Week 8

So, we got to Riga on Tuesday about 7:00 p.m. and had a relaxing evening. Staying at the Hotel Latvija put us in a very central location. This is the same hotel we used during the Hope ’99 event but it has been completely remodeled since then and is now extremely comfortable.

The conference was for American and Latvian churches which have partnerships through Bridge Builders to spend time together learning how to be partners in the Gospel. We got to know each other better and gained understanding of one another’s ways. The schedule allowed lots of time for talking and relationship building. We (the Calvin contingent) are particularly encouraged by our developing relationship with the Tilza folks. They are hard-working and have lots to teach us. They are also looking forward to having us work with them on future projects. Perhaps one of the most significant things for me, however, was to see that I often identified with the Tilza contingent as well as those from Calvin.

Friends exploring Riga
After the conference I stayed in Riga with the Calvin team to follow-up on what we learned, to catch up a bit more on things in Corvallis, to meet with other friends who now live in Riga and getting a few things before returning.

On Sunday we attended two church services. The first was Vilandes Baptist which was within walking distance of the hotel. Marsha and I started off a bit earlier than the others and found ourselves enjoying the beautiful architecture and design of the old buildings along the way as well as other interesting sights. Vilandes is a partner church with a congregation in Richardson, TX. Because the message was brought by an American and translated to Latvian, we didn’t ask them to translate other parts of the service. It was interesting to see how much I understood.

One interesting site on the walk with Marsha

After church, while some of the others went shopping, I headed for the bus station to purchase a ticket for my trip back to Tilza the next morning. Was rather tired by the time I got back as it was quite a walk (but something that wouldn’t have been possible several months ago :).

After a brief rest, we headed for the Reformed Church service which also wasn’t far from the hotel. Maris Dupurs, a Latvian Partners Staff member, is one of the pastors and we met up with him there. This service was translated for me (see the photo) and I almost felt like we were back at Calvin!! The message was terrific and meaningful.

My translator for the Reformed Church service
That evening we had an enjoyable dinner at Chuck’s apartment in the old part of Riga. The next morning, after an early goodbye, I left for the bus station. The ride to Balvi took almost 5 hours but I was able to immediately catch the bus to Tilza. Was glad to be home. The girls had the fire going (of course) but Aija wasn’t feeling well. We talked lots trying to catch up with events of the last few days and week.