The Ilsters meet the Andersens

Sarah, Aivis and of course Josh have been on holiday the last couple of weeks here in the UK and made their last stop here in Manchester, before going back to Latvia. We had some great days together. The sun was actually shining when they arrived Saturday and we managed a barbecue in the evening (the weather wasn't too hot, but at least it was dry). Sunday they went with us to one of our corps here in the division. It is a corps where the largest part of the congregation is from Zimbabwe, which gives a special atmosphere. Some of it you might be able to grasp from the photos below (taken by Aivis, you probably can see the increased quality compared to our normal photos).

What you can't see is the service not getting started before ½ hour after it was supposed to (by 11 o'clock when it should start there was only 4 people in the hall, 2 of them it turned out were new comers, and therefore did not know they did not need to be there on time). This is how it is every Sunday and the corps officer took it very relaxed. As people began to arrive, someone suddenly began to sing, which was the sign for us to go and pray and then get the service started!

We did not finish before around 2 o'clock – quite nice to be in a corps where no one seemed to have a problem with a 40 minute sermon! (Apart from Lisbeth, she tells me!!!!) After the service there was lunch. Originally we had not planned to stay, until we understood the lunch was arranged because we were there! It was a buffet with different dishes most of African origin. On our way home we tried to decide what some of the dishes actually had consisted of, but could not agree on especially one of them. Was it chicken, was it pigeon or was it rabbit? I still think it was dog (but I was wise enough not to taste it).

Monday we toured the Peak district, stopping first in Bakewell for a walk around and a quick lunch and then on to Abraham heights, where we took a cable car up to the top of the heights, had a walk in the caves and managed to share an ice cream to (share is the right word, I think Josh tasted all of them :-) ). It was really interesting and enlightening, I for one had no idea that Abraham had made it all the way to Derbyshire, but you learn as long as you live.

Wednesday morning it was time for the Ilsters to go back and so at 4 o'clock in the morning we were ready to leave. Josh came walking down the stair, not sleepy and grumpy, but smiling and with his arms out from his side, showing he was going flying. I left them outside the airport – (they had checked a couple of times that their tickets was for Wednesday, based on the experience of a mutual American friend in Riga, who shall remain nameless!) and headed back to catch up with a bit of sleep. This was second time the Ilsters visited us here in Manchester and we have been back to Riga in between. We realised we probably have shared more meals together in our respective homes since we left Latvia, than during the 6 years we lived there Life is strange sometimes!

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Two down, one to go Part II

After hours of waiting and preparation, it was finally getting close to the time when Maria and her class would arrive on their tour round Copenhagen and suburbs. The table had been set since the day before, during the afternoon Lisbeth had baked loads of small pizzas, and dipped pineapple slices in melted chocolate and now we were all ready.

We were also a little apprehensive. Not only would the students go from one set of parents to the next, most of them would also manage to consume a fair bit of alcohol on the way. Some would be served at the homes, a lot would have been brought on the lorry. A number of Maria's classmates are Muslims and so, together with Maria, do not drink at all, but some of the others apparently had a reputation of making up for that in their own consumption.

Maria was a little bit worried, and it did not lessen during the trip as she saw how the classmates behaved as they got more and more drunk. Don't get me wrong, they were all having a good time and Maria was enjoying the celebrations, but often it is a fact that when alcohol goes in, then the brain goes out, and so she was worried how they would behave when they made it to us. Especially she was thinking about Grandmother and Lukas. Lisbeth and I had a fair idea of what to expect, having graduated ourselves once upon a time, and probably would not be to chocked.

Well, there was no need to worry. Maria had instructed her class to behave and not to bring any of their own alcohol into our place (we were actually having the “reception” in the foyer of the Army hall, which is in the same building as where my mother lives), but what she didn't know was the African church, which meets in the Army every Sunday afternoon, had spend an hour or so praying in the very room where we were going to be. Of course they were praying for their service and other stuff, but I am sure it did not make things worse that the rooms had been thoroughly prayed “through” just hours before the class arrived.

Only ten minutes behind schedule they finally arrived. You could tell by the banners that they had experienced a few showers, but most of the time it had been dry. The spirits were high (not talking about the alcohol!) as they “unloaded” the truck, but they all very politely shook hands and said hello to us all. As soon as they were inside 3 things appeared very popular: Water bottles, the sofas and not least the toilets! They were tired of standing up in the lorry and most of them just dumped themselves in the sofas with a bottle of water. They had eaten so much on the road that most could not eat any more. A few pizzas disappeared, but most were left, a fact Lukas and I did not complain about at all!

After ten minutes of small talk (well, Lisbeth did the small talk, not really my strong side!) they were ready to leave again. They all very politely said good bye, climbed on the lorry, and set off for the next set of parents, making as much noise as possible as they drove away.

Not only had they behaved very well, they had left the place almost spotless, so it took us very little time to clear up and go up to my mothers flat to relax. Although we were tired, I could not go to bed, as I had promised to pick up Maria from the party they would have at the last port of call. We did not have a car, so around midnight I set of on the train (equivalent of the Tube in London) to meet Maria and accompany her home (apparently it was not so much her who had asked for it, as me who had offered it, not taking no for an answer). We arrived back at my mother's around 1:30 in the morning, made our way straight to our beds, but were up next morning for Church (whether we were awake is another matter, which we will not discuss here!)

Maria had had a really good day, but she still could not fully enjoy being a graduate. You see, because she was doing the International Baccalaureate programme, she had still not received her final marks, and so could not be sure she actually passed her exams. She had to wait until Friday before she finally could log on the Internet and check her grades, and surprise, surprise, not only had she passed, but done extremely well. Now she finally can relax and enjoy the feeling of having completed high school and begin to think about what the immediate future should look like.

And we, her parents? Well, usually I do not talk a lot about how proud I am of my kids, it is too personal and I suppose does not go well with my Danish background (where you should not think you are anything special), but in this late hour and for a limited audience let me just admit that I am very proud: of Maria, of Andreas and of Lukas. Not just for how they have or are managing school, but for what and who they are (only thing I cannot work out is how I have managed to get 3 kids of whom none of them are particularly keen on Mathematics!)

And before all this becomes too sentimental or even sickening, I think I will call it a day and head off to bed with the knowledge that we have another 6 years before Lukas will graduate, which should be time to recover from 2 graduations in 2 years.

Sleep well or (in the very likely case you do not see this before in the morning)Good morning and have a blessed day!

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Ventures into Russian or "How the multi-lingual super heroes jumps to the rescue of a lost soul"

We were making our way home from a nice meal in Stockport, when we suddenly had to stop because of queues on the road. Congestion is quite normal, even on the road leading up to where we live, but not at 9 o'clock in the evening. As we very slowly made some progress forward we realised the cause: A huge truck had stopped at the traffic lights, totally blocking one lane, only leaving the lane for right turn free. Not very smart.

As we got closer we could see the truck was from Lithuania. “Why am I not surprised” Lisbeth exclaimed – our experience tells us Lithuanian drivers are even worse than Latvian (of course not all Latvians, just in case anybody is getting up set!). Suddenly we saw a man approach the car in front of the queue, waiting for a green light.

How would you react if you are in your in car, it is evening, and suddenly a person approaches your car, waving his arms and speaking in a strange language? Probably the driver locked the doors, avoided eye contact, just waiting for the light to turn green. This was when Team Andersen jumped into action. Lisbeth jumped out of our car in her red super hero cape (actually it was a red rain coat, but still) and went up to the driver. He was holding a document which showed the address he was looking for, and Lisbeth actually knew where it was – but how do you explain it? The driver did not speak English, and our Lithuanian is very limited. He only had to turn right, and then right again at the next light and Lisbeth kept wanting to say “Par Labi un par labi” (to the right in Latvian), but that of course probably would not help very much.

I had left my super hero cape at home, so I stayed in the car, but understanding the situation I leaned over towards the open door and shouted Na Prava (probably not how you spell it, but hopefully it means to the right in Russian). Lisbeth repeated it and the the drivers face just lit up. He got the message and quickly jumped into his truck, ready to go. Wonder if he later thought how it could be, in the middle of nowhere, someone speaking fluent Russian (well, at least I know how to say to the right, to the left, and straight ahead) suddenly had appeared for his rescue?

We quickly got out of our super hero costumes, looking around carefully to be sure our secret identity had not been compromised and drove home, ready for next the next time a lost soul appears on our way needing help from the multi-lingual super heroes.

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Two down, one to go

It could hardly be more Danish; A June day with sun and showers mixing all day, lots of Dannebrogs (Danish national flag), smiling people all over the place, music, food and, since it is Denmark, an incredible amount of beer. What am I talking about? Graduation day in Denmark!
Graduation from high school is viewed as a major event in life in Denmark – whether it is because education is seen as important or because it is a good excuse for having a party I do not know, but it certainly is a special day.

For us the day began with having breakfast together, although both Maria and Lukas protested somewhat against getting up at 7 for this. In England they might have begun the day with a cooked breakfast, but in Denmark you go to the baker and get fresh bread, rolls and various pastries (It is beyond my capacity to fully explain this, so let me just state 2 things: 1. If you haven't been to a baker in Denmark, you have never really been to a baker and 2. What the Americans and English calls Danish Pastry is an insult to any Danish baker and has very little to do with with real Danish pastries) Anyway, I am getting of track, please give me two seconds to gather my thoughts

(2 seconds pass)

Thank you!

As we approached the school we saw graduates all over the place. They were easy to spot, all wearing the traditional hat which you receive when you have passed your final exam (you actually have to buy it yourself, but that is another story). After queueing in a traditional Danish way (i.e. Unorganized and attempting to jump as far ahead as possible, it certainly is not a line) parents and students entered the auditorium (fancy name for the sports hall when chairs are set up) and the first official part of the day begins. There is singing, speeches, music, laughter and then what it is all about, each individual student is called forward to receive their graduation certificate. Unfortunately we do not have a photo of Maria receiving hers. She managed to receive the certificate, shake hands with the Principal in one sweeping move without stopping and was down from the small podium before our somewhat dated digital camera managed to react.

Some of you are sitting thinking: What so special about this? And of course you are right, apart from the laid back Danish style and the very relaxed dress code for most people, this event could have taken place many place in the world – but not for long!

You see, as soon as the ceremony is over, the day has just begun for the graduates. Outside the school a van/lorry/truck for each class is waiting, decorated with banners, balloons, trees (well, part of trees anyway) and now the fun begins. Tradition bids that the whole class goes from home to home, riding on the back of the lorry, visiting all the parents. They only stop for 10-15 minutes, but every time both food and drinks are served. With large classes and long distances, this takes not just all day, but all evening as well. As they drive a long people will wave at them as they pass, cars will honk their horns and when they meet another lorry with graduates from another school (and this happens very often), the noise is incredible. Add to this that literally hundreds of such lorries are driving round Copenhagen the same day (thousands in the whole country) and you might get a small idea of the atmosphere.

This short video from the school gives a few impressions from the beginning of the day (it is not our video, so you won't see Maria on it)

We left Maria on the truck and the went home to Grandmother to prepare for the visit of the class. They were not due before around 8 in the evening, so we had plenty of time. More about how that went tomorrow.

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3 impressions

Immediately after the congress we went to a Leader’s retreat for all the leaders within our division. The main speaker for the retreat was also Linda Bond, which probably was the reason why these two events were planned straight after each other. In one way it was not so smart, but it did mean that the impact of Linda Bond’s message was intensified for those attending both.

The retreat was held at a castle some 100 km from Stockport in a very scenic place, most would say surrounded by hills, but for a Dane, who have spent some time in Latvia too, I would classify them as mountains (the highest point in Denmark is 170 m above sea level)! The facilities were nice, without being fantastic, with 3 big advantages: A indoor swimming pool, a full size snooker table, and a 3 aside football pitch.

The retreat lasted 3 days and Lisbeth and I split it between us, as one of us needed to be home in the evenings with Lukas. I was there for the first day and half of the second, which meant I only was there for one of Linda Bond’s sessions, but there were other highlights, ex. 2-3 hours of Snooker in the evening (we were all quite bad, which made the games last very long.
After the retreat many commented on how good it had been, not just the teaching, but also the fellowship, which is quite significant. A lot of the time I was there was set aside for free time, but 3 things have stuck with me:

1) Linda Bond’s first Bible study was on the Christological passage in Colossians and during it Linda stressed that it was all about Jesus. “Don’t just talk about God in your meetings, it is about Jesus!” (said with her Canadian accent, that seemed to stress Jeesus even more). A loud Amen from me. For many people “God” has become acceptable and even fashionable, but “Jesus” as the full revelation of God is still a stumbling block, which should not be moved - it is the only name given for our Salvation!!!!

2) Somehow Linda moved onto speaking about leadership and shared how a a book had changed her view on leadership. It was Understanding Leadership by Tom Marshall, which was introduced as the best book on leadership she had ever read. Again I was nodding in agreement. It is also the best book on leadership I have read and I was a little bit proud that Linda Bond and I had found the same book and been influenced by it - until Lisbeth told me she had bought the book for me while she was at the International College for Officers, because Linda Bond had recommended it! The interesting story is that she recommended it, Lisbeth bought it for me and in Latvia we found it translated into Latvian and bought it for all our leaders (wonder if anyone ever read it?) and used it as the text book for the leadership teaching at the training centre. That is the power of testimony!

3) The pain in my legs after playing 1 hour of football together with 3 other leaders, all younger than me. It was fantastic to play and I found it satisfying I could keep up with them (or maybe they just let me keep up with them!), but my walk has been affected by it since. The good news is the pain almost has gone now - 4 days later!

I was only there half the retreat and yet brought home 3 lasting impressions, although I do hope the 3rd does not last too long. Today is another day of impressions. Maria is graduating and we are in Copenhagen to celebrate it - more about this later when we have photos to show, otherwise you will never understand how high school graduation is celebrated in Denmark.

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Celebration of Unity

Last weekend we had our Divisional Congress here in the Central North Division. Shortly after we arrived I found out I would be responsible for the Congress. We also found out not much had been prepared and that apparently no one really wanted a congress or was the slightest bit interested in it. To most people the Congress was a pain in the neck and they could not really care about it. You could get many reactions talking to people about the congress , but faith and expectation was not on the top of the list, actually they weren't on the list and enthusiasm might as well have been a town in Siberia!

I have to admit being very ambivalent about the congress. As Paul says bad company corrupts character, and it was difficult not getting dragged down in the spirit of no expectations and no faith. If it had been possible we probably would have canceled the congress, but that was not an option and I could not make my mind up whether to believe God could use the congress or just to plan it and get it over and done with. This battle continued right through to the congress started.

Usually Divisional Congresses here had been planned as “pick 'n choose” with the idea that you made a simple programme where some would like one event, others another, and then you would come to what you would like and stay away from the rest. It also had the “advantage” that people with different tastes, spirituality or whatever you will call it, did not have to meet. Don't know about you, but in our ears that sounded like a strange congress, actually not like a congress at all. We discussed it with our team and agreed that if we were going to have a congress, we should aim for a real one, where we all would get together, where we could celebrate our diversity and yet express and experience unity. We set the theme as “Celebration of Unity” and began planning and advertising (posters and folders were of course printed in Latvia!).

It all began Friday night with prayer meetings at 4 different locations round the division. In total between 100 – 110 people came together to pray – for unity among God's people and for the congress and to share a simple meal. The corps I went to managed a prayer meeting for almost 2 hours without mentioning or praying for the congress at all – apparently the congress even now did neither inspire nor challenge people.

Saturday afternoon we had planned an event called CommUNITY; 3 hours of fun, games, relaxing, picnic etc. - all of it happening outside. When you consider how much weather the UK has, especially Manchester, it was a bit risky and the weather forecast was not too promising either. As I walked out of the door in the morning I felt a few drops of rain and I kind of hoped it would start to pour down, so we could cancel. In the same moment I was challenged by this attitude and instead proclaimed “100%” and then prayed for sun and dry weather, setting off to help set everything up. It did not rain and we did have sun some of the time. Unfortunately not too many people came, but those who were there had a good time.

Saturday evening was a bit of an experiment. United in Worship was the title and Regent Hall Band and a worship group from the division was participating, together with Linda Bond, the main speaker for the congress. We had tried to communicate this was not a concert, but a worship evening and it was something of an experiment. We had told Linda Bond that this evening could either be fantastic or a disaster! Let me say it straight away – it was not a disaster (apart from the fact that I had forgot to bring black socks, so I had to sit one the front row in uniform and light gray socks. I told Linda Bond before the meeting that I would not mind coming forward when she gave the appeal, but I probably would not kneel!).

More than 200 people had paid the 5 pounds to get into the meeting and we had a great time. The worship group was a real worship group, not just a contemporary band. Regent Hall band is different – they use videos, movement and humor together with band music and managed to take the congregation from laughing (I will follow him with video from Sister Act and the trombones doing a dance routine in front of the hall) to deeply touched (Light of the world with video). Then it was Linda Bond's turn to take to the front of the platform and she also was amazing. I had never heard her before, but she is a fantastic preacher. What she said was really good, but simple (no doubt she has the capacity to make it complicated and “deep”, but she has the even greater capacity of sticking to the simple) and although what she said was right to the point and very challenging (inter sped with humor), it was more the spiritual authority behind it that really hit you. We had told Linda Bond we expected a response time, and so she challenged people to come forward – and they did! The mercy seat, the steps to the platform, the floor, it was all used as people came forward to recommit themselves to live the life of a worshipper. They were all there, the uniformed lifelong Salvationist, the leader of the worship group in jeans and T-shirt – all ages, all spiritual styles, traditional and contemporary, all were there together - United in Worship.

Sunday the congress was held in Bolton together with the Methodist Mission. They have a hall that seats more than 1000 (an old, historic hall. You can imagine William Booth preaching in such a hall when you walk into it). Originally it was intended the Sunday should be held in one of our corps that seats app. 270 people, but with more than 30 corps that certainly did not seem like a statement of faith, and so we moved it to Bolton and the Methodists.

The morning meeting was an all age worship service with the title United as Family. A small group had planned the meeting and we had 2 hours packed of worship, fun, Finding Nemo, interaction, flag waving, crazy brass band with hats and the bandmaster dancing with Linda Bond in the aisles, and a very challenging message from Linda Bond. We had not planned a response time, there was no time for it, but the Spirit was certainly working and you could sense people being touched.

The afternoon was used for seminars. Unfortunately we had to cancel one on prayer because of illness, but Spiritual Leadership with Linda Bond and Creative Brass with Steve Hanover (Bandmaster of Regent Hall Band) drew between 2-300 people together and in both people were challenged and had to revise their set opinions and ways.

The grand finale, United in Mission, began late afternoon. Between 5-600 people filled the main part of the hall with an overflow unto the balcony. A very simple programme with worship led first by a worship group, a united prayer for unity and power, powerful ministry from the band and then once again Linda Bond. I think she was a bit tired by now, but she powerfully reminded people of the mission of the Army and then challenged people to “sign up again” for the mission. The mercy seat was filled up several times as people responded to the moving of the Holy Spirit. Many more were visibly touched, but did not come forward – there is still work to be done!

For the end of the meeting we were joined by the Children, who had had their own programme and we finished with I dare to be different, sung with 50 flag waving kids in the front and led by a brilliant brass band. It seemed unbelievable it already was over, we had only just begun, but somehow there was a feeling that this was not the end, rather a beginning.

Many people have expressed how wonderful the congress was and just as many have asked me what I thought of it. I had to think about my reply. You see, it had been really good and blessed by God, but on the other hand there is so much more God can and want to do, and I did not want to give the impression that this congress was as good as it gets. I finally decided that within the limits of what is possible in our division just now, we had reached the optimal point. God really blessed us, we did experience a new sense of unity and people left inspired and optimistic.

Maybe we have crossed the Dead Sea, now we need to move forward and claim the promised land.

to be continued in the years to come.....

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Hat ceremony

Today Maria received the hat that symbolises graduation from high school in Denmark. Usually you receive this on the day you pass your last exam, but as Maria follows the International Baccalaureate program the, where you do not finish with oral exams, the school decided to have a hat ceremony day instead, where all the international graduates received their hats. Confused?



Don't worry, all this explanation was just an excuse for posting a couple of pictures of Maria with her well earned hat. It is probably difficult to understand for non-Scandinavians, but it is very special for parents to see their child with this hat, and everyone joins in the celebration. Today Maria was congratulated on the street by a total stranger, who saw the hat and knew what it meant. Next week is the actual graduation ceremony and we are all going over for that and then we will see her (and the hat) for real. Until then we will have to do with photos, which we will share with you (Maria will probably tell us off for that).

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Back to school

Lukas went with us back to Latvia and Friday we all went out to the International School of Latvia. There was no doubt about Lukas was looking forward to seeing all his friends again, probably also a little bit apprehensive as to how it would be. He had no reason to worry. His class mates were out on the playground when we came and as soon as they saw him you could it hear the shouts “It's Lukas!” and within seconds he was surrounded by them all.

When classes started he went with them to the class room before coming down for the award ceremony (it was the last day of school). He was told to come forward with his class and there was also a certificate for him, a very nice and considerate thought from the school. When the ceremony was over he again disappeared with his friends and we did not see him again before Sunday afternoon! We had agreed with the director, who also happens to be the father of Lukas's best friend in school, that Lukas would stay with them overnight, which later was extended to two nights. They had a great time: Barbecue at the US Marine Centre, visit to Aquapark, two visits to the beach and a lot of playing around.

When we finally saw him again he was very tired, although not willing to admit it! The Macks were on their way to a party, but we spend some time chatting. They are moving home to Seattle and so next year Lukas will have to go there to meet up with Jacob. Sounds good, we will have to wait and see if it will be possible.

For Lukas it was a really great time. Good to find out he was not forgotten, but probably also good to find out that he has moved on, not just geographically. We came home late Monday afternoon and Lukas literally walked into the our house, picked up his football and went straight out again – 5 days without football was more than enough for him!

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Back home

We have just been back “home” in Latvia for the commissioning weekend. If you read any other “Latvian” blogs you will already have read about the weekend, and since we know the majority of our readers are from Latvia, it seems a bit strange to report on events that most who will read this actually attended (if not, you can check out http://www.evielatvia.blogspot.com/ , http://www.pilgrimsoldier.net/ , http://www.pilgrimsoldier.net/zoe)

Instead let me share some thoughts and experiences from the weekend:

“Normāle” was the expression Lisbeth used when answering the question “How does it feel to be back?”. It was not extremely emotional, it certainly did not feel strange, it was just “Normāle”. It was of course a bit strange not be involved in the meetings or having any responsibilities, but not in any bad way. (At the end of Sunday morning Sarah reminded us we still were soldiers at Riga I and so we were told to help sort out the hall, which made us feel very much at home!). It just felt good. Riga I is probably the corps where I have felt most at home ever, and it was really good to be there Sunday morning. Great worship and preaching (Vic Poke, who certainly fitted right into the style and spirit of the corps) and then of course coffee afterwards (You can't build the Kingdom of God without Coffee).

It was great to meet friends from all over Latvia again and great to feel it did not really make any difference whether we were “The Regional Commanders” as we had been, or as now just “Lisbeth and Henrik”- the relationship was the same.

It was strange to sit round the table in Lido in Riga with Evie, Sarah, Aivis, Dace, Graeme and Zoe and realise that it probably was the last time we all would meet at the same time, at least in Latvia, but probably it will not happen before at the banquet table in the Kingdom of Heaven.

It was of course amazing to realise it actually was happening: 6 Latvian cadets commissioned.

Some saw this as the end of a 18 months training process, but many of us knew it was the result of a much longer process – probably at least 6 years. In the beginning it was a point under the heading “Leadership Development and Multiplication” in the simple 3 point strategy we (the leaders in Latvia) developed. The process intensified as we launched “Look to the fields”- a prayer venture focusing on the fields of unsaved people in Latvia. Part of this prayer venture was praying according to what Jesus had said “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for the harvest”

It became more realistic when an unknown officer (to us) from USA Central arrived to take up the appointment of Training and Education Officer in Latvia. Evie grasped the vision straight away and just went with it. She was an answer to prayer. The Personnel Secretary from US Central actually got hold of me on my mobile during a prayer meeting in Liepaja saying: “I have a great officer who is willing to come to Latvia. Do you want her?” (just for once I am glad I forgot to switch my mobile off). We had no idea what to expect – Evie probably felt the same way – but it is clear God knew exactly what He was doing.

Other milestones in the process was a prayer conference with the challenge of giving yourself “100%”. I don't think anyone who was present can forget the scene when more than 30 people took of their shoes and knelt on the flag covering the map of Latvia.

Design for Life was another very important milestone. Lisbeth got the vision for introducing this concept in Latvia and for many of the participants it became life changing – some of them were commissioned last weekend!

The Regional Congress with John Larsson was the pinnacle of the preparation process. We decided to go full out for it, without any safeguards and ended the congress with an appeal for people who would give themselves to full time service in The Salvation Army. More than 20 responded to the General's challenge, among them the 6 new Captains, 2 who will enter the next session in Latvia, 1 who is now a Lieutenant and in charge of a corps and who knows what the future will bring for the rest?

Then the hard work began. Follow up, application forms to be filled in, assessment conference, the pain of having to tell some applicants they had not been accepted, and then, finally, on a bitterly cold Saturday in January 2006 the welcome meeting for 6 cadets and commissioning of 4 Lieutenants.

Then the training process began and Saturday the end of that process came with the commissioning.

So how did it feel? First of all a deep feeling of gratitude to God. He is truly faithful and honours his word. No one, who trusts in him will ever be put to shame. Secondly amazement that it actually happened! It is amazing what God can do when we are willing to act in faith. And finally a feeling of “Now it all begins” The goal was never to have officers, but to see people won for the Kingdom. It will not be easy for the new Captains, but they know what it is about. They know where the power comes from and “The one who calls [them] is faithful and he will do it”

Several commented on the change and growth that had taken place in the cadets (Captains), but the truth is that we, who have been privileged to be part of this adventure, also have been changed. We understand better the greatness of God and the power of prayer, but we have not only grown in understanding, we have been changed – we can no longer be the same, no matter where we are or go. Many will stay in Latvia, others have already begun to spread round Europe and beyond but with more faith than before, a faith that “Laughs at impossibilities and cries: It shall be done!”

The final chapter has not been written yet – it continues in Latvia, in the UK, in USA, in Sweden, in Finland and who knows where else. If God can do it in Latvia, using some very ordinary people, he can do it everywhere and through anyone. Did I hear an Amen?

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Once again

Mr. Andersen? My mobile phone does not ring often, and even more seldom does anyone call me Mr. Andersen. I confirmed I was Mr. Andersen and were not surprised when the voice continued “It is from St. John's Primary School, Lukas has had a nasty fall on the playground, do you think you could come?” The secretary told me Lukas had fallen on the playground and hit his head and they did not want to move him, as he was complaining about pain in the neck and shoulders. I was in the office, but had no car, as Lisbeth was off to some corps, but fortunately someone else offered to drive me.

Walking down the little road to the school I had half expected to see Lukas still laying on the playground, but it was empty. Instead I found him in the reception area, sitting in a chair, but not moving and looking somewhat pale. He had, of course, been playing football when someone had tripped him, sending him flying through the air, banging his head into the ground. It was very painful and the teachers did not want to move him for quite a while, but finally they had helped him up and helped into the chair. What do you do in such a situation? I was pretty sure nothing serious had happened, but I did not want to risk anything, neither with a neck injury or with his shoulder, which Lukas had fractured just before we left Latvia. Since I had no car the school called for an ambulance and shortly after Lukas and I were on the way to the hospital. It was clear he was getting better all the time, but I did not feel I could ask the ambulance to turn around and drop us off at home, so we had to continue to the hospital. After waiting from about half an hour Lukas saw a doctor, who told us what we already knew, Lukas was fine and there did not seem to be any damage.

When we got home Lukas quickly got out of school uniform and off he went to play football in the park – later he persuaded Andreas (who was home for a day or two) and me to join him. Apart from being hit by a few shots from his brother or dad, he had no further injuries!

It was a beautiful day and we spend the evening in the garden, enjoying a barbecue and just sitting talking and having fun. We also took the chance to take a few photos, which you can see here (you probably can also see we had a fun time!)

Here is a photo of

Maria and Andreas

And here Lukas has joined them!

And finally one for Grandmother and others, who want a "proper" picture:

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Need hire an automobile?

I really wanted to write about a busy Sunday, where we were leading worship in the morning in on of the corps in the division and then later preaching in one of the other corps or the Monday, which had the potential for being an almost perfect day, but found Lukas and me in an ambulance after he, once again, had fallen and hurt himself. I also wanted to post some photos from Monday, one of those rare days when the whole Andersen family actually was together….but I have hardly been able to get to my computer, it has been more or less totally overtaken by my children, so you will have to wait a little for that.

Not wanting to let you all down, I will give you a chance for a good laugh, This morning I was checking out prices for hiring a car in Riga and found this text on the opening page of one of the companies:

Good afternoon, (this was of course in the morning!)

Wish to spend perfectly, but the automobile is necessary?

And from there it went from bad to worse! You can check it out at l-auto.lv (add the www.)

I know my English is not perfect, and if you look round this blog you can get a good laugh finding my mistakes, so I am not sharing this with a feeling of superiority, but it is fun.

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A Challenge!

Some months ago I found myself in the middle of nowhere. I was on my way to a seminar for DDEs (Divisional Directors for Evangelism), using public transport. My precious SatNav was not around to guide me, so I was kind of lost.

The journey had started well. The night before Lisbeth and I had flown into London from Copenhagen, where we had surprised Maria for a birthday. After having spent the night in the cellar of a small hotel, Lisbeth was now on her way back to Manchester for a meeting with some potential candidates (for officership) and I has set off for a conference centre somewhere in Essex. Making my way round London was not a problem, even when the tube station was closed by police, the buses overloaded (because the tube was closed), and the Central Line suddenly decided the train would not go to the final station, so I had to get out and wait for the next train. My trouble started when I arrived in Epping. According to the directions from the conference centre's website, I had to catch a bus from the station and then get of at a roundabout, identified by a name, which sounded like a pub.

I found the bus and then my trouble began! The bus driver had no idea of where this roundabout was, although he could confirm he was driving in the direction of the area where the conference centre was. I got on the bus and kept a look out for a big round about with a pub (not that difficult to find in England!). After driving for quite a while down small country roads I finally saw it and hurried to get of the bus. After walking 10 metres toward the pub, I realised it was the wrong name. Wrong name equaled wrong pub equaled wrong roundabout! I turned around, but the bus had already left.

Now you might think this was no big problem. I could just wait for the next bus. Principally that is correct, but there were actually 2 problems: 1. The next bus would be in an hour and I was already a little bit late; 2. I had used my last cash buying the bus ticket and it would be very unlikely the next bus driver would let me get on the bus with an old ticket. So there I were – in the middle of nowhere, with no money, and there certainly was not a cash machine anywhere in sight. The sun was shining and it was a very nice day, so I decided I just had to walk. Fortunately I had seen the direction the bus had taken, so I presumed if I started walking that way, I would sooner or later reach the right roundabout. Seemed like a good idea, but as mentioned in the beginning, I was in the middle of nowhere. There were no pavements to walk on, so it was either the road or the grass. Problem was that cars kept coming on the road, but in the grass I had to carry my suitcase, as well as trying not to step in anything unpleasant.

Generally having a positive attitude to life I set off, thinking I soon would be at the right roundabout. I walked....and walked....and walked – no roundabout, no life, no buildings, just fields and cars rushing past. The sun was very warm, there was no shadow and I found myself thinking less about the roundabout and more about the pub that would be there!

I finally made it – I reached the roundabout and from there it was a reasonably short walk to the conference centre. When I arrived I was hot, tired and somewhat annoyed with myself. I had walked somewhere between 6-8 km and I was of course hopelessly late for the seminar as well.

Some of you will now be thinking: Why is he telling us this? Well, you see, as I was walking along the road, apart from fantasising about a litre of cold Coke, I also started hoping that one of the cars would stop and offer me a lift. I could not get myself to try and hitchhike, never done it before and it was just beyond my comfort zone, but surely these drivers could see I needed a lift? Apparently not, because no one stopped. Maybe the drivers spotted me and thought “Looks like he needs a lift” but did not stop, expecting I would signal if I were looking for a lift. I am sure that if anyone had stopped, I would have jumped into the car, even if they were just going some of the way I was. It was at this time I asked myself, as I often do in these kind of situations, whether there was a sermon in all this?

As you would expect there was – but I am not going to share it with you, not just yet, anyway. Instead I will challenge you to see if you can come up with a sermon idea using the above experience as an illustration. You can either try and guess what I have come up with, or you can make you own. It can be a general idea, or it can be a theme and headings (3 of course!!), but please not a complete sermon, just the general idea or outline.

As in any competition there has to be a prize and so if at least 3 people take up this challenge and post their thoughts before 23.June there will be a book prize to the winner.

The gauntlet has been thrown – anyone who will pick it up?

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The day after

Compared to many other Danes, I feel fine today – I don't have a hangover! But it also feels good we actually managed to take the 3 points we ought to against Latvia last night. As mentioned yesterday that was quite important for me, even more so because we next week will be in Latvia! I will of course be gracious and not rub it into the faces of anyone (you can choose to believe it if you want to!), and now we can just look forward to enjoying the commissioning of 6 cadets. (BTW there are 6 corps in Latvia – try and imagine if your territory had 1 cadet for every corps, just for one year!)

Today probably is also the day when I ought to apologise for yesterdays entry – especially to Linda and all Swedes – but I feel safe here in the UK, far away from both, so I will wait until forced to by physical pain or other compelling reasons. One thing I can say though, is I would never be rude to someone I do not like – which can make you wonder why I never joke about Norwegians!

Have a great day!

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A special day

Today is a very special day! (Sorry to disappoint our Swedish readers, but I am not thinking of the Swedish national day). It is almost 2 years ago, when I realised this day would have far reaching consequences. The news reached me via the internet, as so much does these days, and I still remember getting up from my desk, going into the front office and declaring “That's it. We are leaving Latvia!”. My secretary Linda (oh no, she was not a secretary, but my personal assistant – and she wasn't a blond bimbo either.....at least she wasn't blond..;-)..) looked up shocked and exclaimed: “What?”.

What the news was? That Denmark and Latvia had been drawn in the same qualification group for the European Championship in football (the real thing!). This did of course mean I would be able to go and see Denmark play, and for a very reasonable amount too, but the thought of having to face people the next day if Denmark did not win was absolutely unbearable. When we arrived in Latvia in 2000 someone were kind enough to remind me of the last match between Latvia and Denmark, which ended in a goalless draw in 1992 and I could just imagine the comments this time around, if we did not win comfortable.

Well, we did leave Latvia, although there were other reasons than this football match, and tonight I will be as nervous as always when Denmark play, but if we do not win, and any body comments on it tomorrow, then I will just claim allegiance to Latvia!

Of course the game has not become less nerve wrecking after Denmark played Sweden Saturday – a game which was abandoned because a spectator ran onto the pitch and hit the referee – and this after we had gone from being 3 – 0 down to equalising and pushing for a winning goal. The guy (or should I say idiot) who ran onto the pitch, and brought shame on the Danish nation, was Danish – but it turns out he lives in Sweden and has a Swedish girlfriend – so here is proof of the effect on normal people, when they mix too much with Swedes!

I would love to insult some more people, but my nose tells me the barbecue is on, so I will have to finish here. My apologies to Latvia, I hope you loose tonight, but I can assure you I hope you win the rest of your games, but the one in Copenhagen! And if Denmark does not win, and you would want to gloat, I just might remind you of who finished best in the World Cup in Ice hockey this year – not that I really care, but I am sure you do!

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Finally!

Apparently it helps to complain. After our last entry, written on the eve of the 31. May, complaining about the wet weather here in Manchester, we woke up on the morning of the 1. June to a wonderful sunny day which lasted all day .this meant, after weeks of waiting, we finally could dedicate our new barbecue (it already had been duly baptised during the last weeks, although only by sprinkling, it did not rain enough for submersion).

It was great. And the weather continued today so we have spent most of it in the garden, more or less dressed. We did manage to clean the car and a few other things, but otherwise we have just relaxed (as you can tell from the photos) until now, when we are getting ready for another barbecue.

Last night we watched England vs. Brazil on TV. Tonight the real football is being played: Denmark vs Sweden, but we can't watch it! Guess we just have to pray and check the scores on the internet.

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It is true what they say about Manchester.

We have realised it is true when they say it always rains in Manchester! Tomorrow is 1 June, and it really should be summer by now – in Riga they have had a heat wave and seem like they are on their way to another one – here....well, it rains. According to Dace the English always include the weather in their conversations, and we now understand why: They have so much of it!

Actually today was not too bad, until just before we had to leave the office. Then a thunderstorm appeared and it poured down with water, of course just at the time when we had to run across the car park and into our cars! There is always a bit of a race not to be the last out of the office to avoid to have to get out of the car and close the gate (we are not blessed with such modern conveniences as automatic gates) – I very rarely leave last, but today, when it was pouring down? Of course I did, forward planning just has never been one of my strong sides.

If it continues like this then our newly acquired barbecue will grow rusty before we ever get to use it!

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A bit disappointed

Sunday I was still suffering from a cold with fever etc (Everyone: Please say “Ahh!”- Thank you, that made me feel better already) and so I stayed home as the rest of the family went to the service in Sale. The combination of being a bit bored and having free and unchallenged access to the computer for a couple of hours resulted in a new design for the heading of this blog. Heidie and/or Richard must have looked at the blog while I was trying to get the right size and things, and posted the comment: “oh my goodness! what's happening here!!”, but apart from that no-one has commented on my creative artwork (Again, everyone say “Ahh!” - Thank you, but it did not help this time!).

Just imagine having spent hours of work to please our vast audience (vast as in more than 5 people), and then no-one can even muster an insult, telling me how taggy and eighties it is! Well, I don't really want to talk too much about, but it hurts, it really does! And before anyone think they now should post a comment about how wonderful it looks, then it is just too late – I am looking for recognition, not pity!

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Glimpses from work

You might have noticed we do not include a lot detail about our work anymore – one reason is that there are so many things we cannot really write about, either because it is confidential or out of fear that those we write about might find the blog and read about it! But we still experience many different things, some extremely frustrating, some really encouraging.
One encouraging came during a chat with Tom, who leads a project called Sprout (you can find more information on http://www1.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/www_uki.nsf/vw-sublinks/70E1DF97CFB2B901802572180038902F?openDocument) .

It is a project that tries to reach out to the young alternative scene and use music to build relationships, hopefully opening up for opportunities to share the gospel and build church. The project is still very new. The other day a band was using our facilities for rehearsal and during a break, Tom sat down with the band just to chat. Before long one of the guys asked Tom: “So what do you think about eternal life?” How do you like that for an open door? Of course there is a long process ahead, but some of these alternatives are now telling Tom how “church” should be if they should come, and finding out it is pretty much what Sprout is! Exciting!

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Outing

After almost 7 months in the UK we today finally set out for an outing exploring the country (we did go to York with Sarah and Aivis, but this was the first time we went off alone). Maria is home and today was a so called Bank Holiday (an English code for when everything close – of course apart from shopping centres, cinemas, restaurants etc – but as you can understand, the banks close). Anyway we set of to Conwy Castle in North Wales, which is only 1 ½ hours drive from here.

The weather is still not awfully good here (much prefer to be in Riga or even Copenhagen just now), but the rain stayed away and and we did see the sun a couple of times. Not so much to tell of the trip, but fortunately Maria brought her camera, so instead we will post some photos. We did not have Andreas with us, so we did not spot any celebrities (probably Conwy is not the place to go if you want to go Celebrity hunting), so you will have to make do with the four of us.

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Some photos

Some weeks ago Christian Schwarz stayed with us for a couple days to discuss different issues about NCD. Although we worked quite hard most of the time, we did manage one pilgrimage – to one of the holy places of Manchester. I am not sure it was so important for Christian to see Old Trafford, what was important was to bring home a photo to show he had been there.








One evening Christian and Lukas were playing with a web camera, and the picture turned out like this. Maybe not the most charming photo of Lukas ever, but then you cannot win them all (as a Liverpool fan, he realised that last week!).



As mentioned earlier Andreas just now is in Seattle (he is actually travelling back today) visiting Katherine and her parents. A lot of time has been spent looking round Seattle, and a few days ago they just happened to bump into someone they had seen before. He willingly posed for a photo and gave a autograph as well.

Probably there is more to write about, but we have not been too well lately, nursing colds, sore throats, coughs etc. Maybe I will get my act together a little bit later - after having watched an episode of Inspector Morse.

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Good Friday!

Today might not be the Good Friday, but it certainly is a good Friday. Both Maria and Lukas finished there exams today. For Lukas it meant a week of tests in Science, English and Maths (more than 8 tests in all) is over. SAT tests is the name, don't ask me what it stands for, but it is a national thing in Year 6 in the UK and has some influence on future education. It is the first time Lukas had that kind of tests, and he his happy they are over, so he can go back to concentrating on the important stuff: Football! He will have to wait till July before he knows how he has done, but he is not too worried!

For Maria it was an even more momentous day. Today she sat her final paper in her IB Diploma exams. 15 papers in total, covering subjects like English, Danish (as a second language), Maths, Biology, History, and finally yesterday and today, Psychology. Now she is finished, just have to wait another month before the graduation takes place, but no more school – ever! At least that is how she feels just now. Maria will also have to wait a month before she gets her results, and she will spend that time with us here in Manchester, which we of course look forward to. She arrives Wednesday next week, on the day of the Champions League final between Liverpool and AC Milan, so there is nothing special planned for the evening (apart from Coke, Crisps etc in front of the TV).

2 ½ years ago Maria decided she would go back to Denmark to do her two final years of the IB programme there, as she understood it was likely we would move in the middle of those years. Since August 2005 she has been living in Copenhagen with Henrik's mother, taking charge of her own education. She got herself a job and made her own pocket money and managed to get involved in the Army as well. As you can imagine we are extremely proud of her. She does not know what she wants to do now. She has decided she will wait a year before doing anymore studying and hopes to be able to do some travelling. She still does not know where, when or how. Hopefully she will find out soon, so we can stop worrying (you see, if she does not find out where to go, she might return home – to stay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

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Rain, rain go away

Spring has been amazing here in Manchester. It started round Easter and for a long spell it was just fantastic. Every afternoon when we came home from the office we could sit and enjoy the sun in the garden – in the weekends it was like being on holiday. We do not live close to the office, no one disturbs us, and so we can pull out the garden furniture and just relax (that is Lisbeth has this strange idea that we also have to invest time in the garden, but Lukas and I really have no problem with that. Lisbeth is welcome to invest as much time as she wants to!).

After enjoying the garden for a week we decided we just had to get a barbecue, so we could enjoy it even more. Good idea, but what kind of barbecue should it be? I had not idea there was such a range of different types, sizes and designs. After having looked in a couple of shops and searching the internet, we made our mind up and set of to bring home the barbecue (it might not be the mother of all barbecues, but it is close!). I was already fantasising about the steaks we would have that evening, but apparently we were not the only ones who had that fantasy, so the barbecues were sold out! We ordered one, but it took almost a week before we got it – and by that time the sun had disappeared and it has rained ever since!

We now have this fantastic barbecue standing in the garden, but we can't use it! I am sure there is a sermon someone there, but I am too hungry to think about it! One thing is certain: When the sun returns, then the barbecue will be cooking constantly! If you are in the neighbourhood just bring along your own meat, and we will heat the barbecue straight away!

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Middle aged teenagers?

Last weekend we were of to Roots, a Salvation Army conference arranged by Alove, the SA's youth work in the UK. For Lisbeth is was the third time at Roots, for me the second, but the definitely the first time, when we only had an hours drive to get there. One of the great things about Roots is the programmes for all ages it offers, so Lukas participated in BLAST, a programme aimed at the 11-15 year olds, and he had a great time. Another good idea is that no matter whether you participate in the Children, Youth or Adult events, then the main sessions are built around the same Bible text and theme, which creates a unity, even when a family is split over several venues.

One of the highlights for Lukas was the football tournament. This was arranged for all youths, so from eleven to twenty-something, but one of the youths from Sale corps very kindly invited Lukas to play on his team, an invitation Lukas did not think twice about accepting. The tournament was played over 2 days, the first in nice sunshine, the second in rain, but for Lukas it was still a great time. It probably did help they made it to the final and only lost on penalties.

I have to be honest and say Roots was not a great experience for me. I am not entirely sure why and I do not want to sound like a grumpy old man, so I will keep most of my thoughts to myself. One thing I did realise is that I never would dream of becoming a member of a mega church. I would any day prefer to worship in a local church with anything from 20 – 150 people than among 3000 – for me big is certainly not beautiful.

One thing I did find amusing is that it is, as mentioned, the youth department of The Salvation Army that arranges Roots, but in the main venue, where most of participants are, I did not feel old at all – I doubt the average age can be pushed below 35.. I am not saying there is anything wrong with that, I just found it interesting. Wonder how it will be in 10 years time?

We stayed at a small Bed & Breakfast in Southport. The room was big and nice, the breakfast great and it was walking distance from the Roots venues. When we arrived we were greeted by a lady with a heavy accent – to our trained ears we were sure we recognised it as East European. We asked her and she told us she was from the Ukraine. It gave us a chance for practising our Russian, actually using almost my entire vocabulary: Good morning, Good day, Goodbye, Thank You, You are welcome (apart from that I can manage to the left, to the right, and straight ahead, but she did not need to be given directions!).

The highlight of Roots, for me at least, was meeting with the group from Latvia, who was there. All the cadets, plus Sarah, Dace and Dana and also Evie, although she left after the first day. Not only did we bump into each other several time during Roots, when it was all over they came to hour house and stayed until next morning (it was planned to they should stay till the morning!). It was really great to see them all again and hear a bit of how they are doing. We have just been invited to the commissioning in Latvia in June. It is very gracious of Goran and Chris to do us this favour, and we really look forward to that.

Well, as the observant reader will have noticed: I have just completed an entire entry without really saying anything – but rather that than not writing for a week or more and risking the wrath of my mother and daughter!

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Can you believe your eyes?

When even my daughter begins to complain about the lack of new entries on our blog, then I suppose it is time to take it serious. When Sarah suddenly writes 3 entries within little more than a week, then it is difficult to find excuses for not writing. When Wilma begins to refer to me as “Hi Stranger” there is no way around it: It is time to take up blogging again!

My apologies to those of you who faithfully have been looking in to see it there were any news, just to find the same old entries. We are still alive and well, but partly we have just been busy, partly life here in the UK have become more and more “normal” and so with less to write about – although there of course have been things we could have shared. Problem is when you get behind that you all the time want to catch up with everything, and so the list of what you have to write about gets longer and longer, making it more and more unachievable to find time to write it all. It is not enough with 5 minutes, suddenly you will need an hour or more, and so one procrastinates (have never used that word in a sentence before, just wanted to try). To break this vicious cycle I have decided just to start again. You will find below a few new entries about things that has happened since the last blog entry. There is so much more we could have written about, but if I tried to write about it all, I would never get i done, so instead I will look forward, and try and be more disciplined in the future. Enjoy the read and once again thank you for looking in!

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Surprise!

“Hi Maria, what are you doing at John and Hanne's place?”. We knew what Maria was doing there, and Maria knew that we knew, but it seemed like a good opening phrase, especially as the intention was to distract her. Let me rewind a little, just in case I've already lost you.

When Maria saw the light of day for the first time, I was home in my bed, fast a sleep. Before anyone gets the wrong impression, let me explain: It was not that we were taken by surprise and Maria arrived unexpectedly (she actually kept us waiting more than a week), nor was it because I did not want to be present when she was born, but when she did decide it was time to join the family, she arrived in the middle of the night, so by the time it was daylight, I had left the hospital to get some sleep (as all Fathers will know: It is hard work to give birth to a baby!).

Anyway, this happened in 1989 on April 8, which of course meant that Maria turned 18 this year. Great reason to celebrate. Only problem being that Maria is in Denmark, we are in England, and on the very day we should celebrating her birth, we also were celebrating the resurrection of Jesus (for those of my readers who are a bit slow: Easter Sunday!). We were leading meetings on Easter Sunday in the division and even though we were not comfortable with it, we had let Maria know there was no way we could make it home for her birthday.

Fortunately a couple of Maria friends had decided they would arrange a surprise party for her. Maria thought they were taking her our for a meal, but they went to the home of one of them, were friends and family was waiting, having all been told what food, cake or drinks they should bring to the party. Maria did not expect that at all. When she was picked up by her friends, she said goodbye to Grandma and Lukas, when she arrived at her friend's, they were both waiting for her there!

We had already spoken to Maria twice on the day, early morning and early afternoon. We had agreed we could call in the evening, when she should be back from the meal with her friends – but we knew about the surprise party, and so we are now back at where we began. Maria laughed in reply to the question, understanding that we had known about the party, but not let her in on the secret. We told Maria we were finished with the meetings and were out for a walk, and so we were calling from the mobile. Unfortunately we lost the connection and left Maria standing with the phone, not sure what to do. She was still standing there as we walked through the door and said “Happy Birthday”! Let us just rewind once again.

Sunday morning we had led the service in Shaw corps, but as soon as the service finished we rushed home, changed, caught a taxi to Manchester Airport, flew to Heathrow, from their to Copenhagen, another taxi to Grundtvigsvej. Our call to Maria was the sign to Hanne and John, who was hosting the party, to come down and let us in. To say that Maria was surprised would be something of an understatement. Only Hanne and John knew of our plans, so the rest of the party was equally surprised.

Maria had a great day, and what had started as a somewhat different and little bit boring birthday ended as a very special day, which we hope she will remember for a long time.

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Easter

We spent Easter at Shaw corps in our division. It is a middle size corps, which has been without an officer since August. We led the service Good Friday and Easter Sunday and had a great time. The people are all very friendly, but also very spiritually open. They responded well to what we (that is Lisbeth!) had planned and Easter morning I actually enjoyed preaching for the first time while in the UK. (For those who find that difficult to understand, let me just say I once again have realised I so much prefer to preach to a congregation I know and live with, rather than going from place to place and do a bit of “hit and run” preaching).

Saturday we were free and it coincided with Spring arriving. The weather was fantastic and we quickly got our newly bought garden furniture assembled and just sat out in the garden and enjoyed life. Since then we have had many days with really nice weather, and so we have enjoyed coming home from the office and just going out into the garden, relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. God has been really good to us and we do enjoy our house and now also garden so much.

Of course a garden is also hard work. I realised, as I sat and observed Lisbeth, that you have to invest a lot of effort to keep a garden looking nice, but it certainly pays of. It is a reminder that “all by it self” does not mean, whether we are talking about a garden or a church, that we do not have to do anything, that we just sit back and get lazy, but rather that when we do what we ought to do, then God will do what only he can do, and then growth comes, all by it self.

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Children

Since our last entry back in March a lot of things have been going on in the lives of our kids.



Lukas continues to be having a good time here in the UK. During the last couple of months he has been on a weeks camp with his class in school. It was not ordinary camp, but quite an adventure, where they tried all kind of things like waking on a tightrope several meters up in the air, archery and lots of other things. Around Easter he had 2 weeks holiday, and so he travelled to Copenhagen on his own, to spend the holiday with Maria and Henrik's mother. It was the first time he tried to fly own his own, but he took it as an adventure, leaving his parents very proud.





When not travelling, a lot of his time is spent playing football. He now has a goal in our front garden, and if he is not up in the park playing, he usually can be found in the front garden, often together with Max, who lives just down the road. Together with Henrik Lukas went to Old Trafford (football stadium for the uninitiated) to watch the FA Youth Cup Final between Manchester United and Liverpool. The match went to extra time and penalties, with Liverpool finally winning.


For Maria the last couple of months has been focused on one thing, and one thing only: Exams! She is today almost halfway through her final IB Diploma exams and in 2 weeks she is coming over to spend a month with us, before she has to go back for her graduation. There is not much else to tell about Maria, she has been extremely focused and disciplined and has forsaken most other things, concentratiting on studying. She has had time to plan a trip to Spain in July, where she will meet up with her friends from Latvia. How the next 12 months will be spent Maria still has not decided, but very likely it will include some travelling.


Andreas has finished his first year at university and as I am writing is on his way to Seattle, where he will spend a couple of weeks with Katherine and her parents. Andreas has decided that Marketing Management is not really what he wants to study, and so he will will switch to Sound Technology and Digital Music next year. Katherine will also change her studies next school year and will be moving to the UK to study, something Andreas of course looks forward to. There is a chance she will end up in Manchester, something we of course would think would be really great.

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Church Competition

To relieve the unbearable tension for all those who are waiting for the disclosure of what churches were described in the stories of Andreas and my mission in Oxford I suppose I better reveal it. Not many took the challenge of trying to guess, but Sarah did, and whether it was divine inspiration, shrewd discernment, or just pure luck she got it right. The first church was The Salvation Army and the second a Vineyard church (come to think of it, maybe Sarah just knows me and my preferences too well!). It is true, as Graeme mentioned, that we did meet someone at The Salvation Army, who we spoke to. He knew us, as he had spent time in Latvia. I took the artistic liberty of not writing that into the story, because it was not representative of the experience in the corps, and when we left, no one had tried to invite us, and especially Andreas back. The experiences of the two churches not only gave me the opportunity of trying to write a story, but also confirmed to me the importance of being a welcoming church. I know which church I would return to, if I were looking for a fellowship to belong to.

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