JANI DAY - 2008

I'm not really sure if I have one favorite place in Latvia. There are so many unique and beautiful spots. However, in the top three would surely be the 'country' place of the Liepins family.

It was Laura's and my good fortune to be invited here for the centuries old tradition of celebrating Jani Day. This is celebrates the Summer Solstice, a mid-summer holiday and the opportunity to get into the country all rolled into one. The men wear crowns made of oak leaves while the women's are made flowers. Everything from cows to cars are decorated with greenery of some sort. Many people leave the larger cities and return to the country side. It started out as a pagan, fertility holiday then evolved into a celebration for St. John after Christianity arrived. Now, it is celebrated in various ways. There is a real concern with too much drinking and partying but for our friends, it is more of a time to spend with family and enjoy good food.

The place that we were invited is located off of a dirt road about 15 kilometers from Cesis. Very quiet, very remote and you can just see and feel the history. There is a small house made out of hand-cut logs and topped with handmade bark shingles from the birch tree. The huge stone and timber barn is a reminder of the winter weather as you need a building large enough to house all of the animals when it really gets cold.

While this is not a true operating farm now, the Liepins do have several large gardens and some livestock. One section of the barn is filled with rabbits and a couple of bottle-fed calves. We have become used to eating rabbit here and it is quite tasty.

The weather cleared just in time for us to get the food set out and the cooking fire giving off some good heat. Everyone grills his own meat selection {desa (sausage); sausliks (similar to ka-bobs); vista (chicken)} over the bon-fire or using a small hibachi type grill. Vegetables are gurkis (pickles) of all kinds, salads made of greens that were literally in the ground 10-minutes before eating and kartepalis (potatoes that are boiled first and then re-heated on fires). No Jani Day would be complete without Jani Day cheese (siers) which has a special caraway seed addition. Finally, you've got to wrap all of that meat in something. Homemade black and brown bread that is so thick it is almost a meal in itself loads down your plate but it makes a good complement to the meats.

This family is very special to us because they have accepted us as part of their every day activities as well as the holidays. There are 6 brothers and sisters (4 were there yesterday) that have all married and 5 of them still live in the Cesis area. Add in their kids, grandmothers and assorted other members and it is a large group. We will be forever thankful that they help us in so many ways.

It finally got dark about 11:45pm and the plan was to stay until the sun rose again at 3:00am. After a few soccer games, too much great food and actually getting a little chilly (low temp about 50), everyone decided to go home a little early.

Thanks again for a great day and night. Even though Laura and I broke the  tradition and did not jump the bonfire, swim at midnight or go looking for the mythical flowering fern, we had a great time and truly enjoyed being with our friends.

Labi cau!

 

The biggest farm dog around (with Emjia)

 

Tree branches are often located near doors and windows (ward off spirits??)

 

The stone and timber barn built into the side of a hill.

 

Calves are kept inside for a few months then allowed outside to fatten up.

 

Laura trying out her 'new' broom.

 

Still lots of the traditional farm ways in evidence.

 

One of Inese's several gardens.

 

Futbol zale...

 

Aivars' masina getting into the Jani Day spirit of decorating everything with flowers and oak leaves.

Always getting ready for the winter. Very common sight.

 

A nice fire and good conversation. Notice the jackets...on June 23!

UPCOMING EVENTS

DON'T FORGET WHERE YOU ARE

Today was Boys' Prison day for us. Recently, this has become the highlight of our week here. For the past few weeks we have been going in without a translator which slows things down some. Between a mixture of Latvian, Russian and English the messages seem to be getting through.

Two events sharply defined the day. First, one of the boys [name withheld] that always has questions for us and seems so interested asked for special prayer today. We really do not know if he is a Christian or not but for him to ask for a special prayer was a huge step; not only for him but for the others that were there also. His prayer request was for help to stop smoking. Underage or not, the boys are allowed to smoke. For some reason, he has seen an opportunity to stop and realizes that it is going to take more strength than he has. We were so surprised and excited when he asked for God's help.

We are beginning to form friendships with some of these guys and it is so very easy to forget that they are inmates in a high-security prison. For the most part, they look and act like other teenagers and we must constantly remind ourselves of the common-sense rules that have been given to us.

For some reason, we were allowed to return to the main check-in building by ourselves. Normally we are escorted by someone but not today. As we approached the locked walkway that takes us to the building where we leave our phones, passports, etc. we saw that a large police truck had pulled into a holding pen just inside the gates. There were four SWAT uniformed guards and one BIG dog around the truck. The truck was blocking the guard in the building from seeing that we were waiting to be buzzed through the electromagnetic lock. We were able to watch as several boys were off-loaded from the truck. Carrying all of their possessions in a plastic shopping bag, they came down the truck steps and were lined up against the wall. It was almost like on a movie when the new prisoners arrive. The looks on those boys' faces were not humorous at all; in fact a couple looked really scared. I cannot even imagine what must have been going through their minds.

As these guys were unloaded, four of the current inmates were being readied to be put into the truck. The looks were the same...very serious, nobody joking around, nobody talking. I do not know for sure but they were probably being transferred to the men's prison to finish out their sentences.

That is the way it is most of the time that we come to the prison. There will be situations that make us so happy that we came and that maybe we brought a little encouragement. Then you will be shocked back to reality that this really is a prison, these really are young men that have committed serious crimes and they really, really need to make changes in their life if they don't want to return to a even worse fate.

Please pray that these young men will come to the same understanding as the young man that needs prayer to break his smoking habit. Pray that they will come to know the One that has the strength to help them overcome their struggles and battles. May God bless you and may God bless the boys at Cesis Boys' Prison.

KINO NIGHT IN CESIS

To shake up our youth group meetings, we decided to take the whole group to the movies tonight. That's right ... the newest Indiana Jones adventure thriller is in town at the local movie, cinema or kino, take your pick.

The kino in Cesis is just a little different from our local cinemas in the US. First, you go into a very small lobby and buy your ticket through a very small window (which makes for me yelling how many tickets I want in a mixture of English and Latvian) from a guy you can't hardly see. After you buy your tickets you proceed to the next door but it is locked. You wait a couple of minutes and the guy who sold you the ticket now comes around and unlocks the door, examines your ticket and then lets you pass. (Some ticket forger could have done something to the tickets in the 6 steps from where he sold it to you.)

I forgot to mention that this kino is just a little on the small side. While we were waiting outside for a few of the other kids to show up, a man came out and said something to me. I pretended I knew what he said and just nodded and told him I was waiting for one more. He smiled and walked away. Once I got inside the main theater I realized he was happy because we had enough people show up to actually have the movie shown.

You pay a few santimi extra to sit in the balcony but they actually have pretty nice seats. They are similar to a two-person love seat. The 9 total paying patrons settled back for a good shoot-em up adventure film in which the good guys win.

There are three languages being processed at the same time. The movie dialogue is actually in English (hooray!) but it is sub-titled in Latvian and Russian. I do ok until I start trying to read the Latvian and work on my vocabulary. The strangest thing is listening to the laughter at the funny parts. The English listeners laugh first because they hear it as it is spoken, then the Russian or Latvian readers laugh next as they catch-up to the punch line by reading.

This movie theater has no concession stand. NO popcorn! I've tried to talk to them about popcorn marketing and the economics of smell-a-vision but it hasn't helped; we still have no popcorn, or cokes, or nachos, or anything. We stop off at the Mini-Top (small grocery store around the corner) and stock up on a kind of sour, gummy worms and soft drinks. It is still not the same...you can't watch a good movie without popcorn.

Our kids had a good time and seemed to enjoy the movie. We didn't know until we got there that Indiana Jones main adversaries are the Russian Communists (time frame was supposed to be 1957). Most of our kids are Latvian but a few have Russian parents or grandparents on one or both sides. We may have to do some discussions at the next meeting.

Indiana Jones vs. the Russians and I'm sitting in a movie theater in Latvia watching it all happen! Who would have ever thought it???

GOODBYE TO CHASE AND FAMILY

It has been our privilege to have Chase and his family visiting with us for the past 10 days (see previous posts). We have had a great time discussing the ministry effort here, his perspective on Cesis and renewing old friendships.

He had the opportunity to preach twice at the Cesis Baptist Church along with advising future missionaries in Riga, visiting with the boys in prison and meeting many of our Latvian friends. His wife Laura is a neonatal nurse and she was able to tour the local slimnica (hospital) with one of our friends who is a midwife.

We hope that he, Laura, Maddie and Nate enjoyed last week as much as we did. Chase is a great speaker and seems to know just what to say at the right time. He obviously married way over his head and his children are a treat to be around. Paldies again Chase...we are already missing you and your wonderful family. May God continue to bless you in your new endeavors.

We love having visitors here. We like to show-off our little city and help people to become more familiar with Latvian culture. It is always interesting to get their views on things here.

The hardest part of visitors is that they are always visitors. They have their life that they have to return to and leave us to continue the work here. Laura and I really do not get homesick very often but when our visitors return to the States, it is very, very hard. We get along with each other beautifully and we have been each other's best friends for over 30 years, but sometimes we really miss not having others with a similar background (American!) to discuss things with. We both have Latvian friends and we are treated great by the people but we miss just being able to sit, talk, joke and enjoy other people.

We have a little less that a month to prepare for the Sports Camps, Youth Celebrations and Concert. We are anxious to see two of our boys (Jacob and Jordan) as they will be arriving with the Americans to help work in the activities as they have done the last three years.

Here are a few pictures from some activities this past week:

 

Speaking in Riga to university students...

 

 

Klaus, a good friend...

 

Nate and Maddie

 

 

Laura and Nate

 

In love in Latvia, Laura and Chase

 

 

University students now ... future Latvian missionaries?

CHASE BOWERS AND SIGULDA

As we mentioned in an earlier post, Chase Bowers, wife Laura and children Nate and Maddie are visiting with us this week. We have had a great (but busy) time.

On Sunday, Chase preached at Cesis Baptist and then spoke again at the Youth Concert later that night. Monday, just the two of us went to Riga to speak at the Latvian Inter-Varsity Fellowship group meeting. Tuesday was Cesis Boys' Prison day followed by our regular Youth Meeting on Wednesday night. Chase has done a great job in reaching out to the students and adults of Cesis. He has been here before at a few of the summer sports camps so he knows some of the kids and a little bit of the culture.

Today (Thursday) was sight seeing day so we headed over to Sigulda. Our town of Cesis in now 802 years old and Sigulda is 801. Both are very similar but we enjoy a day visit to Sigulda whenever possible. Cesis is about 30 minutes from Sigulda by the train.

We had a great time and it was good to relax for a while. Tomorrow we are back to Riga to meet with Pastor Olegs.

Here are a few random shots from today's visit:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NO HOT WATER

One of the things I enjoy in life is a  long hot shower. As with too many things in my life I just take it for granted that other people are able to enjoy these same comforts.

In the Boys' Prison where we work they recently changed the schedule to have 'wash' day moved from Saturday to Wednesday. Being the naive Texan that I am, I thought 'wash' day was when the boys did their clothes washing. I found out today that it is when the boys wash. They have showers available every day but only on 'wash' day do they have HOT water. Can you imagine taking cold showers (and I mean really cold) several times a week? There is no hot water at all in their dorm (prison) bathrooms. On 'wash' day they go to the bath house for the hot shower.

To be honest, I have sometimes felt that the boys inside here need to be a little more concerned with their personal hygiene. But, having coached boys for over thirty years and raising four of my own, I know they will sometimes let cleanliness slide. I now have a new found respect for the boys in this prison because I don't think I could face taking a cold shower every morning just so I could smell a little bit better to others.

God has a way of making me realize how small and sheltered I have made the world I live in. Thankfully, he helps me to understand that not everyone has had the many opportunities and the good life that I have enjoyed. He also helps me to realize just how much these kids here need a friend that will continue to visit them, continue to pray for them, continue to love on them, no matter what may happen.

So, the next time you take a hot shower please remember my boys in Cesis Boys Prison. Don't pray for them to get hot water, pray that they might receive the Living Water that Jesus promises.

 

Paldies,

-Mark-

 

PS: Ludzu, ludzu to those of you who have sent money to pay for balls, sports equipments and games for the boys. I took 8 balls in today and they were so happy to get them. Last week they were down to 4 balls for 150 boys and there were way too many boys having to wait their turn to play. It will be much better after today's contribution.

CHILDREN'S DAY

I'm not really sure how it translates but 'Children's Day' is close enough. It a day of celebrating the end of school, start of summer, being a kid, etc.

There were games, inflatables, carnival rides and music events throughout the day in the park near the castle. A couple of 'our' teenagers performed a great singing duet and we were able to see a lot of our friends out with their children.

Latvia is known as "The Land That Sings" and tonight was a showcase for the future of their country. The concert held in Castle Park featured boys' choirs from schools throughout Latvia. There were over 1000 boys in this combined choir from about 8 years to 14 years old. It really was an amazing sight and beautiful to hear.

Also, two other legends performed. Latvia's premier composer, Raimonds Pauls played several songs on the piano and was accompanied by the choirs. To finish up the night, Brainstorm, Latvia's best known pop group entertained before the fireworks closed every thing out.

I am constantly amazed at the talent here and how proud the young people are to perform. There is no embarrassment or hesitation; they are great performers.

 

Toms and Elizabete singing away....

 

The parade march starts at the soccer stadium and stretches to the Castle Park stage...

 

Each choir represents a public school or music school...

The boys are usually accompanied by one or two teachers ....

 

 

Finally, they make it to Castle Park and start filing in...

It is going to be a tight squeeze to get everybody on stage...

 

Finally, every body is in and ready to go...

Not only did they sing beautifully, they had synchronized movements with flags and banners.

WELCOME CHASE AND FAMILY

Chase, Laura, Maddie and Nate have made it safe to Cesis and we are happy they are here to help minister for a few days. Chase is a full-time youth evangelist from Texas that has become our good friend in the last few years. He has a great way of speaking with kids and he certainly has a heart for what God wants young people to hear.

Chase will preach during Sunday service and then also speak at the Youth Concert on Sunday night. We have the Latvian muzika grupa "Man-hu" presenting the concert and we are hoping for a large turnout.

On Monday, Chase and I will return to Riga where he will speak at an Inter-Varsity event at one of the universities.

Tuesday we are taking him into the prison with us and we will also have lunch with the prison chaplain and minister from the area of Latvia that is very close to the Russian border. We are trying to determine a way to work closer with two of the churches that Pastor Misha is responsible for.

Wednesday is our Youth Night and Chase will present the night's program.

Thursday is reserved for sightseeing and resting.

On Friday we are scheduled to meet with our pastor, Olegs at this other job, the Christian Leadership College.

Another trip to Riga is on line for Saturday where we hope to take part in a Latvian Cultural Fair (whatever that may be!).

Chase has been a vital part of the summer camps held here for at least three years. He is not going to be able to make it this summer, but was fortunate enough to schedule a trip and bring his family. It is nice to see familiar faces and get a new perspective on how to overcome some of the obstacles we face here.

Plus, he just got a new camera that I'm just crazy to play with. Here are a few random shots I took today before he wrestled it away from me.

You can never have enough wood. People have to gather wood here all year to be ready for the winter.

 

Our windows are the first two on the bottom (brown building).

 

Beautiful flowers ... spring here is really just now taking off.

 

 

There's just something about a tattooed bearded lady.

DESIGNATED FETCHER

In the world of pickup games, sandlot baseball and P.E. classes, the smallest kids always get chosen last. It's always a bad deal when teams are picked and you are the last one to be taken.

Believe or not, inside the Cesis Boys Prison they have conquered that problem. Yesterday after chapel, I went down to the recreation area. The boys had a couple of soccer games going as well as outdoor basketball and volleyball games. I looked over and there was one little kid quite a bit smaller than the rest and he had on a reflectorized, green safety vest. Some places the vests are orange but here they are a glowing green.

So the little kid is just standing out there by himself between the soccer field and basketball court wearing this goofy vest. I thought maybe he was being disciplined or something because the odds of him being run over by a truck or something were pretty slim seeing as how he was in a prison recreation yard.

Next thing I knew, a soccer ball had bounced through the first barbed-wire fence. They really have three fences, first is barbed wire, followed by a type of ribbon wire which is very, very sharp, then there is a solid wooden fence about 14 feet high, topped by wire.

When the ball bounces over the fence, the kid in the vest is the ONLY one permitted to go through or near the fence. A guard comes over and raises the wire just enough for the designated fetcher to go through (that's where the lack of size helps), get the ball and come out.

Now the little kid is a big hero because the game can continue and every body is happy...guards, players and the designated fetcher. It all looked like a pretty good plan to me!

BUSY SATURDAY

We are just about finished with a busy Saturday in Latvia.

First, we left out on the 8:15 bus for Riga. There are Prayer Days each month for the young people of Latvia. Vilandes Baptist Church was the host this month and our friend Samuels Thomas was the speaker. There is always good music and a great group of young people. We had three of our kids go with us.

When we returned to Cesis, we attended an outdoor concert. Every 5 years Latvia has a Song Festival. They were even able to adapt it so that they could participate during the Communist years. You can not imagine how big a deal this is. The singers are always in their national costumes, some even in their village colors. We are talking about the Super Bowl of choir festivals. They hold it in a huge stadium complex in Riga  during the first week of July. Over the entire week they will have several hundred thousand people attend different parts of the festival.

It does not look like we are going to be able to go this year (some of our group went 5 summers ago) but tonight's concert was a great look at what we are going to be missing. Tickets are extremely hard to get and very expensive so they are having these 'rehearsals' in the different towns.

I don't know a thing about music but they sounded very good tonight. The group 'Auli' is an instrumental folk group that plays drums, bagpipes and a bunch of other traditional instruments. They are one of our favorites and we try to see them every chance we get.

Tradition is such a big thing here. No one is embarrassed to dress up in their national costumes and they don't mind singing the songs of centuries past. It is really enjoyable seeing their pride in the past.

Here are a few photos. In Cesis, the outdoor stage is at the foot of the castle. It makes for an impressive display. (As always, you can double click and the photo will open in a larger window.)

Ata!

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUNE 1 - MUSIC CONCERT AND CHASE BOWERS SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT

CADILLAC WEDDING

Cesis is often the site of many weddings in the spring and summer time. Who wouldn't want to be married in a 600 year old church (St. John's Lutheran)? Plus, for a small additional fee you can motor off into the sunset in your very own chauffeur-driven Cadillac convertible!

The tradition is to go to the traffic circle in the center of town and drive around the circle for a few spins as everyone else waves, honks their car horns and generally makes noise.

There aren't very many American cars in Cesis but this Cadillac surely stands out.

END OF THE SEASON

Basketball games start here in late September. This weekend the boys' teams will finish their season. Add in a month of pre-season training and these guys have been going at for a long time.

This weekend we are hosting the EYBL championships (European Youth Basketball League). In town for the tournament are teams from Belarus, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia. These all play a pretty good brand of basketball.

The teams in Cesis truly play a multi-national schedule as I have seen teams from Lithuania, Uzbekistan, Russia, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Belarus and Norway. As most games are played on Saturday and Sunday, it is not unusual to leave school a little early on Friday afternoon, travel several hours across national borders and play two games on the weekend.

This is a picture of the Belarus team. They were well-coached but are about to lose on a last second shot. Cesis plays Sweden today (Sunday) at 12:00. I will be able see them play the final game of the season before our church starts at 2:30p.

 

MUSEUM NIGHT

Museum night is a tradition in Cesis that allows everyone to enjoy the museums and activities free of charge during one night. Of course when your town is built around an 800-year old castle, there are lots of things to see.

Last night we enjoyed a few of the highlights, starting at 10:30pm. Why so late? Probably because it does not get dark until at least 10:15 or later. One of our favorite traditional Latvian music groups is 'Auli'. They performed on the walkway over the moat that leads to Cesis Castle. It was a great mini-concert and we enjoyed watching the people as well.

It is still a big thing here for people to dress up in native costumes. Monks, fair maidens, court jesters, priests are walking around in very period correct dress.

It was kind of sad (in a funny sort of way) as the main announcer was introducing everybody and explaining the different events that were about to take place. He was droning on and finally we heard 'zupa' (soup) and 'pancukas' (pancakes) ... about the only two things we understood besides 'good evening' and 'good night'!

It was a fun evening and since everything took place within a block of our flat, we heard them still going strong at 2:00 this morning. This photo is of the Cesis Castle and 'Auli' performing.

 

LAURA'S ADDRESS TO CESIS BAPTIST CHURCH

Pastor Olegs asked one of us to speak about our trip to the States and the upcoming summer plans. Laura did a great job, so I decided to pass it on here:

 

[Presented by Laura Wimberley to Cesis Baptist Draudze - May 11, 2008]

It is great to be back, especially to be here with our Latvian family whom we love and feel such a part of. We are still dealing with time change. It seems that one of us is sleeping or not sleeping at all times of the day and night. This morning at 2:30 my eyes were wide open, and words were whirling in my head. Sometimes we are asked to speak, and I do not feel that there is anything I need to say. Then others, it feels like God is saying, “I want you to speak, and this is what I want you to say.” This morning at 2:30 was one of those times.

Yesterday, we went walking around the town and saw many friends. We met a girl on the sidewalk who was excited about what God is doing in her life. She invited us to a meeting and we went and enjoyed some great Christian music and it was so encouraging to see how God was working in the lives of the people there. They were from another church and did things a little differently, but that’s ok. We all love and serve the same God. So many times, I have the feeling that we are standing on the edge of something more wonderful than we can imagine. That God has chosen to do a work here.

It was hard to leave home this time. We had a good time there and just wished we could stay longer. When it was time to leave tears were shed. We miss family and friends and church and the familiar. But God sent us here and we knew it was the only place we belong now. People say, “Why do you come?” That is not the question to ask. The question is, “Why has God sent us?” Why are we here? Why do people feel God calling them to give their money to support this ministry? Why are people led to pray daily for Cesis? Why has God called Chase Bowers to come back and bring his family? Why do groups of Americans come here every summer? Why has he sent you one of the best pastors Latvia has to offer? There can be only one answer: God has a vision for Cesis! He wants to do something big here! And the thing is: You are a huge part of it! We need you! We cannot do it alone. We have events planned beginning the first of June. We need your help. We have begun a prison ministry. We need you to be a part of it. We hope to begin a mid week Bible study and prayer meeting. We need you to be there and invite others. We need teachers. It doesn’t matter if you never taught before. God will lead you.

We need helpers for vacation Bible school. One person has already volunteered to take 2 hours off from her job to help, we need more like her – youth, adults, men, women willing to say yes.

When God called Mark and me to Cesis, we could have said:

"We need to work a few more years first."

"We want to wait till the boys marry and leave home."

"I can’t speak to people. I have panic attacks."

"We want to stay and take care of the older members of our family." Mark’s 90 year old aunt is in the hospital now. When we left, we wondered if we would ever see her again.

There were so many reasons to wait or say let someone else go.

But God wanted to hear only one answer, “Yes, I’ll do it.”

I know God is asking something from everyone of you. Will you say, “Yes”? He has said yes to you so many times:

Yes, I’ll heal you.

Yes, I’ll answer your prayer.

Yes, I’ll bless you.

Yes, I’ll love you.

Yes. I’ll die for you.

Say yes to him. Let’s see what God wants to do in our lives and the lives of the people of Cesis. You will never regret following his lead. It is one of the greatest things you will ever experience. Don’t be afraid, trust him. Say YES.

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN, JIGGITY JIG

We have made it back to Cesis with very few problems.

It was a great trip and we had a super time with our friends and family. The hardest part of living here is not getting to see our family as often as we wish. Our relatives are getting on up in years and of course, we are missing out on some of our sons' important days. But, we are still committed to our mission here and we firmly believe that God wants us here, doing what we can with His help.

It is certainly greener than when we left about three weeks ago. The nights are cool but the days are really great, about 65-70 degrees.

We've go a lot of things planned. We'll keep you informed on what's happening as we head into a busy summer.

AUSTIN AND CENTRAL TEXAS

We are spending a few days in Texas getting ready for the summer. We made a quick trip to Austin to visit Laura's family and check on some official paperwork for our next round of visa applications.

These pictures are for our Latvian friends. Central Texas is a beautiful place, especially during the spring time. But, the tradeoff is a huge traffic problem.

We're back to East Texas for a few more meetings, summer ministry planning and house repairs.

So long for now....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOME TO TEXAS

Laura and I are enjoying a few days in Texas ... catching up with family and friends, taking care of Uncle Sam's April 15 paperwork and planning for the summer's activities.

Here are a couple of unusual cows that were grazing the Amsterdam Airport and then a big bear we found while taking our son Adam out for Mexican food in Dallas.