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egend tells of a golden castle that lies beneath the blue-gray waters of Lake Talsi. Only if a fleet-footed sprinter can circle the lake during the time it takes for the clock to chime twelve times at midnight would the castle rise once again to the surface in its golden glory.
Latvia is a land of a remarkable people. People who have survived some of the most difficult periods in history. People who maintained and grew their faith under the rule of fierce communist dictators. People, who want their stories told for Latvia is a land of miracles.
Thanks to Bridge Builders International, the Bear Valley Church choir from Lakewood, Colorado was blessed with the opportunity to initiate a partnership with Talsi Baptist Church. Originally the partnership was determined to continue for five years, but both sides are beginning to desire something more permanent!
Pastor Skubers e-mailed us an itinerary packed with concerts throughout the Kurzeme region. Our first concert, however, was held at the Baptist Church in celebration of their choir’s 100 year anniversary!
For several months we labored to learn the words to two Latvian hymns: Jezus Vards and Skaidram But. Our choir director, Ryan Durfee placed a CD into the sound system. Playing and rewinding word by word we sat hunch-backed in our chairs, scribbling phonetic pronunciations under each and every word. Slowly, ever so slowly, we sang through the songs forcing our American mouths to imitate new vowel sounds.
Our labors paid off that sunny June morning when we stood with the Talsi Choir, in front of a packed out church to sing the beautiful hymns. Throughout our week-long tour, the Latvian hymns meant the most to our Latvian listeners. After a concert, people of all ages approached us with tears in their eyes kissing us, thanking us for singing in their language. God spoke to many through those songs.
Pastor Skubers informed us on our itinerary that we would be spending some time at a children’s camp in Macitajmuiza leading the students in some simple arts and crafts. Several choir members joined forces and planned for some fun projects for which we all carried supplies with us on the plane.
The evening before the camp, one of the Talsi missionaries asked us if we were ready. Heads bobbed up and down, and someone mentioned the crafts. The missionary’s eyes widened in horror, “You don’t know?”
“Know what?” We asked.
“You guys are supposed to run the whole day, not just one part. We have over a hundred kids coming for more than eight hours. You didn’t know you needed to plan eight hours minimum of activity?” She looked around the lobby of the Talsi hotel as the choir drew in a collective breath. It was after ten PM at this point!
One by one, choir members filtered out of the lobby with dazed looks on their faces while a small group of us remained, frozen to the carpet. The missionary looked at us, we looked at each other. “Any one know anything about children’s camp programming?”
One by one, those faces began to point toward me as I stared at the tiny patterns on the ceiling tile. I felt the stares before I saw them. I knew what they were thinking. My hand reached into my travel purse and pulled out a tiny notebook. “Okay, then. Who’s in with me?”
For much of the night, our tiny group plotted, planned and schemed with the missionary making sure we had MORE than enough for the kids to do the following day.
At camp Macitajmuiza shouts of children peppered the woods. Human obstacle courses were built with choir member bodies to teach a lesson from Hebrews about running the race without burdens. Arts and crafts, balloons and stories filled the hours which ended in a huge celebration including “fire and sausages”. We survived the day camp and had a blast doing it! Every member of the choir was willing to do whatever was required of them to make the camp run smoothly! Relationships were formed and began to grow that day; relationships that would lead a young boy and his mother straight into the arms of Jesus Christ!
As we traveled by bus from city to city in Kurzeme, members of the Talsi Church began to open up and share their personal journeys through life. Most interesting were those of people who lived through the Communist occupation and had at one time embraced Communist ideology. The stories of the transforming power of Jesus Christ are amazing and inspiring. To tell them here would take hours and hours.
Perhaps the most remarkable moments of the trip were also the most unnoticed. Here and there individual choir members remained with Latvian families to share the love of Christ while the rest of us headed back to the hotel for much needed rest.
One man in particular, Dan Melson, was open to the prodding of the Holy Spirit. One evening following a tremendous time of play and fellowship with the members of Talsi Baptist Church (don’t bother thinking you can beat them at any sport!), Dan started a conversation with a family who had a member that suffered great tragedies and saw no hope in life. Not knowing how he’d get back to the hotel, Dan stayed and spoke with that man throughout the night into the next morning. Christ’s name was glorified and the hope of Christ was presented to the entire family! Few of us knew of this sacrifice. Jesus wants to heal broken hearts and broken lives in Latvia!
Intrigued by this swarm of silly Americans, Janis and Laila curiously traveled around Kurzeme with us. Mother and son were in the midst of some very trying times and not sure of how God fit into the picture – or if He even existed. Questions tinged with skepticism were posed to individual choir members early on. We invited them to tour with us and ride our bus. Love poured on them in such a way as they never had previously known. By the end of the week, the songs and messages that confused became a comfort. Peeking out into the audience during a late week performance, mother and son sat in the front pew, eyes closed and hands raised, praising a God who they thought had abandoned them long ago. Later that evening, both asked members of the choir to show them how to let Jesus take over their lives! It was through the relationships that they finally saw Jesus. They heard testimony of abuse and drug dependence from members of the choir. They heard of and saw the transformational power of Jesus through the interaction with those choir members.
Latvia, despite the fact nearly a year has passed, has not been forgotten. Our choir and worship department is dedicated to deepening our relationships and supporting the efforts of outreach Talsi so desires.
On May 14th, the Bear Valley Choir will be hosting its second annual Phat Choir Classic bike ride. Proceeds from this ride will be used to expand worship at Bear Valley Church and Talsi Baptist Church. The money will be used to upgrade existing electronic systems in both churches and purchase a quality drum set for Talsi.
As for right now, we all eagerly await the day we can hop on a plane and return to the land that felt like home after only a week.
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