Camp Wesley, Cobblestone, and Community

How do you begin to create a single post that describes one of the most unforgettable experiences of your life? Perhaps that’s why it’s taken me so long to write this post. Multiple months condensed to one page seems a bit unlikely to accomplish the multitude of feelings, events, and relationships that were created. It’s moments like these I am forever grateful for the journals I have kept on my many mission trips (as well as the team journals that everyone contributed to) and the blogs from my two summers serving. I need to have both blogs printed into books – perhaps a Christmas gift one year! While this post will scarcely scratch the surface of my Latvian journey, the full experience of our days can be read at our blog from the summer.

After we returned from the Yucatan, myself and my lone teammate for the summer, Brandon, headed off on one of the most incredible adventures of my life. During the summer after our senior year at Auburn, we spend our time split between Latvia and Russia proclaiming the gospel, helping with camps, and joining in community to live alongside some pretty amazing people. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner in crime for the summer – a dear friend since freshman year, and a strong supportive man for all the protection I could need. Ours was a relationship of siblings and I am so grateful to have had him by my side.

We began our adventure in Riga, Latvia meeting up with missionaries there before setting out completely on our journey. The lived in a little flat in town where everything was within walking distance. The market, the train, the church, and several shops. Cobblestone streets lined with breathtaking architecture at every corner. Old world simplicity with hints of contemporary culture. Such a beautiful mix of history and possibility.

The place where we stayed while we were outside of Riga was Camp Wesley. It was the location of the week-long camp of the same name and we wee there to prep for the occasion. The two of us stayed there by ourselves, visited during the day by Romans who was our “guide” so to speak of what needed to be done. He would frequently bring his daughter as well and those were always my favorite days. Being a very patriarchal society still, Brandon helped in the fields, with the construction, and really anything that involved sweating. I was designated to the interior – cleaning and organizing the kitchen, attic, and dining halls. I was often alone in these times, left to the lingering thoughts inside my head. I must admit, some of these days were the loneliest I’d felt. I was left watching as bellows of laughter came from the grassy fields as the two men shared stories and longed for the community of other women to chatter away with as well. I was more appreciative of my closest friends and the community I had back home than ever. On days when sweet little Agate came, we played outside on the swing, made jewelry, and pretended to be fairy princesses. I taught her some English, and she taught me Latvian. Caring for her, making lunches and having tea parties, sparked a desire for motherhood I had never known. I loved her as my own and clung to her company when she was there. It was incredible to see what the Lord was teaching me in those days of seeming loneliness.

It was in Latvia when I had the opportunity to share in relationship with one of the most influential and positively influencing people in my life. I have no pictures to share of my journey there and form one of my favorite experiences, but the images are branded on my mind. One of the areas in which she had gotten involved, as her husband did more preaching and such within the church, was with a women’s ministry a train’s ride away. The ministry served women who were pregnant, or just had given birth recently, that were in need of shelter, food, and assistance in obtaining a decent way of living to provide for their families. Our mission during our time with these young ladies was simply to love them. To sit and listen (with some necessary translation), play outside with the kids, organize a movie night, and squeeze the hand of those fierce strong women, reminding them that they were loved and not alone.

During Camp Wesley, there was a team that came from the states along with several members of the church in Latvia that came to do construction projects around the grounds, worship, and share in food and games together.Most days the men of the group assisted around the grounds while women spent hours peeling potatoes, gathering vegetables, and preparing the meals over an open fire in something that looked very much like a witch’s cauldron. There was some free time for getting to know one another, and some designated prayer time as well. One our the ladies projects was to prepare the loft of one of the barns into a sacred prayer space. A lean to wooden ladder led to the upper room of the tiny shack. Lit by sunlight and candles, the space barely fit a handful of people on makeshift benches which stood in a semicircle facing a rugged wooden cross made from scrapes around camp. It was the most beautiful display of simplistic serenity and this spot was soon my favorite place to visit in the early mornings before we started the day and when the sun was setting for the evening.

It’s amazing how close you can get to people in such a short amount of time…especially when language is not the first thing you share in common.Two of the girls from Latvia (who knew a good bit of English) took to us immediately, and we them. We spent our free time playing cards, roaming town, teaching each other phrases, and truly living life alongside one another. During our time at camp, another student from the states (and randomly enough Alabama) joined us and fit our niche like a glove. Having been to Lativa before he was an huge asset to our team. You’d think the five of us had known each other for years. I cherish those pictures and those bonds. What beautiful memories of serving alongside one another – of truly becoming the body of Christ – brothers and sisters joined together for the purpose of expanding His Kingdom.

One of the most unforgettable experiences during out time in Latvia came as we were preparing to leave for Russia. Though we would be returning to Latvia for about a week at the end of our time that summer, and we knew this wasn’t a complete goodbye,tears were being held back from every face. We gathered together to pray before we departed. Together we comprised a truly diverse group. Latvian, Russian, Lithuanian, American. Brandon and I stood in the middle, encircled by our friends, grasping the hands of those nearest, while everyone else laid hands upon us. Huddled together, leaders in turn prayed for safety and gave thanks for His provision and the work we had done. Blessings were poured out, filling us to the core with the reminder of His love, mercy, acceptance, and forgiveness. A midst the sniffles, each person lifted up their voices in their native tongue, and while we scarcely understood the woods, we knew the meaning of each squeezed hand and shoulder. And then, as if it was rehearsed, the Lord’s prayer was began, and one by one we all joined in. A jumble of languages lifted up as one. Declaring our unity. Declaring our faith. Declaring that in Him we are all the same – precious children to be loved.

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Be sure to come back soon to hear about the rest of the trip and our time in Russia!