Euro-trippin'

Hey from Lithuania.

This is the first time I've had internet access the whole time, so if you've been freaking out about me now getting in touch (Moooom), sorry. The Baltic wi-fi connection isn't quite as strong as it is in the States.

I arrived in Riga on Friday afternoon after two very uneventful flights. The transatlantic voyage was about 7.5 hours, with me sleeping somewhere between one and three of those. I'm not exactly sure of the time, but I do know that I fell asleep in the middle-end of He's Just Not that Into You (which is terrible, by the way) and Last Chance Harvey, so interpret that as you feel necessary. Bob met me at the airport in Riga and we drove the two or so hours to Camp Wesley, just outside Leipaja. Friday, Saturday and Sunday consisted of a worship-leading workshop and getting to know the Latvians that we stayed with. I’ll get more in depth with that once I get home, but it went really well.

We slept in tents outside. Yep, just us and the Latvian wilderness. Oh, and also the swarms of gigantic mosquitos. It doesn’t really get dark until after midnight, but we usually stayed up past then, so it wasn’t a problem. It’s weird to be outside in broad “day” light, only to find that it’s ten ‘til eleven. For meals, we ate mostly traditional Latvian fare, which consisted mainly of potatoes and vegetables. I didn’t really realize how much my body depended on protein until this trip. Many of us have come to experience what we’ve dubbed as the “carb crash,” in which your energy level literally bottoms out in what feels like an instant. Luckily last night, as we travelled back in to Riga, we found a steak house where we each did work on various assortments of steak. We left just after the sun went down at ten past midnight and went to bed.

Today we’re in Siauliai, Lithuania (pronounced Sho-lay). It was about a two hour drive here, mostly consumed with Mitchell and Beesh talking in accents that will be documented later. We are now at the Hotel Siauliai after eating lunch. There is a long pedestrian boulevard that is lined with restaurants and shops which was a cool experience. Tomorrow we will visit the Hill of Crosses, a Catholic monument that is well-known across the world. More about that here. The next few days will be spent between Vilnius, also in Lithuania and Riga before flying out of Riga on Friday.

I hope you are all well. Talk to you soon.

Pax

jc