Wednesday Morning

Wednesday morning (Tuesday update)

Tuesday was a full day! I’ll apologize up-front for the length of this post. It will be simply impossible to truly tell you everything… but I took a lot of video.

We started out first thing in the morning headed to Cesis. Gita served as guide and we stopped to visit two castles on our way to the churches. The first was Sigulda, and the second Turaida. I’ll let you google them to read more so that I can get right on to the ministries. You can also google the restaurant “Glendeloka” – we stopped there for a late lunch, and let me tell you…. YUM!!!

So, to the good stuff… we started out at Liepa. This is a poor community, where most of the people are either unemployed or work at the local brick factory. There is about a 90% addiction rate. This is the location of the After-School program, the Liepa church with two congregations (one Latvia and the other Russian), and the Hope Center. Near-by (a minute or two down rocky roads, or a 15 minute walk for the children) is Sarkani.

After-School Program
Pastor Vera (who pastors the Liepa Russian congregation) saw a need here in Liepa for somewhere for the children to go after school. Many of the moms are single and need to work. If they don’t have a job, Social Services will take their children away. But the children cannot be left unattended.

Vera keeps the kids from after school (around 2:30) to sometimes 7:00 in the evening, in an apartment that used to be used as the Liepa church. She feeds them their only hot meal of the day, helps them complete their homework, teaches them Bible lessons, and gives them a safe place to play. She has about 15-20 children each day during the school year.

The program was in danger of closing after last spring. There was no more funding, and the school had begun a small after-school program of its own. However, this program is unique in its offering of a meal, an extended time to stay, and Bible teaching. Plus, the kids LOVE this place. So they prayed that something would happen. They applied for a grant from GBGM, and a donor gave us money to bring so that they could stay open at least until they find out whether they get the grant. What a blessing!

This was a very emotional stop. Vera was so appreciative of our help (we left some additional funds) and the prayer blessing before we left. As we were leaving, a Russian woman from the apartment complex came out to give us bread and grapes “for our journey.” Gita said she had no idea who the woman was. In this area, giving up a loaf of bread is a great sacrifice… and that a stranger would see us here and offer the little that she had to us… amazing.

Sarkani
After stopping at the Liepa Church to pick up Pastor Ilzite, we drove just down a bumpy road to a place called Sarkani. I don’t know if this is an “official” town… it’s a place where a collection of condemned army barracks are used to house the poorest of the poor. They are owned by the government. When someone is under the care of Social Services, and they can’t afford subsidized housing, they are sent here. There is no hot water. There are no businesses nearby. No town. No jobs. A bus does come through… that’s the only sign of civilization I saw.

A young girl was riding a bike through the buildings, and Ilzite stopped her so that we could give her the bread and grapes that were gifted to us in Liepa. Madeline also gave her a doll, and she hurried off to take it all to her home.

We went inside to see the church that Ilzite pastors there. It is basically one room that they use for everything. There is a cross on the wall at one end of the room that they keep behind curtains so that there is something held sacred… something that makes the worship time more special. This is also where she feeds children, teaches Sunday School and Bible lessons, etc.

There is a feeling of desolation and hopelessness that surrounds these old buildings. Gita thought they might be closing Sarkani, because many families had vacated. But she said that recently they have started to fill them up again. The ministry continues.

At the same time, Ilzite cares for five foster children. The most recently-placed one is deaf. She is so humble and busy and full of compassion for these people. She does have a car, so she says she never passes by someone walking on the road to Sarkani… she always stops and gives them a lift. It seems that the people in the village have come to know and trust her. What a committed woman!

Liepa Church and the Hope Center
The Liepa Church and the Hope Center are situated together in one building. The front entrance is to the church on the first floor. The back entrance leads to the Hope Center on the second floor. Much work has been done on this building that was rotted in every place imaginable when they took it over. It’s now a clean space, with a separate worship space and Sunday School rooms.

Little Gita, director of the Hope Center, greeted us and welcomed us into their space. There are currently four moms and children living there. Just four days ago, a 14-year-old girl gave birth. She and the baby are now out of the hospital and back at the Hope Center.

Many of the girls who come to the Center are from orphanages. They cannot keep their babies if they are in an orphanage, so abortion is used as a common solution. However, the birth rate in Latvia is negative… and they want to encourage mothers to give birth. Social Services is aware of the Hope Center and will call on them often to help. They can have up to six moms at the Center, seven if they pack them in.

The government gives a small support (8 lats, or about $16 dollars per month) to new mothers. But that is not enough money to provide food, clothing, a place to live, etc. Although the government supports orphans with a flat after they turn 18, the girls are not given a choice of where that flat will be… it may or may not be where their school is or where their job is, etc. The cost of utilities for the flats would be about 100 lats a month. Just doesn’t add up… so how do they get their feet under them? It’s a real challenge here.

Again, we prayed blessings over these leaders – Ilzite and Gita – before we left this area. We left a small gift with Little Gita to help in whatever way she sees fit. There is much work to be done.

Cesis
At this point, it was about 6:30, and the Lay Leader from the church in Cesis had been waiting for us since about 3:00. We felt so bad! We went directly to Cesis and toured their church. This congregation is partnered with Smithfield UMC in the DFW area. They have done a lot of work there, and the care they have taken is evident all around. We spent a few moments resting in the Sanctuary, sang “Amazing Grace” together and then laid hands on the walls of the Sanctuary to bless all that would enter there. It was a touching way to end a long and emotional day.

NOTE: I'll have more pictures when I'm able to get the ones from other peoples' cameras. Today I took more video than stills.