Prayer Trip to Ruba

Ruba 2008 (Due to technical difficulties with uploading...photos will hopefully come another time)

Ruba is a small village in southern Latvija, near the Lithuanian border. A Mission Adventures team from Norway came for a week long outreach during their Easter break. Mission Adventures in a YWAM ministry that serves to give youth groups from local churches missions experiences. YWAM serves to set up, organise, and host the outreach in country. Although, I didn't attend the outreach itself, I was a part of the prayer team that went before the team arrived.

Prayer for the schools in Ruba
Prayer for youth in the schools:
For relationships to be built with the youth and maintained.
The youth have feelings of isolation, not much opportunity to make a life for themselves.
Encourage youth, pray for hope!

Prayer for the farming community:
Farmers understand the idea of seasons, sowing and reaping.
They must work hard to provide for their families.
Planting in the spring to survive the winter.
Ruba seems 'dead' all around, but the people of this community, being mainly farmers, understand the idea of 'life coming out of death' "Unless a seed fall to the ground and die, it can not bear fruit".

Prayer for the outreach team having favor with the government in the town.
We felt that the team should be careful not to litter, and to pick up litter whenever they see it.

Prayer at the ruins of the Church:
Song ‘Did you feel the Mountains Tremble’ By Delirious.
This church sits at a cross roads between Ruba, Ezere, Druvas and the Lithuanian Boarder. Though it’s in ruin a cross still hangs infront of were the alter used to be. During prayer we felt that the ruins of the church represent the heart of the people, the state the church is in. That life comes out of death, the foundation is strong and the walls are still standing, that life still growing in the midst of ruin. We felt that worship needs to happen in this church during the outreach
to Ruba, with guitars, singing, and instruments the team has.

Prayer:
God to open the gates, open the hearts and emotions of the people and heal the wrong uderstandings and ideas about God and His church. For a renewing and strengthening of the foundation of the people and their hearts.

During the prayer time, the leader of the band Xenos - a Latvijan, Christian band, felt God leading her to 'return to the small towns' and come to play; to give something to the youth, to share with them the message of truth and hope. So, we will be exploring how to help these bands do this very thing. (Xenos, Man-hu, and Jorspais, as well as others, and a part of Youth With A Mission, Riga)

The Outreach -
Reports have come back of a very meaningful time that went deep. People were open and receptive for the words spoken, the time spent with visits to their homes, and the 'breath of fresh air' the team brought. One of the translators was from Ruba and became a Christian through a previous Mission Adventures team that went there. Follow up is also taking place through Christians who live relatively nearby.