Reminders

Today we spent the day visiting other areas of Latvia. First we headed north to visit an area of the city called Karosta. It is an area where the Russian army occupied for 50 years. The army families occupied building after building…which are now over 50% empty. It’s a tough area of town that looks like it may have been destroyed in the riotous celebrations after the Russian army pulled out…at least that is what I think in my mind. The housing complexes are much like some of the toughest project areas of American big cities. Beyond the project homes is building after building which is made of beautiful dark brick which may have housed the Officers…but are now vacant with the windows and doorways bricked closed. There are manufacturing facilities which are vacant as well…and the windows and doorways are bricked closed. I am sure the area was beautiful about 70 years ago. In the midst of all of this sits a Russian Orthodox Church. An ornate symbol of a man made gospel. With the community around it falling in shambles, the place of religion offers a list of rules. As we walked through the gates to enter the property we were reminded not to enter the property with an evil mind or thoughts…and we must be dressed properly. We made our way to the building and climbed the huge marble steps to the doors of history. Once inside we were once again reminded of our thoughts and attire…and a few other rules such as NO CAMERA’s. There were a pile of head shawls or scarves for the women to cover their head…but most of the ladies inside were not wearing one so our party did not either. As I walked around looking at all of the pictures of the “saints” and the prayer candle altars in front of each I couldn’t help but get frustrated at the blinders which religion has created to the gospel. This was not a gospel of freedom. As I walked around this huge room looking at everything I noticed a little old lady had made her way to the back of the room where Aleks was and the ladies of our group. She was talking to Aleks and it was clear he was not happy. We left the building while the lady was telling Cindy and the girls (In Latvian or Russian) that they needed to ask God for forgiveness since they did not have their head covered. Once outside I found out that she had told Aleks that Jesus did not love him and would not accept him because his hair was spiked! WHAT?!? She proceeded to tell him that he needed to ask for forgiveness as well. Once again my frustration at the blindness to the True Gospel just grew. No wonder these kids want to have nothing to do with church. Its a gospel of condemnation…and not the gospel of the Bible I read or the God I know. Its sad, but we need to understand that when we are dealing with these children. Reminder number one for the day….we need to share the Gospel which Jesus shared…one of love, forgiveness and freedom.

We left the religious property and headed to the sea wall outside the port area. It was amazing to see the power of the sea as it beat on the wall, yet the relative calm on the inside of the break. While there we could see a storm rolling in on the horizon. As we watched it work its way toward the shore we had the opportunity to witness it drop a water spout down out of the clouds. Pretty amazing but it made Aleks more than uneasy since we had just watched a show on tornados on the Discover Channel just two nights earlier. We left the sea wall and headed to the old Russian military base on the shoreline just north of where we were. There was row after row of underground bunkers. We got out and began to explore these buildings which were three stories deep in the ground. It was pretty clear that this was where many troops slept and kept a vigilant watch on the sea. Time and the power of the sea had taken its toll on many of these barracks and some had split and fallen to the beach below. The brig still looked to be in working order with bars and all across the front. A symbol of restrictive dominance over those who would dare stray from what they were told to do. Reminder number two for the day…no matter how powerful the forces are around us, God is bigger than all of that. He can destroy those forces and crumble them to mere ruins.

After leaving Karosta, the area where Aleks lived much of his life till now, we headed south of Liepaja toward Lithuania. We could not cross the boarder but we headed that direction. As we left the city limits of Liepaja things changed almost instantly. It was like we had entered and area of the country which was alive. They still had hope and lived a life which would be closer to what we would experience in America. There were new homes, well kept properties and businesses which still had the doors open. It was pretty amazing to see the contrast of life just outside of the city walls.

We stopped for lunch at a great little resort south of Liepaja. It was more good food and a pretty cool place on the coast just over the dunes at the edge of the beach. After some nourishment we continued to head south to a little park along the shoreline. It was incredibly beautiful and once again reminded me of northwest Michigan near Lake Michigan. There were wild blueberries carpeting the forest floor as tall majestic pines towered above creating a canopy. Birch trees added contrasting white streaks of color against the deep green forest vegetation. This was also the first place where we actually walked on ground which was not flat. We climbed to the top of a large hill as we made our way through the forest which opened up to show us a view of the Baltic Sea over the treetops of the valley below us. Reminder number three of the day…God has created some incredibly beautiful places…even in the midst of a depressed and forgotten place.

Please don’t read my blog wrong, Latvia is an incredibly beautiful country with a history that we as American’s can’t understand. But Liepaja is a city that needs hope and the freedom that Christ offers. The people need hope and purpose again.This city could be restored to a magnificent charm and beauty to match the countryside and history this country has to share. The last reminder of the day…I am thankful for God brining us to Liepaja, Latvia for Aleksejs Zachary Tuttle!