Day 1
The City looked incredible as we approached it from the Baltic sea on Air Baltic flight 631 from London to Riga. It took us no time at all to get through passport control and the baggage hall. We stepped out into the arrivals concourse and was met by the amazing Sarah Illsters, AssistantRegional Commander for the Salvation Army in Latvia. She drove us through the city straight to the Salvation Army Headquarters in Central Riga which is also the home of riga 1 SA Corps. As we drove through the city, it was a picture book glimpse of how one imagines Eastern European cities to look. The SA Hall is no different. A magnificent massive building. The first thing i caught a glimpse of was a massive Salvation Army flag hanging over the street from the front of the building. Written on it in massive letters was this, "Latvia for Christ! Considering the unfathomable oppression in Latvia's history, from both nazi and Russian occupations, this flag brought a massive and serious lump to my throat, it hung like a defiant prophetic statement over this city.
As we entered the hall, Dawn and I were just so humbled by the Salvationists we met, including dropping in on the after school club the Corps runs for children who have nothing. The passion and the desire for God is massively evident.
We then went back to Sarah's place for a meal and met Aivis, Sarah's husband, a former Russian Army soldier who has had an amazing conversion and is so on fire for
God. I reveled and was further humbled by the conversations before we went to bed.
Day 2
We were up early on friday, showered, had breakfast (why does bread, cheese, eggs and meat taste so fantastic in other countries!) we then went to the SA headquarters to meet the Regional commander, Major Christine Bailey, and the rest of the Latvia team. Sarah then took us on a City tour. The first building she showed us was a former KGB headquarters just around the corner from the hall, this included a commemorative plaque that read, "During the Soviet occupation the State security agency, the KGB, imprisoned, killed, and morally humiliated its victims in this building." this was one of many visible signs that many horrendous struggles had taken place in this country, costing the lives of many. We also stood outside the famous freedom monument erected to celebrate Latvia's independence. This sense of oppression and freedom was very real in this Latvian air on this rainy and cold autumn day, that seemed to make this city glisten in the daylight. We went to a restaurant and ate the biggest pizza I've ever seen. We marveled at the aesthetics of the glorious buildings that grace the streets of this wonderful city. We also caught glimpses of the extreme poverty exacerbated by homelessness, alcoholism and the sex trade. We walked back to the hall where major Christine Bailey kindly let us rest in her apartment before we were due to pray with the worship team who were part of the prayer conference the next day. We eventually went to the main hall and prayed with the worship band members. In the evening riga 1 Corps had a meal and an open evening planned for their corps members. The food was fantastic Latvian delights followed by Both Dawn and I being asked to share our testimonies and about our work. A guy who was slightly drunk and asking for help came into the event, he sat throughout the whole of it. At the end we ended up praying for him and he said he would be back on Sunday. Sarah drove us back to her place, a beautiful Latvian apartment on the outskirts of the city for a much needed nights rest. Hearing the some stories of the lives that have been changed since the Army re started in the early 90s following the fall of Communism in Latvia touched both Dawn and I deeply. We knew we would never be the same officers again.
Day 3
We were up early on saturday and after breakfast made our way to the hall in Riga where the regional Prayer day was being held. We heard how there would be many people, many traveling from distances around 300km just to be there. When we arrived excitement was in the air. You could see people arriving and they seemed really happy. After a brilliant time of worship I took to the platform to speak. I spoke on the importance of intercession. It was beautifully chaotic in the hall. I had an interpreter translating my words into Latvian. Then over on the right hand side was a whole section of Russian speaking people having it translated into Russian via translation equipment. God really moved in the first meeting it was an incredible experience for us.
After an amazing Latvian meal at lunchtime, we reconvened in the massive and beautiful hall. Dawn led a session of praying for people. Within two seconds of us releasing people to pray, the mercy seat was lined, people were praying all over the hall. It was an amazing sight, one we wont forget in a hurry. Major Christine bailey the regional commander for Latvia, invited the Latvian Salvationists to pray for Swedish Salvationists, feeling that Sweden help Latvia with finance, but they could give them something back in blessing. It was truly humbling to see Latvian Salvationists, who really have very little in terms of material things, giving so massively generously in heartfelt prayer. The session concluded with some amazing worship led by Sarah ilsters and the worship band.
The third session I felt that we needed to intentionally listen to God. I did a short teaching session on the benefit of using silence in prayer. Then we had half an hours total silence. You literally could have heard a pin drop. It was truly and insanely quiet! Following that we had a time of sharing. Testimony after testimony exploded into the incredibly God-charged atmosphere. One man shared how he wanted to thank God and his corps people for helping him to be released from alcoholism. Another lady said she had been challenged to pray for her son who isn't a christian, there were just so many I wish I could record them all here. One after the other stood up and shared it was just so humbling.
We finished the evening with a meal along with Christine and Sarah at the famous Latvian restaurant Lido. I had no real idea what I was eating but it was fantastic!
Day 4
Before flying back to London, I preached a sermon from Malachi 3 in the morning service at Riga 1. God was at work, we prayed with many people who had asked for prayer at the end of the service. It was a life giving experience for Dawn and I and we were really taken by the warmth and grace of the people in Latvia.
We had a bit of a turbulent flight back home to London, but it gave us time to reflect on an amazing four days in Latvia. It has been such a privilege to be invited to speak into the Salvation Army work that is happening in Latvia. We pray we have been a blessing to those people as much as they have to us.
