The Christian Centre have been actively involved in a number of short
term missions to Latvia. The most recent took place between
Wednesday April 11th to Friday April 20th 2007. The team was made up of Ps. Peter & Elizabeth Vincent, Les & Katie Wilson, Graham & Shona Frances, and Graham Holden the son of the late Pastor John Holden. Latvia has been of particular interest to the church because of the great opportunities that
exist there to propagate the word of God.
The team arrived in Latvia with all vigour and strength. They visited the
orphanage and met with the staff & some of the children. There was a wonderful transformation in the orphanage compared to a similar visit made the previous year. This was partly made possible by the giving of the people in both Glasgow and Cumbernauld assemblies.
Visits were also made to the Jelgava prison where the team was met by
the prisons chaplain. There were great testimonies in prison of inmates
giving their lives to Christ and singing wonderfully to the glory of God. Visits
were also made to the library in Platone to meet the local children and to the special needs school to encourage the ministerial work that had been
started there.
The visit was also accompanied by great humor from the children of
Latvia that welcomed our mission team with a fashion show and an exhibition
of their art works, glass paintings and pottery.
A joint service was held with the congregations of Ogre & Platone at the
assembly in Ogre. The service was led by Ps. Agris, the local pastor. Travel
was also made to Lithuania and meet up with Ps. Sergey and his wife Larissa. Here, the evening service was held at the Russian speaking assembly, which Ps. Sergey leads in Klaipeda, The team was warmly welcomed by the children
& parents too.
On the whole every member of the mission team acknowledged that the
visit was rewarding and that it was a great blessing to be part of what God
was doing in the field. Short term mission is highly recommended you; will be
blessed and be a blessing to others you meet.