VIJA'S 70th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!

One of truly gracious ladies of Cesis Baptist is Vija. She has been so kind and helpful to us in every way and it was our honor to be invited to her 70th birthday party.

Vija has six children (see picture below) and all of them were in attendance. In view of the seventy year mark, she was given seven cakes! Latvian birthday cakes are a little different from the US.

Her big present was a digital camera, which she was already putting to good use by the time the party really got going. Pictures of the cat, pictures of the door, pictures of the kids, pictures of over-stuffed Americans full of good Latvian food...

One of the neat things here is that they include Laura and me in nearly everything (even if they forget to tell us ahead of time "Oh yeah, we are having a birthday celebration right after church...You are coming aren't you?") So, we show up, presents or not, and get to participate in another culture's traditions.

By the way, I hope I am able to do the things that Vija does daily when I get to be 70.

 

 

 

 

BASKETBALL TRAVELS . . .

One of the neat things that I get to do here is to travel with the boys' basketball teams. It is very different than when I was coaching in Texas for all of those years.

First, we basically take five teams on the trip: 7th, 8th, 9th, JV and Varsity (although it is broken down by ages, not grades here). We put all these boys on the SAME bus with two coaches and myself. The last travel was an overnight trip to Ventspils and Kandava. I would have never taken these different age groups on the same bus but they really don't think anything of it over here.

When I was coaching, I often would invite a Special Education student to serve as a manager, helper, etc. I often would assign an older, responsible player to be in charge of the Special Education student when we were on the road. He was to make sure the other student was on time, knew where we were leaving from, what time we would eat, etc. Now, I'm the one that feels like he's a Special Education student on these trips. I have to have one of the players that speak English to translate what the coach says in regards to schedules, meetings, etc. The coaches speak very, very little English, so I have to rely on someone else to get me where I'm supposed to be. The coaches surely don't have time to babysit me with their other responsibilities.

The coaching here is good but most of the coaches are not teachers in the school system. There are no organized athletics in the schools. They have a physical education program but all competitive athletics are only offered by the Sporta Skola, which is completely separate from the academic schools. They also have Music Skola and Makslas Skola (art) which offers instruction in the fine arts.

So, we take a two day trip to the other side of Latvia for the basketball games. We traveled four hours, played five games, got back on the bus, and traveled two more hours to Kandava.

When we arrived in Kandava, I found my dream gym. This Sports Halle had a small cafe to feed the teams and an attached hotel. I could literally hear the horn in the gym from my hotel room. From the door of my room it was exactly 21 steps to a seat in the bleachers. Now that is a nice set-up...nice bleachers, nice hotel (think Motel 6) and some good basic Latvian food in the kafenica. I could have stayed there for days: eating, sleeping and watching basketball.

The kids all took care of themselves and each other. We had no problems unless you consider the 7th grade boys that brought hair clippers and shaved each other's heads. Other than that, all was good.

I never missed the bus, never made too big of a fool of myself in trying to speak Latvian and never once told the Latvian coaches how they should coach. It was a great trip that I truly enjoyed. The Latvian kids are well behaved and accept me pretty much as just an old, weird guy hanging around the gym ... which is exactly what I am.

DIGGING OUT!

After about four days of snow, the sun is SHINING! For an East Texas boy, this is more snow than I've seen in my entire lifetime. According to the locals, it is about three months late. We have had snow off and on since November but I think this storm surprised even the Latvians. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

LATVIAN COMMEMORATION DAY - March 25

March 25
Commemoration Day of Victims of Communist Terror

On this day in 1949, a total of 43 000 people were deported from Latvia to Siberia - mainly prosperous peasants, regarded by the Soviet occupation regime as alien to communist ideology and the principles of collectivism.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a short ceremony today unveiling a plaque on a building near our flat. Basically, it states that starting in the 1940's this building was the location of the Soviet secret police "Cheka". There were numerous people tortured, humiliated and killed there.

We sometimes wonder why the Latvian culture seems so different to us. When you see and hear of the things that went on during the 'Regime', you understand a little better.

I knew that the street we live on had some type of importance during Communist times but I wasn't exactly sure to what degree. I will try to find someone to help me understand more of the history of this location.

Today, this building is used for the prosecutor's office of the justice system.

 

 

The plaque that was unveiled:

EASTER HOMESICKNESS -- EASTER LATVIAN STYLE

Although we miss Texas and our family, it is not often we get homesick. But, the holidays always seem to make us more prone to really wanting to see our boys and be back in a familiar place. We were lucky enough to spend Christmas and New Years with them but we have missed out on Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and now Easter. Our family is all in this adventure together and they have never once complained about the sacrifices they have to make with us being in Latvia. So, we hope they have a good Easter weekend and that they know we wish we could be with them and celebrate this holiday with them. We love you.

We are noticing several differences in the Latvian Easter celebrations. Not too many major differences, just some minor things such as:

• No egg hunting outside ... since there is already about 2 inches of snow on the ground and it is supposed to snow most of Saturday night, it is kind of hard to effectively find the eggs! The city-wide egg hunt for kids is scheduled (inside) for the Kultura Nams (Culture Hall). Forecast on Sunday is for a high of about 29 degrees.
• Worship service at 5:30am ... yes, 5:30am! Many churches world wide have 'sunrise' services. Since Cesis Baptist Church shares their building, the owners get first crack at the sunrise service. So, the Lutherans will be celebrating a sunrise service and the Baptists will be celebrating a 'pre-dawn' service. We will have regular service at 2:30pm also. It will be interesting as I don't think I have ever been to church this early. Walking to church, in the snow, at 5:00 am on Easter morning ... who would have thought this Texas couple would be doing that?
• Since flowers have not made an appearance here, there seems to be less emphasis on greenery and flowers in the decorations.
• No Easter ham, deviled eggs, ice tea, mash potatoes, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, fried chicken or soft dinner rolls BUT we will eat at our friends' house and I'm sure we will have cabbage salad, boiled potatoes, black bread, pickles, karbonade, hot tea and honey cake for dessert.
• Last but not least, I'm thinking I will see a lot more fur coats, ski jackets and parkas rather than Easter bonnets and spring dresses.

Even with the differences, the Christians here have a very strong sense of the meaning of Easter. They understand that the entire Christian religion points to this one holiday as the make or break idea behind our beliefs. We look forward to celebrating Christ's resurrection tomorrow no matter how different the surroundings. Maybe with less emphasis on the standards of man-made success we can focus more on the true meaning of this special day.

We hope you celebrate a glorious Easter with your friends and family.

DIGNITY AND THE SOUP KITCHEN

The soup kitchen in Cesis is staffed by three churches, taking a month's rotation each. March is Cesis Baptist Church turn so we have been helping there during lunch. There are usually between 10 and 20 people there, all at different stops on life's road. Some are struggling mightily with alcohol, some with mental problems and some with age related or health problems.

As a man, I see us provide them soup, a warm place for an hour or so and maybe an orange for dessert. I know it is not enough but I am almost overwhelmed when thinking what else could we do for them with our limited resources.

Thank goodness Laura does not think like a man! She looked at the people and saw the same things but she looked deeper. She saw that these people not only need food but also a band-aid on their dignity.

She bakes cookies now for them each day that we serve. Of course, they just loved them. Then she went even further. She decided we needed to 'class' up the place a little. She worked it out so that we could brew up tea and coffee for each of them. You cannot imagine how that small act was appreciated.

The first day the ladies' table was just sitting there, drinking their tea, having a big conversation about something. Inese started laughing and told us one of the ladies said "Now, this is my style! Drinking tea and eating cookies...this is living!".

We take so much for granted in our own lives and we can't even begin to understand the problems that these people face. Yet, every day they don't leave without telling us 'paldies, paldies' (thank you, thank you). It doesn't matter that we don't speak the language ... they are going to talk to us in Latvian anyway! Today, one woman keep chattering and I could understand 'sirds' which means 'heart' and pointing to me .... that about says it all!

I'm so glad that Laura can see beyond what I see ... and that she could understand that dignity is just as important as food.

Have a good weekend!

MARCH SNOW #2

MARCH SNOW

An early March snow storm blows into Cesis. The 'birthday girl' is hanging on in some snowy and windy conditions!

"Do you want to eat OUT?"

Although we are getting somewhat better with the language we have a long, long, long way to go before we could even be considered at the kindgergarten level.

Case in point:

At Laura's Bible Study on Tuesday night, she wanted to propose to the group that the next meeting could be at a local restuarant. She thought a change of scenery would be nice and the ladies here don't have many opportunities to just be by themselves and enjoy fellowship.

So, she asks "What would you think if we maybe went out to eat next week?" ... nothing but silence! Again, she says "You know, we could all meet here and then go somewhere in Cesis and have a meal out." Nothing but silence and quizzical looks. Finally, she says "I just thought you might want to eat out together since we all have families to take care of. It would just be this group eating and having our lesson."

Eventually, one brave soul said "Do you mean we are going to meet and eat OUTSIDE?" Remember it is still below freezing here most days! They didn't want to tell Laura she was crazy but it just did not translate that they were going OUT to eat.

We run into those grammtical problems often...the best we can do is to laugh and start over.

Cesis, Riga, McDonalds, Concert, Uh oh!

"I Thought You Knew What Time The Bus Left!"
or another "Cesis Big Adventure"

We have made a goal of trying to do something (concert, movie night, youth service, etc.) special each month with our Youth Group. Certainly we still have our weekly Wednesday night meetings at our flat but we want to expand what the kids experience.

So, this past Saturday night we decided to take a group to a concert at St. Matejas Church in Riga (the capitol city of Latvia). They were having several Christian contemporary music groups to perform. The highlight was supposed to be the first group (I have no idea what their name is) as they were going to record their music live for a CD.

We had a group of 11 kids show up at the train station for the 2 hour trip to Riga. All of these are really good kids and we enjoy being around them. Once we got into Riga, the first stop was McDonald's (strategically located across from the Central Station). We went from offering to pay for anyone's meal that needed help to amazement at what these kids ordered. They had all eaten at a McDonald's before but it is still a big treat for them. The record was 5 hamburgers eaten by Eduards. Several of our slim, no fat anywhere girls, ate a burger, fries, large cola, McFlurry (malt) and anything else that could get their hands on. American kids might have to take a backseat to these Latvian teen-age eaters.

Next it was off to St. Matejas. The decision came down to walking 30 minutes through downtown Riga in 34 degree weather or spending .50 apiece on the tram. We were outvoted so it was a cool, brisk 30 minute walk (fueled by massive amounts of American hamburgers and fries).

The concert was great. The first band was very professional and the CD was recorded both in audio and video. Everybody had to turn off their phones (a big sacrifice for Latvians). Luckily for us they had the lyrics projected on a screen so Laura and I could practice our language skills. The only problem was when the guy running the computer got mixed up on the lyrics and put up the wrong slide. Then you have two Americans singing words they don't know at the wrong place in the song.

After the first group, we had several more bands that played a few songs each. Latvians are great singers and musicians. Most of the groups have the usual drums, bass, and guitars but some also added horns, sax, and other stringed instruments. All of it was done very nicely and we even were able to see a couple of the guys that came to Cesis for our Youth Concert back in November.

Now the fun started. Eduards had left to take his sister to the bus station as she does not live in Cesis. The plan was to leave St. Matejas about 9:45 for the walk (!) back to the Central Station, meet Eduards and catch the last bus back to Cesis. The bus was to leave at 10:30...no problem. After we had walked just a few blocks, Eduards came running up the sidewalk, completely out of breath (remember, we had to turn our phones off!). Once we got him calmed down, he informed us that the last bus leaves at 10:00 not 10:30! We had maybe 5 minutes to make it. Nope, we're NOT going to make it.

After a couple of minutes of thinking, we decided we could go over about 3 streets, catch a city bus out to Teika where we could beat the Cesis bus to the last bus stop on the edge of Riga. That sounded like a good plan but when you've got a bunch of teenagers running down the streets at 10:00 with two old codgers trying to keep up with them, I could see either a heart attack or a car-pedestrian accident just waiting to happen.

The next plan was a stroke of genius. Why not just hail a cab (or two or three) and take us to Teika? So just like in the movies, we got a cab and told him where to go and we had to get there FAST before the bus. We went tearing through Riga and I was praying we would make it, we would all make it since we'd split up, and that I would have enough money to pay for all the cabs and the bus tickets.

No worries! We made it with a couple of minutes to spare ... I had enough money for the cabs (but I still think that the old guy jacked up the price as soon as he heard my Texas-Latvian!) and the bus arrived, right on time.

The next problem was the size of the bus. We all lined up, ready to buy our ticket from the driver. There were also others waiting for this same bus at this stop. We could see this was not the usual big bus but one of the smaller ones. Eduards kind of says under his breath "I don't think all of us will make it...the driver doesn't have to let people on if they have to stand up." So, Anete was upfront buying the tickets for all of us and somehow she sweet talked the driver into letting us all on. A few of us found seats, others sat in laps but we were all on-board and headed home to Cesis. We were even entertained by two drunk guys heading back to Sigulda after a Saturday of partying in Riga. Sometimes it is a blessing to not know much of the Latvian language.

We arrived in Cesis about 12:00. Laura and I breathed a big sigh of relief, I didn't have to worry about trying to call parents that don't speak English and tell them their child was going to have to stay in Riga overnight because I couldn't read a bus schedule. The kids just laughed about it all (when it was over!) because I think this kind of stuff happens all the time.

Great concert, great kids, great adventure and a great God that helps us daily to find our way ... even when we are lost and foolish!

We hope you have a great week!

THE LATVIAN CULTURE

We are often asked about the culture of Latvia. Some the most obvious differences to us are the ones that probably came about because of Communism and Soviet domination. Now this is strictly unscientific and obviously there are exceptions.

Secrecy is still very much a part of the Latvian daily life. The younger you are the less likely you would do all of the following but it is pretty much the norm regardless of age:

1) Most people do not introduce themselves by their first and last name ... usually only their first names. You may get to know them by their last names after you have established a frienship.

2) Most people are not open about where they work, where they live, etc. For example, your landlord will probably come by and receive the rent money directly from you. He probably will not ask you to bring it by his place of work or his home. (That would allow you to possibly know too much.)

3) Until you are well known to the person, you will not be invited to their home. It is not because they don't like you, it just goes back to the idea of secrecy.

4) You have to be careful about greeting people too warmly that you don't know. Example: in church, a visitor may not feel comfortable with the members asking their name, are they new in the community, etc. We certainly do not have any visitor cards to use for follow-up because that would be too intrusive in their society.

5) In stores, you are almost never asked "May I help you?" by the sales clerk. Sometimes it will not even be acknowledged that you are there. Again, they aren't being rude but they don't want to invade your space by asking questions.

For two Americans that are pretty open, it is hard to understand their way of thinking. But, when you study their history and some of the hardships they encountered you can defintely see how these attitudes inside of their culture have developed.

Sometimes we shake our heads and wonder why they do certain things. Then, someone will patiently explain the background and it doesn't seem as strange anymore. Altough we understand, it does make it difficult for us to move into their culture, develop new friendships and conduct business. It is never easy but at least we are beginning to understand a little more clearly.

YOUTH CONCERT - CESIS BAPTIST CHURCH

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.

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 . . .

ACTIVITIES FROM THE FALL (2)

More shots from the fall activities:



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!

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!

First Heavy Snow - Cesis

Winter arrived on Monday! With temperatures falling the last few weeks and a few flurries of snow on Saturday, we knew that the real stuff wouldn't be too long in making an appearance. It started snowing Monday morning and was still snowing into the night. These are some pictures from a nearby park and the area right around our flat. The people look at me a little funny when I am out in the snow taking pictures ... for them it is just a way of life.

Stay warm!

First Heavy Snow - Cesis

"What do they live on?"

Laura and I have been volunteering at the local soup-kitchen. Cesis Baptist Church and St. John's Lutheran Church share the opportunity of providing a noon meal for those that would otherwise go without.

This is truly a soup-kitchen as that is all that is served. Most of the diners are elderly but a few are just down on their luck. None on them can speak any English but they always want us to sit down, eat and talk with them. We try to hold a conversation but with our Latvian skills it is mainly just nodding our heads in agreement with whatever they are saying. They seem so appreciative and we wish we could communicate with them better.

The first day we were there the soup-of-the-day was 'sour' cabbage. It seems that they take cabbage, leave it outside for a few days to ferment and then bring it inside. Inside, you cover it up and let it ferment a while longer. I can pretty much eat anything (and I usually do!) but I just couldn't go with the sour cabbage soup.

The other people working there started laughing and they told us one of the very old ladies saw we weren't eating the soup or the bread. She turned around and asked one of our Latvian friends "They don't eat sour cabbage soup or black bread -- what in the world do they live on?". It seems this is a national soup and everyone but picky Americans love it.

It is starting to get much colder here and some snow flurries. Maybe tomorrow we will have some pictures of a fresh snow-fall.

Keep safe!

Day of the Dead

In Latvia, one of the most beautiful places you will see are the cemeteries. They are usually on the edge of town in a pine forest. The Latvians show great reverence for the grave sites. They plant small bushes and flowers as borders of the plots. The headstones can range from a simple stone marker to elaborate black granite. Most families visit the graves quite often, polishing the markers, weeding and of course, adding fresh flowers. They use small wooden rakes to draw designs into the sand and surrounding dirt.

We were invited to go with our friend Inese to visit her father's and grandparent's graves last night. We really didn't know what was meant by the 'Day of the Dead' but it was quite interesting. As we got to the cemetery and started to enter we could see maybe 20-30 acres of white, blue, green and red flickering candles. Most are in special containers so they can continue to be burn even when it is windy. This cemetery is actually kind of hilly so as we got to the top it was almost like looking down onto a city with Christmas decorations. There were many people walking to their loved ones graves and placing the candles, flowers and other items onto the graves. It was a beautiful sight unlike anything we have seen before.

It was also interesting to hear Inese speak about her relatives. Her father was a taxi driver and a nationalist (didn't want the Soviets to control them). One night he was singing the Latvian national anthem in public. Evidently, he had been warned before about doing this (it was illegal) and he has not been heard of or seen since. Several days later his taxi was found in the Gauja River (burned). A body was found down-river several months later and the authorities asked Inese's mother to come identify the body. She wouldn't go but his sister did. The sister was positive it was not her brother as she said the teeth were not his. However, the Soviets said yes, it is him and he will be taken back to Cesis and buried. They looked at it as someone that drove into the Gauja, was a missing person for a while, a body was found so the case was closed. Someone is buried at that grave that has Inese's father's name on the marker but she is positive her father's body is not there.

It is amazing what some of these people lived through. Maybe next time I'll share her grandparent's stories.

Have a good week!

Youth Night -- Servant Evangelism

This week's youth meeting was designed around the concept of 'servant-evangelism'. This is the second time we have done this activity and the students really seem to like it.

Basically, we ask each student to take a long-stemmed flower, attach a note that contains a scripture and anything else they want to write on it. They then go through-out the town and find someone they want to give the flower to. The only rule we have is that it cannot be given to someone that they already know. Of course, the first question the students get is "Why do you want to give this to me?" followed by "What's the catch?". We have tried to prepare them for the occasional rude response or belligerence but it has really gone great. After establishing a dialogue with the person they then ask if it would be ok if they (the student) prayed for them in the coming week? If they get a 'yes', then they ask if there is anything specific they can pray for them about. Our kids have been surprised how open some of the people have been in their requests.

Our purpose in this is two-fold: to get the students used to doing something without the promise of a tangible reward and secondly, to get them to become bolder as they approach people they don't know. If they are ever going to present their own testimony they are going to have to become a lot more open to other people. This culture is one that can be sometimes intimidating if you don't know the person and strangers are not always welcome to just begin a conversation.

We hope this type of servant-evangelism will help these students in the future as they go out into the world to witness and live a Christian life.

For some reason I only have pictures of the girls but we had about 15 boys and girls participating on Wednesday night.

Things You Won't See in Latvia . . .

1. A carton with a dozen eggs . . . they only sell 10 in a carton.
2. Free water at a cafe or restaurant
3. Air conditioned buses
4. Dr. Pepper
5. Basketball games on any nights except Friday, Saturday or Sunday
6. A free second cup of coffee
7. A change of plans because it is raining or snowing
8. Water fountains ... you just will not see a public water fountain (even in a gym)
9. Regulations on fireworks ... they are bought and sold in stores year-round
10. Yellow school buses (school's don't own buses or have student routes)

Fall Festival & Thanksgiving

Cesis Baptist Church celebrated their Fall Festive and Thanksgiving this past Sunday. Laura and her Ladies' Bible Study group did a good job of planning and decorating for it. We held the festivities at another church because we do not have adequate facilities for something like this.
We hope the people had a good time because we have been stressing the idea of more church fellowships and enjoying just being with each other. A lot of our members do not see each other except for the time they are together on Sundays.

We had singing, games and of course, food. It was quite different from what a church fellowship would be in the USA but everyone seemed to have a good time. One of the neat things was that two of the games that were enjoyed the most were 'musical chairs' and 'charades'. I could get right with them on the musical chairs but trying to compete at charades with a foreign language you don't really know . . . well, let's just say I didn't win.

I hope you enjoy the pictures: