What an amazing end to an amazing summer of ministry! We spent 4 days in Liepaja, a town on the cost of the Baltic sea (sounds exotic, I know!). we stayed at a little bed andt a 2 min walk away in California!
It was a great time of rest, fellowship, reflection, prayer, food, laughing, crying, vision, and fueling the passion that was ignited in each of us through what
Christ had done with and through us during the past 3 months.
I could go into great detail about all that time was, but no words would ever give justice to what we experienced there, but I guess that really goes for the whole summer! I guess that’s what you get when you are just
a little part of a BIG GOD and his work!
I can definitely say without a doubt that this team of six interns were hand picked by our Jesus, and there was no one or nothing I would have wanted to change. I spent months worrying and recruiting for interns with NOTHING to speak of, yet out of that “nothing” Christ put together HIS team. I love it when I can say I did nothing to have such a great outcome, because HE gets the GLORY! And all I can say is TO HIM BE THE GLORY!
A little bit about each one of the Interns from this year:
Linda (Riga, Latvia):This was probably the best surprise and best gift of the summer for me. I did not know Linda at all, actually no one did except for Lelde. Lelde knew I was struggling terribly to find people to serve this summer and so she went to work, and asked a couple people. Linda was one of them that she mentioned the internship to just in passing, and without hesitation Linda said ok! What?! She is ready to commit to serving hardcore for three months straight without much of a break, not knowing anyone? Are you sure she knows what she is getting into Lelde, I asked completely shocked!
Lelde was sure she was committed and would be great. I was still very hesitant because I did not know her and I was not too sure if she would “fit in” with the team… but I needed as many Latvian as I could get and so I said OK!
Linda turned out to be an amazing addition to the team that I could not imagine this summer without! She completed “us”! she was a ball of energy. She was/is passionately in love with our Jesus in a way that inspires me (and makes me jealous, if I am honest). She is real to the core, nothing superficial about this girl! NOTHING! I feel more than honored that I got to spend 3 months serving along side this woman of God! And pray that this will not be the last time I will be able to be blessed by her presence.
Lelde (Riga, Latvia)about youth and serves in any way possible when she gets the chance. Even as I type this, though our JV camps are over she has been involved with other camps goinWell Lelde is nothing short of a lifesaver! She is more than a servant. Lelde is our JV office secretary, and MUCH MORE! She is passionateg on, and at this moment is serving in one now! Amazing! Lelde throughout the summer held us together. She was the “go to girl” for any question we had pertaining to…well pretty much everything! And if that was not enough she still led an English class, and small groups, and was deeply involved in relationships. This girl amazed me! Not only was she amazing, she was personally a huge supp
ort to me as a dear friend that I have found a refreshing blessing that I am so exited to be able to continue! Lelde is so focused on meeting the real Jesus everyday and that was seen and experienced by each of us on the team several times through out the summer. She is a prayer warrior! She is determined to live out Christ! She is humble and a true servant of the King! A woman that blesses people she comes in contact with in ways that I only pray I can do some day.
Ilja (Riga, Latvia)This kid… this NOW true man of God! Ilja and I go back a long way! He was a little squirt running around in 1998, my first year ever in Latvia. And he has been around ever since in different ways. Involved as a camper, then as a helper, then as an intern, then… well honestly I lost track of him! Just to find out he was attending the same bible school in Sweden that I had attended 2 years previous. I went to go meet with Aaron (we will talk about him in a minute) about the Internship. He was also attending the Bible school at the time. While there I got to talk to Ilja, and the boy I remembered from so many years past was gone! I was shocked at this man who was talking so deeply about our Jesus and his passion to serve him! He met me in so many areas of my desire to serve Christ! At that moment I felt like I had found a true brother in Christ! And I was flippin stoked because he said he was interested in the internship as well!!!
What a blessing to have him on our team. Ilja brought a dynamic to the team that brought a joy that would not have been there without him. He has a heart four youth that we covet for here in Latvia and JV. He has a sense of humor like no one I know, I don’t think I have laughed
so much in a long time! A laugh that is nothing short of contagious. A heart that is bigger than most I have seen in my life. He was and is a true encourager, something that is priceless when you serve in such an intense way. His desire to follow Christ was evident and he had no problem telling us when he struggled, or was not on the right track. He brought us into true community through his transparency! Which brought us to deep spiritual commitment with each other, that I did not experience until this summer. I am deeply touched by Ilja and his realness, and his readiness to give up all to follow His Jesus.
Ashleigh (Mesa, Arizona)This girl was with me last summer as I helped lead a group of youth to Latvia for a 10 day mission trip. Ashleigh and I were already acquainted before the trip, but I truly got to see her heart during the summer of 2006 when we were serving together. She expressed the desire to return as an intern almost right away, and I was ecstatic! I knew I would be in Latvia by that time and most likely leading the intern team, and I could not think of anyone better to have on the team.
And boy was she a blessing! She is quite and very laidback, something so refreshing when there is so much to stress out about! What touched me about Ashleigh was her true desire to follow Christ. Not just “follow Christ” as “all” Christians do, but to be a true follower! No matt
er what the church, or Christians, or religion was saying she should do, she looked only to Christ! She was ready to turn away from anything no matter how it looked to follow her Jesus. such an inspiration to me, such a true example! She has touched me deeply and I canno
t wait to see how the Lord will use her and her true devotion to Him! One thing I learned from this, barley 18 year old young woman, is that no matter the age of a person, it never determines the power and knowledge of the holy spirit inside of them! I learned so much from Ashleigh this summer that will keep me in tune to the family of Christ all around me, no matter how old or how young, ALL have the Spirit of God Himself inside and he is ready to speak through them right to my heart!
I pray that the Lord will keep me close to Ashleigh so I can be blessed by her and her passion.
Susan (Vancouver, Canada)Well Susan is one of my dearest friends in this lifetime. I met Susan at Bible school in Sweden and we have held on to a deep friendship since then. Susan has a long story about how she got here this summer. I probably could write a book about! But I will try to keep this short.
Right before we left Sweden to return home I was walking with Susan and mentioned some things about Latvia and like a lightning bolt from heaven I got this vision of Susan serving in Latvia with JV. Susan spiritual gift is administration… I know, weird! But if there is any spiritual gift that is needed in missions it is that of administration! There are so many people with the desire to reach people through evangelism, or service that the organiz
ational and administrational needs are left WAY behind. So that being said I convinced Susan to try and be an intern that next summer so she could check it out. She was not as excited as I was, but she did it… and then came back again this summer cause God is doing something in her heart! ha, I knew it!!!
Anyway this summer just showed me in so many ways how much Susan should be here and how she could be used in such powerful way for the kingdom of God here! she has a way with people that I covet! She has a sense of humor that is so attractive. And yet she has a depth about her that keep her level and a true blessing as a support and counsel. She loves youth and building deep relationship through discipleship. I cannot wait to see what God does with her here in the next years to come! Please pray for her as she begins the hard and trying time of becoming a full time missionary here.
If you know her or just feel called to encourage her you can contact her at:
team_spike@hotmail.com
Aaron (Vancouver, Canada)This guy was a big surprise, but and even bigger blessing. Through a contact he had with Susan he heard about the internship in Latvia and was interested. At that time he was attended the same Bible school as Ilja. I had never met Aaron and I wanted to check him out before accepting his application. So I took a trip over to Sweden to have a chat with him. He impressed me from the beginning, asking tough questions and just sharing his desire to serve Christ in a new and real way!
Aaron was a born leader and we looked to him throughout the summer
for direct
ion. He naturally leads in a way that people want to follow, and seeing his heart for Christ made his leadership refreshing and a blessing to have on the team. Aaron had a way of being completely real and transparent that brought us back to the true meaning of community. Through Aarons example and lead we entered into conflict that was brought
with love that inevitably brought us into a “community of Grace”. Something that once you are a part you will never be satisfied with nothing less!
He is a leader lead by the love of Christ. He is committed to being a man of moral integrity. He has a sense of humor that kept all of our stomachs sore. He loves adventure. He loves youth! He is a true man of God.
So that was our intern team! And that really does not come close to explaining the time we shared together this summer. But I do know that this summer was like no other I have ever experienced.
“When failing striver's stumble into a community of grace, safety, and vulnerable repentance, it radically disrupts their game plan. Suddenly, they are face to face with a real, tangible option of sweet freedom. And the ongoing environment of the community tells them that they have not dreamt up this way of life. As the community treats them as they have never been treated before, their confidence grows that grace can support the FULL WEIGHT of their sin.”
Paul Levenda, my dear friend a partner here in Latvia left this morning to return home to Arizona. he has been a major support to as i have made my transition into life here in Latvia. he was always there to take me places, fix thing in my apartment. move me in and out of all the places I was in before now. but more than anything he was the person who I knew without a doubt was there for me not matter what! He listened, encouraged, laughed and cried with me. a true friend and brother to me. he will be deeply missed.
