FSAOF RETURNS TO LATVIA

Latvia – August, 2011

At present Sven and I are on board a ship, a Russian freighter, travelling from Travemundi, Germany to Venspels, Latvia. This is our third visit this year, our sixth in 3 years, having already come very early in the New Year heavy laden with Christmas gifts for ‘our kids’ in time for their Christmas celebrations on the 7th January, in accordance with the Russian Orthodox calendar. We then returned in June with a team of 14 merry and able co- helpers to accomplish what has now become our annual main ‘Mission to Latvia’ trip during which time we helped renovate SA property, conduct a daily children’s programme for the week, lead worship, and generally help improve the quality of life for the people we have learned to love over the years with practical gifts and practical love expressed in general health care too.

Sven and I now find ourselves returning on something of an unscheduled visit. Again, our car heaving under the weight of the resources we bring: a promised key board (typical Sven!) for the outpost at Seda for them to use week by week in their worship services and more gifts and toys, to make sure every child has a treasured one in time for Christmas, and not forgetting the rather large quantity of sweets to help replenish what was given earlier in the summer. We go too, very much looking forward to seeing the children again whom in some ways we have adopted as our own. Wanting to see …….. in his new glasses … to learn how ……..’s arm has mended … how far ……. is on with her pregnancy and how housebound Signe is getting on with her computer skills with the computer that was gifted her from our last mission trip.

So far, this journey seems to have taken forever. It started some weeks ago when we travelled from our then temporary accommodation in Coatbridge, near Glasgow, Scotland to Bourne, Lincolnshire with a car full of ‘stuff’ that was going to be shipped out free of charge this week. (10 hours) We then made a second trip to Bourne last Saturday with a second carload (8 hours) and then again on Thursday evening, only this time to retrieve some of the things we had dropped off as the Baptist Church’s plans to have “our” 40’ container in Latvia by tomorrow, our scheduled unloading date, had fallen through and the shipment is now to be at a later date.

With our ferry crossings booked and our plans made we still needed and wanted to make this journey and so here we find ourselves once again in the middle of the Baltic Sea, anticipating our 4 hour drive and midnight arrival in Sakarni later this evening and meeting with ‘our kids’ in the morning.

Glad Ljungholm
Active UKT
DHQ Liverpool