Today will be the last day of my Riga journal and photos. There were so many neat memories and photos to choose from...here are a few more:

One of the really neat surprizes was getting to play lazertag. For those of you who aren't familiar with this game, allow me to explain in short. Two teams dressed in battle clothing run around in a huge dark room trying to shoot eachother with lazer rifles. Most points wins. We had such fun the first day that we brought the rest of our team back the next day to play again. Apart from just being good ole fun (ever play "capture the flag" as a kid?), it's also a good lesson in the spiritual battle we're in daily as christians and how we need teamwork, boldness, protection, and a goal in order to succeed.

Another great time was attending the Latvian National Symphony. Wow! These guys could play! Our favorite number was the William Tell Overture - you know, the same one used for the Lone Ranger and Bonanza. If it wasn't such a fancy place, I would have let out a "yee-haw!" and started clapping along. What a gift from God music is.

Finally it was time to depart. One of the hardest things to leave was our housemaid, Valentina, who had cooked and cleaned for us all week. She was so bubbly and funloving that we all quickly grew fond of her - not to mention her fantastic cooking! She was sad to see us go too as she said that hardly any of the other guests warm up to her. We shared the gospel with her and prayed that soon she would come to know Jesus.

At last we were on the train and headed back to Vladimir. One of the best parts of our train ride to and from Riga were the times of worship. All thirteen of us squashed into one tiny compartment, designed for four people, to worship and praise Jesus. Some strangers and train staff drew near to hear us and later ask questions about our faith. More times of sharing the love of Christ - these are special memories I will never forget. The Lord is so good and so good to His people. Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful journey!

One of the neat things about our trip to Riga was that we got to have team devotions together every other morning. This included a time of worship, God's Word, and prayer. It really helped us to keep our focus and unity tight as a team.

By the way, I would highly recommend the B&B we stayed at if you're ever in Riga. The building itself is actually an old apartment building that has been renovated. Many of the old apartments are now businesses or part of the B&B. The renovations are very modern, clean, and attractive. Our particular rooms were on the fifth floor, so we got a workout everyday climbing those stairs. We were told that when the soviets left Riga that they took the elevator with them! Thanks a lot guys.

The Lord gave us lots of opportunities to meet native Latvians and share our faith in Christ with them. One such time was with some teenagers we came upon who were playing "hackysack" on the grassy lawn in the center of Old Town. Old Town is that part of Riga that at one time was the entire city of Riga, surrounded by a fortress wall. Not much of the wall is left, but the narrow cobblestone streets and tall old european style buildings crammed together on just a few square miles has all been preserved. These teenagers were very friendly and open to hearing about Jesus. We also had a great time playing hackysack with them. I think THEY had a great time watching me TRY to play hackysack. :)

One of things we also noticed about Riga is all the various carvings on the rafters, roofs, and windows of many of the older buildings. I think some natives probably wondered why this big group of americans was always walking around looking up into the sky. Some of the carvings are very beautiful, some of them are downright scary. Check out today's photos for an exammple of the latter.

After 16 hours on the train and another four hours in the van, our american missionary team is back in Vladimir. We had so many wonderful experiences while in Riga - too many to retell in one entry, so I'll be giving you highlights over the next few days along with some photos. I took 123 photos total!

I spent the rest of the afternoon checking e-mails, unpacking, cleaning the flat, shopping for groceries, and making dinner. The time in Riga was restful, but at this particular moment I'm exhausted! It will be good to sleep in my own bed again...oops, just remembered I gotta change the sheets :)

Upon our arrival home we received warnings that thousands of "skinheads" are coming to our city today to gather in honor of Adolf Hitler's birthday. We've been told to lay low and be careful. Please pray that these young men would come to know Christ while in our city.

Well, that's all for today...Ron

Each day the Lord continues to pour out His goodness on us. We went to the movies (in english!), ate Mexican food, attended the Lativan National Symphony, shopped the narrow cobblestoned streets of Old Town, swam and played lazer tag at "Aqualand", worked out at the local gym, and went bowling. We've also been blessed daily by the wonderful meals our house cook prepares (beef, chicken, potatoes, rice, fresh veges, apple pie, etc...)

Not only has the Lord blessed our flesh, but also our spirts! We've had some great team Bible study and worship times. We've been studying the book of Colossians where Paul describes Jesus in all His marvelous attributes - especially as the One through whom, by whom, and for whom we've been created. It's been so encouraging to remember that all we need to know of God is found in Jesus. Throughout the days He's also continued to give us opportunities to share with many russians and latvians the gospel message. Today I had the priviledge to share Christ with the owner of our B&B. His name is Chris and if you could, please pray for him. He was very open to hear the gospel and talk about spiritual things but is confused by other religions and isn't sure there is one "right" faith.

Today we received our visas for another year in Russia! Thank you for your prayers. That means that tomorrow we'll leave on the 4:15 pm train to return to Moscow and then Vladimir. We should arrive in Vladimir by Saturday afternoon. Thank you for your prayers for our return trip.

I'll be sad to leave Riga as it has been such a wonderful place to rest, explore, and soak in God's goodness. I am asking the Lord that He would prepare my heart and mind to return and minister in Vladimir once again.

My next entry should be from home in Vladimir and there I will be able to upload photos of our trip for you to see. Until then, I pray that God would open your heart to receive of His love and provision. All the beautiful, scenic, and amazing sights and experiences of Europe cannot compare with the peace, love, and joy we have in our relationship with Jesus Christ. May He continue to direct our hearts and heads toward Him. Blessings, Ron

Greetings from Riga, Latvia! I'm sorry for the lapse in entries, but it was a whirlwind before we left and only now have I been able to get to an internet cafe. I hope you are doing well.

We arrived by train without incident on Thursday morning the 11th and immediately submitted our visa applications to the russian consulate here. Everything went smooth with that and the visas should be ready for us to pick up this Thursday. Thank you for your prayers!

Riga is a beautiful city! Many cobblestone streets, turn of the century architecture, and the weather has been beautiful! Only today we had some rain. Our B&B is located right in the center of downtown which makes getting around a breeze. We've also had the opportunity to swim at two public pools which has been good for our health and soothing for the soul! In all our doings, the Lord has also given us many opportunities to share Christ with the people we meet. Please pray for our cook at the B&B, Valentina,that she would come to know Christ, also for her husband who is ill with a fever - that they would see the hand of the Lord.

Our team is doing well. We are 13 altogether and everyone has had good health and spirits overall. Please pray that the Lord would continue to use us here and also keep our unity in Him strong.

Well, I'm running out of time, but hopefully will be able to update again soon, so stay tuned.

This weekend we had a leadership seminar down at the church. Pastor Jeff gave us some biblical instruction on the role of servant leaders in the church. I must admit that I was a little down by the end of the seminar because I saw how far I fall short of having the attributes of a good servant leader. However, speaking with the pastor afterwards really helped me to see that I'm often my own worst critic and that indeed we are all GROWING into the roles God has given us. The Lord has been trying to teach me lately that He isn't so concerned that I do everything perfect, but rather, that I am abiding in His grace and receiving His love. Sometimes I can get so uptight in trying to do everything "right" that I lose joy in the "doing."

Thank you for your prayers as our american team gets set to travel by train to Riga, Latvia this Wednesday to obtain new one year travel visas. You know how you always want to tie up all your loose ends before leaving on a trip? That's where I'm at today. Praise the Lord, I already have several items scratched off my "to do" list and feeling peace about those things that will just have to wait till I return. We will be back on April 20th.

I left the camera at home this weekend, but should have new photos posted soon.

This afternoon was the 40 day anniversary of Baba Klava's death. It's a tradition among russian families to gather on this day in rememberance of the deceased, have dinner together, and share memories. I think the idea is to help everyone deal with the loss and pain.

It was great that Jeff and Christina could be here for this, as they were in the states when Baba Klava passed away and had to miss the funeral. The kids, Pam, a neighbor, and a few family members attended as well. Kolya, Klava's nephew, and his wife, Luba, cooked a wonderful meal and were very gracious hosts. The Lord also opened an opportunity for us to share the gospel with the non-believers present. Again, we pray that the death of the one would help bring life to the others in causing them to think about their own life and eternal destiny.

In the evening we had our first rehersal for a new band we've formed to play worship at the anniversary celebration in May. We had the rehersal in our church basement where a few other church bands have been practicing in recent times. We're also getting ready for a "night of christian music" at the end of April when all the church bands will have a chance to play for the church body. Our fist rehersal tonight went really well! We mostly just did some improvisational playing and singing, worshiping the Lord together and building unity among the players.

The trip to Moscow today was a success! I drove there in my little "Oka" and arrived to Studio 13 about 1pm. It took several hours to make some changes to the album artwork and there were a few moments when we weren't sure if it was gonna come together. But Sergei (I believe he is the director) was very kind and patient and spent several hours with me working it out. In the end we both rejoiced that the project was ready to go to print. The cassettes and CD's should be ready by April 11th or 12th. After we finished, I had the opportunity to share with Sergei and his staff a few words about the Lord and also gifted them with some New Testaments and a copy of our second album. Being there with them in that tiny little room all afternoon reminded me of how empty life is without Jesus! I pray the Lord would help them receive true life in Him.

On the ride home I began to realize how exhausted I was after several days of little sleep and much activity. It was so soothing to put on some worship music on the drive home and listen to a teaching tape from Calvary Chapel Downey. As the sun set behind me and the road stretched out before me, I began to feel the Lord ministering to me and re-energizing my spirit for what's in store next. Tomorrow is the 40 day anniversary of Baba Klava's death and we have been invited to her apartment for a lunch to mark the event.

One of things we discussed at the church planning meeting this morning was the Alleluia 3 recording project. We decided to make 1,000 CD's and 1,000 cassettes. Tomorrow I will return to Moscow (in my car this time) to put up %50 of the cost and finish the contract. Prayerfully, the CD's and cassettes will be ready within a week. Finally! It's been exactly one year since we orginally began to record the album. Praise the Lord that they'll be ready in time to distribute at our 10 year anniversary in May.

We had a meeting in the afternoon with the director of Vladimir's newest and best movie theater to see about the possibility of renting it for services and special occasions. The price was extremely high, so we'll keep looking.

Later, we had our american missionary meeting over at the Fadnesses apartment. Today's teaching was on missions. It was a great encouragement to be reminded again of the mission Jesus gave the church to preach the gospel and make disciples. I think the team's upcoming trip to Riga, Latvia is really going to help to refocus our hearts for the mission here. We're all looking forward to it.

Today Valera and I rode the express train to Moscow to meet with the studio that will be replicating the Alleluia 3 recording. We were about half way there on the train when I suddenly realized I hadn't brought the master recording! I don't know how I could have forgotten the most important thing!? The meeting went well anyway, we were able to write up a contract with the studio and made a date to return on Wednesday with the master. April fools on myself, I guess.

We had time while in Moscow to stop at a couple of stores. I found a jar of peanut butter! Hooray. I also bought some flavored popcorn on Arbot Street for our missionary meeting tomorrow. I hope the team will like it. We wrapped up the trip with dinner at McDonald's and then headed back to Vladimir on the evening train.

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