Our story from the beginning...

Friends-
God has amazingly formed a team of willing individuals to serve in Riga, Latvia June 19th-28th - Jeremy, Gina and Joshua Sink, Bob and Peggy Turhun, Caleb Cross and Erica Dellinger. We are all humbled by the way God has brought us together… To share some background behind this trip, Jeremy and Gina’s support letter explains more below…


March 30, 2009
Dear Friends and Family,
As many of you know, Gina and I had the opportunity to take part in a “vision trip” with Mission to the World (MTW) last October. MTW is the agency that oversees foreign missions in our denomination, and the trip was an opportunity for us to become acquainted with the condition of the Church in the countries of Sweden, Latvia, and Lithuania. To be honest, we were caught off guard by the great level of spiritual need that we observed. While in Riga, Latvia, we spent a good deal of time with Carl and Becky Chaplin who are the MTW missionaries there. The Chaplins are new to this field and are in the process of building relationships with local church leaders. Baltic Reformed Theological Seminary is located in Riga, so there is existing infrastructure for theological education. The seminary has been in operation since 1999 and has recently graduated its first class of two students with 10 others currently enrolled in the program.
A seminary education is a great resource for developing leaders; however, there is much about pastoral ministry that must be learned outside the classroom. These young pastors have few models of healthy churches to draw from, and so they desperately need practical support if they’re to plant healthy churches for the future. The Chaplins are realizing that one of the main reasons God has led them to this area is to help develop the next generation of leaders for the Church. In God’s providence He is bringing together several variables that present a tremendous opportunity for the advancement of the gospel in this region! For example: there is a small but growing number of believers already present; there are Spirit-
filled national pastors with a desire to plant new churches; there is a seminary in place that offers solid theological training; and now there are missionaries on the field willing to assist with practical matters relating to church planting and discipleship. These components may well be used by God for a great movement of the Spirit in the years to come! In addition to meeting with Carl and Becky, we also spent time with several of the national church leaders in Riga. Alvis Sauka was formerly an officer in the Soviet military and later became a Lutheran Priest (even though at that time he did not believe in the resurrection of Christ). While serving in the Lutheran church, the Holy Spirit opened his heart and he embraced Christ as his Savior and Lord. He went on to plant “Riga Reformed Bible Church,” which is currently about 100
strong, is ministering faithfully in the city, and has planted its first “daughter church” in a different part of town. Alvis is a delightful brother who loves Christ and has a burden for Riga. He also sees mentoring the next generation of church leaders as one of the main purposes of his life. He is praying that God will give him the opportunity to develop 4 pastors for the church in Latvia before he dies…that is his goal for his ministry. With that background, you’re in a position to understand the main reason for my letter.
A few weeks ago, I received an email from Carl on behalf of Alvis. Alvis is asking that Gina and I return to Riga this to help lead a 3-day “family camp” for outreach and discipleship. The dates are June 23-25, and they coincide with the “Janni Celebration”, which is one of the most important Latvian holidays. There are many pagan traditions associated with Janni which involve singing, bonfires, drunkenness, and even ritual sex. The church holds this family camp each year as an alternative to being involved in these pagan traditions. I am still working with Carl on the details, but Alvis has asked that I come and teach the adults with the help of a translator (many, but not all, will speak English). He’s asking Gina to teach youth or children and also requesting that we bring some others from Grace Fellowship along with us. In addition to the 3 days at the camp, we would like to spend more time networking with some of the other pastors we met during our last visit and learn how our church and presbytery might be of further help and encouragement to the believers in Riga.