GO Project: Orchestra/Latvia 2005

Bittersweet

2005-10-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

It's hard to know where to start with today's post. We're packing here, getting ready to leave tomorrow at 7:15am. We started with a rehearsal today, followed by three wonderful church services at 9:30, 11:30, and 2:00. Our prelude wasMajesty (directed by Eric), followed by All Heaven Declares as a call to worship by the choir. The congregation sang Praise to the Lord, The Almighty, Come, Now is the Time to Worship, and Open the Eyes of My Heart. It was encouraging to sing (as we had the chance) with the Latvians in English as they sang in their native tongue. We know the same songs! We have the same faith! The choir anthem was Name Above All Names—with the narration,—followed by the congregation singing How Great Thou Art as an offertory and As The Deer (Eric conducting) as another special music item. Oh, and Oh, Happy Day was in there somewhere, with Eric soloing on bass trombone.

And it was a happy day! The congregation was excited, for their anniversary, for our presence, and in just worshipping God.

It was a sad day as well, because we had to leave the many friends we met this last week. We met with many of the orchestra members later this evening at a restaurant in Riga and exchanged gifts, as well as e-mail addresses and farewells. I spent much of the evening talking to Karlis, a 16-year-old trumpet player from Riga. He's been playing the trumpet for nine years. Instrumentalists start young in Latvia!

Paul told the congregation at Matthews that we had been ministered to as much as or more than we had ministered to them—and it's true. These brothers and sisters have treated us with a kindness and generosity that we did not know to expect. I will remember my friends in Latvia and I hope to see them again soon.

Tea, Anyone?

2005-10-22T12:02:00.002-07:00

Yet another two-hour rehearsal today, at Matthews church with their orchestra. We are getting ready for their anniversary celebration tomorrow (three services). Following that rehearsal, we left for two concerts: one in Araisi and the other in Limbazi.

Yes, we were in Araisi just a few days ago for sightseeing, and now we were back to perform for about 30 people in the oldest building I've ever been in—the church was built in 1225. We were warned that it would be cold (it was) and we also found it was lit by candles. Our host once again was Tomar; today his younger son and his daughter translated for us. Tomar will be playing with us tomorrow at Matthews.

After lunch we travelled to Limbazi, very near the Russian border. Our host was Janis, the music director at the Aloja music school, in conjunction with the Limbazi Baptist Church. We performed for approximately another 30 people in their cultural center and then had tea and coffee with our hosts.

Speaking of tea, I've had more tea to drink in the last week then I've had in my whole life. Every time we perform we have hot tea and coffee and some type of snack laid out for us. Although I do not normally drink tea or coffee, it would be rude not to partake, so I drink some tea loaded with sugar. Even the children drink tea in Latvia! The ladies are very diligent in ensuring that we have enough to each, pressing food upon us at every turn.

Another ritual is the giving of flowers. After our Matthews concert, Eric received a bouquet and each of us was given a small spray of blooms. I think Eric received some flowers after the Aluksne concert as well. Some time is spent after each concert with our hosts and the residents of the area who stay to visit. Many of the people can speak a little English, but mostly we speak through our hosts, who interpret for us.

A Warm Reception

2005-10-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Today we left the hotel earlier (9am) than usual. We were on our way to Rundale Palace, about 70km from Riga. What a magnificent structure! My camera died today, so I wasn't able to take any pictures, but all of the members of the project who have cameras will pool their pictures so we can create a CD of our travel photos.

Then we traveled to Mezotnes Palace, where we had a lunch. Maris has taken us to lunch several times this week and each time we have been expected and our meal has been prepared and served as we arrived. Latvian food is outstanding!

When we returned to Riga, we had about an hour to wait until we had a rehearsal at Matthews. After our two-hour rehearsal, we played an hour concert at Matthews, which was very well received. Contrary to what we were told might happen, we received applause after each piece and the audience even began clapping with the last selection we played, a ragtime rendition of We'll Understand It Better By and By.

What was more fun, though, was the reception afterwards. We were greeted by many members of Matthews and others who had attended. I had the opportunity to meet Kristine, a young woman who was a member of the local Catholic parish. She comes to Matthews from time to time for the music and I encouraged her to come more often and—since she sings—get involved at Matthews. We exchanged e-mail addresses, so perhaps I'll have more opportunities to encourage her toward that.

Rehearsal Day

2005-10-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

Today was rehearsal day. We started the morning off with some much needed sleep. Several of our members spent the morning sight seeing. At noon we walked to Riga with our Simona. The town is pretty amazing considering we were looking at buildings built in 800 years ago. Afterwards we went to rehearsal for the first time since we arrived. It was wonderful. We actually warmed-up and tuned! Amazing! Afterward we sat in the Student Service while Brad and Dan played. Following that Service we fellowshipped and rehearsed with the Matthews Baptist Orchestra. It was refreshing to have a day of preparation rather than presentation. Thank you Lord!

Palace Day

2005-10-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

Today was palace day and concert night. We spent the morning seeing some of Latvia’s more extravagant palaces. We were able to visit one that had so much beauty it was almost incomprehensible as to how someone could think that big.

After that we hand a wonderful lunch and then went to Riga to prepare for our concert. The rehearsals went well and the performance was awesome! The solos tonight were Betty and I. Curtis, Don, and I also sung our trio. The testimonies were presented by Curtis and Kathy, which God really blessed as both their testimonies worked well together to present the Gospel. Afterward there was a fellowship. In that fellowship we found severeal non-Christians who wanted to talk to us which opened doors to share the Gospel. I was able to speak to a young man from France who was a humanist or Naturalist and he was really, really, really opened minded. This means he believes in no absolute truth. Therefore, I explained that Jesus died for his sins and there was only one way to heaven. He kind of beat around the bush but at least I know he heard the Gospel. After I finished speaking with him I had the pastor go talk to him so he would have a personal invitation to Matthews Baptist Church. Tonight was blessed and I am so happy to see the musicians realizing how their music can be used.

Old Riga

2005-10-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Today we had a "free" morning, meaning we didn't have anything scheduled until noon. At noon we met Simona, a member of Matthews (I think), who was to be our guide around Old Riga. We saw everything from St. Peter's to St. John's, from The Three Brothers to the Occupation Museum, and everything in between. Simona was a joy to be with, and she was very knowledgable about the historical points of interest she was showing us.

After sightseeing, we had a two-hour rehearsal with our group alone, then attended the youth worship service at Matthews church (where Brad, Dan, and Paulis played). Then we rehearsed again, this time with the Matthews orchestra—two violins, a viola, cello, two flutes, an oboe, clarinet, two trumpets, a saxophone, an electric bass (Paulis), and a drummer. Four of those instrumentalists are Maris' children. We got along very well with them as we prepared for Sunday's worship services.

Afterwards, we spent some time conversing with them. I spoke at length to Arturs, the oboist, who is a member of the Latvian National Opera. He told me that the one thing hindering young would-be musicians is the lack of instruments, particularly quality instruments. Good instruments are expensive and many teachers will not teach students when only poor instruments are available. Please pray with me that God will show us how we can make instruments available to Latvian students, perhaps to those at Aloja Music School.

Today's Wrap-Up

2005-10-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

Out at 10am, on our way to Cesis, about 75 kilometers northeast of Riga, where we saw the Cesis Stone Castle. I want a castle! I was amazed that we got to clamber up the narrow, spiral, stone staircases all the way to the top of its turret (what a view!), then shimmy down a ladder to the depths of its dungeon. Also on the grounds of the castle was a toppled statue of Lenin that was removed in 1990 to make way for their Victory Monument.

Our guides in Cesis, a Latvian businessman (and trumpet player in the Matthews orchestra), Tomar, and his son, took us next to the Araisi Lake Fortress, a reconstructed Latgallian settlment dating back to the ninth century. It was easy to see that our guides were passionate about their country's history as they told us fact after fact that were not on the tour placards. Finally they took us to a cafeteria, where we were informed that they had bought us lunch. We were so grateful! Paldies!

We were running late as we left for our next engagement at Aloja Music School. We showed up nearly 45 minutes late, at 4:45, to find about forty children and adults waiting for us. This was a very special time. Three young saxophone players serenaded us with a song to begin the evening, then one of their teachers, a Matthews orchestra member, introduced us. We played a concert similar to last evening's concert, and Eric and Paul gave testimonies. We ended our playing by joining five of the students in one of the pieces they were working on. They (and we) were very excited.

But that wasn't all! We filled out our two hours there by learning more about the school from our host and the school's director. The school has about 50 music students and 50 arts students; the students on hand were able to try out their English on us and also ask us questions. Eric was able to help repair a couple of instruments. Sweets were prepared for us. And 7 or 8 young ladies sang two songs for us in beautiful harmony, just before they presented us with a framed chalk drawing by one of their students.

Our evening wasn't over yet, but I'll let others tell it. I will say that we stopped by Matthews Church to drop of our instruments before dinner and some of us looked in on their choir practice. At the time, they were singing No Other Name from God With Us and I was honored to join them in English. I was touched to be able to sing with them even though their language was unfamiliar and I am looking forward to worshipping with them on Sunday.

Music School

2005-10-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

One of the things we had the opportunity to do on our second day in Latvia was to visit the music school in Aloja. The music school is really an art and music school that the students go to after their regular school. One of the teachers at the school plays in the orchestra at Matejs Baptist Church. We played for the kids, they played and sang for us, and we even played one song with them. Paul and Eric each gave their testimonies about how God has used music in their lives. We had some great fellowship with the students afterwards. I sat with some boys who are around 12 years old. Their English is very good. We talked about a number of things. One of them mentioned computers, and he said he even gets on the Internet a lot. I gave them some cards with pictures of Immanuel, along with the church web site. I got a couple of their email addresses, and I gave them mine. Overall, it was a great day. It was very special because of the time that we were able to spend with the students.

Aloja Music School

2005-10-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

Today we had the amazing opportunity to visit a music school in the town of Aloja. When we arrived, they were waiting for us, approx. 40 students and 10 adults. A sax trio, ages 11-13, played for us and we played a short concert for them which they seemed to enjoy it. Paul and Eric shared their testimonies along with their "musical history". Then one of their teachers, who is a member of Matthews Baptist, asked if we would play one of their songs with the students. We played a march by Handel with 5 of their students.

After that we had a time of fellowship with the students. We were able to help them practice their English and they helped us learn some Latvian. I spent some time with an 11-year-old girl named Diana. She played the saxophone with the trio at the beginning of our concert. Later, Diana and 7 other girls sang 2 very beautiful songs in 2-3 part harmony. After that it was time to say goodbye. The music school director presented us with a beautiful chalk drawing by one of the students. We exchanged e-mail addresses as we left. The students were so excited by the experience and we were truly blessed by them!

P.S. Mom, today was much, much better! Thank you for the advice and especially the prayer! I love you. Say hi to the boy for me!

Latvia's Music Children

2005-10-19T13:20:00.000-07:00

What an evening! God truly used our unique gifts for a unique environment. We were invited to a music school in Aloja. It is a rural community about 180 Km from Riga. We were surprised to see that the school was not a normal school but an after-school program. Students will go to school during the day and they attend art school in the afternoon until about six. We were able to set up in a small double room, which was the biggest on their campus and perform for the students. The music director is a trumpet player at Matthews Baptist Church. Therefore, we were invited to open with our faith and Paul and I both gave our testimonies about how we saw God use music in our lives to bring us close to him. Afterwards, we were encouraged to fellowship with the kids and the music director actually paired us up with them so they could practice their English. We were able to build relationships and it was wonderful to watch our musicians see how their talents could bridge a language barrier. God was so good to us today!

2005-10-19T05:20:00.000-07:00

We just left the lake fortress. It is a entire town built on a small island from the 9th century. Kathy pointed out how sad it is that everything we have seen was built as a defense. It is a stark reminder of the depravity of man. Now we are off to the school to play with the kids.

2005-10-19T04:45:00.000-07:00

This morning we enjoyed an excursion to Cesis. There we were able to see a castle built in the 13th century. The son of one of Maris' musicians was our translator. We had two neat experiences. The first was to ascend to the tower where we saw much of the terrain, which was beautiful. The second was to descend into the prison which was a hole in the floor.

Lutherans and Baptists

2005-10-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Aluksne Baptist Church invited us to Aluksne, Latvia, to perform at the Lutheran church. The pastor, Davids, traveled with us all day and translated for us. Tonight he joined with the Lutheran and Catholic pastors to make the concert happen. We arrived at 4 and a few of us set up while the others saw the first translated Latvian Bible.

At 5, after a short rehearsal, we went the the Lutheran parsonage for tea and snacks. We left there at 5:45 and headed back the church for the concert, but I had to get people changed into their black. The ladies went first and blocked the windows in order to change on the bus. Then the men went in to change at about 5:59! I was a little tense but I got Brad to make some filler music which was awesome, especially because our bass player rocks! The sanctuary was very cold. We had to constantly blow arm air through our instruments to keep them from going flat. Musically every thing was pretty good. Spiritually God was working. Both Brad and Don gave great testimonies and the flow of the service went great.

Sightseeing Notes

2005-10-18T03:20:00.000-07:00

We have just completed the sightseeing portion of our day. We were taken to Sigulda, which was a very beautiful rural setting. First we hiked to a valley overlook where we could see an old castle on the other side. The river that ran through the valley was Gauja. Everyone did well, but Betty really hurt when we were finished. Afterward we went to a cave called Gutmana (Goot-mahn-yah). There we saw a cave where there were 17th century inscriptions and 21st century kids everywhere. This morning has been wonderful for seeing the beauty of the country we are serving. We are now back on the bus on our way to lunch. Afterwards we will begin our 200 km trip to the Lutheran church we will perform at tonight.

Left Behind...Almost

2005-10-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

We just received Dan Frost back from the dead, so to speak. When we arrived at the airport from our jaunt to the city, Dan cleaned his passport pouch. When he did, he tore up his ticket on the next flight thinking it was a receipt of some sorts. Thank the Lord that he did not throw it away but he littered! When we were called to the plane 2 hours later, he could not find his ticket. We actually got to the point that we agreed he would have to purchase another ticket for tomorrow morning and sleep and the hotel at the airport.

But God had other plans.

He gave us favor with everyone but the head flight control lady. The security people quickly let Dan out and back in with very little hassle. He then proceeded to ask the ladies to tape it together so the could see the numbers. All the while, the head flight lady was accusing him of making a mockery of their airline, Lufthansa. We, on the plane knew none of this. We thought he was staying, so when the stewardess announced that we were waiting for a missing passenger I told her he was not coming. At that point, she informed me of the ripped ticket and that he was coming! Praise the Lord! Dan was greeted to the plane by a round of applause from our Latvia team!

Day One (or something...)

2005-10-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

The flight went very well with very little waiting! Everyone did well on the flight and I actually slept! When we arrived in Frankfurt it took us some time to figure out how to store our luggage. Everyone was excited about the opportunity to see another country during our layover. Frank acquired information from a stewardess and that helped us get to downtown Frankfurt.

While we were there—1.5 hours—we split into two groups and saw quite bit of the city. We were located in more of the "State Street" district, so it was very beautiful. As we were meeting to leave, I was approached by a man who wanted money and I followed my protocol and said "No." God humbled me, though, by letting me watch Brad see the situation from another angle. He purposed in his heart to witness to him and he did it well. It was such a blessing to see the transaction; however, the man did no pray to receive Christ. Now we are waiting in the Frankfurt airport to board our plane to Riga. This has been a great day!

Almost there!

2005-10-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

Oh, it was so good to get off the plane! My backside was sooo sore. As I've never been out of the country, I've never been in such a small place for such a long time. Praise God that was the only "difficulty" on the flight! There was only a little turbulence; in fact, I think our flight plan changed because of weather conditions. We got in to Frankfurt about 20 minutes later than we expected.

Since we had a seven-and-a-half hour layover, we decided we'd run around Frankfurt for a while. We left our carry-on luggage at a baggage check and took the train into the city. Curtis, Cara, and I walked around a shopping district, peering into shops with names both familiar and unfamiliar. Part of the area seemed like Rodeo Drive, with Cartier, Armani, and Versace stores; a block over were Main Street-type shops. We stopped for some bratwurst (it's Germany, right? Eric went to McDonald's. Sheesh!) and also got some German chocolate. The locals were very patient with us.

As we were touring, we came across the Opera House, the old Opera House, that is.

Wheels Up!

2005-10-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

We left the ground at 7:05, just about fifteen minutes behind schedule. With a ten-and-a-half hour flight ahead of us, I suppose a few extra minutes doesn't matter.

The information on the in-flight screens shows we are traveling at 504mph at an altitude of 38000 feet. It's -45°F outside.

Getting to LAX was uneventful but, while going through security, Brad and Dan got singled out to have their carry-on luggage searched. Even so, it didn't take long, and we were sitting down at the gate at 4:25pm. Wow! No real problems and no stress.

We spent the next two hours hanging out, waiting for a 6:25 boarding time. We actually started boarding at 6:05...and here we are.

Boy, these seats are close together! It's going to be a long flight. Typing on my laptop is slightly uncomfortable, but I won't be doing much of that, considering I just found out—contrary to the information on Lufthansa's website—that there is no Internet access in economy class. So I won't be able to post this until at least 3:00pm in Frankfurt (6am in Highland).

[Actually, I had to post this after we got to Riga, since access in Frankfurt wasn't available that I could easily find.]

Here we go

2005-10-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

All packed, practiced, and prepared. Even though I am excited and looking forward to the Latvia mission I some how still feel a very strong sense of calm. I feel that no matter what occurs it will be OK and everything we do will honor God.

Christa left a card in my mail box yesterday. It said, "Like a proud parent, God especially enjoys watching you use the talents and abilities He has given you. God intentionally gifted us differently for His enjoyment."

The inside of the card read, "You have everything you need to be everything God created you to be. You're gifted for a purpose--and your life is in the hands of an unfailing God!"

Here's to another opportunity to offer our gifts to honor God.

Betty

Time to get excited!!

2005-10-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, if I wasn't excited before, I am now! Eric sent us a tentative itinerary today and it looks like we have at 3 least performances, 2 at the church and 1 in a nearby city. We will also be playing with the Matthews Baptist orchestra for their 3 Sunday services. I can't wait to get there and meet the people we are going to serve and serve with.

Bring Your Umbrella!

2005-10-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

Anybody checked out the weather forecast for Riga? Looks like we're in store for a few days with rain. (On the other hand, the weather in Frankfurt, where we have a seven-and-a-half hour layover, will be nice.) Lows are beginning to dip below 40, as well. Be prepared!

Exchange Rates

2005-10-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

Exchange rates are important. How important? Well, Eric let us know tonight that he based his initial figures for our project (at least our in-country expenses: food, lodging, etc.) without taking into account the currency he was dealing with. That means we under-estimated our budget by about $2800. We still have four days and y'all haven't stopped fundraising, have you? There are still people who want to give, if only you'll ask.

By the way, the current exchange rate— as set by the Bank of Latvia—is 0.5870 U.S. dollars per lat (the Latvian currency). As Rhonda discussed tonight, you'll convert your food purchases from lats to dollars for your expense report; in this case, you'll multiply the lats by 0.5870 (0.6 to make it easy) to get the dollar amount.

Black Monday

2005-10-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

Eric just let me know that our project is officially in the black! Considering how difficult my personal fundraising has been, that is very good news. It's been easy over the last few years to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association; usually it takes very little time to raise $1000. Raising money for this mission project, on the other hand, has been, well, not as easy.

Now that we've raised the needed funds, though, it's not time to slack off. There's no telling what unforeseen expenses could arise, so any additional support that can be raised between now and Sunday will help us plan for any contingency.

Quick update

2005-10-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

I have my passport! God is in control.

Passport problems

2005-10-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

Well, to piggyback on Don's post, my passport is in. It's not in my hands, but it's in San Bernardino. I am having some trouble getting it from the post office. The post office says it's on the mail truck, but the mail carrier says it's at the office. So, pray that this will be resolved and soon. Okay, "soon" isn't a requirement, just in God's time. :)