Latvians visit sister church

Shawn Strannigan

Gita Plavins, Elmar Plavins, Kristine Namavire, and Sandijs Aizupietis visited Sisters from Latvia.

Five citizens of Latvia, a small country bordering the Baltic Sea, recently spent two weeks in Sisters.

The visitors wanted to get better acquainted with their American friends and plan for future interaction between the two countries.

For the past three years, members of Sisters Community Church traveled to Latvia to work with a church in the small town of Ogre.

This was the Latvians' first visit to Sisters.

"The purpose of our trip was to come have fellowship with our sister church," said Elmars Plavins, who is pastor of the Ogre Trinity Baptist Church. "We have not had enough time to know each other. We want to see what you are doing over here, and see what ideas we can take back to our country."

Elmars brought his wife, Gita, co-workers Sandijs and Martina Aizupietis, and Kristine Namavire, who served as a translator for the group.

Latvia is about the size of Oregon and is home to 2.5 million people. The small country has been out from under communist control for the past 10 years.

Latvia's new-found freedom, however, has not been without problems.

While Elmars and his congregation are grateful for the freedom of religion they now experience, they are troubled by other trends that they see developing -- like alcoholism, drug use, and a high divorce rate.

"Our economy is not good now," said Namavire. "In eastern Latvia, the unemployment rate is 70 percent. In the cities, things aren't so hard, but the recession is felt especially in the country.

"Young people are choosing not to marry or have children because of the economy. Latvia's population is actually declining while the divorce rate is rising."

During their visit, the Latvians met with several members of the community church to help plan for their trip to Ogre this summer.

A group of about 25 Oregonians will spend nearly two weeks in Latvia, working with the church there to impact the community.

Basketball clinics, visits to local orphanages, and Bible clubs are some of the activities the Americans will be involved in.

Elmars is hopeful that a group of men can come to Latvia next winter and help with several construction projects.

"You have such resources here," said Elmars. "People here have enough money for everything they need. In Latvia, the men have to work much to support their families and they can't support the church."

The visitors experienced some cultural differences. There was the language barrier and Latvians are unaccustomed to the outgoing nature of most Americans.

However, they enjoyed their visit to Sisters.

"Everyone was so kind," said Aizupietis. "Even in the shops, people smiled and talked to us. It's not like that in our country, the atmosphere here is different."

For Sandijs, the highlight of the trip was a day at Mt. Bachelor. The highest peak in Latvia rises only 1,000 feet above sea level. (Despite this handicap, bobsledding was invented there).

Gita enjoyed the beauty of Sisters, but struggled with the language barrier.

"I can't get to know people," she explained in Latvian, as Namavire translated.

"And I feel that they can't get to know me. It was an obstacle for me--sometimes I felt like I was on the outside."

"I would like to say to Sisters that they can be very proud and happy that God has given them such beautiful nature," said Elmars. "They should thank God for such creation.

"I am also very happy," he added with a grin, "about my very first experience on the snowboard!"