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.