About being home

I’ve been home  (USA home) for about 2 ½ weeks now.  I arrived the day before Commissioning weekend and after a quick lunch with the Jordans and a stop at my townhouse (provided by the territory) drove straight to the hotel (note to self and anyone else in a similar position: don’t go straight from another country to Commissioning!)  We were supposed to have the General but he cancelled and so the territory had to make a new plan, which included Commissioner Gaither and our territorial leaders. The Lord was definitely in the changes.  We started with Officers’ Councils which totally overwhelmed me when I walked into the auditorium.  Thankfully I quickly saw Mark and Carolee Israel, good friends from the South, and I attached myself to them for the day.  Of course, there were many people I wanted to see and talk with.  But, I wasn’t prepared for the small talk or seeing so many at once.  I came home this year because it is my 25th anniversary as an officer and the territory generously brought me back for the recognition/reunion.  We had our official dinner on Friday evening where I had to give the little speech.  Actually, it was fun to prepare for it.  I do love being an officer and don’t mind telling about how God is working in my life.  Maybe I’ll post my speech later.  The Friday evening program was excellent, focusing on missions.  The territory is so committed both financially and with personnel to serve the whole world.  It was inspiring to see the summer mission team dedication.  I already mentioned the Release Party that night but before we went to that, there was a surprise party for Pete McBride (50!!!!) – how fun to be home for that! Saturday we had our private session reunion. It was really fun to be with so many old friends, some I haven’t seen in years.  The evening program included a farewell for Barry and Sue Swanson, on their way to NHQ.  It was great – simple but genuine and just what Barry and Sue wanted.  Sue preached that evening and the Lord clearly used her to say just what needed to be said.  The response was immediate and overwhelming.  One of the highlights for me was to be able to spend some time with good friends such as Bill and Sue Harfoot, the Israels, Catherine and Peter Mount, David and Miriam Gorton and others.  I also got to spend a bit of time with my sister and family.  The Lord provided a little time with some of the people I really wanted to see.  Sunday morning was a holy time for the cadets and the rest of us.  The Lord moved during their covenant service and during Commissioner Gaither’s message.  Again, there were many who responded.  I had a special time of prayer with Sue Harfoot and my sister, Chris which was a real blessing.  I went home from the weekend exhausted but also overflowing with joy and gratitude.  

After a few days in Chicago which included going with Lisa and Cathy to a Cubs game (pathetic team), I went to Michigan to spend time with my family.  They are a busy bunch!  But, it was really fun to just join in to what was happening – softball games, graduation parties and much more.  I love my niece and nephews and am so thankful they still seem to enjoy having me around!  Chris and Steve are also great and I love being with them.  I also love watching them lead the Dearborn Heights corps.  They are good and it’s a blessing to see them.  The corps people are always so friendly and interested when I come home.  Even though I’ve never soldiered there, it does feel like home. They put up with a little presentation from me and seemed genuinely concerned and I believe they do pray for me, which I need.  I didn’t get to stay as long as I’d like because of all of our schedules, but the days were very good.  

Now I’m back in Chicago to finish up Dr/Dentist appointments and try to see some friends.  Of course, they are all busy (who said things slow down in the summer?) but I’ve fit in a few special times with Commissioners Baillie, Cheryl and Bruce Bailey, Eric and Cathleen Himes, Donna Hutchings, Sue Swanson, Viki Payton and Carol Shoults.  Saturday was Matt Harfoot’s wedding, which was absolutely beautiful and I got to see the whole family there.  Then some time with Lisa and the Arnolds.  Yesterday was my only Sunday to be at Oakbrook Terrace.  I can’t adequately explain what an amazing place that is and how important the corps family is to me.  They dedicated at least 21 people who will be going out on some mission work this summer.  They recognized dozens of people who serve the corps in some way and then farewelled 3 sets of officers moving out of the area.  It was my first opportunity to see David and Miriam Gorton as the corps officers.  They are doing a great job and I am proud of them.  The Lord is doing so much in the corps as a whole and in the lives of so many individuals there.  Knowing that I would want to talk to everyone and would be frustrated that I couldn’t, I asked the Lord to put the right people in the right place for conversation.  And He did  - Kirsten Gorton, Lindsay and Danielle Bailey and then the afternoon with the Gorton family which was just like old times.  

I’m sure I’m missing someone or something special that has happened, but that’s about all I can talk about tonight.  2 more weeks which includes a trip to Haiti with my nephew, Ben (FUN!) and then I’ll be home in Latvia.   Until then, I’m looking forward to more blessings and maybe even a little rest (I think that might have to wait until I get back to Latvia!)

Covenant Day in Sweden

The ladies wait for our plane
Evie and Sarah (newly married to Anders - new captain)

My once a year opportunity to play - I should stick to talking!
Arturs giving testimony with our friend, Guna translating

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

This is my result when I took the 'Classic Movie Test' . Try it! Now you know what I do on vacation. Comments welcome.

(Thanks to Carole http://cjbate.blogspot.com/ for this site.)

Thinking about Latvia

Today was our cadets' first Sunday at their Summer Assignment corps. I've been thinking and praying, wondering how it's going. I left them in the middle of their trip to Sweden. I traveled with them last week and spent a day together with them at the Swedish Training College. We attended their Covenant Service for their soon to be captains. It was wonderful to see our cadets in that setting, part of the bigger Army. It was also special to be with the 3 Swedish cadets as they committed themselves to serving as officers. I feel a closeness to them because of our partnership, they have visited us in Latvia and I have been with them in Stockholm several times. I left Sweden so I could be home for Commissioning weekend in Chicago. The cadets stayed through the week and attended the Swedish commissioning meeting. I have heard good reports, but look forward to hearing their stories. I'll put up pictures later. On June 14 they started Summer Assignment at 3 corps in Latvia; Riga 1 and 2 and Iecava. Arturs went to the Raynes Park corps in the UK. I'm so excited about what he will learn and bring back to us in the fall. Much to tell about my time here in the States, but today I'm thinking about Latvia and wanted to share that, hoping you will join me in praying for them. And while you are praying, think about Jon and Ian - summer interns from the US Central Territory who are in Latvia for the summer. They are particularly focusing on ministry with young boys and men. This is an huge area of concern for us and I believe God has chosen these two to be involved in something exciting and important. They are great guys and I know they will also appreciate your prayer support.

Red Book Sessions

I should be asleep as it’s my second day home, I’m at the Congress and I’m exhausted – and it’s midnight. I need to write about the amazing concert I just came from. It was the release party of the Red Book Sessions CD by The Singing Company. You can hear a demo of one of the songs “Never Mind, Go On” at .: ARMYBARMY :. resource for training materials, music and shopping. I’m bursting with joy and a little pride too, because of the wonderful, gifted and inspired young adults I know who are part of this band. Eric Himes, Keri Shay, Nate Irvine and Jon Bukiewicz. Each of them has a unique and even miraculous testimony of God’s grace in their lives, leading them to be part of this project.

And then there are the songs…Phil Laeger Phil Laeger . com joined the group for recording and the concert. He is a beautifully gifted pianist. Nate Hood also plays guitar – amazing, too! I’m running out of adjectives but you can probably guess that I’m very excited about the recording and the work the Lord is doing through it all.

If you are in Europe, I’m bringing home some CDs to share. Just let me know if you want one and I’ll get it to you somehow. More about a really wonderful day - later.

Birthday pictures

Flowers, flowers and flowers painted by Sergejs


Evie's game - created by the girls!


My friends - Sarah and Zoe (we all wore the same sweater that night!)

It's after midnight so my birthday is over. I'm officially closer to one big birthday than the lesser one - EEK...I might be having a little trauma about that. I don't usually like to make much of my birthday. But, I'm in Latvia and you can't ignore any special anniversary here. I got an early greeting from a friend in the US who sent these words from Henri Nouwen:

Birthdays need to be celebrated. I think it is more important to celebrate a birthday than a successful exam, a promotion, or a victory. Because to celebrate a birthday means to say to someone: “Thank you for being you.” Celebrating a birthday is exalting life and being glad for it. On a birthday we do not say: “Thanks for what you did, or said, or accomplished.” No, we say, “Thank you for being born and being among us.” On birthdays we celebrate the present. We do not complain about what happened or speculate about what will happen, but we lift someone up and let everyone way, “We love you.”Celebrating a birthday reminds us of the goodness of life, and in this spirit we really need to celebrate people’s birthday every day, by showing gratitude, kindness, forgiveness, gentleness, and affection. These are the ways of saying: “It’s good that you are alive; it’s good that you are walking with me on this earth. Let’s be glad and rejoice.”

I decided to let people celebrate my birthday and to enjoy it myself. In Latvia the birthday person brings the cake so we had a nice chocolate one this morning at the training school. The cadets sang and gave me the traditional flowers. One of the things I love about Latvia - flowers! Sergejs also gave me two of his painitings. One of flowers (in place of the real ones) and another he painted after our last field training Sunday. It's of the road we traveled on to Liepaja. I love it and I love the sentiment, too. We had a great Homiletics class this morning, too. It had nothing to do with my birthday but was an affirming and encouraging time for the teacher, who just happened to have a her birthday today! I came home hoping to go out for a nice walk this afternoon but the weather was against me. I talked with Veronika for a bit (more flowers!) and Dace also brought me a nice bunch. My flat smells very nice. One of my favorite Latvians is Nina, a lovely woman who lives in our building and goes to the Riga 1 corps. We carry on crazy half Latvian/half English conversations and love each other. She stopped by with a little gift, too.

This evening was our last small group for the season. I offered to bring dessert. We met at Henrik and Lisbeth's and had no idea that they had planned to make a little party for me. I brought my Bible - no one else did! Lisbeth made a chocolate cake and I brought a fruit pizza (auglu pica). We ate a lot and they also had gifts. Wow...this was turning into one of my most celebrated birthdays! It wasn't over. 4 of the girls from the small group I used to lead showed up at the door with flowers and a gift. It was so cool. They made a game for me. I'll try to put up a picture of it. They stayed and we played their game. It was really fun and I'm going to sleep feeling very celebrated and very blessed.

Coming home!

To my friends in the States, I'll be home next week until July 11. I'd love to meet for a cup of coffee, a meal or at the least a little conversation. I have lots of stories and pictures to share! But, don't be afraid, I will try not to bore you and I also want to hear your stories. I'll check my email while I'm home or you can contact me through my sister, Chris in Dearborn Heights. Or you could actually comment here (does anyone really read this blog?)

more changes, more prayer requested

It has just been announced that Commissioners Hasse and Christina Kjellgren have received farewell orders from their present appointment as Territorial leaders of the Sweden-Latvia Territory and will take up a new appointment as International Secretary for Europe on 1. November 2006.

New Territorial Leaders for Sweden-Latvia will be Lt. Col. Victor and Rosalyn Poke, Australian officers presently serving as Chief Secretary inthe UK Territory.

(We are also losing our current Chief Secretary, Royston Bartlett. He will be replaced with a Swedish officer, Kristina Frisk.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Henrik Andersen
Regional Commander
Pestisanas armija (The Salvation Army in Latvia)

Reflecting

Before it’s just a memory, I want to reflect on my experiences at the holiness conference. I had such a wonderful and blessed time, not just because it gave me a desperately needed break or because I met some great people. I also had some special moments with the Lord and was given some important words sometimes directly from the Lord and sometimes through others. It doesn’t seem to be one big revelation nor have I been given answers to my big questions, but there were significant moments. On the plane to Oslo I wrote this, “I want to be open and available this week for whatever…” and I tried to practice that throughout the conference.

The first night we paired up to ‘get acquainted’ with the delegates. I was with, Kjell, from Sweden who blessed me right away by saying he wants people to know him as someone who ‘wants to love Jesus more.’ Simple, but that’s it, isn’t it? During a half night of prayer, I asked Osmi from Finland, a beautiful retired officer, to pray with me. She had these words for me, ‘God’s gifts are complete.’ And I watched her often as we were praying. I was drawn to her lovely face because it glowed with joy and peace. I even wished I had a camera to try to capture that look. And I thought 2 things: 1. I want that!
2. When I’m retired will people see joy and peace or a grouchy, bitter, tired and lonely woman?

Our times of worship were one very powerful way the Lord spoke to me. During that same night of prayer these words were especially meaningful:

“Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of my salvation”
“There is none like you. No one else can touch my heart like you do.”

I have been reading Ephesians and these words stuck with me through the week. I used them when I led morning devotions. From chapter 1:7b-8a “the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us.” I felt like God was pouring grace on us (me) all week. We took a pilgrim walk one day. We were given directed prayer themes. I walked and prayed and wound up at the sea sitting on a big rock with my feet just inches from the water (it was too cold to be in it!) As I was praying, the words to the Chicago Staff Band chorus song came to me “He gives you peace like a river, washing away all your fears.” I had my eyes closed, listening to the gently lapping water and feeling God’s peace wash over me. With no warning I suddenly heard a big wave come crashing to shore and my feet were covered with the freezing cold water from the sea. I think God was teasing me and reminding me that He had control over the water and my life, too! I laughed with a few tears in my eyes. As I sat there I felt so filled up with the presence of God that I thought I would burst. Across the fjord was the city with factories and apartments – the world. I realized I needed that filling so that I could come back and face the world.

I had several helpful and precious conversations, many of them with the delegates from Denmark. (I think I’ve been unduly influenced by Henrik and Lisbeth!) We talked about the future (mine and theirs), about using spiritual gifts, about the Army and our place in it and much more. The Lord sent those people to me just when I needed them and directed our conversations. And I think maybe I was sent to them, as well. It’s great to be part of the body of Christ. From those conversations one of the most helpful and important and maybe even prophetic comments was, “You need to be yourself.” Interesting…

One of my personal highlights was teaching for a couple of hours about worship, personal and corporate. I struggled in my preparation because I wanted to be appropriate for these people and this conference. It all came together and I had so much fun! They listened and participated and it seemed to be relevant. Also, I received a lot of affirmation which is admittedly an ego thing, but I needed it. Finally, for tonight anyway – I received an insight into my relationship with God and what He means to me. He is my “Eternal Teacher.” He will never be done teaching me new things and I will definitely never be done learning.

Change in Latvia

http://www.fralsningsarmen.info/Parleport/home.nsf

It's in Swedish but it's important for Latvia. Our regional commanders, Henrik and Lisbeth Andersen, will be moving to a new appointment this fall. Coming to Latvia are Goran and Chris Larsen from Sweden.

Pray for Henrik and Lisbeth and their children, especially youngest Lukas. They have been here for 6 years and this will be a significant change for them. Pray for the Larsens as they adjust to us, new language and culture and the rest. Pray for Pestisanas Armija in Latvia as we prepare for new leaders and say goodbye to our friends and leaders.

Pictures from Norway

The view of Oslo from Jan Harald and Eli's house. Jan cuts a tree to make the view better.

Jaana - new friend from Finland

Sweden's night: 1. Who's the King of the Jungle (no idea why) 2. Johnny - training principal and magician
Some of the delegates enjoy the beautiful weather
On our way to a Pilgrim Walk

Visit to a CHOCOLATE farm! (Really!)
I love this little guy!

The sea

Christianity Cheat Sheet

http://holyoffice.livejournal.com/80073.html?page=1#comments

I don't mean to offend anyone with this (although if you take it too seriously I take no responsibility for your response.) This is a fun list of common Christian terms with definition for the secular world...and a little healthy perspective for the rest of us. Posted as a link at: http://www.thinkchristian.net

a week of holiness

I’m sitting at the airport in Oslo, Norway on my way home from the Nordic Brengle Holiness conference.  I was invited to be part of the leadership/teaching team.  It was an amazing week and I have lots of ideas and challenges to process.  Besides that, it was a really fun week and I have lots of stories to tell.  For this blog entry, I’m simply going to note some of the more inspiring or thought-provoking quotes from the week.  Later I’ll fill in some detail.  These quotes may be a bit hard to understand out of context, but if you read something that you’d like to respond to, please do.  As I said, I’m still trying to process what I should do with my mind and heart full of inspiration.  Most of the quotes are from our guest, Lyell Rader who has a beautiful and rich speaking style.  Others are noted.  All are related to holiness and life.  Here goes:

From Petter (Finnish training principal): “our first language is the language of our faith and our discipleship”

“All His.  All holy.”

from the Rader patriarch (father of Lyell, Paul, etc.) “Always assume grace.”  “Do not doubt in the dark what God has revealed in the light.”

Elaine Rader:  “Practice the discipline of alertness to God.  ‘eyes wide open’.”

“Ponder anew what the Almighty can do” but “bend my dreams to your will”

“Prayer is the breath of the soul.”  O. Hallesby

“Holiness is the flourishing of our humanity – in beauty, fruitfulness and wholeness.  In the secular world holiness has a connotation of ‘incense, hypocrisy and mold.’ Wrong assumption is that holiness is about spirituality.  We are about humanity – body, mind and spirit.”

Psalm 103 – Praise to a God who puts everything right.

Hemingway: “We are all broken.  We live by mending.  Grace is the glue.  Some are stronger in the broken places.”

“By our wounds we may heal.  “

“The healing work of God is carried on characteristically through a healing community.”  Dr. Herb Rader

about the healing of the 10 lepers in Luke 17: “Mercy incarnate hears the shout, covers the distance, mends the broken.”

Vocational holiness – we need to ‘develop a contemplative life adequate to our vocation.’ Eugene Peterson

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