It's been awhile since I've last written on here and thought it needed an update. :) Jericho is not over 5 months old, his first tooth popped up, and he has started to eat solids. Since the last story I wrote about was his birth I feel like I've been neglectful of the blog.
My friend from church, Lauren Sheehan, and I are going to Latvia from July 23rd-August 2nd. We both have a story as to how we felt the Lord's leading and calling to go to Latvia. I read the book "Radical" as Myron and Josh were teaching on it at church. One of the challenges in the book it to pray for other counties. One morning I was in prayer and the country of Latvia came to mind. I thought that's interesting, I don't know anything about Latvia and even thought - is it even a country? I made a mental note to ask Myron about it later in the afternoon as he was at church praying at the time.
That afternoon I asked Myron if there was any country that he was praying specifically for. He said that he had been praying for a lot of different countries and there wasn't one in particular and then asked me why I was asking. I told him the country of Latvia came to mind this morning when I was praying. I then told him that I wasn't even sure it was a country and asked to use his iphone to look it up. While I was looking it up on his phone, he said, "that's going to really trip me out if it is a country". I found out that it was part of the former Soviet Union and was indeed a country. What Myron then said next almost made me laugh, he said, "you're suppose to go, take a group of women, and plant a church". I thought, what is his talking about? I know nothing about Latvia, nothing about church planting, and I have a son who is only a couple of months old. Myron encouraged me to learn all I could about Latvia in the next few days.
That afternoon I was searching different ministries in Latvia and found an organization called "Bridge Builders International (BBI)" which is interesting because our church name is Bridge. I enjoyed searching the site and while I was reading about the missionaries that BBI support, I came across a Kristine Peterson which is interesting because I was Kristin Petersen before I got married. Another thing that was interesting about searching the Bridge Builders International site was that there is a Hope Center that is supported through BBI. I used to work at the Hope Center. After finding these things, I started to be convinced that it wasn't just a coincidence. There were also other little things like seeing a billboard that week that advertised "The Beauty of the Ukraine" at Joslyn Art Museum, meeting a Russian at a coffee shop, eating at a place that serves sandwiches with "Russian Dressing", finding a hostel in Latvia that gives a left hander discount in July (I'm left handed and Myron said I would be going the last week of July and I have NEVER seen a left hander discount), although these are all little things, they were big to me. You might be thinking, but Ukraine and Russia are NOT Latvia. That's true but Russia is next to Latvia and there are a lot of Russians in Latvia. Ukraine is also part of the former Soviet Union. All of these things made me realize, maybe I am supposed to go to Latvia!
I began to talk to friends and family about Latvia as well as be in prayer about who would come with me. I didn't feel like I was supposed to take a large group at first since I've never been over there myself. I even asked a couple of friends if they would be in prayer about coming along with. After a few weeks, my friend Lauren said that she also felt called to come with. Lauren and I sat down and began to plan and pray. We have felt the Lord's hand over the trip throughout the process. We had had a couple of setbacks and things that have been discouraging for us but it hasn't stopped us.
While we were looking to purchase tickets, we found a legit website that had the cheapest airfare that I had seen (and I searched for awhile). We ended up getting tickets to Estonia which is the country north of Latvia and only about a 4 hour bus ride to Riga, the capitol of Latvia for $775! Wow! I hadn't seen anything less than around $930 with the normal prices being around $1,200.
We have connected with different ministries that we will visit while there; a church that Bridge Builders International connected us with, YWAM - Riga, Sparrow's Nest Orphanage, and Hope Center which is a center for pregnant and teen mothers. It has been an honor to connect with these ministries as we go and see what the Lord is already up to in Latvia and see what the Lord stirs in our hearts while there.
We would love your prayers! We leave Omaha (Lord willing the airport doesn't flood) on Saturday, July 23rd and return on Tuesday, August 2nd. We have about 75% of our support in so pray that the Lord continues to provide funds. Pray for our hearts and the hearts of those we will encounter. Pray for safety in travel and health while we are there. Pray for guidance and the Lord's leading. Thank you for your support!
