pray for this corps. Where God is so powerfully at work, pray for protection for the leaders and their families and strength for the challenges. As for what this means to me, I'm not sure. It's definitely the kind of urban ministry that I would love to be involved in, but that's for another time and another place. For now, I know my role is to pray for Mattias and the rest of the corps team.

http://kar393.se/news.php

In celebration of International Women's Day

Paintings by Sergejs. Flowers from men cadets.

Lunch

For those of you who like to pray for practical things – we need a cook or a good solution for providing lunches at the training center.  Last week we lost our cook.  This week we’ve been improvising.  One of the cadets, Velta, made a very nice lunch on Monday.  Wednesday was my turn and I purchased right from the excellent deli at the nearby grocery store – salads, meat, cheese and good Latvian bread.  I called it “Slinko Pusdienas” “Lazy Lunch”! (not guaranteeing I wrote that correctly) For today and tomorrow I gave them a few lats (Latvian currency) and said do what you want.  Next week we have to have a more permanent solution.  One of the options suggested by the cadets is to go to the little cafeteria across the road, which is actually for the tram depot employees but also open to the public.  It’s simple and cheap, and I think there is some good food and some maybe not so.  I don’t want to go, as I’d much rather have something light and then have a nice dinner.  That isn’t the Latvian way and I have to respect culture.  They have a hot meal, with salad and most often dessert and then a small supper.  So, today they wanted to try this little diner.  I was feeling kind of stubborn and at first said I wouldn’t go, but then thought “This is part of the adventure and you might be pleasantly surprised.”  I went.  It was OK.  Definitely cheap and hot, with several choices.  So, what’s my problem?  I’m not sure.  Here’s what I’m thinking: 1. Eating in a restaurant every day (no matter what kind) is not a good habit to get into. 2. The corps and institutions have all cut their budgets to support us.  It gives the appearance of extravagance, even though it might be cheaper than having our own cook.  3. The great fun and fellowship we have at lunch will be missed in this diner.   Not sure how to resolve this but it’s one of those pesky little things that seems to be weighing on me and making me very frustrated.  

What brings God joy?

So, this week I’ve been thinking as I drive to work, “What will bring joy to the Lord today?”  It was a moment of inspiration on Monday, as I was praying that I might be filled with joy.  It’s a fun exercise – you should try it!

Today I was sure the Lord would be joyful because 6 of His students would be digging into the Word, in the book of Hebrews.  And then I was stuck, so the Lord filled in the rest when I got to the training school.  I walked into prayers and was handed a card which said ‘Congratulations on this being International Women’s Day’! signed by the three men cadets.  And there was a big box of chocolates on the table – Latvian Laime chocolate.  (You need to come to Latvia to try it – mmmmm!)  I was sure that must have brought a smile to God’s face.  We sang in prayers and while we aren’t very good, we are enthusiastic.  One of the cadets got especially inspired today with his singing and made all of us smile.  Again, I think God probably laughed with joy!  After prayers each of us got a long-stemmed carnation and were told we had to go to the kitchen for coffee and chocolates, before class started.  A great way to start the day (no, I didn’t drink the coffee but I did get a bit of a caffeine fix from the chocolate!)  Do I think the Lord was happy about the coffee and chocolate?  No, but I’m sure there was joy in heaven because 9 of His servants, speaking 3 different languages were fellowshipping and laughing together.

The Hebrews class was taught by a pastor from the International Bible Church.  I sat in on a few minutes of the class.   I love the book of Hebrews and have taught and read it several times.  But, in just the little time I was in the class I learned something that was new (or previously ignored) by me and that brings new light to a familiar passage in chapter 12.  I won’t try to tell about it because it has to do with the poetic form the author used and I couldn’t explain it clearly.  But, it brought me joy!  Later in the day, the cadets were preparing for our Sunday ministry and they were trying to sing together and put some rhythm instruments in the mix.  I heard a tambourine and went flying out of my office (we don’t have those around here.)  It was an amusing sight, with little shakers and a tambourine and then me, trying to show them how to use it.  

One of our cadets is an artist and Solveiga and I have wanted a picture for our office.  Today he brought us three!  He paints beautiful landscapes and he had chosen pictures that matched our office color perfectly.  That gave us joy.  But the real joy moment was when we tried to hang the pictures.  Solveiga and I didn’t agree.  Sergejs, the artist, didn’t want to give his opinion but we could read his expressions and Arturs was walking around with a hammer and threatening to hang them in very strange places.  We were laughing the whole time. We finally hung them and they add such a nice touch which will often bring us joy.

So, what brought God joy today?  I think it was the community of people who live and work in our building, sharing joy with each other and growing in our knowledge of God and His Word.  Wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Here are some words from Jeremiah to me this week:

Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord. 9:23-24 NRSV  What an amazing verse!

The shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord 10:21a NRSV  (Evie’s note – I’ve been placed as a shepherd for the cadets and I do not want to be stupid!)

This looks interesting

Wish I could go to Seattle for this conference. Will someone go for me?!
www.thechurchhasleftthebuilding.org

The answer

Sarah used these verses today in her sermon.  They are the answer to my final question from my last blog entry.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.  "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:8-11

caffeine and answers

I decided to give up caffeinated coffee this week.  Not really for Lent, more because I’m middle-aged (ugh!) and wonder if it will make any difference.  Surprisingly, I haven’t had one headache and I’m feeling normal.  The only thing I’ve noticed is I am a little touchy, but there could be any number of reasons for that.  Also, by the end of the day I’m out of energy.  Again, there could be reasons for that.  I should mention that I received a very nice Christmas gift from my friend Marylou in Chicago – a large quantity of Starbucks’ decaf.  That has made this decision much easier!  So, anyone with experiencing in going decaf, does it make any positive difference?  Because once the Starbucks is gone, my choices from Latvia are limited.

Today was the first real test.  I went with Henrik and Misha (translator) to visit our non-residential cadets in Daugavpils.  It’s a four hour drive and a highlight of the trip is the coffee shop about half-way there.  I was doing the driving there and after 2 hours of snowy, slushy roads I was ready for coffee.  I nearly caved, but instead had peppermint tea – not the same!  And to make it worse, we stopped there on the way home too.  Mineral water this time.  But, I survived.

About our visit.  We met with the cadets and their corps leader.  It was a very productive meeting.  These cadets are delightful and determined to do this training well.  It was another one of those moments for me, when I felt inadequate to do all that should be done here.  Not only inadequate because of language, but more because I just can’t do it all on my own.  I should be visiting them once or twice a month, but when I looked at my calendar I didn’t see one Sunday when I could get there before June.  It’s not a problem that I can easily fix and no matter how much harder I might work, I cannot be in two places at once (I know that comes as no surprise to you, but it would really help me.)  There are many other things I should be doing to make their training program the most effective.  Of course, that’s true of the whole program.  Honestly, the more I get into it the more I’m aware of what I should be doing.  I don’t mean to be complaining.  There is plenty to be joyful about and I’m having fun.  It’s just something you can pray about – the solution is beyond me.  Because I do realize that, I’m still feeling peaceful – just seeking some answers.  Anyone have one?