letter from Latvia
Latvia continues to live in the shadow of the war in Ukraine.
Anxiety rises with the daily arrival of refugees passing through or settling in Latvia. A variety of Christian organisations here are using their properties to house, feed and assist those who have been displaced by the conflict. Convoys of aid are being sent to provide relief both to refugees in countries bordering Ukraine and for those who still remain at home.
For a country as small as Latvia (approximately 2million), this is a huge drain on their resources. Yet the churches have recognised that Christian compassion is not a short-term kneejerk reaction, but a long-term commitment. There is a need to pray for those who are giving, caring, travelling and hosting, that they will be sustained and have their needs supplied.
The Latvian Biblical Centre continues to play host to families on the way through to other countries, or who are seeking to resettle in Latvia. This is the time when the Latvian Biblical Centre would be starting to recruit students for the next academic year, beginning in September. The uncertainties generated by the ongoing Covid issues, and now the conflict in Ukraine, make long-term commitments more difficult than usual.
Many of the Russian-speaking population in Latvia have relatives in Ukraine, from whom they hear heart-rending stories on a daily basis. The Latvian Biblical Centre has links with the Realis Seminary in Kyiv. Their director Sergiy Tymchenko wrote about a relative: ‘My nephew David was in the Bucha local hospital when the war came to this town, located ten miles west of Kyiv. We learned that he was shot and couldn’t move. The bullet damaged his spine, he was without food or help, lying in the dirt for a long time; He was depleted, wounded, paralysed, and had an inflammation of the urinary tract. However, there were so many wounded people that nobody was paying much attention to him.’
There are so many complex situations to deal with arising from this crisis, and the Latvian Church is rising to the challenge. Pray that they will be filled with hope as they offer it to Ukraine.
