This theme of doing things "with love," has been continually on my mind these two weeks now of being here in Riga.
The nation of Latvia has so much history, so much beauty, so much pain. They have been through hell and back yet are now standing on their own two feet, making something out of it. I don't think I can even begin to grasp yet the extent of this mix of beauty and pain that they have experienced. And I don't want to be the foreigner who comes in and suddenly thinks they know and understand everything. The truth is I don't. I am an American who understands comfort and peace and never really being in need. So who am I to say I know this culture. I must ease into my life here gently, with love, patiently exploring the places and people around me.
I have started learning some Latvian, taking private lessons two times a week. I have gone to a church twice now, just a small group of individuals that meet in an apartment. It is my second time finding a community in an international baptist church in Europe, first in Copenhagen, now here. I have gone out to do ministry in the cafe once last Thursday, I'll go again tonight. With that aspect of my life here I will especially have to ease into it gently. I came here to Riga to work with these girls on the street, but being here I've really spent very little time actually on the streets doing ministry. Most of my life, here in Riga especially, will be in the office, learning Latvian, going to meetings, praying, drinking lots of coffee, doing research for the transition center, and a little bit of street ministry once a week.
Everything here takes so much longer to do. To get to the office every day I can either walk half an hour or take the tram and maybe save 10 minutes. Groceries only last a few days and I have such little storage and fridge space that I have to go shopping once or twice a week. There aren't any microwaves, so to eat leftovers means heating up your food over the stove. All the little adjustments to make. I must do it gently, with love, giving myself grace to learn the new little ways to live.
Then I was able to go out to Valdemārpils last Friday to actually seen the transition center. The town which will become my home in just a few months. It was a bit shocking to be honest. Seeing the house where I will be living and seeing how much work needs to be done to really make it a home. Again, grace, gently, with love. I can't expect that everything will be perfect in order before I even begin. I cannot come into a new place full force, sometimes it is necessary to be slow, gentle, to take things one step at a time. The progress on the transition center itself was wonderful to see, but I know that moving to Valdemārpils in April will definitely stretch me far beyond my comfort zone.
As I adjust here, I must do so with love. To see how much God loves Latvia, so see how I can also learn to love this nation. To see with his eyes rather than just my own. To embrace the slow pace as I start to construct my structure for each week. To see the joy in each moment and learn to laugh at the things that might otherwise be frustrating. To invest in each person and opportunity, yet take time to be still and recharge.
You have to do it gently, with love.
