sorry, i was busy staying up all night! :)

a





Im not even sure where i was last. so yeh... im doing well, starting to make some friends, the kids are getting a lot more comfortable with me around. so what have i done lately. ok so yesterday i worked in the salon 9 to 230, i swept up the hair around the stations, got clients tea or coffee, picked up towels, and washed dishes. it was actually kind of fun. the only problem being that, my new mom, (Initine, and then the other lady, (i cant remember her name.. whoops), they dont speak hardley any english, so communication, is very bleak sometimes. like they wanted me to fix the other stylists hair for her, so they called Diks and had him tell me... it was kind of comical. but then i didnt know how to section the hair off so they had to show me, i know the poor lady was thinking.. "why did i let her talk me into this..!" but it looked cute when it was done.  so after working the first part of the day, Diks and Marvin, came and got me, so i could be at the youth meeting. and i swear, the only reason Diks had it was so he could get the yard raked. Another thing about latvians, they ALL rake their yards... and everybody has trees around! i told all the kids while we were raking, i shouldnt complain about not having trees, becuz i have never had to rake my yard. so yes we all cleaned the yard up. then we came in and watched tv, till dinner was ready. after dinner, which was hot dogs.. eww! (but yes i ate one) for all of you who know that im a picky eater you should be proud, i always eat whatever is made. and i even try weird latvian classics, like garlic goat cheese, which had about the same texture as floam! yes floam! anyways after dinner we watched "yes man" in english! it was wonderful. then after the movie, we headed to the church for prayer night. ok so we got there i think at like 10, and we stayed there until 4 in the morning! it was nuts! we worshiped, prayed, had fellowship, and of course ate. it was very kool. but let me tell you at 11 when i woke up today, i felt like i got hit by a truck, it was so not fun. and sad news, small Diks is sick, which will mean 1 of 2 things: im goin to get sick, or hes goin to hate me even more than he already done becuz hes goin to be extra crabby, cuz he doesnt feel good. so that is a prayer request. um also for my dear friend Guna who is in Riga right now, that she is learning a lot at her conference, and that she will be safe.  and also idk just something random. i love to talk. and i dont get to talk much, i mean, ill spend hours just goin through the motions of whatever im doing and not say a word, becuz everybody is speaking to eachother in latvian. so i guess this is Gods way of turning me into a good listener, or a good ignorer.. idk which lol. but yes so like last night i spoke a lot with dan, and some with marvin, and they were both nice enough to translate, so i was loving that. but i thnk my lativan is getting better becuz last night oscars asked if there was sugar in lativan and i answered him in english, and he just looked at me. and then he was like i just said that in latvian and you understood. and i now know like 7 words... and everybody thinks that i am getting a latvian accent. yay me. so today i slept in obviously, and i think maybe this evening i will get to go to a movie, with Unda...and idk who else. im kind of excited. and as of yesterday, i have been in latvia for a week. oh and your prib wondering what in the heck the little white box with the white pill is. well the little white pill is sugar, and its made for your coffee. its crazy sweet, like not way more sweet than a whole spoonful of sugar. i just thought it was kool. im guna  bring some home! is kinda nice. and all you do is push the top of the container, and they fall out a little opening. we may have the same thing in the states but ive never seen it. oh and for all my young girl friends this is goin to make you sick. ANY body percing is only about 4 lats, which is like 7 us dollars, more or less depending on the day! its crazy so i think im guna get my ear done again while im here, becuz its so ridiculously cheap! itsnt that awesome, emans a kids in the youth group like laughed at me when i told him how much it is in the states. anyways thats enuf for now. 

Unda :)

I forgot to mention a few things that happended prior to today. first off i make casadillas for youth bible study... after i made the tortillas.. they turned out pretty well. atleast they all thought so. um now i cant remember the other thinggs i forgot. gosh im slow!

well anyways... i spent most of m day with Unda. she is 16 and a newer believer. (how new idk) so first i went to salon, where i thought i was supposed to wait for her their till after 10. she was already there when i got there. but she was in pajamas becuz she came straight from a party at friends house last night. anyways.., so we figured it out that she would go home and get ready and i would wait at the salon. well Initina and Irresa bith dont speak english, so when Diks leave im on my own. so i stayed and helped clean and then Unda came back and got me. Fun Fact #3 about lavtia, almost all the youth in latvia can speak english becuz they learn it in school. when Unda came back she brought both her friends again, Lynards and emmans. Fun Fact #4 about latvia, all boys names end with an "S" so we all went to the local biblioteca,(library) to just hang out. Fun Fact #5 about latvis, spanish and lativan have some of the same words.... YAY! for me.                    the boys had all sorts of questions for me, they thought i was like some new toy.. idk i was nice i guess, for them to wonder. then we went back to the salon becuz i was supposed to help in the afternoon. Unda and i both stayed at the salon for some time, then her best friend carina, came to town so we went out to hang out with her. then after we dropped carina off at the bus station, we walked back to my house, to play uno and dutch blitz. Fun Fact #6 about latvia, they have their won set of rules for playing uno., and with that they only play speed uno not the regular version, so for those of you that have played speed uno with you, you know how that went. and also they have basically a lavtian version of dutch blitz. so unda stayed over for the rest of the day, then my family got home. we all played some card games, then ate dinner. Fun Fact #7 latvian cook things in bags, yes plastic bags..    things like rice, which was even odder for me, and then we basically had a roasted chicken with some veggies, in a bag. i am learning many things about their culture. like they have names day, basically another birthday! yeh what a rip off! but the good news is my lativan is getting better by the day, they said i dont have american accent anymore, and i know like 5 or 6 words now. well that about it... not much for picture to post. one of small Diks, and 2 of dogs that live near my house. for danielle and paytons pleasure. 

mens volleyball....

sorry i have no pictures of the things i did 2day. but first off i got to sleep-in AMAZING. lol. and then i got up cleaned the kitchen did some dishes. got ready for the day, then Unda and Guna came over for some stimulating conversation. we also played speed uno and dutch blitz. then we made lunch together. Unda left to go to a party. and after cleaning up post-lunch, Guna and i went walked to salon. we had to get a few things at the store. and i got to meet her sister and sisters kids. and then we went to the salon for womens Bible study. we had Bible study in the salon. there was about 15 women there. i gave my testimony and then we proceeded to talk about what the Lord had been showing us this week. i actually had a lot to talk about. i felt bad for Guna having to translate. but it all went well. then Diks came and got me and we went to go play volleyball with, a bunch of his non-Chritstian friends. lets just say at the beginning i was a bit intimidated, they were all very good. but i actually did ok, and held my own. i had to set almost all the time. something i havnt done since my freshman year. but hey a setter can do no wrong... (setter joke). but all in all it was a lot of fun, i think i will be sore 2mrw.  i had to work pretty hard. but Diks said i did good. so now i am totally pooped and ready for bed. sorry this was not quite up to par. maybe i will have more time 2mrw. 

My Friend Guna

SO.. today i went to the salon again, and i finally got to wear my hair down. (odd i know, but i cant use my straightener here so i never can fix it) so Guna fixed my hair this morning at Salon, then we went to talk around Madona. We had to get ingredients to make food for the youth Bible study this evening. so we walked to eat lunch and then to Rimi, the other local grocery. shopping was interesting, becuz i have to tell her the things i need but she doesnt always know what i am talking about. so it was fun. i had to explain to her what lard or shortening was... that took a while. but we got it all figured out. Fun Fact #1 about Latvija they carry nothing in bulk! which to a costco shopper it was odd. but i like it here very much. Then Guna and i had to walk all the way back across Madona to get to my house, with all our food. and we took the scenic route... but it was worth it. we went through Lovers Park (the pictures with the ducks) and we went to see a fountain. and the local ampitheatre.  Fun Fact #2 about Latvija , whenever people get married you take a lock and lock it into a bridge and throw the key off into the water. so there are pictures of some locks. i think it is a kool tradition. and if i ever get married i want to do it to. and then back to the day, Guna and i came back to my home and we hang out, make food, talk to each other about many things. Guna is a great person, and really loves God. so we had youth Bible study here at the house. normally like 20 kids come but 2night only 5 girls came. Diks lead the study and he would ask me questions and i would talk some. but 2mrw i am goin to go see a girl form youth group becuz she wants to get to know me better. then at 6 i have womens Bible study and then at 8 i have volleyball with Diks. i am excited. people are starting to take an interest in me. 

so today was my first day at the shop. i did not really do anything. i sat around and watched them cut and colour hair. and then Guna and i went to the store. i bought latvijan lotion and toothpaste. then we come back i sit longer drink some tea, and then Guna went to the unemployment office and so i went along. when we get back to the salon and we were already late for the seminar that we were having in salon. it was funny becuz i was given a certificate of completion for this seminar and but it was all in Latvijan so i really dont understand any of it! but i think soon Initina will cut and color my hair... that will be fun, i think it will be pink or red. idk yet. i have no pictures becuz my camera is dead. but 2mw i will put up pictures of the salon. and of my new friend Guna, who speaks best english besides maybe Oscars or Diks... idk  who. but i got to walk around Madona more and realize now the need for an umbrella, and maybe runner boots. 2night Elivs stayed the night becuz he will work 2mrw in Ergli with Diks. so Diks, Initina, Elvis and I all played this latviajn kinda of Life/Monopoly. and i did ok for my 1st time it was fun, becuz they spoke in english about half the game and we were all just having a good time. 

Sunday

so today we got to set our clocks back! YES! and so we all got up and had crepes for breakfast, but they call them pancakes. they were very good. then we all went to church. there is not many people that but the building isnt huge either. i fell of the ball and did not take any pictures of the service i will try to do this next time. so anyways.. becuz Dustin is in the states right now, they are out a pastor, so theyve been asking pastors from the area to come each sunday. unfortunately i couldnt understand anything. but he looked like a very dynamic speaker. after church Diks took us all out to eat, so it was our family and the pastor and his wife. they were very nice and both spoke english well. although i didnt talk the whole time we were out becuz they spoke in latvian amongst themselves. but i took a few photos of our outting. and in a few hours, we will go to ergli for there service and youth group afterwards. Diks says sundays are very busy days. and unfortunately im already tired.

these are just a few more pictures of the castle, and Diks Jr. this was my favorite time of the whole trip with him. becuz he was finally not screaming. lol.  and now we are just sitting at home hanging out, we had soy sauce and risi (rice) becuz that is what i have at home. Initina is the woman who owns the salon she thought that my hair stylist was very good to make this color for my hair, i told her it was my natural and she nearly had a heart attach. her hair is watermelon right now. anyways i am done for now. we have church 2mrw ill let ya know how it gos. :) 

                                               -Lys

Latvian Castle

Today Diks, Initina, Diks Jr., Elvis, and I all went to a small town next to Madona, and visited a castle. This castle was built by a baron for his lover. this castle was finished in 1892. there is a large pond next to it as well as a river that runs through the park. the castle is set on a few acres that is now a park.It was very beautiful. in 2006 it was called the most beautiful castle in lavtia, but a few weeks after receiving this title most of the second story roof burnt off. it was supposedly a problem with the heating system, but most latvian say it was jealous russians. here are some picture i took at our visit there. sorry im a bad photographer. poor Diks Jr. had a bad day today, he cried almost the whole time we were out of the house. but he fell asleep on the way home and after a short nap is much happier. he even said my name! and said i was pretty. he does not speak any english but Diks and Initina are hoping he will learn with me around.  

Finally

sorry to those of you who have been waiting. im at dan and katies house and finally can use my computer. i am staying at Diks and Initas home in Madona. they are wonderful people.. and are very happy to have me. they have a three year old son Diks Jr. who i will meet 2mrw. we all went shopping at maxxi i think that was what it was called and they wanted me to pick out all the food so they knew i would like it. we have two boys from the youth group over Oscar and Elvis they both speak english quite well but are a little bit shy. 2night was youth night in Madona, pronounced Maduana. Diks is trying to teach me how to say things correctly in Latvian. They are love me so much they gave me my own cell phone and a key to their house, our house. :) i will however be spending the bulk of my time with a lady named Guna she is 27 she is also very happy to have me around this monday Inita, Guna, and i are all goin to a seminar on coloring hair. im so excitd but we have to find all the materials for me in english first. WOW! i have you guys so behind. im sorry. so my first night her Dan, Katie, the kids, i, and Marvin all stayed in Riga at the bbi's partners building so that katie and the kids could get to the airport faster. i slept almost a full 12 hours... and it was lovely. it is i think 9:30... and if the boys wernt over i would be in bed already. well i will continue this 2mrw.  good night and i will be missing you all. i have a pix of the scenery in ergli and then of my room.

Updates on lativa!

I am supposed to leave October 21st and get back back on January 7th.. but the date in January may change tomorrow. I am getting more and more excited every day. I only have 16 days till i leave. I'm also getting more nervous although i think it will be fine, mellisa is doing a great job getting me prepared. While im there a katie and i will be doing a womens retreat type of deal. We will be teaching the latvian women some tricks for hair, makeup, and clothing while giving a biblical prospective on inner and outter beauty. We will be needing a lot of different makeup products/tools as well as food. If you would like to support me in that, just get a hold of either Mellisa or I. We are still making the tshirts as well. and as always please continue to keep me in your prayers. Thanx.
-Liza