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Missionary Update from Latvia


Greetings from Riga where we just had the first snow!

Last Sunday we had a chance to celebrate Thanksgiving at the international church Communitas and the American church members had prepared a real Thanksgiving meal - large turkey, stuffing, beans... and lots of delicious desserts, including Gary's favorite pecan pie. And they even had American football game showing in the background :)

There is certainly much to be thankful for!

Enjoy our latest ministry update,

Gary and Ineta

December, 2018 Good News

“In order to walk out a vision, sometimes you need to be able to look a bit foolish to others. Be willing to take the first steps without knowing what is going to happen.” (Lynn Green)

THE PROTEST in Latvia – Part II

In Liepaja, the band had an interview at Rietumu Radio; a local rock station. The DJ was very friendly and played some of their music. He interviewed in English but Ineta was there to translate into Latvian. He looked pleasantly surprised when the band told they were Christians and asked more questions. Next it was a time for sound check at Fontaine Palace and the sound tech, Juris, who has been working there for many years, was happy to work with such a good quality band.

The concert at Fontaine Palace began with ‘pedal to the floor’ energy and never let up. The band has a natural connection with the crowd and hard rockin' music that gets people jumping. Josh made a statement in the middle of their set: “We are here because of Jesus and would like to meet and talk with you afterwards.” Many people talked to the band and stayed at the club until the early hours of next day. (We still got up for a good breakfast at Darbnica Cafe and a sightseeing trip to the Baltic Sea. Then it was time to drive to Jelgava.)

After arriving at the next venue - Melno Cepurisu Balerija – and unloading, the band took a walk around the city center before sound check. This was a new venue and new city for us. There is a large university and all staff members at the club were under the age of 30, including a very talented and hardworking sound guy Jānis. Afterwards he and others, including the bartenders, told us how much they liked these guys. They were impressed by their friendliness, humility, attitude and gratefulness for everything. As we have always reminded the musicians, our actions and words off the stage speak the loudest.

Latvians tend to be more reserved than most audiences but people started to buy The Protest T-shirts and CDs even before the concert started. They had checked it online and liked it. The Protest is unknown in Latvia but it does not take them long to win the crowd over. After the set was finished, the merchandise table was very busy and people wanted to talk to the band and take photos.

One of the outcomes of this concert was a good connection with the event manager who books the bands for this club in Jelgava. He recognized Gary from some years ago and after the concert he was all smiles, gave a high-five and said that we should do this again. He told us the door of his club is always open and he hopes to work with us again. We certainly hope to take other Christian artists to this cool music venue.

Saturday evening we headed to the Bar Republika in Old Town Riga. This club was smaller, so people were packed in with standing room only. This was The Protest’s final show and the atmosphere was great. Many of our friends and even some of our family came. Ineta’s brother, sister and sister’s husband are not a part of any church even though they believe in Jesus. But they love Christian rock and this was an encouragement and inspiration to them.

Another testimony after the concert was a guy who came up to us and asked if we needed a ride. He was a driver for other bands but was finished for the night. He absolutely enjoyed The Protest music but he had observed them the whole night and was so touched. He refused to take any money for the ride and simply blessed us and the band.

As you read these stories, obviously it is more than just good music... this is music with a mission. The Protest kept thanking us for this opportunity and organizing the tour but we kept thanking them for coming to serve. They impacted people in Latvia and also our ministry in more ways than they will know. At every venue the owners and managers told us to come back and do this again! We sure plan on it!

Thank you for being a part of this music outreach with your prayers and support! The Good News rocks!

Joy, Gary & Ineta

Personal mail: Financial support:

Gary & Ineta Lansdowne YWAM Tyler, Texas

c/o South Metro Vineyard Accounting Office

13798 Parkwood Drive P.O. Box 3000

Burnsville, MN 55337 USA Garden Valley, Texas 75771-3000 USA

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