GOING TO LATVIA!

            March, 2007

Hello friends,

As I sit here writing this letter, the air outside feels warm, the sun is peaking out from behind the clouds and the smell of spring is in the air. Oh yes! And you know what that means? Summer is just around the corner!! As most of you know, I spent my last summer serving in Latvia with Josiah Venture, a missions organization whose vision is “to be part of a movement of God among the youth of Eastern Europe that finds its home in the local church and transforms society.” Latvia, a country of about 2.5 million people, is finding its way in the post-communist world. Because of the profound changes that have occurred over the last 15 years, there is an incredible opportunity to share Christ with Latvians, and they are openly receptive to the message. Last summer, our team of 4 North American interns partnered with 5 Latvian interns in teaching three English camps and one VBS in different parts of Latvia. Our goal was to offer quality English camps while building relationships with the kids that attended. Through the relationships we built, we were able to share Christ’s love and the good news of his salvation. This type of ministry is especially exciting for me because relational ministry is so close to my heart.

Well, the time has come again! After much prayer and thought, I have felt the calling to continue my ministry in Latvia and that means serving with Josiah Venture as a summer intern once again. I am so excited that God is calling me back to Latvia!! Last year I had a team of faithful supporters who, through their prayer, financial and personal support, helped get me to Latvia and sustained my ministry while I was there. I would like to give you the opportunity to join my team this summer! Would you consider joining my team in support of God’s work in Latvia? Last summer was a life-changing experience for me. My internship involved many frustrations, challenges and hardships, but it is exciting to see how those struggles forced me to rely on Christ. In a lot of ways it was a hard summer, but I was stretched and pushed out of my comfort zone. That is never comfortable, but always necessary! I loved the Latvian people that I met and connected with, and I am excited to continue the ministry and relationships that began last summer. I can't wait to see how these relationships progress and what new opportunities God presents us with this summer.

One girl that I have been blessed to stay in touch with this winter has been Monta. She became a Christian at one of our English camps and it has been such an encouragement to see her take HUGE leaps of faith in her new Christian walk. What an honour and a privilege it has been to come alongside her and answer questions about church, God and Christianity. I have had the opportunity to listen to her honest doubts, fears and frustrations. It has helped me to see my faith through the eyes of a new believer and she challenges me to answer questions about why we do certain things and why we believe what we believe. Monta is growing, searching and learning, and these are the kind of relationships that I am excited to initiate and cultivate.

This summer is shaping up to be COMPLETELY different from last summer. That is exciting, but also a little scary. There is still a lot of planning to be done, but so far Josiah Venture has committed to two English Camps in two towns. Both of these camps will be put on with the help of two Youth Leaders who are currently being trained through JV’s winter ministry, the School of Leaders. This ministry focuses on training and equipping Youth Leaders and we want to help them expand their ministry contacts in each town. Beyond those commitments, the possibilities are endless. Whether it be organizing more English camps or focusing on ministry in these 2 towns, we have the opportunity to serve as the spirit leads us. Please pray for wisdom as these decisions are made; that we would be open to God’s plan and desire. Our goal is the same as last year: to build relationships and let Christ shine through us as we serve. If you would like to know more about my internship or about Josiah Venture, please ask, because I would LOVE to talk to you about it.

I am praying that you would join me as I serve in Latvia this summer because I need your help. Would you consider being part of my team? Please take the time to fill out the form at the bottom of this page to let me know how you would like to be involved.

1.     I need prayer supporters – Without prayer support, my ministry would be impossible! I need committed prayer warriors who will faithfully support me in prayer. I will be sending out email prayer updates throughout the summer to let you know of specific requests, so please also include an email address where I can send you these updates.

2.     I need financial supporters – Finances are my biggest concern right now as I prepare to purchase my plane tickets and make plans for the summer. The cost of the internship is $3,400 and I have to raise that support in addition to the cost of airfare before the beginning of May. The financial situation of Josiah Venture in Canada is a little confusing as JV has non-profit status, but it does not yet have charitable status. As a result, Josiah Venture is unable to issue tax receipts to those that donate money. Please pray with me that the Canadian government would accept Josiah Venture’s application quickly and that God would supply the necessary finances. If God is calling you to financially support my ministry this summer, please talk to me and I can explain the situation in greater detail.

Returning to Latvia for a second summer is the next step of faith in my process of discerning whether God is calling me into full-time ministry and missions. God has placed this country on my heart and has created the unique set of circumstances that has brought me to where I am today. It constantly amazes me that this is where I sit! I never would have dreamed any of it up! But it is my reality and I am serving in Latvia this summer to see if this blossoming passion is my heart is God's will for my next life adventure! Wow. It is exciting, mind-blowing, confusing and REALLY scary.

Please let me know if you would like to support me in any way. If you are interested, I would LOVE to share my experiences and my time in Latvia with each and every one of you. The choice is yours! I really hope that you respond with a yes. Thank you for taking the time to read what God is doing in my life. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

To God be the Glory,

 Susan

Oh yea.

ELISE I FOUND IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

elisey poopoo, i know you are studying hard, and sometimes that's frustrating, and overwhelming. but you'll be happy to know that I found the starbucks cup i have been looking for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I confess to the rest of you that I have been saving the cup for almost two weeks now. it has taken me that long to put this on here, and I haven't actually had starbucks since then!!!!!!! when you can't hold down food, starbucks just isn't appetizing. i've probably saved like $100 though!

well, here she is...........starbucks cup extraordinaire.....

ok, so it's not as brilliant as I remember it, but all my teacher friends out there....i know there's a lot of you! We should start paying you more! Because you have to educate our children!!!!! You have the future of this world in the palm of your hands, and I hope you challenge them intellectually, and push them towards success! They might not realize it now, but kids these days need teachers like that. Teachers that care. Teachers that push kids to think.

THIRD STARBUCKS IN A ROW!!!

OK, now this is just getting creepy!!!! I am eager to see what my next Starbucks cup will say, because all of these have been hitting me in a new and unexpected way. I think this one is a pretty amazing quote to read on a freakin' coffee cup! But that's where it was. 

Dang, he's practically quoting scripture at the end there.....whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Or how does it go?? CRAZY!!!!!! But the idea is really cool too. The concept of servant leadership is amazing and mind blowing, and ought to be so engrained in our Christian lives. As pursuers of Christ, it is our deepest desire to rid ourselves of our sinful humanity and let Christ's likeness shine through us. And Christ is the greatest example of a servant leader. He lost everything, including His life, but His example was more powerful and effective than many 'bosses' of the day. In the end, He won. And I am so grateful that He gave up everything so that I might live.

S-Bux does it again...

I agree with this one too. I remember counting the days until my 'epic whirlwind European adventure' was over and I could sleep in my own bed. All the while, people kept emailing me and telling me how jealous they were. Sure, I got to see the Mona Lisa, the Eiffel Tower, the Colisseum, the Vatican, the Berlin Wall.....and on and on. But Becky and I would just look at each other and say..."don't they know how mundane this is, and how much work it is? don't they know this is really pretty boring?!?!?" Not so much in retrospect, however!

I think i will stop thinking and just let my Starbucks cup do it for me.

ps. Kiki, I want you to know that I specifically made it bilingual just for my Politically Correct friends. I'm such a considerate Canadian. I'm not sure why I felt the need to specify you, there. Maybe because I think you're the only one that reads this.