We Have Arrived!
Nov 8, 07:32 PM
Posted In: Latvia, Faithful Men
Greetings from Riga, Latvia! I am in an Internet cafe posting a quick message to let you all know that we got here safely yesterday. All of our bags made it (which is a miracle in itself considering our past history!) except for one action pack. Kristine, Gita, and Ziggy (Kristine's brother) met us at the airport and we were greeted with hugs and flowers! They had a big bus waiting for us and took us to the OK Hotel. We were hoping to see the work team greet us but they were still working and didn't show up until later in the evening.
After we got rested, we got on the tram to walk through Riga. Kristine was our tour guide and showed us around a bit. We stopped at Lido's (which is like a smorgasboard type restaurant) at the corner of Elizabetes & Brivabus street and had dinner. The persons in our group that had not experienced Lido's before were overwhelmed with the food choices. I got my favorite soup, which is Sojanka soup with a dollop of cream in the middle along with some sauerkraut and chicken stuffed spinach. After we finished eating we were invited to Riga 1st church for some tea, coffee, and biscuits. We spent some time talking with Gita and then the men practiced a little in the sanctuary.
Tonya, Marguerite, Wesley, and Bob went to the opera house to see the play, "The Magic Flute" on Friday night after we arrived. Several years ago the Faithful Men raised some money to provide a flute for a young and talented flute player at Gita's church but she could not try out for a special music school without a flute. To make a long story short, she was playing in the premiere performance of "The Magic Flute!" This is one of the ways that the Faithful Men has made a difference in a young person's life.
Today, after breakfast, we went to Riga 2nd church for a Celebration and Concert. We were amazed at the change inside the church. It looks beautiful! Today's service was a celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Latvian Independence, the 10th anniversary of the reopening of the 2nd church congregation, and the 10 anniversary sister church relationship between Fairview UMC and Riga 2nd. The Faithful Men sang beautifully and sound so different here. Kristine was our translator during the three hour service. There were also performances from the others in the congregation. Beautiful and touching service. We were served a meal afterwards with food that had been prepared for the celebration. One thing about the Latvians is that they make pretty food and decorate the tables with colorful linens, napkins and candles. I'll try to post some pictures when I have more Internet time.
The rest of our day today has been spent walking around Old Riga, shopping, and eating. The weather is cold but manageable with our long underwear, coats, hats, scarves and mittens!
Sue Anne, Norm wants me to let you know that he is fine (and misbehaving as always!)
Blessings, Laurie
