Birzai or bust . . .

We rented a VW toureg, a fine diesel vehicle, to get us from Riga, Latvia, to Birzai, Lithuania. After the extensive walking tour of Riga Friday afternoon (see last post), Lyn, Deb and I loaded into the the van, along with Courtney, to head to Birzai. Courtney had a short stop that she needed to make at the church before she left town. I realize that most of you readers may never meet Courtney, but I still think the story of her short visit to the church, which we had the unexpected joy of sharing, is a story that belongs to her. So maybe you'll meet her someday.

I had obtained an international drivers' license at AAA before I left Alabama. There is no test. There could be no test. The last time I was in Riga I was driving cautiously along the street, maybe even a bit slower than the other traffic. Suddenly a policeman stepped out in front of me waving a red paddle. I stopped. He said something I didn't understand. I showed him my international drivers license. I said something he didn't understand. He let me go on. I never knew what I did wrong. I have decided that I was driving too tentatively.

For some reason my tentativeness left me on this trip. Perhaps it was the inspiration of riding with Dan (see last post), or just my general attitude about my life these days, but I found myself doing things behind the wheel that shock me still. The real problem is that if you miss a turn in Riga, it can take thirty minutes to get back to where you need to be, if you can get back at all. Knowing that is a great incentive for cutting left across two lanes of oncoming traffic, jumping a curb, and turning around in the lawn of some business to go back to the turn you missed. If I had been by myself it wouldn't bother me so much. But Deb and Lyn were passengers. And its one thing to put your long-time friends at risk who at least should know what you are capable of, but I had Courtney in the van too. Bless her heart. But Courtney was actually sort of congratulatory about the whole episode. So I felt validated.

And so we were on our way to Birzai. After getting caught in the roundabout vortex leading out of Riga, we finally escaped and headed southeast. The google map was somewhat accurate. There was the one time that the paved road became a dirt road and then became a driveway. There was an elderly woman waiting for a ride in front of her house. She seemed afraid as we turned around in her driveway, but there was nothing we could do to make it better except to leave quickly. The trip was less than two action packed hours, and then we entered Birzai.

The church where our meeting was to be held has a great new building. Egle welcomed us and showed us where we would be sleeping and conducting our meetings. It was a great facility for what we needed to do, and for a Chrysalis that is coming up in March.

I don't know how you gauge the "success" of a meeting like this. We had come to do a training event for Chrysalis. But if the excitement, enthusiasm and commitment of the people in attendance are an indicator, then there was great success.

I know that I was blessed to teach songs to folks who loved singing and had such a desire to help others sing the songs. I was blessed by the fellowship, laughter and love shared around the meal table so carefully prepared and set for each meal that we were there. I was blessed by Egle's excited voice as she could barely speak quickly enough to get out all her ideas about which space in the new building could be used for a prayer chapel, a conference room, agape room, and all the rest. I was blessed to remember the previous times throughout the last four years that I had seen the same faces preparing to do this work, and how much commitment it must take to continue this work for Christ. I was blessed to take a hilarious walk through the unlit pathways of Birzai to the local castle. I was blessed to experience worship with beautiful friends as we finished our time together in Birzai.

And then we headed back to Riga. No problems driving back. Back at Courtney and Dan's we hovered around the computer and listened to the Alabama Auburn game. Kick off was at 10:30 p.m. local time. A great ending to a greater couple of days. After almost missing two flights on the way back, we made it home. A huge shout out to the Delta employees in Deusseldorf who broke all kinds of lines and ran us through security to make our flight. I am pretty sure they check my blog regularly.

So that's that. I don't know why God lets us have adventures like this, but, as long as He is handing them out, I'll be in line.