Latvia

Confession, I totally and completely FAILED to blog while on the interview trip. I had good intentions, I really did. But what I didn't realize was that my only "free" time would be the 30ish minutes in the morning before we left the hotel. And since we stayed in a different city nearly every single night, I chose to spend that time wandering around outside the hotel attempting to "sight see".

I wish I could post more pictures of the kids we met...they truly were precious. But due to privacy rules within their country I can only post ones that don't show their full faces etc :( So while this post will look a lot like all I did was photograph buildings, and have fun, I assure you that was not the case. We met, interviewed and photographed about 180 kids!! That's a LOT!!!

Though I was too lazy busy to blog I did manage to shoot off a few Facebook posts while I was gone and I have assembled them all here for those who aren't on Facebook.


And now...I present...the Latvian Interview Trip Facebook Summary and Photo Dump!


Day One: Met the most precious kids at our last orphanage today! They stole my heart! One just a little older than Brennan grabbed my hand and was my little sidekick, she was obsessed with my camera and figured it out instantly. Her older sister was also a favorite of mine! We made each other loom bracelets and she begged me not to leave and hugged me like crazy! I could have spent days there loving on them!

Jaycee is a KID MAGNET. She is a missionary with New Hope Latvia and the kids just flock to her! So thankful she was able to join us on the interview trip!

It's nearly midnight on day one but we couldn't pass up our one chance to visit with fellow coordinator Ali and her hubby who are in country adopting their host son M.

Day Two: A chilly walk in Liepaja to find wifi to do some work this morning! I've fallen in love with Latvia!

 
Day Three:  Only very crazy Californians will brave weather this cold just to take pics of a Rapunzel like tower for their little princess! Near Ilukste.

Our hotel for the night (front)

They have wedding here in the spring. 

Hotel rear view. 

This is how we roll...can you tell which one of us actually lives here in Latvia?

 Note to self...if you leave your coke in the van overnight in the middle of Latvian winter you will end up with a coke freeze!

 
Things I have learned while on this trip...Statoil (aka the gas station) is a perfectly acceptable place to stop for dinner, sleeping is optional, caffeine and laughter are a must, Cili's Pica can be eaten for both lunch and dinner in the same day, winters in Eastern Europe are FREEZING and you will get crazy looks if you try and go from the car into a building without a coat, a shared passion can bond you instantly to someone you just met and if that doesn't work spending hours upon hours driving around in a van together will!!!

Day Four: Seriously LOVED this old bombed out building in Gulbene!!!

 

 Snow on the cobblestone streets.

 

 

What most of my sight seeing in Latvia looks like...trying to soak it all in as we barrel down the road despite the frost/ice on the INSIDE of the car!!! There is a beautiful castle in this photo in a town called Cesis! No time to stop...too many kids to meet!

 

The truth comes out...the real way to become a "kid magnet" is to pass candy to then through an open window!

Day Five of our trip, and the team is bouncing through the countryside, thinking of all the children who have touched our hearts. One boy came to mind. When we first met A, he looked defeated; huddled against the sub zero temperature. We needed to interview him in our van, due to logistics, and he settled in, surrounded by strangers. His foster dad spoke first. He was very stern at first, as he explained that A had been interviewed by host programs several times, but had never been chosen. His foster dad had watched A deal with the lost hope and feelings of rejection, each time compounded. "This will be the last time I allow it. He can't take this again," he warned us. We started off with easy questions, trying to break the ice. He was quiet and shy, but answered softly. He shares the interests and dreams of most teens: to be a professional soccer player, to explore a big city. But the unspoken dream hung in the air. It broke my heart to hear the longing in his voice when we asked him what kind of family he would like to visit. "Any". That was his answer. "Any family would be good." It took only a second for the longing in that soft voice to pierce my heart. The sadness and hurt instantly apparent. We were able to talk to him for awhile, and he started to open up. His foster dad told us that he is very open and friendly, once he knows and trusts you. He is a gentle soul, and the many young foster children in the home follow him around like "little ducks in a row". They go to him when they are scared or hurt; they trust him completely. Can you build up this young man? Can you love him unconditionally? Show him the world outside his small farm? Don't underestimate the impact of six short weeks in the summer. Can you be that family? "Any. Any family"?

Day Six: Latvian sunrise in Ergli! It's nearly 8 am and the sun is just starting to come up!

Our hotel in Ergli is on the edge of a very large lake, it's frozen solid so this morning we walked across it! I was a bit nervous but here in Latvia they drive their cars across frozen rivers and lakes to get from place to place faster!

 

The view of our hotel from where we were standing on the lake. 

Day Seven: Things that break my heart...hearing how a child had been tied up like a dog outside by his stepdad and only let in at night, meeting a sibling group who were sent back to their family and then their 6 year old little sister dies in a house fire, talking to a 16 year old who asks to be hosted by a clean family and later learning that she was removed from the filthiest home the social workers had ever seen. I cannot even fathom what their lives have been like. These are just a handful of the stories I have heard on this trip. They are the reason I am so passionate about working with New Horizons! If we don't step up and help these kids who will?

Had fun teaching these cuties how to play Uno today! They LOVED the glow bracelets, and their faces lit up when I showed them how to go into a dark room to see them glow!

One of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen...the frozen Baltic Sea in Jurmala!! Amazingly breathtaking, especially at sunset! The waves literally freeze!! Thankful for in country coordinators who surprised us with this last minute stop in between interviews!

Those peeks are actually how the waves froze. 

Our dedicated driver Valdy who braved the cold to snap some photos of us on the frozen sea.

 

Our hearts breaks when we hear of what these kids have been through. So much abuse, so much neglect. So much instability. One amazingly intelligent young lady whose parents had each remarried and had more children leaving her behind to live in an orphanage asked our team a question that still haunts us "Why do you want us?"

Took a stroll through Old Riga at night!!

 

Day Eight: This kiddo beat me at checkers today! He happily took the board home to share with his friends!

Day Nine: On our last day in Latvia we were given the "royal Canadian" tour by one of our two missionary friends!

I seriously LOVE these ladies!! We had a blast together.

The Arizonian and the Californian were not amused by the windy and cold weather!

We ended our evening by treating the teens from two of our orphanages to a night at the bowling alley. It was so much fun to be able to get to know these great kids better. Most of them spoke pretty good English and nearly ALL of them are being offered for Summer hosting!

Clowning around with Susan after bowling.

The trip was amazing and I'm still processing all that I experienced and heard. So many heartbreaking stories. So much pain and loss. Some days were just plain H.A.R.D. And now these kids have names and faces, I have met them and hugged them and made it my mission to find them host families. In the coming days, I hope to spotlight some of the kiddos I met who touched me the most!!

If you'd like to view the kids who we're offering for summer hosting, you can do so here. More kids will be added as our other team finishes up interviews in a different Eastern European country!