Orphanage Visit

So I am back from my four day visit to the orphanage and I can tell you that I felt your prayers!!! And they were much needed, and answered!
I arrived in Lutrini (the small town where the orphanage is) and was brought to where I would stay.
There was a former orphan that has moved out on his own and had an apartment that he was willing to share while I was there.

These apartments are given to the orphans by the government when they are to old to stay at the orphanage. Yes, I am sure you are saying what I said…”wow, that is nice!” right? Well, not exactly! The don’t give them much. This apartment consisted of a sink in a kitchen the size of a small walk in closet with nothing in it except corroded floors and wall, will holes and wires hanging out, the bathroom was even worse, just a toilet to say the most! And then a little living room with a couch to sleep on.
Not that I am complaining about staying there because it was an absolute blessing from God to be able to stay there. But I say this just to give you an idea of what the orphans are dealing with.

I was welcomed by the staff at the orphanage, even though I was told I could not stay there with the kids. It was very cool just to hang out and play with them hug them, eat with them, just do life with them!

BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED THE NEXT DAY!!!!
I was walking up the stairs to the orphanage to go take a shower thinking everything was fine just to have the girls run down the stairs telling me to run and go outside… then I heard a word that I understood quite well that stopped me in my tracks; “Vaditai” which means director.
They were running from the director? Why? I thought everything was fine? I mean the teachers welcomed me, let me hang out with the kids for two days, why would we be running from the Director???
So she came to the stairwell and started to yell at the girls.
Some cried, some yelled back!
It was a mess!
It was not how I wanted to meet the new director, and it was definitely not the first impression I wanted to give her!!! Dangit!

So I sat downstairs waiting to have the girls come down and I would have to give them hugs and say goodbye, because I knew now that I was not a welcome there as I thought! I sat and prayed and prayed that Jesus would intervene somehow, and somehow make something good out of this terrible confusion. About an hour later some of the girls came down (the one who were not crying) and asked if I wanted to talk to the director. “she wants to talk to me?” I asked. So we went upstairs my heart was beating so hard, and I went into her office. She did not understand much English and I could only speak a little Latvian…so I had the girls help.
I apologized for the misunderstanding and told her my story of how I came to know the kids, I told her my reason for being in Latvia, and told her I really want to learn the Latvian language. She told me she wants to learn English also. Then I said I would love to come help the staff anytime and she asked if I would teach English to the kids. I said I could help them as much a possible.
She said that she would talk to the “big boss” and if he said it was ok , I would be welcome to stay at the orphanage during the weekends and be with the kids!!!

Oh Jesus is good!!!! So good!
Thank you for your prayers…I can honestly say without a doubt that this was JESUS at work! I felt it in a way like nothing else! So cool!

So that is the biggest part of the four days, but there was so much more!!! Just hanging out and loving on the kids was more than I could have asked for! I miss them already!

Click here to check out pictures of the time there: Orphanage Visit

A much-anticipated visit

So tomorrow I will be traveling to Saldus to go visit the orphanage. There are many kids there that I have come to know and love and have yet to see and spend time with. This trip will give me that very chance I have been waiting for.
There are a lot of details that I am not too sure how they will work out, such as where I will be staying!!! Ha-ha, I know, I am crazy… oh well! Can you just pray for me and that Jesus would be the only thing that these kids see this week? That is my desire! That is the reason Jesus has allowed me to go anyway. May I not take this as “my trip” but a trip with the purpose of showing the light of Christ!
Also could you pray that I will know how to use the time that the Lord has given me there? I have 4 days there and I want to be used to the fullness of what Jesus has planed.
Yeah pretty much any prayer through these four days would be a great blessing, and to be quite honest…it is a huge need!
Spiritual battles are not a maybe… it will be a battle!
Please stand with me!
Thank you!

Today was a GOOOOOOD day!

A complete blessing from the last entry! Jesus blessed me with a day that I cannot really put into words. (But I will try!)
So we celebrated Thanksgiving today. Yes Saturday instead of Thursday, but none the less, we celebrated it! And it was perfect!
Going from the feeling I had the days before this was a true gift from my Jesus. We spent the day hanging out, Scott and Brennen cooked pies in the morning, which set the mood for a great day because the smell sent me back into memories and just happy time together with loved ones.
Something happened this morning when I saw them cooking when I saw everyone around me who I love and who I have come to call family. Yes, this is going to be a good day!
And that it was.
Not only that, I was blessed to have Endija with me during this time too. Which made it more than I could have asked for. She is such a part of my life I could think of not having her with me. So it was such a great time just being with the Runzo’s, Paul, and Endija.




Thank you, My Jesus for the day!

Thank you to all of you who are reading this, who are supporting me, and loving me.

I am Blessed!

HAPPY (late) THANKSGIVING!!!

Spot of Reality...

Thanksgiving day came and went for me like every other day thus far here. I have been away from home more than once during holidays and special times so I knew the feeling I was having was about normal. Yet I found myself so lonely. Lonely with so many people around me, lonely when I had people I loved and I knew loved me right by my side!
To say the least Thanksgiving Day was difficult for me.
I could not stop thinking about my family and my friends, and the traditions, the smells, the food, the hugs, the jokes, the ladies in the kitchen, the guys watching football… all of it! It just played in the back of my head all day. Then even thinking of the crazy day of “shop till you drop” the day after! All of it!!!
It was hard.

School of Leaders

I am back from the first experience of the training program called “School of Leaders”! it was a great time just to see how things work and meet all the youth workers around Latvia.
I was taken back by the great battlefield these young leaders face daily! There are so many stories of these few faithful children of God and the way they have given their all for the sake of the youth of Latvia! If it encouraging and heartbreaking in the same breath!
This weekend a verse that I have heard over and over again rang clearer than ever before;

He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Luke 10:2

And that is what I ask of you!!! These young leaders need this so desperately! I wish I could explain in words the great works they are doing here for Christ!! It was a blessing to see!

Here is a few video clips of the weekend!
The first is just an idea of the training sessions (keep an eye on the end with Scott and his computer)

The second and thrid video clips are of our :
"Specail ED"ition of School of Leaders!!!
Featuring non other than
SCOTT RUNZO!!!!

And the thrid clip just clips of time spent together in worship to our Jesus!

Labdien! ("good day!")

It has been a minute or two since last update. So I thought before for I leave for the weekend, I would let you all know how things are going.

I am still in the same position I was last time with apartment searching…which is very discouraging, yet there is a peace that I did not have last time I write on this subject. Which mean someone must be praying for that ;) thanks!
Every morning I take my hour travel into to town for work, I ride a bus for about 30 minutes and then a tram for another 20 and then walk for about 10. I swear I pass about 1000 apartment buildings and I just sit/stand (depending on how full the bus and tram are!) in complete amazement that is it so difficult to find an apartment! How can it be? Well a couple of factors make it a bit difficult.
1. I will have a roommate, which means I will need to rent an apartment with more than one bedroom. And when you look at apartments here when it says 2 rooms that means a bedroom and a living room, which is quite normal for Latvian to live in. they have no problem sleeping in (what we would call) the living room. And honestly that still would not be an issue for Lelde (my future roommate and co-worker) and I, but because of the type of ministry we are in (youth work) we will need to have that living room free for a meeting area. So if we are out and want to come home and invite others over for tea, or a movie, or just hanging out we can have the freedom to do so…So that means we need to rent a “3 room” apartment. Which is not so common in Latvia.
2. Because of the first reason it causes the price to rent to raise considerably, but we have a budget of about 250ls, which translates to about $500. This seems like it would be enough, yet Latvia for some reason is getting SO expensive! To give an example of what most apartments we have seen so far for that amount look like:

But there are some good ones too… I have faith it will work out!!!

3. Because we will be working mostly in the center of Riga, that again raises the price, and there are many people who also are looking for apartments in this location because it is very central to everything. So the demand is huge! Which means we spend a lot of time calling and then just getting shut down because the apartments have already been taken. (Especially the good ones!)

So that’s a little bit about the struggle of the apartment search! Not only is it hard to find one, it is also hard to be here in Latvia, knowing I am here, but feeling like I am just visiting since I have been living out of bags, eating other peoples food, sleeping in someone else’s home, etc.

If you can just pray that I would engage even in the midst of that feeling? I was talking with one of my dear friends about life last night and she was talking about school and struggles with just not feeling like life is worth anything right now. And I was encouraged to know that no matter where we are, school, work, home, America, Latvia, your own place, or someone else’s, we are not here for “us” we are here for him! At that moment I realized the more I concentrate on “me” in this place, I will get down and depressed, feeling sorry for myself, hating life! But the moment I look at “me in Him-and Him in me” it changes everything! I can live in the struggle, in the pain, in the frustration, knowing it is not about me in Latvia, it is about

HIM IN LATVIA,

and he has got me here to use me for HIS purpose!! Wow, I am not worthy, but I feel blessed to be chosen to do it for him! May I surrender continually to him!

So this weekend I will be gone. I will be going to my first experience with “School of Leaders” which is one of our main ministries that happens during the “non-summer” ministry. I am not too sure what to expect, but I will tell you how it goes! Check out this link for more on this:

http://jvlatvia.com/index.html

Thanks for reading, thanks for showing your support and love! I would love to hear from you! Whether that is through a comment, or e-mail!! I wanna see pictures too!!! I miss you all!

I dimmed "my light"...

Many may know, many may not know, but I have been bumming about finding a place to live for a while (ha-ha, well two weeks). I have been complaining and feeling sorry for myself. I have had so many thoughts that are not glorifying to my Jesus.
During our weekly meeting a verse was brought up about the very thing that I have been guilty of, and I am convicted.

Do EVERYTHING without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you SHINE LIKE STARS in the universe.
Philippians 2:14 +15

Through my unbelief that my Jesus is in control of this, that his timing is better than mine, I have found myself not content. I have found myself depressed and unmotivated. Through my complaining I have expressed outwardly my disbelief that God is in control.

And because of that my light has been dimmed.

I am embarrassed, I am humbled.

I have come to shine the light of Christ and in the battle of spirit and flesh I have allowed my sinful desires to cover the very light I have come to shine!

May this be an experience that will stay with me throughout my years of following my Jesus, so that I will be more aware of the subtle yet fierce battle to allow Christ to shine through me!

I Got A Ticket...already!

Sunday afternoon, not much to do. Had a great idea to go just hop on buses that goes to who knows where, get lost, get found, and do it again! Yeah sounds fun!
Then I even had a better idea, I would go on the busses but bring my language tablet, my dictionary, and my personal “language helper”, my daughter – Endija. Yep, sounds good!

So we were off! Found a bus that neither one of us knew where it went and hopped on! It was a great time of learning and just enjoying each other, the Latvian people, and Latvia!
After a while we realized that everybody had gotten off of the bus and we were heading to a pretty deserted area.
Oop, the end of the road for this bus. Problem was is that that bus was the only one we could take back (30 minutes later) so we sat at the bus stop in the freezing cold (sounds familiar!) and waited for the bus that we were just on to drive up about 20 feet just to let us back on.
When we got back on I was waiting for the lady to come take my money to get my ticket, but she saw that we had already been on this bus, so she just let us go without paying.

Cool.
Well… not so much!

About 15 minutes later a very large gruff looking lady came up to me, and in my broken understanding of Latvian, I knew she was asking for my ticket. Hmmm. Now what? I tried to explain what had happen, she didn’t care and seemed to get more upset when she realized that I was American and spoke English. Endija tried to explain she still didn’t care, and just got more upset! Then she just threw out her hand and said 2 lats.
What?!!! 2 lats? That’s 4 dollars! The bus ride cost 20 santiems! That is 40 cents! Man this sucks! Well I gave her the money because obviously I was not going to get her to understand! And then she took out her little ticket book and gave me a ticket!!! Ha ha! This is priceless! I got a ticket for not paying, and I am here to be a missionary! Sweet!

I couldn’t help but laugh as I was being issued the ticket (which did not make the lovely lady any more happy with me) as we were getting off the bus Endija told me that she was still talking bad about me and how it is like this all the time with people like me!

Hmmm… now I just need to find a frame that will fit the ticket!! ;)
Fun times!
Oh and I did learn a lot of Latvian that day too, thanks to Endija!

Good shoes…

So I learned yet another lesson last night! Good shoes in cold weather are a must! ;)

So yesterday morning I woke up to snow! And it snowed most of the day! Very cool. So I was prepared! I layered up and I was thinking about what shoes to wear and well I have these shoes that are quite old, but I love them and if I double socked I would be fine. But when I went to put them on I realized the sole was cracked all the way across the bottom. Hmmm that is a bummer! How can I fix that? * Bing! * DUCKTAPE!!! So I taped up the inside and outside of my shoe! That will keep the wet out…or so I thought!

When about my day, quite warm for the most part. I was proud of my Arizona born, yet taking on this COLD day with gusto!!! Yeah I can do this I can live here! Later that night I was in a church attending their youth night with some youth, and then we decided to go get coffee after. We walked for a mile or so and then sat and had some coffee. At this point I realized my feet were pretty cold (one more than the other) and I just though, guess these shoes are not gonna hack it for this cold weather…* note to self*.

After coffee it was time to take the bus journey home! From the center I have to take two different busses both taking about 30-30 min. yet tonight it took much longer… the traffic was terrible, I think there were a few accidents on the road I was on. Anyway, I was late catching my bus at 10:39 pm… I got there at 10:45!!! Yes..welp next bus: 11:55pm! -0 degree weather, one hour, yep I am gonna die! Actually many things during that hour kept my attention. A lot of drunk people, a fight with the drunk people, a group of guys (who were drunk) coming to and trying to talk to me. Then trying to speak English. A drunk guy throwing up about 2 feet away! Yeah time flew by! Ha-ha!

Anyway about 15 min in I started feeling a lot of pain in my foot. I just thought it was cold, and that went on for the whole hour I was there. When the bus finally came I really couldn’t feel my foot, but I figured it would thaw out in the bus. When I got on the bus I realized I couldn’t move my toes! I thought, FROST BITE!!! I don’t even know what it feels like or how you get it, but I have seen terrible things in movies! So as I was sitting next to a grumpy old woman just glaring at me I took off my shoe and my socks…they were soaked!!!!! Oh man stupid Duck Tape didn’t work!

So all that to say, my favorite pair of shoes have been retired :(

*Note to all the cold weather people
Laugh all you want, and yes I know this is not a cultural thing. But in a way it is to me so… yeah! Whatever ;)