Lovely Liepaja
Today was a full day of fellowship, worship, reports, discussions, prayers, messages, food, hugs, cool breezes, smiles, and more food. It took a little time to get the translation going, so I missed some of the content of Edgars message, but I'm sure it was great. This was his first message to the annual conference as its District Superintendent and he looked like he was enjoying himself. Bishop Alstead shared a good message about transformation (and in English so no translation needed).
Before lunch, the group was sent out on a mission to talk to the people of Liepaja... basically street evangelism. We figured there weren't too many English-speakers on the streets of Liepaja, so instead we went shopping. I know. So American. But you can't NOT go to Laima. Those of you who get to have chocolate when I get home will thank me.
Of course, the Latvians know how to walk out on the street and just strike up a conversation. Vera happened upon a couple of Russian brothers (she's Russian) and started talking to them about the Methodist Church in Liepaja... gave them New Testaments, which they gladly accepted.... and got their names: Dmetri and Dennis. Turns out there are two brothers who grew up in her church also named Dmetri and Dennis. What are the odds?!
Back to the church, we ate a great lunch of chicken, salad, veggies, and an awesome potato salad with dill. The fresh fruit was especially good as well. Mmmmm pineapple.
We enjoyed more worship to call us back to the sanctuary. Let me tell you... the youth of Latvia are going to carry this church forward. They are so enthusiastic and willing to lead. It's good to see the church leaders support and encourage them. I'm glad they don't know first-hand the kind of oppression the generations before them endured. I think it gives them a special kind of free spirit.
We had a tough-to-hear report about the wooden building next to Riga First... many dreams for how it could be used, but no real ability to move forward, and a very real question of whether it is wise to invest 450k euro (that's half a million dollars) in this building. And, if not, how do they get rid of it without jeopardizing their ownership of Riga First Church. And then what of the dream to build a social outreach center? That's a lot of money for this little group of churches. Their faith is strong and big, but the practicality of the proposition still remains a question. What all could we do with that much money?!
The financials followed, then a Hope Center presentation from Gita, and some videos from Wesley Camp. By this point, I was ready for a nap... but next up was dinner in homes. I was blessed to join Daina and one of our translators (sorry I don't remember her name) at the home of Baiba, Oskars, Karina, Pieters, Fritz the dog, Princessa the cat, and an unknown-named chinchilla (spellings estimated). Our dinner was a traditional Georgian pilaf dish, made with a special "Liepaja" blend of spices. Carrots, rice, lamb (or beef?). Plus salad and a lovely bite of cheese and bazil on buckwheat flat bread. Rounded off with a bar of Magnum double caramel ice cream, a time of devotional sharing, petting the dog, laughing together, watching Oskars tackle a plumbing problem, and more petting the dog.
A beautiful view of the Liepaja sunset to end the day...
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| New Testaments ready to go out to the people of Liepaja |
Of course, the Latvians know how to walk out on the street and just strike up a conversation. Vera happened upon a couple of Russian brothers (she's Russian) and started talking to them about the Methodist Church in Liepaja... gave them New Testaments, which they gladly accepted.... and got their names: Dmetri and Dennis. Turns out there are two brothers who grew up in her church also named Dmetri and Dennis. What are the odds?!
Back to the church, we ate a great lunch of chicken, salad, veggies, and an awesome potato salad with dill. The fresh fruit was especially good as well. Mmmmm pineapple.
We enjoyed more worship to call us back to the sanctuary. Let me tell you... the youth of Latvia are going to carry this church forward. They are so enthusiastic and willing to lead. It's good to see the church leaders support and encourage them. I'm glad they don't know first-hand the kind of oppression the generations before them endured. I think it gives them a special kind of free spirit.
We had a tough-to-hear report about the wooden building next to Riga First... many dreams for how it could be used, but no real ability to move forward, and a very real question of whether it is wise to invest 450k euro (that's half a million dollars) in this building. And, if not, how do they get rid of it without jeopardizing their ownership of Riga First Church. And then what of the dream to build a social outreach center? That's a lot of money for this little group of churches. Their faith is strong and big, but the practicality of the proposition still remains a question. What all could we do with that much money?!
The financials followed, then a Hope Center presentation from Gita, and some videos from Wesley Camp. By this point, I was ready for a nap... but next up was dinner in homes. I was blessed to join Daina and one of our translators (sorry I don't remember her name) at the home of Baiba, Oskars, Karina, Pieters, Fritz the dog, Princessa the cat, and an unknown-named chinchilla (spellings estimated). Our dinner was a traditional Georgian pilaf dish, made with a special "Liepaja" blend of spices. Carrots, rice, lamb (or beef?). Plus salad and a lovely bite of cheese and bazil on buckwheat flat bread. Rounded off with a bar of Magnum double caramel ice cream, a time of devotional sharing, petting the dog, laughing together, watching Oskars tackle a plumbing problem, and more petting the dog.
A beautiful view of the Liepaja sunset to end the day...
So glad you are having a great time. Please send our love to all!! So glad to hear about the youth, your thoughts are interesting.
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