Latvia

July 7, 2011

(Again, it is late so I did not edit. Forgive my many typing and grammatical errors)

It’s been almost a week since I was last able to last post. Since then, we have completed our stay in Latvia and will be heading for Finland tomorrow. Our stay in Latvia has been wonderful. We’ve see a lot of the country and have seen a lot of ministry. We began our time in Latvia in Liepaja, where we stayed at the beautiful Wesley Camp. We got there just as an intergenerational camp was finishing up. Right when we got there, we were greeted with English. There was a team there from Alabama and other Latvians who spoke English quite well. It was so refreshing to be able to communicate easily. Not long after we arrived, the team got asked if we could lead part of the worship they were having later that evening. It was the first time we were asked to present something in worship, so we looked at some of the things we prepared and pulled something together. There was a guest worship team there that night who led us in worship music, which was wonderful. It was pretty powerful when the music started, and though the words weren’t being sung in English, we knew the song. The same songs we sing in America are being sung in churches across Scandinavia. I stand in awe, again, or how much we are connected. The team did well when we got up to do our part of the service. It was our first time and I could tell they were nervous (I was nervous), but they did great! After worship we sat around a bon-fire and shared fellowship with some of the youth present for the camp. I could tell the caravaners were happy to be around people their age. I was happy they could get to know some of the people their age, and the fellowship and friendship-building continued our whole time there. Our sleeping arrangements at the camp were fun. The first night we slept in a tent in a barn. The following two nights we slept in the fresh hay in the barn. It was a very cool experience and wonderful night’s sleep on the soft hay.

On Sunday morning, we were again asked to participate in worship. Our program that service was a little longer, and again, they did great, with everyone participating. I have been especially appreciated of the two that have shared their faith story thus far. The others will get their chance here in the next few days. After we did our part in worship, we got to take part in the closing services of the week’s camp. The final piece of it was a prayer in which we circled, each given the opportunity to pray out loud. The camp director was the final person to pray and as she prayed in Latvian, we had no idea what she was praying, but you could tell it was from the heart and felt powerful. Then, as she ended her prayer everyone started praying. Now, at this camp were not just Latvians, but Lithuanians as well and then us. It took us a few seconds to catch on to what they were saying and realized it was the Lord’s Prayer so we joined in, and what a powerful moment that was. There in that circle we prayed the same prayer in three different languages. We didn’t know what each was saying, but we did. It reminded me of Pentecost, celebrated in the Church not too long ago. We each spoke our native tongue, but the same words. Again, the word “connected” speaks powerful things.

Our time at Wesley Camp was a lot of fun for the caravaners (and me as well, but more so for them because they got to be around people their age). We spent a lot of time outside, wandering around the camp, playing games, watching beautiful sunsets, enjoying fellowship. One day we took a walk to the Baltic Sea, which was less than a kilometer away. It was a chilly day. I was wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt, but two of the caravaners were crazy enough to get in and go for a swim. They seemed to enjoy it, but I was completely content staying dry on the sand. After our time at the Baltic, we as a team decided to have some quiet time. We had been spending a lot of time together and I could tell everyone was getting tired and needed some alone time. So when we got back we each picked a spot in the hay to read, journal, and/or nap. Later that night, before going to sleep, we had reflection time to talk about our need for solitude. I’m amazed more and more with this group of students. They are aware of themselves and know when they need time apart to rest, reflect, and rejuvenate. That time apart has naturally become called “introvert time.” So whenever one of us need to be a break from being with people we simply say, “I need to be an introvert” (or something like that), and we allow it, or even all take it. So anyway, I’ll write more about the group in a bit.

Our last day in Liepaja, we were taken out to see the sights. We started our day by going to a Holocaust memorial remembering the thousands of Jews in Liepaja that had been killed. It was the first time all of us had been to any place that had been affected by the horrible events of the Holocaust so it was very powerful and moving. It made those events we have heard about in class and read about in books come to life and seem more real. And since then that reality has been realized more and more, but more on that later. After the memorial we went to a fort on the coast of the Baltic Sea. We spent a lot of time there and had a lot of fun exploring. The rest of our day we got to see the Methodist church in town, more sights in the city, and even got to go on a hike to the one mountain in the area, which really wasn’t a mountain for North Carolinians, but it was still beautiful. As the day was winding down I was ready to go back and rest, but because a 21-year old was driving us around and apparently thought it was still too early to go back, we went bowling. It was fun, but I think we all felt like it was a bowling game that lasted entirely too long. It was 9pm before we got back and didn’t get to eat dinner until 11pm. I was tired and honestly, feeling grumpy by then, so I was happy to crawl in my sleeping bag that night. Thus ended our stay in Latvia, as we left to head back to Riga the next day (Tuesday the 5^th).

Riga is a beautiful city. When we walked around it one evening, for the first time, it felt like we were in what I had imagined Europe to be, with the old cobblestone roads, lined with old-style architecture apartment buildings, beautiful restaurants with lots of outdoor seating and live music, and people walking everywhere. It’s been crazy walking around Riga and other towns in Latvia with buildings that have been around hundreds of years longer than our country was founded. All the European history I only half-listened to in grade school has come to life and fascinated me. We went to the Soviet Occupation Museum today and it was heart wrenching to read about all that the people in this country have gone through over the years, and then to think about how that has affected the Church and doing ministry today.  

We have had the opportunity to experience more ministry in Latvia. Yesterday we spent the day at the Hope Center, which is a ministry the UMC here that houses young mothers who were kicked out of their homes because they decided to keep their baby. It’s a beautiful ministry because it doesn’t just provide a safe place for these young mothers to be, but together they learn how to care for their child with the goal of getting out on their own. While in the house they learn basic life skills (i.e. cleaning, cook, house care, finances, work ethic, etc.). The goal is for the women to be able to get out on their own in 6 months, but they are not kicked out if they can’t meet the goal. So we got to spend the day with the children of the house, which was a lot of fun. The language barrier was a bit odd to figure our way around, but we quickly realized that you don’t need words to make a toddler laugh. While in Liepas we traveled a short way to one of the poorest communities in Latvia. Upon our arrival we met a large group of children and youth. We soon learned that they were all a part of the Methodist church there. We visited the humble worship space in the rundown apartment building and was I witnessed the power of what I’ve always thought- church is not about the place of worship and meaningful worship does not have to take place in a big, beautiful building. The whole church is made up of primarily children and youth because their parents are often too drunk on Sunday morning to go to church with them. In fact, I’m learning that the emphasis of ministry in this area is based around getting children and youth in church and committed to church. I think there’s something there, but I may have to reflect on it some more before I write about it.

There are more women in ministry here than men (in the UMC anyway). The past few days we have been with two women my age who have also just begun their ministry. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations about our different ministries and how we got to where we are, etc.

In this moment, after we as a group have shared devotion and discussion together, my eyes are being opened to the fact that perhaps God has more in store for me on this trip than I thought; that perhaps what I had hoped to happen and the ministry I had hoped to experience is different from what God has planned. These four college students remind me so much of myself not all that long ago. I hear so much of myself when I was in college as I hear them talk. And I feel that perhaps I do have something to offer them. I don’t know if they want what I have to offer, what little knowledge or experience I have, but I know I’ve come to genuinely care about them and want to see them grow and be the change makers I know they can be. This is hands-on leadership training and I’m trying to soak up as much as possible. I like it because I don’t have to stand in the spotlight, where my introverted self doesn’t always prefer to be. I get to hang out in the background and observe and ask questions and remain present, as they are empowered to do and be. This is what disciple-making it about. I have so much learn, but thankful for what I’ve learned thus far.

Tomorrow we are headed to Finland. We’ve got a long day of travel via bus, ferry, train, and car, but the schedule for our time there looks to be very exciting. Latvia is a beautiful country, especially Riga. I’ve enjoyed learning about their history and connecting that to how the church functions and copes with it’s various challenges. Many of the challenges they deal with are not much different from the ones that face us in the States. Ministers here, too, feel like the church has to do something as people continue to turn from a life of faith in Christ. But all believe that one of the gifts Jesus left us is the Church- the church of all generations and young or old- and we must find a way to worship together in a way that is genuine and real in order to not just survive, but thrive. The culture is different, which makes the way of doing ministry different, but the Church Jesus gave us is the same no matter where we live and we are connected, and that is what I am experiencing and what inspires me.    

God’s peace,

Katie