RUSSIA Day 4 (Best day yet)

Nikolay asked us to help take a bunch kids to an outdoor museum. Of course, we were delighted to help.

These kids are not in an orphanage but their families are having a hard time coping for a variety of reasons. The kids are removed from the homes and placed in this shelter. They may or may not return back to their homes.

The children were extremely well-behaved and had a great time being outdoors. We were in an open air museum area that had a hundred different types of log cabins, barns, churches,etc. The kids could roam around the area and we also brought volleyballs, soccer balls and a few Frisbees. Steve led the group in the international hit song "Dum Diddy Dum". After a good lunch (see pictures) we loaded up on the trusty number 3 bus and sent them back to the shelter.

Instead of me writing I thought you'd probably enjoy seeing the pictures more:

On the way...seems they are still wondering what we are about.

It was a very cool, rainy day...probably in the mid 50s.

Here we go...beginning to warm up to us a little.

 

 

 

 

 

The entire group.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting ready for lunch and telling tall tales...

 

Lunch is a potato, a tomato, a boiled egg, bread and cucumbers (every one has an enameled bowl and cup)

We brought some sausage and cheese.

 

 

 

Here's bus #3, ready to go...

A last prayer and God's blessing on these young people and their teachers....

 

A last handshake....and goodbye. What's next for him?

RUSSIA Day 3

Nicolay picked us up and we headed through Archangelsk to his church's Prayer House. Basically, a Prayer House is a church building that was or is also a private home. Since they have someone that lives on the property they can't call it a church, it has to be a Prayer House. Because it is not a house, the government can tax the property and house. The tax is steadily going up and Nikolay has been able to prove that no lives in the House but to no avail.

We spent the rest of the morning helping to tear out the floor in area that needs foundation repair. It was work that went quickly and we enjoyed being able to do something after sitting so much the previous few days.

The area around the Prayer House is filled with a big garden. The growing season here in very short but with such long days and short nights, they get really good growth. The reward for working the morning shift was a great lunch prepared by Tija and her friend. It was supposed to be like a picnic (we ate outdoors) but we had some great garden fresh food.

Here are a few pictures from the Prayer House and surrounding area:

Prayer House

 

Side view...

 

Tearing out old floor...

 

A friend helping to work on the floor....

 

Nikolay

 

Tija spooning up the soup.....

 

Sausages finished off the main course....you might want to take those casings off before you eat the sausage.

 

Announcement of Sunday service times....

 

Prayer House garden...

RUSSIA Day 2

Finally, we are in Archangelsk. Twenty-two hours on the train. No TV, no lounge car, nothing but some good reading material and a loaded mp3 player.

The world may run out of oil but I can't imagine Russia running out of trees. For literally hundreds of miles you see nothing but forests on both sides of the tracks. I'm talking dense forests. No roads, no barbed-wire fences, no nothing...just trees.

Along the way you might see some small villages but nothing I would really call a town. The train comes through these small hamlets with maybe 10-15 houses. Very few cars, lots of bicycles, no satellite TV receivers, not even anything that looks like a school. It does seem they have electricity close to the tracks but a few blocks away, I can't tell.

The police presence at each stopping point seems to be some type of army personnel. I think it might be hard to keep a policemen in these areas unless you were forced to be stationed here.

A lot of the area is beautiful, especially around the small lakes. Except for cutting wood, I don't know what type of occupations these people would have.

We eat a lot of junk food, drink a lot of tea (they have free hot water!) and keep figuring up how many more hours we have left. You can walk in the hallway outside our cabin but two people can't walk side-by-side.

F-i-n-a-l-l-y, our car attendant comes and tells us our stop is next. Whether our friend Nicolay is waiting or not...I'm getting off this train!

 

Of course, Nikolay is waiting and we jump in his car for a short ride to his apartment. As we ride into town, I'm hit with the realization that I'm a long, long way from Athens, Texas. I've been overseas for more than a year now and have traveled to Latvia each summer for the last six years but Archangelsk, Russia is so much different from what I'm used to.

Archangelsk is very near the Arctic Circle. I know the  winters can be brutal and it shows in most of the infrastructure. The roads are really poor, with lots of pot holes. Most of the people live in 1950 and 60's built large apartment complexes. It is quite literally like stepping back into the 1960's in a lot of ways. There are very, very few private homes and they have a different philosophy about keeping communal or city property mowed. Basically, it doesn't get done.

While the conditions of Archangelsk are tough, the people were great to us. We were treated exceptionally well by Pastor Nikolay, wife Tija and their family. We stayed in his daughter Roxanna's (actually Oxanna?) and her husband Vladamir's apartment. She was a great host and excellent cook! She lives on the eighth floor and if everyone holds their breath, three people can get into the elevator at the same time. We could not have been treated any nicer than by these two young people.

We had no problems when we went out walking around and exploring but I'm sure we stuck out like two Texans in Russia.

Here are a few pictures of some of the people mentioned above:

Nicolay, Steve, Roxanna, Vladamir

 

Wednesday breakfast....good sausages and hot mustard.

 

A good example of most of the housing in Archangelsk.

 

Small playground for the children in the complex.

RUSSIA - Day 1

Steve and I headed out to Riga at 3:00pm Saturday to catch our train to Moscow. We know we will be on this train for about 18 hours....and sharing a compartment with possibly two other people. We've loaded up on food and water, plenty of reading material and I've got a new battery in my mp3 player.

Our compartment mates turn out to be an elderly lady and her son. They speak less English than I do Latvian or Russian. So, we spend quite a bit of time just sitting and wondering what the other person is not-saying.

We really can't go to bed yet (our bench seats are our beds) because the border crossing will be coming up around 11:00 or 12:00. We don't know because we are the only ones that can speak English in this whole car, possibly the entire train.

First, you come to the Latvian border guards. They check passports, papers, etc and are fairly straight forward (of course, we are leaving Latvia). After they have taken care of the entire train (about an hour stopped on the tracks...no one is allowed to move around the train), the train continues onward for about another 45 minutes (just long enough to get drowsy).

We are now ready for the Russian border guards. Same drill but just a little more intense. They take your passport, check everything (visa, etc.) and then radio your name to guy on a laptop computer at the end of the car. First, it was kind of freaky hearing my name in Russian and then I was straining my ears trying to hear what reply came from the computer guy. I was ready to move into Jason Bourne mode at a moment's notice but the guy just said 'Da' and handed me the passport back. He might have seen me tensing up...I don't know but I'm glad an international incident was avoided.

With the paperwork out of the way, we bed down. Top bunks for Steve and me and the Russian/Latvian duo took the bottom. I really didn't think I was sleeping too soundly but sometime in the early morning hours, our suite mates left the train at one of the stops. At least, that's what Steve says.

We made it into Moscow by about 12:45pm on Sunday (around 19 hours if you are keeping score) and of course, our next train does not leave from that station. We tackle the Metro (subway) and head out to Station #2. It is one thing to be in a country and you don't speak the language. But when that country uses an alphabet completely different from your own, you can't even use context clues. Amazingly, we found the next station without too much trouble and stowed our luggage.

After a quick trip by taxi, we we were standing in Red Square. Lots of tourists and we were able to see a few sites on our few hours  off the train. Beautiful scenes in every direction. Lenin's tomb was closed for some reason (do you remodel tombs??) but the State Museum was really nice. Besides Steve, I did not hear one English word spoken until I was in the museum and one of the museum ladies came over and started talking to me. She was upset about something but I thought she maybe just didn't like Texans. I'm just shrugging and grinning at her until a Japanese lady tells me in English, "You can't take pictures in here unless you buy a special ticket." I looked at the Russian lady and said "But everybody else is doing it." I felt like I was back in school making excuses to the teacher ... but she wasn't buying it. I put my camera up.

We made it back to the station, picked up our luggage and got onboard. This train was slightly nicer but for a big man, still a little confining. We kept waiting for our new roomies to show up but we were giving high-fives when the train pulled away and it was just the two of us in compartment #8. It's only about 22 hours to Archangelsk....can we make it?

BACK IN THE USSR

I leave today for several days of travel in Russia. I was approved for my visa on Friday, so we are ready to roll.

My traveling partner this time is Steve Akin and we will be literally rolling to Arkhangelsk, Russia. Rolling as in riding on the Russian railroad.

My Latvian language skills are improving but still have a long way to go. However, when we were buying our tickets I know I heard the lady say something close to "divdesmit piecas stundas" which is 25 hours (one-way). We will be in a compartment that will be shared by two other people for the trip from Riga, Latvia to Moscow and then on to Archangelsk. (click here from Russian map) Arkhangelsk is actually fairly close to the Arctic Circle.

Twenty-five hours in one small space on a train loaded with people that do not speak English. The brochure mentioned microwaves, video TV, dining cars, turn-down bed service, fresh fruit and concierge service. Of course, that is the first class section. Steve-O and I will be back with the common (just like us) people in carriage car number 8 (exactly where the old caboose car would have been). A small bench seat for each of us and then a fold-down bunk will be our home. We've loaded up on hard cheese, cup-of-soup, coffee packets, potato chips and chocolate bars. Steve also bought some salami. I don't know if that will make him a friend or foe with our fellow riders.

So now I'm thinking about what I should hope (and pray) for concerning our compartment sharers. Do we want Russians so we can learn a few words and a little of their culture; but then you have those long awkward pauses where no one knows what to say (or how)? How about a grandmother type that has stocked up on some great food and she is willing to trade some of her home-made delectables in exchange for my fix-in-a-cup soup? It's kind of selfish of me, but I really would like for the young babies to all be in another car but I could certainly enjoy having some cute kids. If my room-mates turn out to be anti-social I've got a few paperback novels to pass the hours. I'm positive we'll have a great time, no matter who we are paired with. (How many other people on the train are hoping they don't get paired with two old guys from Texas???)

Anyway, it will be quite different than an usual airplane flight, stay tuned for details.

We are heading to Arkhangelsk to see if Pastor Nicoli needs help and encourage him in any way possible. The Baptist church in Arkhangelsk has been a sister church to Athens-FBC for quite some time and we value the relationship. Originally, we had intended to make this a joint Latvian-American trip but that will have to be rescheduled for next year.

Please remember Laura as she stays back in Cesis and takes care of the Soup Kitchen, church activities and all of the other daily business requirements.

Labi cau!

I SEE MADONNA LIVE AND IN PERSON!

After planning for several months to travel to Madonna (actually it is spelled Madona), we finally made it yesterday. Steve, Laura, Olegs and I went to look at a church building that Madona Baptist Church is constructing.

They are currently in a two-story house and are erecting this building adjacent to the existing house. Most of the labor has been performed by the congregation themselves. They do not have electricity or restrooms operational but they are already meeting in this new building.

Cesis Baptist Church also has a dream to be in their own building (they currently meet in a Lutheran church). We have had many conversations with both Americans and Latvians on how this congregation can accomplish their dream. They have been meeting in the Lutheran church since 1973 so even though they do not own it, there is still a long tradition of worshipping there.

Can our small church financially support constructing their own building? Should they buy and remodel or build entirely new? How much should American Christians support them and in what way? (funding?; funding, labor and materials?; a combination of these?) The Latvians are seeking these answers as well as answering the biggest question: "Is this what God wants done at this time?" Secondly, which philosophy do they follow? Build it and they will come or they will come and then we build.

The trip to Madonna helped all of us better understand  the technical ideas that will have to be examined. It is going to be a big, big step for this church in which ever direction they choose. Please pray for our entire congregation to have inspired wisdom and to be of 'one mind' when the final decisions are made.

Here are a few pictures from the project at Madona. They still have to finish the interior walls, add flooring, lights, and stucco the exterior. Still they have made really good progress. Unless you have been here, It is hard to imagine how difficult even a project of this size is for a church in Latvia. They are to be commended and admired for their hard work.

Interior (pews can be moved and re-arranged).

This facing where the pulpit would be located.

 

Looking from the pulpit area towards the back.

There will be a double door where the scaffolding is located.

 

Windows only on one side of building because of view on other side(private home).

 

This will be stained glass. Will be behind the pulpit.

 

The youth of the church actually did most of the work installing the wood sheathing.

 

Exterior will be finished in stucco.

 

Back of the house where the Madona Church currently meets. It will eventually be connected

to the new building.

 

AMERICAN WEEK WRAP-UP

Here are a few more pictures from last week's activities. We are sad that the Americans are gone but glad that they came and contributed so much to the work here.

 

Warm-up in junior camp with Steve and Katie

 

Talking defense with older group

 

Daily devotional  at senior camp

 

Laura and her girls at Pizza Night

 

 

 

Man-hu...

 

Man-hu...

 

Santa and Sam ...

 

Drummer boy(s)

GOOD-BYE CESIS

SUNDAY'S GOOD-BYE FELLOWSHIP -

After a good church service, we were all invited to an outdoor fellowship. One of the church members has a beautiful outdoor area that we were able to use. While we ate snacks and sausages, many of the kids and adults got involved in games and sports activities.

For a few weeks, one of the members has been asking me if we have a game in American where "you get on each end of a string and pull". I didn't think we had that game but today I found out she was talking about 'tug-of-war'!

I'm sorry to say, the Americans got waxed pretty good in the pulling contests. It looked to me like the Latvians have played this a few times. As the men started to 'tug', two guys pulled out lifting belts and other equipment. We even had the women and little kids pulling against each other.

A final game of 'capture-the-flag' finished off the activities. Pastor Olegs closed with a few words and the Americans loaded up and headed to Riga. They will spend the night in St. Matthews' Church hostel and fly out at 5:55am on Monday morning.

It is amazing how fast the week went. Final tally of activities: Two sports camps (four days of each); three days of Youth Celebrations; one music concert; one day of prison visit; four days of VBS and numerous opportunities for our young people to share their faith. We are aware of at least three decisions that have been made and we will follow up on several more.

Laura and I would like to thank the Americans for coming and helping. We know they made many friends and we hope they will return next year. The seeds that have been planted will bear fruit one day, of that we are sure.

Below are various pictures from some of the good-bye fellowship:

 

Just a few snacks....

Laura surrounded by her friends....

 

The Americans getting ready for the big pull...

 

Aivars, the Latvian tug-of-war secret weapon

 

Gaida and Vija, the grand ladies of Cesis Baptist Draudze, checking out the action.

 

Women and children tug-of-war

 

Linda...has been to our basketball camps since she was eight years old. Was an instructor this year.

 

Pastor Olegs son, Patricks. One year old on Sunday.

WHAT A GREAT DAY

This has been a great week of activities in Cesis. God has really blessed us with such a good group of workers. We've had a great time and everyone has carried their load well. Today has been the cap on a week filled with activities and worship.

PRISON VISIT - For the first time, the entire group was allowed inside the prison on a Sunday. We had been granted the opportunity to visit the boys from 10-12:00. After passing through check-in (which can be kind of unnerving the first time), we were greeted by the top warden. This is highly unusual and probably only Laura and I understood that this was a big honor. Plus, he gave everyone a guided tour of the entire prison. The team viewed the living quarters, chapel and other areas before we went to the gym.

In the past, the Americans have only played the boys in basketball. This year they had been asking me to let them play the Americans in volleyball, basketball and football (soccer). It was a close finish but the Latvians won the volleyball contest. The Americans easily took the basketball contest with no problem.

We then went outside and had a few songs and testimonies before Pastor Olegs gave a brief devotional. Since this is the prisoner's free time they are not forced to come and listen but we had about 50 boys to come over. They were very respectful and I also had the opportunity to explain to the entire group about the work we do on Tuesdays inside the chapel. I really think it was a very positive situation and Olegs talked to a couple of young men about their spiritual life and what it means to be a Christian.

The soccer contest was the end of our time inside the prison. I wouldn't say that the contest was one-sided....it wasn't even close enough to be one-sided. Before I changed my team allegiance over to the Latvian side I think the mighty USA team was getting skunked 7-0! The advantage of having a foreign resident visa is that I get to choose which side I want to root for!  Actually it was great to see the prisoners take so much pride in something. They have been getting embarrassed in basketball for a few years so it was a good payback for them to humble us.

There were two major breakthroughs today. First, the warden cared enough to come and personally escort us on a Sunday morning. Laura and I had not met him but he knew about us and what we have been trying to accomplish. He encouraged us to continue to do God's work and let him know if we needed help. This will give us a friend in high places as we try to institute some new ideas.

Secondly, when we met the boys as they were lining up, one of the boys that has asked for prayer called my name. As I went over to him, I saw he was wearing a cheap plastic cross on a string as a necklace. For him to publicly declare his faith like that is such a positive sign. Wearing a cross doesn't make you Christian but wearing a cross in the situation that he is in takes some real courage. It made my entire week just to see him take that stand.

We think that God has provided some real opportunities for service inside the prison. We know for sure that some of the boys are at least listening more to their heart and trying to understand some of the ideas that have been presented to them. We are encouraged that the prison officials are happy with the work that is going on there. Keep praying for these young men. They face such seemingly insurmountable odds they will need God's help at every turn.

It was such a good day....Americans and Latvians playing ball in a decrepit old gym...just playing for the sheer pleasure of playing, not really worrying about winning or losing. Yet, when it is over, one group walks through the gates and will soon be on a plane to a world that the other group can't even imagine. What advantages our American young people have...what opportunities they have...what successes they have to look forward to.

What about the prison group? Will there be someone there to help them gain one advantage over a tough way of life? Will they have even one opportunity to overcome their past behavior? Will they have successes they can be proud of?

Can you say a prayer for the Cesis Boys' Prison?

 

Paldies,

Mark

MAN-HU CONCERT and MIS-COMMUNICATION

We have seen how much music is a part of Latvian culture, so this year we wanted to offer a concert along with the other activities.

It was our good fortune to be able to get the group 'Man-hu' to perform on Thursday night. They are a young Christian band from Riga and we have been to several of their playing engagements. They 'walk the walk' with their music and lives and we have enjoyed a great friendship with them.

Originally, we had reserved Castle Garden for the concert, mainly because we couldn't afford Castle Park. Castle Park is more centrally located at the bottom of the Castle and it uses a natural amphitheater. Castle Garden, while very nice, is a bit more secluded, using the 8-centuries old rock wall around the castle. Either would have been great for our purposes.

There was bit of mis-communication and the band began setting up at Castle Park. By the time we realized this, it would have set the concert back at least an hour or two to move everything. We appealed to the city and they allowed us to use Castle Park at the same price as Castle Garden. The reason for this story is that when the concert started we were able to bring in a lot more tourists, walkers and others that originally had not planned on being at the concert. It was great to see more and more people join in as the concert play on.

'Man-hu' performed for about an hour and then we had Samuels Thomas speak. Samuels is an Indian that is now living in Latvia. He has married a Latvian woman and has a great family, recently adding another child.

Some men exhibit 'something' that just causes you to know they are a man of God. I have seen this in a few people but never like what I see in Sams. He is always guided by God to say just what is needed, at just the right time. People can just sense, whether they are believers are not, how sincere, how honest, how believing, he is in his walk with God.

After he spoke, he encouraged anyone with questions to see him during or after the concert. Almost, continuously from that point, he was counseling, accepting decisions and helping us to encourage the young people to become a part of the weekly youth services we have in Cesis. It was amazing to see God work through him as he was able to talk to young and old alike.

We know of at least two life-changing decisions that were made and we believe many more will be lead by God in the coming times to make public their faith. We just thank God that we have been able to work with Janis Zabaks, his band 'Man-hu' and especially Pastor Sams and his interpreter Santa. These are such good people to whom God has led us.

After Sams' talk, Man-hu finished up the night and it was so great to see how much the crowd had grown. We had three of our soup kitchen people there, probably 20-30 tourists from different countries that had wandered down from the hotel, kids that were drawn by the music, sport camp athletes and curious bystanders that just happened to walk by.

Sam spoke with the last person seeking his counsel about 10:45pm. The concert had started at 7:45. What a great night!

God used the entire mis-communication problem to move the whole concert to where He wanted the concert to be held; to where the most people would be impacted. He moved it right to the location that people would have to be involved when they walked by. How many hearts did God touch tonight?  How many people see Christians in just a little better light tonight? How many doors will be opened for future conversations? How many lives have hope for today?

Thank you God for working in your powerful ways when we think our little, puny efforts are best. Please help us to quit relying on our efforts and just be ready to be amazed at what You can do if we will just let you.

What a great night!

 

Janis Zabaks and the band "Man-hu"...

 

 

Santa (the greatest translator) and Pastor Sams

 

Finishing up the concert ... excellent music!

CESIS VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

The first ever edition of the Cesis Vasaras Bibles Skolas has been a great hit with the youngsters of Cesis. Originally advertised for kids 6-12, we ended up with a much wider age group. Many of the kids here babysit younger siblings so in the end, we just enjoyed having all ages.

Laura did a great job in organizing the skola and getting her Latvian friends involved. This was one of our main goals; to be sure that they are learning alongside of us. They were not too eager to volunteer when the planning meetings first began but then it hit us: The people that we were asking to help lead the children had never been to any type of VBS  themselves. Once we were able to get the curriculum worked out and explain it better to them, they pitched in and made everything work.

Each day was divided into four stations: Bible stories, crafts, activities and snacks. We only had rain one day, so having things outside is a lot easier when you don't have to battle the Texas heat.

Our USA team (especially the ones not involved in Sports Days) really jumped in and helped out where needed daily. Many of the kids were from the earlier sports camps, so they were familiar with some of the Americans.

The over-riding goal of the VBS was to help the kids, parents and other adults get over their fear of church and what it sometimes represents to this culture. We were greatly encouraged as most of kids were not ones that regularly come to our church services.

I will add more photos later. These are mostly from the last day of craft's activities. They were recycling used CDs into picture frames and then decorating them.

We were so very thankful of how God worked through the Latvians and Americans to show the young people of Cesis a glimpse of Himself through the use of Bible stories and Christian love. We hope to continue to follow-up and encourage these young people and their families to seek a church home where they can regularly worship.