In leaving my first European host, moving into a few days at LDW(Leadership Development Workshop), and now traveling to Ukraine, I finally have time to share experiences from this past month.
Riga, Latvia – first off – is worth the flight and stay! It is a beautifully built city that encompasses the richness of architecture and art from centuries past. That being said, I’ve never been so submerged in spiritual warfare in my entire life…but I’ll come back to that. For now, let me share the ministry I was a part of this past month.
It all began with this American, Latvian woman named Kaylana and her daughter picking us up from the airport. Very quickly, my team stepped into a family’s life and new diet. As I’ve learned on this adventure, ministry takes many different shapes in life. This past month – month 5 – ministry was assisting in this family’s day-to-day tasks. Alongside gardening, cleaning, cooking, and baby-sitting, Kaylana was connected to the non-profit The Family Cradle. In efforts to take some time with the non-profit and relieve some of their spring stress, some members of my team, myself included, journeyed to the location and helped with the ground’s spring cleaning. Kaylana also had a friend that needed some assistance with cleaning their home. The other half of my team tackled that while the half and myself stayed back and took care of the 4 kiddos. (Sweetest kids EVER!) Lastly, Kaylana taught rich, Russian students English. She would take us with her to talk with, read with, and add insight to her lessons. All of this – every moment – was a ministry lifestyle.
Now to touch on the spiritual warfare part…Let me just start with saying that if you are like me and aren’t really knowledgable of the spiritual realm, start reading your Bible. Educate yourself. I know many pastors shy away from teaching on it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important! In fact, it’s probably one of the most important things to be educated about!
Spiritual attacks come often when you are influencing for God’s kingdom. Other times spirits have just been allowed in through a door in your life. For me, discerning spirits became a real thing. This month I’ve literally seen darkness. No need to identify it further, but seeing it created a fear. A fear that only knowing my protection through Jesus’s name could comfort. In addition to the literal sight of darkness, I felt its presence this month as well. Spirits of bitterness, division, pride, anger, etc. And before you try to imagine it, let me clarify. When I say “I felt it’s presence,” that does not mean that I could tell someone was angry or saw someone being prideful. While that does give you a little confirmation of the spirit’s presence, what I mean is that God gives you a discernment into the spiritual realm and thus you can identify the dark spirit rooted in someone’s life. In clarification, some of the evil spirits of Latvia attacked my team and me. We sensed an attack of the enemy. In some areas, the spirits were successful in causing us to stumble. In other areas, we stood strong.
Overall, the spiritual battes were pretty constant and exhausting in my opinion, but I learned a lot about battle and my armor. I learned to fight from victory and not for victory. God entrusted me to fight diligently for His kingdom, and I can’t think of a bigger privilege.
Latvia, I love you! I’ll never forget the people I met, what I saw, what I learned, and where you are on the map. The U.K. should really recognize you more. God created you beautifully and, I believe, is shifting your spiritual atmosphere. Hallelujah! Praise Him!
