Latvia/Lithuania Day 6 - Travel Day



Our sleeping quarters in Talsi
My bed is the one that is made up on the right.

We got up this morning, loaded the vans, ate breakfast, said our goodbyes, and we were ob the road before 8 AM. The trip to Kaunas, Lithuania would normally be about 4 1/2 hours if we were in a hurry, but we didn't have anything pressing in Kaunas until 6PM so we took a nice leisurely drive through the countryside, stopping to take pictures of interesting sites and eating at the McDonald's at the Acropolis Mall in Siauliai.

We learned that although Talsi is a quaint little village, it's standard of living is better than that of the people in the surrounding countryside between Talsi and the Lithuanian border. Lithuania's standard of living,however, seems to be much better. As we've travelled, we have seen several very interesting sites. Before we got out of Latvia, we saw a family of seven wild hogs cross the road in front of us. I wasn't able ask them if they were coming from Arkansas or headed back there. :0) We stopped and took pictures of several beautiful old churches, each one more elaborate than the last.

We also stopped at a shrine known as the hill of crosses. Historically it is a symbol of the resilient nature of the Christians in Lithuania. During the Soviet Era, the people would erect crosses on the hill and the Soviets would come and knock them down. Before long the people would set them up again. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, over 200,000 crosses have been brought to this remote hillside north of Siauliai. Two popes have visited the site and there is now a Fransciscan Monestary at the site.

Personally, I found the place rather sad. Like so many things that man creates for worship, at some point we begin to miss the point and before long it becomes an idolatrous spectacle. But it did show us one thing, the people of Lithuania are hungry for a relationship with God. We pray that we can lead them away from dead ritual to a relationship with a living Savior.

We arrived at our hotel in Kaunas at about 4PM. It is a very nice place, The Park Inn by Raddison. The beds are no larger than the were at Talsi, but they are up off the floor.



L to R (Interpreters Uri and Aukse and Pastorus Vladymir

 We met our host, Pastor Vladymir of Kaunas Evangelical Christian Baptist Church and our interpreter, Aukse.  Pastor Vladymir speaks very little English and comes off pretty serious but I rode with him and Aukse to the school and tried to break the ice a little bit.  The church was started in 1875 and PastorVladymir has been there for 30 years.  They endured some pretty heavy persecution under the Soviets, and their church building was used for everything from a barracks to a night club to a warehouse for salt.  Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, they have been a shining light in their neighborhood, which once was one of the most violent in the country but now is recognized as peaceful and safe.

 
When we arrived at the school we were pleasantly surprised by what we found.  The school had repainted the gym floor and added several side goals since Joel had visited in the spring.  It is nowhere near the facility that we enjoyed in Latvia, but it is much better than we expected.
We then went o the church for a snack and a planning meeting with the Pastor and our interpreters.  They told us that they had given 200 flyers to the PE teachers at the area schools and that they had handed out around 700 flyers in the neighborhoods. The announcement had been made on the radio and in the newspapers as well. So, tomorrow we may have 50 and we may have 200.  It's all in God's hands.
We were speaking about the services at the church on Sunday and Aukse began talking about her love of praising God.  She said, "I have found something on the internet that I love.  Have you heard of K-love?  Positive and encouraging, yes?"

We also saw that Pastor Vladymir had several Gideon New Testaments in the Lithuanian language that he had been given for his people.  I told him that there were several Gideons who had been instrumental in our being able to come on this trip. We left our meeting tonight expecting God to do something so big that no one would mistake it for anything that we could have accomplished on our own.
When I got back to the hotel, I stopped at the display case for the restaurant in the lobby.  What I saw was an array of wonderful looking desserts.  There in the middle was a teacup filled with Creme brûlée.  I bought it and it was the second best that I have ever tasted(surpassed only by that prepared by Brenda Nowlin).
I thought it would be hard for God to outdo what He did last week, but I am beginning to believe that this week is going to be more memorable yet.

Latvia (Day 6) Part 2 - Day Trip to the Baltic Sea

After lunch today, a few of us hopped in the van and headed north to Kolka, a small village located at the convergence of the Bay of Riga and the Baltic Sea.  Along the way we saw some amazing old churches and beautiful countryside.  As we approached the Baltic, we wound our way through forests of cedar and birch trees and through great fields of wheat and hay.  At one point, we watched the farmers mowing and baling hay.  Walking through the fields behind the machinery were storks looking for lunch. 

As we passed through Valdemarpils, we saw a couple of the older girls who had attended our camp walking along the road.  We stopped and asked if they needed a ride and they got in.  They were hitch-hiking to Rojas (pronounced like my dad pronounces Hawaii, except with an 'R') to go to the beach for the afternoon.  The people here walk almost everywhere they go and they have no fear of hitch-hiking.  The American in us made us very concerned for their safety, so we dropped them in Rojas on our way to Kolka.

When we got to the Baltic, we walked about a half mile out to the point, where the Gulf of Riga and the Baltic Sea meet.  The waves in the picture below are where the waters of the two come together. 

The beach was pretty clear and the water was not terribly cold, so we waded out and got pictures in the Baltic Sea and the Bay of Riga.

Here is a short video to show you how far we had to walk to get from the Baltic Sea to the Bay of Riga.

When we got back to Talsi, we took a walk through the town and saw a few of the sights.  The Lutheran church here in Talsi was built in 1567, just 50 years after Luther hung his 95 Theses on the door of the Church in Wittenburg. 

The school is teaming with kids tonight as they are saying their goodbyes to the kids that we brought with us.  Tomorrow morning at 7 AM, we head for Lithuania.  Pray for that God prepares the way for us as we go.

Latvia (Day 6) - Tears on Earth, Rejoicing in Heaven

Okay, so the kids probably didn't understand why I was crying.  I was standing in the gym watching them go from coach to coach and asking for our autographs on the balls and t-shirts that we had given them, and it was all I could do to keep the tears from rolling down my face.  What I had witnessed in the previous hour and a half is still causing goose-bumps as I sit here seven hours later writing this post.  Today was the last day of our camp here in Talsi. Each day, we have shared a small portion of the Gospel and explained it as best we can to each group of kids who either weren't in the camp last summer or just didn't make a decision for Christ.  The first couple of days, we spoke of God's game plan for their life and the problem of sin.  It was evident that some were grasping what we were saying, because yesterday one of the boys, said, "Is today when we hear the good news?"  Well, this morning we brought each group into one of the locker rooms so that we could have a little privacy.

The first group was made up of 6 middle school boys.  When Joel asked them if they would like to ask Christ into their heart, all six raised their hands, all six prayed to receive Jesus, and all six became our brothers in Christ.  I left the room with the feeling  that this day was going to be very special.  So that every coach would have the opportunity to witness the impact of our work here this week, we rotated with each group so that each coach had a chance to sit in while the invitation was given to a small group of campers.  By the end of the day thirty-five campers prayed to ask Jesus to forgive their sins and be their Saviour.
When I heard the final results, I just couldn't hold back the tears.  5000 miles, thousands of dollars in travel expenses, time away from family and church responsibilities, all for a little basketball coaching???? Nice vacation, Pastor, have fun on your little basketball trip.  Well, today is what it is all about.  This is why we came.  There may be tears here in Talsi, but they are tears of joy, and they are nothing compared to the rejoicing that is going on in heaven right now.

Latvia (Day 5) Basketball, Bees, and Shish-kabob

It's been another beautiful day here in Talsi, Latvia.  We had 54 kids at camp this morning and things went very well.  I introduced Justin Hull to the kids that I am discipling.  Justin is our outstanding video guy who, when our portion of the trip is over will be returning to Talsi to continue the ministry to these young people long-term. Justin is a great young man and I am excited to see what God is going to do through him here in Talsi.

Today is the first day that every minute hasn't been scheduled, so after lunch, I came back to the school and took an hour long nap.  I have been staying up till 1AM every night getting my blog posted and my pictures up, etc. So the nap was a wonderful thing.  When I got up, our hostess, Inguna, took our team and the VBS team that is here from Texas out to a campground for a little getaway.

The place was beautiful, but then again, I've been using that word alot this week.  It was located in a birch and pine forest and had several small lakes with several nice cabins scattered around.  The cabins each had a large sauna and the plan was for Inguna to fix shish-kabobs for everyone and then we could use the sauna.  While the shishkabobs were grilling, we went on a little tour through the park that was focused on the life of bees.  We even got dressed up in a beekeeper's "costume" and the keeper showed us the hives and the whole process of honey production. 

It was interesting. It would have been nice if they had given us the costumes earlier, because the mosquitoes were terrible.  They even carried off a few of the young children. :0)  

The meal was amazing.  The meat was wonderfully seasoned, and the bread was excellent, and there was smoked chicken and these little bread twists that were slightly sweet and it was all fantastic. One of the ladies in the other group asked me to pass the smoked chicken and I said, "You know that it's not chicken, it's stork."  One of the other ladies eyes got as big as hubcaps.  She had eaten about four bites of the chicken and was convinced that I was telling the truth.  It was hilarious.

After dinner, the youngsters in both groups put on their swimsuits and got in the sauna.  I refrained, because I was sure that there was no one that wanted to see me in a swimsuit.  The sauna is a part of Latvian culture.  They sit in the dry sauna with the temperature at about 180 degrees, then they run outside and jump in the cold water of the pond.  They say that the sudden change in temperature is exhilerating, but I just took their word for it.  Besides, the little pond that they were jumping into was very small and kind of marshy.

I had the chance to sit down with Inguna for a little while and hear her testimony and the story of how she came to start a Christian school and how it is supported, etc.  She and her husband Maris are amazing people that God is using to do a tremendous work.  I have invited them to come speak at our church in November.

Tomorrow is our big day.  We will be giving the invitation to follow Christ to the 40 or so campers who have not accepted Him. Please pray that God will move in a mighty way.  It will all be happening between 1AM and 4AM Grove time, Wednesday morning, so I'm sure that you will all set your alarms and spend that three hours in prayer. :0) Ummmmm, or at least pray for us before you go to bed tonight that we can see a great harvest of souls here.

I have fallen in love with the people of my team.  I only barely knew any of them when we started on this journey together, but I have seen their hearts this week and I am glad that god allowed me to be a part  of all this.  And after tomorrow, we will only be half way finished.  Thursday morning it's on to Lithuania!

Latvia (Day 4) Riga 500

Today was an exciting day at camp.  I taught a lesson on feeding on the Word of God and the kids really  responded well.  We gave Bibles to all of the kids who made decisions to follow Christ at last year's camp.  The groups were arranged a little differently today which allowed me a couple of free segments to do some coaching.  I really enjoyed that and I think the campers did too. 

After lunch we loaded up the vans and headed to Riga, Latvia's capital and site of their airport.  The last member of our team arrived this afternoon, so we took it as an excuse to visit this wonderful old-world city.  Located on the banks of the beautiful Daugava River, Riga's central district holds all of the classic charm that you can imagine.  The 13th Century Riga Cathedral is a wonder of medieval architecture and it contains the second largest pipe organ in Latvia.

The Cathedral is set in the middle of a gorgeous piazza filled with shops and restaurants, with a soundtrack provided by street musicians of every variety, a talented young woman on a violin, playing a classical piece, a young girl in the market deftly playing a dulcimer, three teenage girls singing their version of a modern pop song as one of them strummed her guitar, and an old bearded man producing a hauntingly beautiful sound that flowed from his saxophone and echoed from the brightly colored walls of the courtyard.  Against the backdrop of an azure sky and snow white clouds, it gave you the feeling of an old romantic movie scene.

After our visit to Old Town Riga, we made our way to the airport to pick up Gary.  We dropped three of our team off at the terminal just a few minutes after his scheduled arrival time with the intention of making the circle a couple of times and saving the 2 Lat parking fee.  This is where our story enters the "Sounded like a good idea at the time" Zone.  Apparently Gary purchased the ticket that allows your luggage to visit all of the historic European capitals and Riga was well down on the list, so while we waited for him to find out that his socks and underwear may just get to see Springtime in Paris, we made enough left turns to qualify us for the next race on the NASCAR circuit.

We had dinner at a great restaurant in Riga and then made our way back here.  We are finding that this country is a study in contradictions; tremendous natural beauty, wonderful people who have endured great oppression and come out on the other side as survivors, and yet they are groping in spiritual darkness.  Please pray for us as we share the gospel these next couple of days.  We have almost 40 unsaved kids coming to camp everyday.  They are hearing a simple presentation of the Gospel that is progressing each day.  On Wednesday, we will bring them to the place of decision and we would ask that you pray very vigorously that they respond.  The basketball is fun, the sightseeing is awesome, but the reason we are here is to see kids saved.  Let's bombard the throne of God over the next 48 hours.

We have a great video guy with us on this trip. Justin has put together a short video with pictures from each day of the camp.  You can find them on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/thewaysports#p/a/u/0/YwNK6Ob1_1c

Latvia (Day 3) Talsi Baptist Church and Day 1 of Basketball Camp

Sunday morning in Talsi, Latvia was a beautiful thing.  The sun comes up at about 3:00 AM and by the time we left the school and walked the three blocks to Talsi Baptist Church, it was a balmy 61 degrees and a beautifully sunny day.  Our group and another group of foreigners (Texans) who are here to do a VBS at the school joined with the regular crowd to fill the little church to capacity. 

The church looked like it usually runs around 100 in attendance.  They had a wonderful Choir and several extraordinary instrumentalists and they did hymns and praise songs that we were familiar with, although the lyrics were in Latvian, making them a little hard to follow.

God had been working ahead of time to prepare the way before us today.  While we are here in Latvia to present the Gospel to a Gospel-starved people, we found ourselves in the midst of a wonderful church full of Baptist people who know and worship the same Lord and Saviour that we do. And not only that, but the guest speaker today was a young Latvian preacher who went to Denmark to start a church.  He spoke of many of the same struggles that we experience back home; the struggle between ritual and relationship, the division between Christians over music and standards, and the loneliness of ministry in a difficult place, relieved by the visit of praying, encouraging friends from home.  As I sat in the service listening to him preach in Latvian and hearing a sketchy translation from one of our new Latvian friends, it made me aware of how those that we have come to minister to must feel when we speak to them of their need for Christ when they know nothing about him.  We have come to be the translators of the Gospel to their darkened hearts. 
The church service was a real blessing and it got our day off to a great start.
After lunch we made our way to the Gym for the first day of our Basketball Camp.  This is a holiday weekend here in Latvia, so we didn't have as many as we expected for the first day.  We had 42 kids show up, less than half of them had been at the camp last year.  The kids were very enthusiastic about learning basketball.

My main job at the camp this week will be to help those kids who received Christ at last year's camp to grow in their walk with the Lord.  Today, we reviewed what they had learned last year and introduced the things that we would share with them over the next three days.  I had 14 kids today and was able to converse with more than half of them in English.  My young friend, Janis, our host's son, served as my translator with the rest.  It was exciting to see their continued commitment to the decision that they made last year to follow Jesus.
We even had a slam dunk contest on a slightly lowered goal and I competed with the kids and made it through the first two rounds, so I guess I didn't embarass myself too much.
When the camp was over for the day, I had the opportunity to Skype into our services back home.  Even though I have only been gone a few days, it was great to see everyone there.  It is amazing to me that we can be 5,000 miles apart and be able to see and hear each other live. 

Supper tonight was a hotdog from a local gas station, which normally wouldn't seem like a very appetizing prospect, but the bun was really unique, almost like a French Bread that was hollowed out for the hot dog.  The filled the hole with ketchup and mustard and then slid the dog down into it.  Very nice and neat, and also very tasty. 
Well, it's only 11 o'clock, so I must be making progress on getting this blog posted.  Keep praying for us.  God is working and lives are being changed; our team's as much as anyone.

Latvia (Day 2) Stripping Wallpaper For Jesus

Today was a beautiful day in Latvia.  We got up and had a wonderful breakfast that featured scrambled eggs, a very interesting toast with melted cheese and garlic that was awesome, and more fresh strawberries with something that was called Russian creme.  I later found out that it was just sweetened condensed milk, so I have a new thing to try when I get home.
One of our team is going to stay here in Talsi as a missionary to disciple the young people that we see come to Christ through these camps.  After breakfast we went to the apartment that they are preparing for him to live in.  We spent most of the morning stripping wallpaper and moving furniture and painting ceilings. 
After doing as much damage as we could, we came back to the school for a little nap.
When everyone was refreshed, we went to a pizza place for dinner and then for a short tour of the town.  The menu of the pizza place was very interesting.  I have to say that it is the first place that I have ever seen beef tongue on the menu for a pizza. 
The town of Talsi is a beautiful little village whose archetecture reminds you of a WWII movie set.

We saw a family of swans walking down the middle of the street holding up traffic. Later in the evening, we saw a hedgehog walking around the school grounds.  Fortunately, we had one of our hosts there to tell us that they were very gentle animals, so I took the opportunity to pet one.

I'm a little sweaty because a couple of us had to show some of the young bucks around here how to play basketball.
We ended the evening with a long planning session for our camps which start tomorrow.  I will be in charge of discipling the kids who came to Christ in last year's camp.  The station where we share the Gospel will be divided into two sections this year.  Joel will teach the basic plan of salvation and I will teach some basic discipleship stuff.  It is looking like we will have a much better turnout than last year.  We are looking forward to a great start tomorrow afternoon.  Pray for us.

Latvia (Day 1)

World travel in the post-9/11 era is always an adventure.  Thursday around 12:30 PM, I headed for Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.  If you've never been to NWA, let me tell you, it doesn't exactly exude "International Terminal."  It is simply a few buildings out in the middle of a farm field equipped with x-ray security equipment and a host of pleasant TSA employees. I arrived two hours prior to my scheduled departure time, met up with four of my team members, and quickly found out that there was something wrong with our plane that would result in an hour-long delay in our departure.  As it turned out, they found it necessary to delay our flight for an hour because one of the overhead lights was malfunctioning, which could have forced one of the passengers to take a short nap instead of reading the two-day old USA Today that they found in their seatback.
After an uneventful and well-lit 45-minute flight, we arrived in Memphis just 35 minutes before our scheduled Transatlantic departure.  When all was said and done, the tension of the early portion of our journey didn't have a major impact on our arrival in Amsterdam.  When I found my seat on the second leg of our journey, I met a young man named Robert.  He was an IT professional for the Hilton Hotel chain whose job took him regularly back and forth to the States from his home in Glasgow, Scotland.  His wonderful Gaelic accent made for a fascinating conversation and it wasn't long before the details of my trip and our ultimate goal of presenting the Gospel in a place that was darkened toward it came to the forefront.  Robert was very curious about my faith and as I shared the plan of salvation with him, he asked many very perceptive questions.  We discussed the problem of sin, the tendency of religions to fracture and fight, the fact of his spiritual hunger, but the absence of regular religious practice.  He listened carefully as I shared the details of God's simple plan of salvation and immediately drew the conclusion that if I believed what I was telling him, then I must believe that all mankind should follow the path that I was presenting.  But wouldn't God be sympathetic to the man who lived a good life and followed the principles of Buddha or Mohammed?  Our conversation emphsized one impication of the Gospel after another as the moments flew by.  After a full two hours, Robert apologetically said, "I really need to get some rest.  I have a big day tomorrow, so I am going to try to sleep."
When we reached our destination, I just couldn't bear the thought of seeing Robert step out of my life without one more opportunity to receive Christ.  I took my New Testament and wrote my name and phone number in it and I said, "I want to give you something.  This will answer the questions you have about your spiritual life.  Since you are in America so often, I've put my name and number in the front so that if you ever have a question you can call me."  He said, "I have a two hour layover, I think I'll start reading it right now.  Thank you very much, you've given me a lot to think about."
Our work in Latvia doesn't begin for a couple more days, but God has already given me the opportunity to share the Gospel with one searching soul.  Pray for Robert, a young man in his early 30's, with a six-year-old daughter, who knows that he has a need.  Pray that God will use our time together to only cause that hunger to increase until he comes face to face with the One who loves him enough to die for him.
Well, there is a lot more to tell, but it's time to hit the hay.  We are sleeping in the classrooms of the Talsi Christian School, a wonderful ministry in this small town that is doing a tremendous work in reaching young Latvian students for Christ. Tomorrow, I'll post a few pictures of this quaint little town and the wonderful uniqueness that I've already seen.