Hello again! Sorry that its been a week and a half since I last updated the blog. I don't have a computer to update with but I just found an application for my phone that will allow me to update more frequently.
Alright so today marks two weeks of being back in Riga. This summer has
started off a little slow but 25% of my time here is gone and the pace is really picking up.
I've had a little more free time at the start of this trip which has been great for my ministry here. Because of knowing so many people here, I have been able to spend one on one time with some of the young men. I feel like this is a really important aspect of ministry. One on one ministry is so much more relaxed and personal. I feel like it allows people to open up so much easier and relationships to grow so much deeper than in a group setting. Its great being able to spend time encouraging the believers here and to have discussions about the Christian Faith with the curious but not yet believing people.
Ok so let me tell about a few of the ministries that we have going on right now. First, on Tuesday nights we have a young adult Bible Study where normally around 5 young Latvian believers gather together with Mārtiņš, Carl, Brad, and me to study the Word of God. One week Mārtiņš will lead, and the next Carl will lead. This is always a great time of fellowship. Thankfully all of the young adults have very good English, because if Mārtiņš leads we don't have a translator. On these nights its mostly done in English.
Next, on Wednesday nights Brad and I have started hosting a movie night for teens at our apartment. We have a movie projector and speakers borrowed from BRTS (Baltic Reformed Theological Seminary), and we play the movie using this setup on Brad's laptop. This Wednesday was our first and it went well. We watched "Despicable Me" and had pizza, junk food, and soda. The movie was hilarious and teens love junk food, so I think it was a hit. We even provided some entertainment while trying to heat the pizza. This was the first time Brad and I had used our oven. It's extremely old and we had to get Mārtiņš to show us how to even use it. When he saw it he said it was older than any stove he had used before and suggested that we get insurance before trying to light it. Hahaha. Anyway, soon after lighting it and starting to cook the pizza, it started smoking. And I'm not talking about a little puff of smoke. We had to open the front door and all of the windows in the apartment. I was worried that someone would call the Fire Department. We turned down the fire though and the smoke settled down while the pizza finished cooking. It was exciting to say the least!
Another ministry is Light Café on Thursday nights. Light Café is for both teens and young adults. This is a relaxing time with hot tea, coffee, and some dessert type snacks. Our activity at Light Café varies from week to week. The first week Brad and I played American secular music after Mārtiņš gave a talk on stereotypes. This week Brad and I were interviewed by Mārtiņš about what we believe and how we came to our Faith in Jesus Christ. I think this also went really well and was blessed by the Holy Spirit.
The last ministry right now is our teens meeting Sunday before church. We meet at a park and have a Bible Study with the teens, some games, and some snacks with the teens.
I suppose that's it for now.
Ata! (Like "bye bye" in Latvian.)
-Caleb
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Location:Vīlandes iela,Riga,Latvia
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