Change Is In the Air

I had never been sick so much as I was while we were in America. It seemed like every time I turned around we were canceling some appointment or something cause one of us was sick. It was insane. We thought that maybe we just weren’t used to the American germ strains anymore. Who knows.

Now that we’re home, I’m sick. Again. Chris got something… a bad cough among other things, while we were in Florida (of all places). I was fine. Fine while he fought it. Fine when we got back to Mom & Dad’s and Mom had bronchitis and Dad & Adam came down with some flu, fine through all of it. Then we left. Then we got home. Yeah, home! Then I got sick. And I think it’s the same thing that Chris had and is actually still fighting the remnants of… praise the Lord for Riga Black Balsams. (Now there’s a sentence you don’t see everyday!)

So, yeah, my first week home, and I’m sick. Again. I can’t wait to be over this and get out and see more of my friends! But I guess that will have to wait. Maybe God is just helping me keep some boundaries so I don’t become all work-a-holic the first week we’re back. Instead, I’m spending a lot of time sleeping (not good for fighting jetlag), watching some movies, catching up on my blog (LOL), and slowly unpacking and moving back into my apartment.

I’ll still be glad when I’m over this, though!

To everyone in Ohio who got blasted with the snow-storm of the decade… I’m so jealous! I wish that storm had come last week so I could have enjoyed it with you! I guess it’s good we flew out when we did… I heard Cleveland canceled a majority of their flights.

Someone asked me how much snow we have here. The answer would be “none”. Not even piles left over after shoveling or anything. So sad. It’s 43 here today. Go figure.

Snow or not, it’s good to be home. We weren’t here even 24 hours and friends came to visit! Yeah! Yesterday evening Peteris, Elita and Andis all came over for a few hours. It was so good to see them!

Other friends are slowly realizing we’re back and writing that they can’t wait to see us & asking when we will invite them for dinner. It’s so good being welcomed back.

Still fighting jetlag and it’s kicking my butt. I fell asleep on the couch around 10pm, which would have been fine, but it was on the couch, and Chris was still awake. I woke up around 12am, we went to bed around 1:30a and got up at 10:30a. The nine hours wasn’t so bad, but the 2 before it made 11 and I have a killer “sleep headache” now. Ugh. Gotta try to get on a normal schedule. Our apartment was freezing when we got here, especially the bedroom where, for some reason, the window was open. It was like 30 outside! I think I caught something cause I’m coughing like mad now, a deep racking cough. Not good. Hopefully just getting eating and sleeping patterns right will help that.

Our cat, Saulite, remembers us as well! At first she was shy, but she has warmed up and is just as devious as she ever was!

I went to the grocery store (thanks to Kaspars who drove me) to restock everything, starting from almost complete scratch again. I was shocked over how much more things cost now. Gas was about $4.20/gal when we left here in September. Now it’s about $5.90/gal. Cheese, bread, milk, everything in the store has gone up quite a bit. It will be a challenge to adjust to this.

I do have to mention one more thing… it is odd being here and being with our friends, and Ieva not being here. For those of you who don’t know, she’s in Oklahoma right now. She’s raising support to go to Perth, Australia for a YWAM School of Worship. Please keep her in your prayers! She’s doing wonderfully and we’re so proud of her, but we do miss her!
So, there you have it! We’re looking forward to finishing the unpack and starting to get into life here again. Since we don’t have a car anymore it will be a bit more challenging, but that’s life, I guess. It’s good to be home and back where God has called us. We have many new ideas and vision for the future. Pray for us as we sort our what it of God and what isn’t, as well as the timing of everything. Blessings!

We have arrived safely in Latvia! We’re home and, wow, it feels good! We had a bit of a panic moment in Cleveland when we found out they couldn’t check our bags all the way to Riga, but that in London we would have to collect them, go through security and recheck in. Not good since we paid a bit extra because one bag was over the limit. We were also very concerned because when leaving London you can only have one carry-on/personal bag per person, and we had 2 each (as America allows). While we waited for our airline to open up for check in, we hung out with our friend, Dana, which was a great time of trying to stay awake and also catching up. Before we checked in, the three of us prayed for favor, and boy did God answer! We decided to consolidate our 4 bags into 3, and then just asked the agent what to do. He was very friendly and gracious and not only did he not charge us for any of our overweight bags, but let us check a 5th bag (one of our carry-ons) for free. Amazing!

Arriving in Riga, we were a bit nervous as well, as we had special permission to be gone from Latvia for 6 months without jeopardizing our residence permit status. Somehow we were the LAST people in line, and when we finally got to the agent, he had no idea what to do with our paperwork concerning this. In the end, he stamped it all and let us through without problem. This is something we prayed with Dana about, as well.

We were met at the airport in Riga by our friend Kaspars, who also drove us back to our apartment, as well as our teen-friend Elita, her brother and mom. It was so nice to be welcomed back to the country, even though our plane was late and we were late… they waited till we got there around midnight. Amazing.

So, I think jetlag is really kicking in, since I should be exhausted but I’m not sure if I could sleep yet. So far, I’ve been awake for over 36 hours with any sleep. Wow, my bed is sounding better and better all the time.

Thank you so much for your prayers for us! Please keep us in your prayers as we readjust over the next days… we even have friends coming over in a few hours to welcome us home.

Hey everyone… or anyone who might still check in here… Just a note to say that I do intend on blogging again, and soon. We have 8 days until we leave for Latvia (aka HOME) and 3 weeks of stuff to do in that time. We’ve just this evening returned from a trip to Florida and managed to put 4000+ miles on our rental car in less than 3 weeks. :) Also, my computer was down and dead and gone getting “fixed” for about 6-8 weeks (thanks Mark!), which had all my addresses, passwords, etc on it. (This is also why I haven’t been emailing people much… didn’t have any addresses.) ANYWAY, please keep checking in. Give me another 2 weeks and I’ll try to get over jet lag and finish unpacking and then I”ll let you know how our time in America has been. :) Blessings!

Ohio doesn’t usually get a good snow before the first of the year, but this is our second good pummeling in December this year. I enjoy it, of course. It’s a nice change and reminds us of home in Latvia.

Chris went out yesterday to help day chop wood for the stove, in snow. Hard work will keep you warm, though. I went out for a bit, but since I’m really trying to not get sick, I didn’t stay out long. It was very refreshing though. I love the smell of snow, the crunch of it under my feet, though. I don’t care if everyone thinks I’m crazy, I like winter.

I guess this is the time that makes me wish I had kept up with my blog more often. I would have written about the fun we had in Pennsylvania, catching up with really old friends, and the amazing time in Louisiana with some of our closest friends ever. I would have shared pics and would be smiling.

But now is not that time. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last day, you’ve no doubt seen or heard about the shootings in Colorado. In the early morning 4 were shot at YWAM Denver. 2 have since died. This hit us hard as we did our training with YWAM at this base and know the majority of the staff there. The 4 that were shot were new to the base, so we did not know them, but all of our friends there are reeling from the tragedy.

This morning we got word from our friends in Latvia that our National Director, Maris, died this morning. Even though I’m writing that, I can’t comprehend it. He was not old; nearing 50. They seem to think that it was a heart attack, but are not sure at this moment. Chris and I are spinning right now. We can’t make any sense out of this. Maris was a friend of ours and Chris’ immediate supervisor. We often would visit and trade meals. I would make him lasagna and he would cook his amazing šašlik for us. I will miss him tremendously. YWAM Latvia, as a base, will feel this strongly, as well. Please keep us in your prayers.

In the last few days I have been admonished (in love) to update my blog more often… so… Ang, Sher… this is for you! (But now you guys have to comment!) :)
So, I’m in America… we’re staying with my parents in Ohio right now. Since we’ve been here, we’ve had fun on the 4-wheeler and at Cedar Point, we’ve started visiting some friends and spent time hanging out with family (including a lot of scrapbooking!), and also said goodbye… to Ieva as she went to Orlando to Discipleship Training School, and also to Metro, my grandmother’s husband, who died last week.

Life in America is… strange. The availability and ease of getting things here amazes me. I’m also in shock over how much cheaper things are and how much more money there is here, but how so many people seem to not have any money. Sorry if this sounds condescending or that I’m complaining… I’m not… just observations I’ve made… my opinions. And since it’s my blog, I guess I can do that. :) So, yeah, it’s strange for me here. Kinda like putting on those old shoes you used to have. You loved them and wore them everywhere, and even if they didn’t always look so good, they were comfortable and your favorites. But then you got some new shoes and wore them a long time. One day you go back to your old shoes, and they’re familiar and you feel some nostalgia when you wear them, but your foot has changed and they’re not so form fitting anymore… and if you pull out those shoes, you have to wear them with your old high school sweatshirt from a decade ago… you tend to slip into old ways… that’s how it is for me being back here. Not bad, but just doesn’t totally fit anymore.

Everyone is asking us when we’re going to start traveling, and I wish I could answer that question. We have one or two major things that we’re waiting to get solidified, then we’ll know when we’ll start traveling. Our traveling plans include California, Washington, Colorado and New Mexico, to start with.

So, there you go… I’m a little caught up for now… I guess a late-night scrapbooking evening turns out more than just some new pages. :)

Well, we’re here in America and been having “fun”! We’ve done a lot of culture stuff since Ieva’s been here, including the high school homecoming football game, 4-wheeling in the creek and helping re-roof the house! Ieva also got to spend a day at the high school, shadowing another student. We’ve been hanging out with some friends and just spending some time actually RELAXING! It’s been great!

People are asking already… how did you get so dirty on the 4-wheeler? Ieva and I were riding in the creek… not deep, only about 2-3 inches of water in most places. We were going to ride it back down to my parents’ property, but saw that our Amish neighbors had strung a wire fence across the creek. So, we turned around… we were going through the water, from dry to dry, and I guess we hit it at the wrong angle, slid, and got stuck… and sank. Most of the creek is sand and small rocks, so, the more we tried to get it out, the more we buried it. After an hour of digging out the wheels, getting sprayed with mud (I wish I had a picture of that!), trying to lodge large rocks under the wheels for traction… we finally gave up and I climbed the hill to the Amish neighbors and humbled myself and asked for help… so yes, we asked the Amish neighbors to help us pull out our 4-wheeler… strange. By this time, we had literally BURIED the back wheels in sand… we couldn’t even start the thing anymore for all of the water in the exhaust. Fun, fun. But, it worked and we got out and it was some of the best fun I’ve had in a LONG time! My dad laughed when we told the story and my brother almost cried… he said it was from disbelief… I think it was jealousy! LOL

Yes, we re-shingled the house, too. It was fun. Between Me, Dad & Chris, we did within 3 days… mostly only working a few hours a day because it was just too hot. It was actually kinda fun… nice to do something you can point at and see accomplished.

Ieva left for Orlando today to start DTS. We’re so proud of her, but we’re gonna miss her!

I’m not sure what to call the US anymore. It’s not really home, as I truly feel at home in Latvia, but it still is in some ways. “Historical home” just doesn’t roll off the tongue so easily. Ok, let’s try this again…

I’m headed back to the US. Ieva’s brother will be here in about 2 hours and will take the 3 of us to the airport. Our plane leaves around 7am, so we need to be there at 5am, so, we leave here at about 3:15am. Crazy.

Chris is napping on the loveseat, the Travel Channel is playing in the background, and in all of my years of packing and traveling, I’m experiencing something right now that is truly a first… I’m done ahead of schedule! I’m leaving in mere hours and I have free time! I’m trying hard to stay awake so I can sleep on the plane, though.

I had this insane task of, not only packing us for 6 months in the US, but also of somewhat packing up our house so our friends could move into it while we’re gone. Someone has to take care of our psycho cat! So, in 2 days I’ve sorted, cleaned and packed the two of us, on top of doing a million other things. Honestly, I’m not 100% packed. I have to do my carry-on and I have one more backpack to do, but I really need our toiletries to pack that one, and we’re both going to take showers yet tonight, so I’m waiting. But, everything is sitting here ready to jump into the bag!

I’m not exactly sure what I’m expecting from this trip. Sure, some time with family and friends, support raising, sharing with people what God is doing here… my dream is to go on vacation over our anniversary. In January, Chris and I will be married 14 years and we’ve never been on vacation, just the two of us. Didn’t even go on an actual honeymoon. But, yeah, I’m not sure what to expect will happen. Jetlag? Culture shock (yes, even in America)? Yes, I’m sure, and I’m sure there will be more.

I think I’m looking forward to it, though, it’s hard to even imagine right now… I mean, it’s hours away, but the last few weeks have been so totally hectic and busy I haven’t had a chance to think about the trip at all, let alone that it was so soon and will be for so long.

We’ve received many “farewells”, both verbally and in message form, and I have very mixed feelings about them. I’m happy that people here will miss us, because that means we’ve effected their life, but it makes me so sad over how many people either don’t think we’ll return or beg us to promise to come back. Of course we’re coming back! I guess it’s just hard for them to believe.

So, for all my American friends… keep your eyes open for for us! We’re going to be all over the country! If you have some free time & wanna get together, let us know! And those of you in Ohio… you may get the chance to meet Ieva, as well, before she takes off to Orlando.

See you soon!

PS Geesh… that’s random! Can you tell I’m tired?

This morning I found myself getting up much earlier than I usually do (I even used an alarm), getting and ready and heading to the base. Our lecture room slowly filled up with staff on their laptops, connecting to the internet, and Janis and I realized that this was the most people the base has ever had connected wirelessly, at one time. (There were 9 of us… ok, that’s not so many by American standards, but for us, it actually slowed down our internet quite a bit… it was monumental.)

So, what was all of this for? I was teaching a seminar about blogging. Blogs are something that our staff have been interested in for some time. Chris has been working diligently to set them all up and today I spent the morning showing our staff how to customize their blogs, as well as the basics of how to write a post, add pictures, etc. We used to projector and I walked my group of students through the process, step by step. It was a challenge, but we did it. I was proud of all of them. They all learned the basics and got started on their way into the world of blogging!

I’m sure that I’ll be getting a lot of questions in the not-so-distant future, but it’s not so bad.

Oh, did I mention we leave for America in 10 days? We have a friend, Danka, from Czech, coming tomorrow for about a week, and a band coming from England that Chris is hosting… a lot going on and a lot to do in our last 10 days before we leave.