A change in location
Today we packed up and moved. We left the Radisson in Riga and boarded our motor coach; destination Liepaja Latvia, about a 3 hour drive to this coastal city. The motor coach was packed to the gills with missionaries, shoes, suit cases, vbs supplies and children's medicine. After a we checked into the hotel Liva and had a quick lunch we were off on a a motor coach tour of Liepaja a port city that is still showing a lot of signs of the Russian occupation.
The barracks like housing complexes look very stark and unkept from the outside,at night some windows had lights and some were totally broken out in the same high rise.
Our orphans today were located at Liepaja city orphanage, located in navy port a depressed area that was abandoned by the Russian military. The building looked drab from the outside but was quite charming, clean but again in need of updating within. Kids are kids, whether in the US or the Balkans. The little ones run around, push each other and the older ones sit around and act cool.
We seem to be a novelty to them and this seems to make our ministry more effective.
Our Vbs did not need any half -time adjustments and our little Latvian soldiers of God, donned with there T-shirts of righteousness and stocking cap helmets to protect them from the devil are a blessing to us.
The whole area of Liepaja seems much poorer than Riga and this was reflected in the orphanage, there were more kids here and more need both physically and spiritually.
One little boy, Martins's face lit up as we sang happy birthday to him , in English!
We have a lot of ladies on this mission, and you can see their natural nurturing skills are being used by God as they embrace these children both physically and spiritually.
The only man in I have seen in the orphanages was today, a plain clothes security person, watching the door .
The six men we have on the trip, are excellent witnesses to the boys and young men. I hope that seeing and hearing these men talk about Jesus Christ, quote the Bible and stand up for their faith will have an impact on the lives of these young people, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Tomorrow we go to a special needs home. More babies, but these will have special challenges in life. Jackie and I are making many new friends and our common goal to share the Good News of Jesus Christ binds us together very closely.
Blessings
Mark and Jackie
The barracks like housing complexes look very stark and unkept from the outside,at night some windows had lights and some were totally broken out in the same high rise.Our orphans today were located at Liepaja city orphanage, located in navy port a depressed area that was abandoned by the Russian military. The building looked drab from the outside but was quite charming, clean but again in need of updating within. Kids are kids, whether in the US or the Balkans. The little ones run around, push each other and the older ones sit around and act cool.
We seem to be a novelty to them and this seems to make our ministry more effective.
Our Vbs did not need any half -time adjustments and our little Latvian soldiers of God, donned with there T-shirts of righteousness and stocking cap helmets to protect them from the devil are a blessing to us.The whole area of Liepaja seems much poorer than Riga and this was reflected in the orphanage, there were more kids here and more need both physically and spiritually.
One little boy, Martins's face lit up as we sang happy birthday to him , in English!
We have a lot of ladies on this mission, and you can see their natural nurturing skills are being used by God as they embrace these children both physically and spiritually.The only man in I have seen in the orphanages was today, a plain clothes security person, watching the door .
The six men we have on the trip, are excellent witnesses to the boys and young men. I hope that seeing and hearing these men talk about Jesus Christ, quote the Bible and stand up for their faith will have an impact on the lives of these young people, with the help of the Holy Spirit.Tomorrow we go to a special needs home. More babies, but these will have special challenges in life. Jackie and I are making many new friends and our common goal to share the Good News of Jesus Christ binds us together very closely.
Blessings
Mark and Jackie
posted by mark rychel at Monday, November 06, 2006
2 Comments:
Hi Rychels! Thank you for the wonderful photos. My mom forwarded the link to me. I especially enjoyed the action shot of my dad throwing a snowball. I hope he didn't hurt himself. I am glad that you are all being such a blessing and light for Christ to those kids and your brothers and sisters. How awesome!
Thank you so much for your photos and updates. We are so pleased to hear from you. Please give our love to Audrey Altman. We at the station miss her, but are excited at all you are doing.
Love and Prayers,
Jennifer Epperson, Station Manager for the WRMB Staff
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