Six folks from Emmanuel Portales will join a group of 8 who will be going back to Latvia to serve on mission.
The members of the Latvia mission team:
There are 6 team members from Emmanuel Baptist in Portales: Douglas & Dominique MaClaren, Alfred Smith Jr., Jennifer Saiz, and C.J. and Alyxis Garrett. Then from Ruidoso 1st Baptist: Evangeline Fraley, and Magdalene Fraley. That is a team of 8 from NM.
Others on the team will be missionaries and their families that need to stay anonymous because of the nature of their service, including church leaders and translators in Latvia, who, for protection purpose, cannot be listed by name.
Where the team will be:
The team's mission will take place in a small town in Latvia called Karosta. Karosta is located roughly 135 miles south west of Riga. The team will fly into Riga and then travel 3 hours to Karosta.
Karosta is made up of Russian and Latvian speaking folks. Karosta is on the western side of Latvia on the Baltic sea, and was formerly a Russian soviet naval base that specialized in submarines during the soviet era. Karosta is now a neighborhood made up of lower class Latvians, and Russians.
What the team will be doing:
The team will be working with a local small church in Karost to help with Children’s Day Camp, or in other word, Vacation Bible School! Their task will be to help with multiple groups of elementary kids in crafts, sports, food, Bible study, with the most important task being to simply love on the kids and their families.
The team is asking for prayers that they might be able to recognize where God is moving. As a team they will need to always be ready to share Jesus, and it could very well be with someone at the airports, bus stops, or the village they are staying in, well, the possibilities are endless as to who God will place in their path.
Also be praying that churches will become a support group for one another. Another goal for this mission is for the Church in Riga to connect with the church in Karosta for future mission outreach, and to support one another.
When the team will be going:
The mission team will be leaving Portales at 6 a.m. on Thursday, May 29th, to fly out of Lubbock, TX. They will arrive in Riga, Latvia on Friday, May 30th at 1 p.m. Then, on Saturday, May 31st, they will be traveling to Karosta to meet the missionary team and the church and begin to set up for Children's Day Camp. Sunday, June 1st, they will be joining the Russian church for worship. On Monday, June 2nd through Friday, June 6th will be the Children’s Day Camp. On Saturday. June 7th, they will be cleaning up and traveling back to Riga. On Sunday, June 8th, they will join the original church they served with in 2023 in Riga, for worship. On Monday, June 9th, the team will fly back home and arrive in Portales by 10 p.m.
Keep in mind that Latvia is 9 hours ahead of Mountain Standard Time!
Other information:
Please pray for the team, and all those involved to take a step back and allow God to work through them. Pray for safe travel, and that language barriers will not be a hindrance! PLEASE pray for God to begin working on the hearts of those who need to hear what Christ did for all of us!
Christianity in Latvia is roughly about 69% but with only 7% attending any services.
Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.”
Click on the picture below to sign up to be a part of the Latvia Prayer Team.
