TRI 2

Time flies! We're already coming up to the end of year #2 of the RĪGA Internship! It's been a much different year than I expected, but it's been cool to see God at work in each of our lives. Allow me to introduce you to the group this year; Jared, me, Anna R, Krista & Kristiāna (from left to right).

I'd appreciate if you'd stop right now to pray with me for each of them! Last October we began studying some of the basics of our christian faith with the goal that each of us would go through the materials with someone else. Pray that we would continue to follow Jesus where He has placed us and He would use use to share the Gospel with the people He has put in our lives. He already has and I want to see that continue! Thank you.

YouTube of the Month: April

Stuff like this shouldn't make me laugh so much, but it still does!

Meow.

Health scare

Had an interesting last two days. Came home on Friday to pack for a "weekend away" with Anna at a friends' house an hour outside of Rīga. I sat down to eat dinner and began to feel abnormally tired. I laid down on the couch and noticed that my heart was racing. I put my hand on my chest and felt that it was beating erratically; racing, slowing down and skipping beats. A pretty creepy feeling. I laid down, tried to breathe deep and calm myself down. Nothing changed. I moved to my bed and tried to fall asleep. Still no difference.

Finally, I asked Anna to call the ambulance and they arrived at our apartment a few minutes later. They did a few quick tests and said I needed to come with them. We hopped in the ambulance and drove to Gaiļezers hospital. They checked me into the ER and put me on a gurney. I was rolled into a giant room split up by curtains and laid there for about an hour with a dozen other people. One of my neighbors was an older heavily intoxicated woman who was yelling non-stop and cussing at everyone in Russian. Not too long after that I heard my other neighbor's vomit splashing against the tile floor. What a pleasant working environment! As I laid there I prayed a quick prayer for a doctor that could at least understand English (my medical Latvian is not that great!). It turned out, she didn't understand, but she was very sweet and patient with my Latvian. She gave me medicine to slow my heart rate down and hooked me up to an EKG machine. I laid there for another hour or so. After it was clear I was staying the night in the hospital I asked the doctor if my wife could come back to say goodnight. She smiled, and said she would send someone to get her. A small miracle! Normally that doesn't happen (the smiling or any appearance of customer service) in hospitals here! Anna and I talked for a while and then I was wheeled into an overnight room with two other men. I got my gear situated as they did a few last tests to see if my blood pressure had dropped and heart rate had slowed down. A friend of ours came to the hospital to pick up Anna and drive her home. Because of the combination of medicine and my heart racing for a few hours, I fell asleep immediately.

I woke up in the middle of the night confused about where I was and very clearly needing to visit the restroom. In a daze, I walked to the bathroom and positioned myself in front of the toilet. I began feeling dizzy, and my hearing and vision started to go. "I guess I'm about to pass out." I managed to lean back in time and sit on the window sill. The next thing I know, I woke up on the bathroom floor. Confused, I got up and stumbled back to my bed. My body was hot and tingly all over and my hearing was muffled. Not realizing what had just happened (first time ever passing out!), I got back in bed and quickly fell asleep. I woke up around 6:00 AM when two doctors came into our room to check on us. They checked my monitors and told me my heart was back on a normal rhythm and "you can go home." I got dressed and walked out of the ER with the doctor. Paid my bill and called a taxi.

The best news out of this whole experience... my total bill for the ambulance ride, tests, medicine and a night in the hospital = €7. Yayyy socialized medicine :)

YouTube of the Month: March

Powerful!

JV Annual Report

Check out Josiah Venture's annual report and celebrate with us what God is doing across Central & Eastern Europe! You can download it on Dropbox here or view it below;

JV 2013 Annual Report

My Current Jams

A few years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to the band Kye Kye. I probably owe him a home-cooked meal, a medal, or something to say "thanks" for the introduction. Their "sound" is hard to categorize; a mix of excellent sounds and enriching lyrics. I really enjoyed their first two albums, but their latest album is definitely a step up. It was one of two albums that I have ever purchased through iTunes. That's significant. You can too, here! :)

And now the story comes full circle...
Me: Blog reader, I would like to introduce you to Kye Kye.
You: (smile and say "hello")
Me: Kye Kye, this is my blog reader.
Kye Kye: Hi! (smiles)
You: (say something polite like "nice to meet you")
Me: Well, I'll leave you two to get to know each other... Annnnnnd, you're welcome!

Here is a glimpse at their latest music;



PS-the band members originally come from our "upstairs" Baltic neighbors, Estonia. As my friends up there say, "very gooooooood!"

Four Chairs

The conference was great!

Dann Spader is truly an inspiring leader. You can't be around him long without seeing how much He loves Jesus! He is one of the best and most passionate teachers I have ever heard on the life of Jesus. He teaches with such wisdom and humility that comes from over 40 years of studying and walking with Jesus. What an example! Over the two days he continually challenged us to "walk as Jesus walked."

Group discussion time

A panel discussion on discipleship

Q&A

Our good friends from Estonia!

Our conference team

If you want to see more of my pictures, click here. I also included a video that a friend of ours made about the conference (you can select subtitles by clicking on the "CC" and choosing English or none);

Youtube of the Month: February

I never get tired of these!

"What builds the ocean?!?"

Faith In A Broken World

We are living in crazy times! The world around us seems to be gradually going mad. So much violence and perversion everywhere. As followers of Jesus, how should we respond?
To read our latest support update click here.

YouTube of the Month: January

Happy New Year!

2014

Did 2013 really come and go that quick?!?? Where has the time gone?

I'm a year older and (hopefully) a year wiser. 2013 was a tough one. Now it's 2014.

What will your next 365 days be about? How do you want to grow this year? What do you hope to remember 2014 for?

Goodbye Lats!

January 1st (tomorrow) is the day that the official currency in Latvia will switch over to the euro. This will be the second time in history that Latvian lat will be phased out.

The Economist wrote an article "Lat it be" on the history of the lat and its last days in Latvia. A country having its own currency is a always bit charming and time will show if joining the Eurozone was a good thing for Latvia. I'm certainly not an economist and can't say if it will end up helping or hurting Latvia's economy, but I'm a bit sentimental to see the lat go!

Paldies Latiņam
by Aarzem Nieki

Ir pienācis brīdis, lai atvadītos
no drauga, kas bija ar mums.
Ja dažreiz viņš arī man nebija blakus,
tas bija liels zaudējums.

Jau lidostā pirmais, kas sagaida mani,
ir autobuss sabiedriskais.
Par piecdesmit santīmiem mājās es tikšu-
tas taču galvenais.

Konduktors saka: „Man žēl,
bet par koferi piecdesmit vēl!"

Paldies Latinjam, Latinjam...

Viss sākās ar lasi, kas šodien man varbūt
Vēl kabatā mētājās,
Un stārķis, kas draugos ar sēni un skudru,
Par dzīvi šo bēdājās..

Pat skursteņu slauķim, tam nebija laika
Laimi no jumtiem man nest,
Un Pētera baznīcā tagad ir klusi,
Jo gaili laiks līdzi vest.

Vilciens jau debesīs brauc,
Vēl pēdējam iekāpt ir ļauts..

Paldies Latinjam, Latinjam...

Kas esi tu, svešais, no kurienes nāc,
Lūk tāds ir mans jautājums,
Vai būsi tu kārtīgs un uzticams draugs,
Un paliksi vienmēr ar mums?

Kāpēc tik grūti ko jaunu ir sākt,
Kad vecais vēl derīgs mums šķiet,
Kaut zinām, ka gailim un skursteņu slauķim
Tur augšā tik labi iet?

Nāc, milda, man drīz kabatā
Tur laša vairs nav tik un tā.

Paldies Latinjam, Latinjam...