Teaching In Russian

SUNDAY SERVICE . . . I thought I could only teach for 5 minutes and then I would need a translator, but the Lord gave me clarity. Vadim stood up to translate after 5 minutes but I kept speaking in Russian so he sat down. He did help with some words though. I know I made a lot of grammatical mistakes but people were really gracious and encouraged me that it was understandable. I guess none of the Americans they have met really tried to speak Russian. I ended up sharing for more than 30 minutes about growing in the grace of God and how we aren't just saved by grace but we continue by grace. The verse God gave me was Acts 16:4-5 where Paul strengthened the church in the faith by delivering the apostles doctrine about the gentiles not having a legalistic yoke of bondage. I encouraged them learn to walk by faith. So thanks for praying. It was a definite miracle because I was very nervous but God gave me boldness and it got more comfortable and easy to share my heart as I continued.
OPEN HEARTS / OPEN DOORS . . . Afterward we all went downstairs and sat at a long table over coffee and sweets and fellowshipped. When I shared about our need to find a house or apartment, people mentioned that other half of the house (where i am staying now) is available. It's owned by the church and used for a few teams in the summer from the USA. It's really nice inside, all remodeled white walls, wood floor big living room and kitchen and 4 bedrooms with a bunch of single beds. The only problem is the stairs are really steep and I almost fell coming down the first time. but it is just a wooden staircase that I think could be rebuilt safer. There are 3 bedrooms upstairs and a bathroom, downstairs is a big entry and then the living room where possibly 20 -30 people could squeeze in for prayer/bible study/homefellowship. then on he other side of the living room is another bedroom/office and the kitchen. They didn't say how much we could rent it for, but they were talking about other houses that would be at least 1000 US dollars a month minimum, so they suggested we buy an apartment for 120,000 USD - but that takes time and it's not really what I would want to buy nor could we afford it. There are some rich peoples houses that are probably more than half a million. According to Vadim, Ogre is one of the more expensive cities because of it's good infrastructure (and probably it's proximity to Riga), he thinks Liepaja is one of the expensive ones too. We'll see when I meet with Sergej.
CALVARY CHAPEL OGRE? . . .
Any way, I also talked to Vadim last night about Calvary Chapel and about our style and philosophy of ministry "healthy sheep reproduce". I asked how he felt about us starting another church in Ogre, he was very open because he thinks there should be a church for every 1000 people and there are only 7 here for 30,000 people and many people may be drawn to less traditional churches. People that won't go to a baptist church may be reached by Calvary. Vadim, like Sergej, are happy to be a part of the work of God in our lives. Both are willing to invite us if we feel called to church planting in their cities.
TOUR OF OGRE CITY . . .
Before church Vadim drove me around the whole city to get an idea of the size and neighborhoods. There is a huge pine forest on one side, a river running through it and a hill with a walking path in the trees by the river. There is a big lumber factory and a TB sanitorium on the edge of town - we should get vaccinated! I guess kids with TB stay there, depending on their health some stay until they finish school. Anyway, Vadim showed me other parts of town where they are going to build a new shopping center, there is a super market and a hyper market (difference?). If we were to rent the churches house there is a mid size (for Latvia) grocery store and a couple restaurants across the street. It's a great location in the center, plenty of room for guests or an office plus kids rooms.
INTERNET ISSUES . . .
So it is Monday morning, Vadim is now staying in the house next door with me. I am writing in the church office where Vadim is the phone with his wife in Salem using skype - an Internet phone program that's free between skype members. I actually downloaded skype onto our laptop but didn't know anyone who had it so never used it. I think Nate and Theis speak through skype. I wonder how many other friends we could talk to while in Latvia using skype.
I haven't heard definitely from the Lord yet, we need to pray and wait to find out more about Liepaja and prices and so forth but I do like Ogre, it's central location in the country. It's not near the sea but that's not the most important thing - especially in the winter.
So that's all for now. I took a bunch of pictures on our drive yesterday but I have not been able to upload photos for everyone to see - yet.