Summer

You may remember my language helper, Kristine. Last summer when I first started with learning Latvian, Kristine and her brother and two sisters and some friends all wanted to help me so we met every other day at the school. The only one who continued to come was Kristine, so we have been meeting once a week all year. She never forgets - and calls me when she can't make it. She doesn't speak English which is really good because it keeps me from falling back to what is easy.

When my roommates are around, we seem to have lots of company - and sometimes they stay for dinner and for the night. Pictured left to right are: my roommate, Liga, Egija, from Riga, my roommate, Aija, Maria from Balvi, and Liga's twin sister, Aija, who lives in Riga. All spent the night except Egija whose grandmother lives in Tilza.

This week everyone from our team is helping with a camp in Ergli (about two hours from here) so I am holding down the fort so to speak. So far there haven't been any emergencies!! Please pray with me that the kids at the camp (two went from Tilza) will hear about God's Love and come to know His Love through Jesus Christ the Lord.

Adventures in Riga

As I was preparing to write this post, I started looking for all my pictures of Lorrie and me in Riga. But it seems that I must have let her take all the pictures -- perhaps she will send me some.
We took the opportunity to take a "Riga Tours" bus ride around the city and become informed about many historical and cultural bits of information about Riga and Latvia. I now am much more appreciative of the different styles of buildings there. Now I will be able enjoy looking up more!! It's helpful to know what you're looking for!
There are many parks to relax in and "people watch" which Lorrie and I did quite often. Another highlight was the open air Ethnographic Museum. We had no idea that it was so big and so only saw a small portion of it. We both love historical things and did our best to keep the centuries straight - let's see 17th century - that's the 1800's, etc.
Things are changing lots in Riga, too. While taking another tour (this time by boat on the Daugava Riva), we could see how the skyline is now dotted with tall skyscrapers, a new bridge, and many buildings being renovated.
The only downside to our whole time was that Lor had a pinched nerve in her back and shoulder which needed medical attention. We spent most of Monday looking for several clinics, finding a hospital and spending hours waiting. Now we have some really great stories to tell. :)