This slide show is from the Youth Concert that was held at Cesis Baptist Church. The band is from St. Matejs (Mattew's) Church in Riga. They did a great job and as you can see there was almost a church full of young people and parents. We are hopeful this will become a regular activity. We hosted youth from Cesis, Valmiera and Madona. I wish we had audio as well but that will have to wait until we can purchase a video camera.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
FALL ACTIVITIES
Here are a few odds and ends from the fall activities in Cesis. We are in full swing for 2008 and will have some pictures to post soon. Thanks for dropping by!
Laura welcoming guests at the fall "Harvest Festival".
Tabita and Laura at a missions conference
Ladies of Cesis Baptist Church at conference in Valmeira
Laura and Mark enjoying a Latvian meal . . .
Laura welcoming guests at the fall "Harvest Festival".
Tabita and Laura at a missions conference
Ladies of Cesis Baptist Church at conference in Valmeira
Laura and Mark enjoying a Latvian meal . . .
ACTIVITIES FROM THE FALL (2)
More shots from the fall activities:
Laura, Mark and Christopher getting ready for Youth Servant evangelism night.
Laura, Mark and Christopher getting ready for Youth Servant evangelism night.
Laura: "Will he ever SHUT UP!!"
Mark, Reinus and Martins at Inese's house
Trying to fake that I can read the words of the Latvian songs.
Latvian Birthday Party
I will try and do a better job of posting on this blog!
Last Saturday was a big day as we were invited to our friend Peteris' birthday party. Latvians celebrate much like we do except they sing more songs. There are several traditional songs that they sing and then they had us lead in the American version of "Happy Birthday To You".
As you can see, the cakes are really good. The biggest difference is that they also serve a vegetable salad at the same time as the cake.
Peteris is a big kick-boxing guy so his present was a boxing bag so he could keep up his workouts. He learned karate at an early age along with his brothers. If I ever need any bodyguard help, he's going to MY MAN!
Last Saturday was a big day as we were invited to our friend Peteris' birthday party. Latvians celebrate much like we do except they sing more songs. There are several traditional songs that they sing and then they had us lead in the American version of "Happy Birthday To You".
As you can see, the cakes are really good. The biggest difference is that they also serve a vegetable salad at the same time as the cake.
Peteris is a big kick-boxing guy so his present was a boxing bag so he could keep up his workouts. He learned karate at an early age along with his brothers. If I ever need any bodyguard help, he's going to MY MAN!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
WE ARE BAAACCCKKKK
Here we are again! Back in Cesis after a few weeks visiting friends and relatives in Texas. We had a great Christmas and New Year's.
We are deeply indebted to all of the many good people of First Baptist-Athens. They have been so patient with us as we have explained our vision and needs for Cesis and Cesis Baptist Church.
They have done such a great job of supporting us in so many ways, both financially and spiritually. We are so encouraged by the support and interest they have shown.
We had several big adjustments as we returned to Texas after six months of living Latvian style. Obviously, the weather was a big difference. As we were leaving Cesis, it was snowing and below freezing. Landing at DFW airport the next day, we found ourselves sweating in 80 degree heat. The sun doesn't shine much in Latvia during the winter so it was good to see the sun almost every day during the holidays.
The other big adjustment that hits you very quickly is the affluence of the United States. After being in Latvia for a while, walk into any Wal-Mart in the US and you are just overwhelmed by the choices, the products and the availability of the goods. From the new cars in the parking lot to the kids crying for more and more toys, it caused us to really look at what is important and what we really need to live.
As always, the time change (8-hours difference) kept us off-schedule for most of the time. It is especially hard for me to adjust and I found myself waking up every day at 3:00am. Of course, I wanted to crash and go to bed every night about 6:00.
So, here we are, ready to go for 2008. We have a lot of ideas and strategies to help reach out to the people of Cesis. We will be sharing them on this blog soon. First, we must be sure we have the support of Cesis Baptist Church and that they are comfortable with what we feel that God has put on our hearts. Secondly, we will meet with the Latvians to determine how to accomplish these things inside of their culture. Stay tuned for details soon.
Just as we had a big adjustment heading back to the States, we are facing the same thing now in Cesis. The time change is just as difficult, if not more. To get over jet lag the experts suggest that you get plenty of time outdoors everyday and especially lots of sun. We have been here for 5 days and it has not been above freezing during the entire time. The sun was out for about 2 hours for one day and that was it. So, we have been mostly inside and our internal clocks are totally messed up. Let me say it now: Jet lag is brutal!!! There is nothing like being awake at 2:30 in the morning ... no TV to put you to sleep, too cold to go out and walk, you can't drive out to Wal-Mart and walk around. Today, however, we slept until about 7:00am so maybe we are getting back on track.
We ask for special prayer as we head into uncharted territory. We have some big decisions to make and we will need God's guidance to know the way. For us, as well as the Cesis Church, we will be trying to do things that have not been done before. We look forward to seeing God's hand in all of it.
Until later, ata!
We are deeply indebted to all of the many good people of First Baptist-Athens. They have been so patient with us as we have explained our vision and needs for Cesis and Cesis Baptist Church.
They have done such a great job of supporting us in so many ways, both financially and spiritually. We are so encouraged by the support and interest they have shown.
We had several big adjustments as we returned to Texas after six months of living Latvian style. Obviously, the weather was a big difference. As we were leaving Cesis, it was snowing and below freezing. Landing at DFW airport the next day, we found ourselves sweating in 80 degree heat. The sun doesn't shine much in Latvia during the winter so it was good to see the sun almost every day during the holidays.
The other big adjustment that hits you very quickly is the affluence of the United States. After being in Latvia for a while, walk into any Wal-Mart in the US and you are just overwhelmed by the choices, the products and the availability of the goods. From the new cars in the parking lot to the kids crying for more and more toys, it caused us to really look at what is important and what we really need to live.
As always, the time change (8-hours difference) kept us off-schedule for most of the time. It is especially hard for me to adjust and I found myself waking up every day at 3:00am. Of course, I wanted to crash and go to bed every night about 6:00.
So, here we are, ready to go for 2008. We have a lot of ideas and strategies to help reach out to the people of Cesis. We will be sharing them on this blog soon. First, we must be sure we have the support of Cesis Baptist Church and that they are comfortable with what we feel that God has put on our hearts. Secondly, we will meet with the Latvians to determine how to accomplish these things inside of their culture. Stay tuned for details soon.
Just as we had a big adjustment heading back to the States, we are facing the same thing now in Cesis. The time change is just as difficult, if not more. To get over jet lag the experts suggest that you get plenty of time outdoors everyday and especially lots of sun. We have been here for 5 days and it has not been above freezing during the entire time. The sun was out for about 2 hours for one day and that was it. So, we have been mostly inside and our internal clocks are totally messed up. Let me say it now: Jet lag is brutal!!! There is nothing like being awake at 2:30 in the morning ... no TV to put you to sleep, too cold to go out and walk, you can't drive out to Wal-Mart and walk around. Today, however, we slept until about 7:00am so maybe we are getting back on track.
We ask for special prayer as we head into uncharted territory. We have some big decisions to make and we will need God's guidance to know the way. For us, as well as the Cesis Church, we will be trying to do things that have not been done before. We look forward to seeing God's hand in all of it.
Until later, ata!
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