Day 4: All of us went out into the community to deliver food bags to those in need (we got lists of needy people from Social Service Office from the city). We got to bless, encourage, pray for those we met. It was really great and humbling to bless people in this way
Day 5: We broke into groups, some continued to hand out bags of food, some did a local children's program, some went to a local prison, some helped with give away clothing. I helped with the clothing.
Clothing giveaway. We used a local community center and had all the clothes donated from Denmark, Sweden and Norway set up on different tables. There were home items, clothes (for all sizes babies, kids, women and men), bedding, personal items. We let 30-40 people in at a time for 15-20 minutes they could take all they needed and could carry out. It was exhausting and crazy. We ran out of bedding the fastest, people mostly wanting blankets (wool) and comforters and pillows.
Day 6: Clothing giveaway. God broke my heart for the needy. We had so many clothes we were trying to hand it out to people to take. I came across one man who looked dirty and disheveled. He was picking through the kids section and I tried to encourage him in English to take as much as he wanted. When I talked to him he got a scared look in his face and backed up and walked away. I was surprised, but I also knew he didn't have much more time and was eager to see him get as much as he could. I walked to where he was and tried to hand him a few things showing him it was okay to take, he did take an item or two. After he left, I cried and prayed. What could have happened that left a man skittish and afraid? It was a reminder of the woundedness of the world and it broke my heart.
Day 7: Celebration party. On days 5 & 6 in the evenings we had a church service events. Kings Kids performed skits and dances, a local pastor spoke one night, the next night Tjebbo, the outreach organizer, spoke. Many people who had been given food or met along the way had come to know God in a personal way. In fact, our translator from Day 4 had accepted Jesus into her heart (she was from the city, a translator through Social Services). We invited all to celebrate what God had done throughout the week. God did so much.
Below is a local news report on the outreach (I am in the video briefly). It is in Latvian, but if you watch it all you will get a good picture of what we gave away. Hope you enjoy.
Thanks for all who prayed for our trip. It was amazing! I also want to invite you to come next year, it is a great outreach to be part of - think about it.
