We have had a couple of great weeks for spring weather. While working in our yard yesterday I came across one of our little friends. We have these lizards around our yards and houses and it is neat to watch them.
This one was sunning himself on our fence boards:
On February 18, Latvia will hold an election to determine if the Russian language will be the offical second language of Latvia. As you can imagine, this referendum has stirred quite a debate.
Here is a good link to an article that explains the process:
Click the link below for a video that explains some of the highlights of Cesis:
We spent a nice afternoon with our good friend, Chuck Kelley in the Old Town area of Riga. Chuck is the founder and president of Bridge Builders International and has been such an inspiration and motivator for us. BBI is involved with so many good things in Latvia and it is always a pleasure to hear what is being planned next.
The three of us had a great lunch, visited our favorite bakery and then joined Chuck at his apartment in Old Town Riga.
As you can see from the pictures, the elevator certainly has a few years on it. The passengers have to stand very still in certain spots or the car will be off balance and will become stuck! We followed his instructions and made it with no problems but we opted to take the stairs on our way down.
God has brought so many interesting, caring and dedicated people into our lives. We thank Him for planting the seeds of future possiblities and for the encouragement to continue on our journey.
Chuck is always happy to explain the history of Old Riga. He and Laura are checking out a mural.
Jesus on the Guild building...
We have a favorite bakery....
The bread is almost an art form...
Chuck in front of his building's elevator...
We visited our friends Dan and Katie in Ergli yesterday. Among a multitude of other things they run a Christian camp that is in a perfect location. They are also raising an ever-growing herd of sheep.
It was our great pleasure to visit with them and see the camp. We certainly will try to make it back there soon. What a beautiful place, don't you agree?
The grass is still green but snow is just around the corner. This is the cabin that houses the sauna.
Diving board...
Zip line and ropes course...
Walk the timber...
The sheep will be taken into the barn when the cold weather hits...
Gints checking the herd...
Botox candidate...
A small creek has been dammed up to make a nice pond for swimming and fishing...
Unique roof on the sauna....
Across the lake....
It is definitely fall in Latvia. We were in the 30s for the low temps the last two nights. We have had lots of rain but the colors of the leaves are still holding. Here are a couple of shots of various scenes in Cesis:
Red vines at the Manor House...
Obama's biggest supporter in Cesis ... our friend only knows two English words "Obama President"...
You can live in a place for a long time but still happen upon something that is very interesting.
Yesterday we were just riding around and enjoying all of the fall colors in the forest when we came upon this ferry. This is only about 30 minutes from where we live but we have never heard anyone speak of it before.
It is an entirely non-motorized operation. The barge is attached to a cable and the current of the river does all of the work. The ferry pilot might have to pull a little if the barge has two cars but for the most part there is little manual labor.
After some research, it seems that there was a bridge here previously but it was destroyed during WW II.
Latvia! We are constantly amazed at what we find here.
Taking a couple of bicycle riders across...
And back across with a couple of vehicles...
We were just riding around about dark last Saturday and happened to be close to the beach. This is actually the same beach that we saw an iceberg a few months ago.
Here are a couple of good shots:
We took a short bus ride last week up to Tallinn, Estonia for some rest time. It is a beautiful old city. We had a great time of doing nothing for a couple of days.
The most excitement came on the way home. Our bus driver had to go from about 70 miles per hour to 0 in a hurry. Books, water bottles and luggage were flying through the air. You could feel the bus swerving and losing traction. We just knew we were going to end up in the ditch. God was with us as the driver finally got it under control. It was definitely a near miss.
After getting off the bus in Riga, we caught the train to Cesis. This time we did hit something and unfortunately it was a man. We pulled over on one of the side tracks and waited about two hours while the police were doing their investigation. We could never understand if the guy was killed or not.
We ended up in Cesis almost two hours late (1:00am) and had to walk the deserted streets back to our apartment. After those two near misses, we were looking over our shoulders to see what was coming next.
Not a day goes by that we don't thank God for his provision and his safe-keeping of us and our family.
Looks like I have some competition!
God often brings people together to fulfill a need. This exactly what happened on a roofing project that we were privileged to be able to help with.
The family that lives in this house has had to face a lot of adversity recently. The father passed away after several years of being incapcitated due to injuries from a car wreck. The mother cannot work and there are three children still in school. The house is old, drafty and in need of numerous repairs. However, it is the family home and it has been in the family for several generations. They own the land around it and are able to keep a few cows, sheep and of course, horses which are their only means of transportation to town. When the winter snow comes they can only get to town with a horse and sleigh and even then it is a hard trip.
Bill and Donna were our initial contacts and they have provided most of the work, expertise and general organization. Others have been instrumental in this endeavor including the construction team from FBC-Athens. Another church in Texas has donated the money to do much of the rebuilding and provide other needed supplies.
As you can see from the pictures, during the heavy snowfall, the roof on one corner collapsed. When the roof gave way, it also took one of the chimneys down. The project for the summer was to get the chimney rebuilt and the roof replaced.
As of last week, the rest of the old roof has been removed; the new roof has been installed and only the finishing trim pieces need to be installed. All of this was done with volunteer labor and at no cost to the family. A new chimney has been erected and the house is in much better shape than when the project began.
It was our pleasure to help on this project and we thank Bill and Donna for their hard work. The FBC-Athens team was a God-send as they did everything from providing clean-up to hoisting the trusses.
Who would have thought that God would send a group of Texans to a little house deep in the woods of Latvia, almost to the Russian border? Now a family will be safe and warm as the cold winter will soon begin.
