Where I was: Saldus, Latvia
What I did: I spent this month at St. Gregors School, a combination church, school, conference center. We did a variety of things: hanging out at a crisis center, doing home visits, cleaning the center, cooking for various classes, and attending Bible studies.
What I ate: We cooked for ourselves this month, so we ate quite a bit of American food. We did cook some Latvian dishes which were a soup with potatoes, carrots, onions, and either fish or meatballs.
Where I slept: We lived in two bedroom apartments. The women were in one (we each had our own bed!!!) and the men lived in a separate one.
How I got here: After debrief in Riga, we took a 2 hour bus ride to Saldus. Latvia is a beautiful country in the spring!
How I got around: My own two feet! We walked to the grocery store and to various different ministry sites. A few were too far away and we had to ride with some locals. These drives were way too similar to riding with Africans!
Favorite moment of the month: The off day we created a make-shift slip n’ slide. The Latvians thought we were crazy until they tried it themselves.
Least favorite moment of the month: I started the month off with some kind of food poisoning/stomach bug. So thankful that I got this in a European country with running water and clean toilets, as opposed to in a place with squatty potties!!
Closest to home I felt: Enjoying the outside in spring, playing volleyball, and spending time with friends.
Furthest away from home I felt: Knowing that I’m nearing the halfway point and still have 6 more months (in Asia!!!!) until I am home made me feel homesick. Also, because we were so far north, it stayed lighter so much later. It stayed light until around 11 pm, and got light at about 5 am.
If you come here you should: Go on a tour of the ice cream factory. We didn’t get a chance to do this, but made up for it by eating quite a bit of ice cream. Gotta get through the pain somehow! There’s also a town festival in May that has food, ice cream, dancing, and stuff to buy.
Spending time in Saldus was a great way to end our time in Europe. I was able to relax, spend time with God, and get used to a new team. It also increased my excitement for going to Asia. I considered this to be the calm before the storm – a quiet time to rest and relax before going into the culture shock that will be Asia, particularly China.
Also, I’m $850 away from being fully funded. I need to have this amount by the end of June. If you’re interested in supporting me, head on over to the “Support Me” tab at the top! Thanks for all who have donated to get me to this point!
