Early Sunday morning. March 13

Now you can get the feeling. Winter has to give up. There will be a new spring. We have not seen it yet, but we can see the signs. The snow starts to melt. Spring rain and spring winds. After spring comes summer. That is the time when we take our beach towels and go to the beach. (The picture is from a Family camp some year ago. We have not start looking for our beach towels yet this year. But we have start dreaming about it).

In the beginning of the week we met our "Strategy Board" and shared with each other our expectaions and what we have "heard" from the Lord about this year.

I have for some time sensed that this year will be a victorious year for the Salvation Army in Latvia. Last year was a year when many people took a step forward with the Lord. We enrolled many new soldiers, we welcomed eight new cadets to our School for Officers Training. But these were people we already had among us. This year new people will be saved. But I have also understood that we will meet new challenges and problems this year. That is part of the battle.

The next day we received an encouraging e-mail from one of our corps leaders:
"Glory Hallelujah,
Today 4 people have accepted Christ as their savior.

Tomorrow we start a new Alpha Course.
God is good." 
As far as I know things like this has not happened in that corps for some years. The same day some new serious problems started to show up...
That is part of the battle.

In the end of the week we received visitors from Norway. The Training Principle and a cadet came to Riga to plan the family camp this summer in Latvia. The Norwegian cadets will run the camp together with our cadets. Saturday we brought our guests to the meeting at Riga 2 and then we went inspecting the camp site.

 At Riga 2 the Norwegian cadet gave his testimony, translated into Russian by the Corps Leader...

 ...and the Corps Leader´s message was about never, never, never giving up.

Now it is Sunday morning and we will have an early start together with our guests from Norway. We shall drive to Liepa, hundred kilometers northeast of Riga, for the Sunday morning meeting. Mornings come early in Liepa, they start their service already 10.00.

Have a blessed week
Peter Baronowsky