First Post from Latvia

Saturday Morning 

Our travel here was uneventful for us.  It didn’t even seem to take that long.  Glen has managed to get the long distance working through his office phone on his cell and we talked twice yesterday!  There was an older gentleman right behind us on the flight into Frankfurt who became very ill and it was disturbing.  I thought he was on death’s door, the way he looked.  His wife couldn’t rouse him for a while.  By the time we landed he had managed to throw up multiple times.  At one point his wife yelled to the flight attendant that he was throwing up blood—but then they concluded that it was the pasta from dinner!!!  His color was much better by the time we landed but they were going to the airport hospital from the plane. Apparently it’s a good one.  Poor thing.  I complimented his wife on how calm she was—I would have been frantic.  The lady in the seat next to him said that she read the same paragraph over and over during the incident!  We were all trying to give them a bit of privacy in the very public atmosphere of the plane!

One of many plazas in Old Town Riga

Our hostess—Lienite--is coming soon to take us to see the old city of Riga.  We are ensconced in a two bedroom apartment on the fourth floor of an old, old building about 3 minutes’ walk from the big cathedral downtown.  It looks and feels like an old European city—with Soviet era buildings.   There are coffee shops tucked in all sorts of nooks and crannies.  Alas, I’m the only one of the three of us that drinks coffee!!!  I slept great last night after awakening at 1:30 for a snack. Beth and Tracy didn’t sleep as well and were up early—like 4 am---I slept until 7:30 am!  PTL.  Am feeling strong and well this am!  Hallelujah!!!

The day we arrived, we had a delightful late lunch with the two main ladies who have done all the coordinating of our schedule here.  We had lots of laughter and a quick, deep bond is being formed.  We walked to the bank to exchange money and then to the grocery where we bought water, breakfast stuff and diet coke!  Then back here, carrying the bags up the stairs because the ANCIENT elevator was not working.  Fortunately it had worked when we got here with our suitcases. 

The Jesus Church Organ Pipes

Beth pulled a tendon in her groin after running a marathon about 3 weeks ago and she is still hurting somewhat.  But she is trooping!!!  Today is relatively unscheduled as we try to develop our “land legs” again.  There is a concert in the old cathedral tonight.  It has an organ that is famous throughout Europe.  It used to be the largest one.  Anyway, we don’t know if the organ is on the program tonight but we are planning to attend—I imagine it will be chilly if the other old cathedrals I’ve been in are any indication.  Tracy, our musician will enjoy it especially and it seems like a “must do” to get a feel for the culture.  Tomorrow we are scheduled to walk to the “Jesus Church.” A Lutheran congregation that is a more traditional service. 

Chuck’s apartment is comfortable.  Beth and I are sharing an enormous bed.  It just has a mattress and no box springs so when one of us rolls over the other doesn’t even feel it!  Neither Beth nor I thrash…Tracy says she sleeps like an earthquake and that it’s a good thing she has her own bed;  the only drawback is that her room is on the cobblestone street and there was partying going on into the wee hours.  Hopefully they will quiet down during the work-week nights.  It’s really nice to be on our own.  We have a good walking map of the old city and Beth and Tracy know exactly where we are.  It’s fun to see how we are each just fitting in with our areas of strength.  We read a devotional together last night and this morning we read Jesus Calling at the breakfast table. 

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