32
... continued ~
Brother Trevor reports as follows:
“Life at home is busy and I tend to take a day
at a time, so preparation for Riga was
limited. As we set off for Riga I had not
looked at any books on Latvia or spoken to
people about their experiences and so had
little idea of what to expect. We had volun-
teered to help in a ‘soup kitchen’ for a week
but as time grew closer I had become aware
there was rather more to it. I have done
some work with people in difficult places and
so was not entirely unaware of possible
scenarios we may meet. However, now we
were off to a land we knew little about, to
help some very poor people who spoke
Russian! This was all because Andy and Mel
said it was a great thing to do, they were
going for three months and would like some
help. So my impressions:
4 things in Riga are a lot more organised and
structured than I imagined, with a well prac-
ticed routine.
4 the group consists of close to a hundred
people daily [many of them baptized]; they
are a mixed group of people including some
very intelligent and educated people.
4 there is a close bond among the group and
they are emotionally connected.
4 there is a willingness to contribute by
some, this I understand is continuing to
develop.
4 the afternoon visit lasts for 3 hours:
firstly, there is a time for coffee and chat,
secondly, there is a Bible time with lots of
energy and engagement and thirdly the meal
which is very orderly and quickly over.
At the end there is clearing up which is a big
job, here some of the people again do their
part to make this work easier. We did visit a
night shelter one cold snowy night and also
an empty building where some others were
living. Life is very tough with no real solution
in sight.
In Summary: the decision by the Bolers and
the Downtons to support the Heasters
through a three months feeding program
with the help of friends has fed about 100
people a day over the cold winter, taught
willing listeners more about the Bible
message, brought people together emotion-
ally and very significantly helped take people
back to a level in life where they are better
able to participate in activities and make
contributions of their own. As ever, it is
people like us who have had the privilege and
opportunity to go out and get involved and
leave our comfort zones who learn or
continue to develop.
A final thought: if the tables were turned
and I lost everything, it would be me first in
the queue to find support from being part of
the community in Riga that we have been
part of, for just a few days. So a great and
worthwhile project.”
Trevor
Here you can see Trevor and Alison climbing in and out, over a slippery snow-clad window ledge,
and passing food and water to our brother and sister who are living under the stairs of a deserted building