Journey to Riga 3

There were many things which moved me in Latvia, making me think, pray and worship.
The country itself is amongst the most seriously affected by the world financial crisis. Many of the banks had allowed borrowers to take huge loans with no security, and when the crunch came with unemployment soaring, many have found themselves unable to repay their debts. Some therefore travel abroad to seek work (The population is decreasing dramatically). Others sink under the pressure. The suicide rate is the second highest in the world (with a large number of these among those from 50 years old upwards). Alcoholism is an enormous problem, as is corruption in both Government and Business circles. This combined with the long history of a country ruled by others makes for a people with a great lack of self-esteem.

This contrasts itself starkly with the hope I saw among the young people at the Missions Conference. Their spirit reminded me very much of the days in the mid-seventies when God seemed to bless the work of the Christian Unions among the Welsh speakers at the Welsh Universities. There is an innocence, combined with an eagerness.During the conference a collection equivalent to almost $2,000 was taken up for relief aid to Haiti.There is a belief that God is good, and desires good things for his people. I know that in the rarefied atmosphere of a conference, and when visiting a different country, it is easy to get a false impression. But Lindsay, who travels often, got the same impression.

The commitment of some of the missionaries there is certainly a good role model for them. A number have given up lucrative positions and careers in the US and other places to come to serve here. The pastor in the church where the conference was held had been born in the Ukraine, had moved to the US and built up a career there as a property developer, but had given it all up to come to help the church in Riga. The servant spirit of many of these, not coming to tell these poor Latvians to do things in the American way, was a joy to watch.

Joy was another attribute that was very apparent. Maybe because the winters can be so harsh, the Latvians love to have an excuse to celebrate. This year the Missions conference was being held for the fifth time, so on the Friday evening they had a fifth birthday party for the conference. We had a meal, we had the young people providing entertainment, and they honoured Chuck for his work in setting it all up. (The photo above is of Chuck Kelley with Kristina translating) One of the entertainment highlights was a performance on the violin by one of the students. Paula Sumane is studying in the conservatoire in Paris, but here she was an ordinary young girl of 22 rejoicing in her Lord at the conference. However when she picked up the violin the whole room was hushed, quite amazed at this tremendous young talent.(The performance can be seen on Facebook) I pray that her faith will survive intact in the world she is entering.

Worship can be a cheap word in our day, but the worshipful atmosphere of the whole conference was so encouraging. The singing could be loud at times (Valdis, who led the singing, is a rock musician). But everybody seemed to be looking to God for his guidance and good will, whether it was in the formal parts of the meetings, or in the fellowship and discussions. One of the burning issues for them, as mentioned in a previous blog, is how God speaks to us. However the seriousness of the discussion did not hamper the good will between those of differing views, with people prepared to listen to each other in humility. If only this spirit could prevail in more of our discussions and debates as Christians.
In my next blog I want to share about one issue regarding public worship that challenged me in the conference