Early Sunday morning in Riga - January 23

It is getting lighter and lighter every day. We are on our way towards spring.

This week we have continued our yearly assessment talks with all officers and other leaders. This week we met Arja. She is one of the real pioneers in Latvia. She was on the barricades 1990 in connection with the liberation. She was the one going to the authorities claimning back the Salvation Army House in Riga.

Ten years ago she started an outpost in Ilmaja. At that time she was 70 years old. Today she is gathering some thirty people to services and home league meetings. People who would otherwise never have been in contact with the Salvation Army or with any other church.The meetings are held in a house in Ilmaja. As a matter of fact it is the only house in Ilmaja, expect for the old railway station. Since there are no people living in Ilmaja, Arja´s son is picking up people in the surrounding villages with a twenty year old mini-van.

In December, this year, Arja is turning 80 years old, but she has no plans of quitting the work as a Salvation Army Officer. She plan to continue to lead the work in Ilmaja Outpost with their 15 adherents.

If you want you can read more about Arja in an interview here.

Friday afternoon we brought the staff at the Regional Headquarters to our yearly Bowling competition. I did not win this year either, but you have to give the young people a chance. Perhaps we have to find another sport for our competition next year if I will have a chance to win.

Now it is Sunday morning and soon time to go down to the meeting at Riga 1 corps.
Tomorrow starts a new intensive week. It starts with a two day gathering of all officers and other leaders at Skangale. After that we will go to Stockholm for meetings with the "Friends of Skangale", The Baltic Children fund and the Clapham Institute. And by then it is almost Sunday again.

Until then I wish you will have a blessed week.
Peter Baronowsky