Since we purchased Kalnozoli 1 in August of this year Ian has spent most of his time redeeming the land. Above he is tending one of several brush fires at the edge of our wood. Just beyond these fires is a deep drainage ditch and all the rubbish from digging and clearing out the ditch in years past has been left to molder. Ian has made great headway in clearing this rubbish that includes piles of matted grass and some rotted logs. He says it brings job satisfaction to see one more area of the farm cleared. If only we had marshmellows, graham crackers and hershey bars, LOL! Smores, anyone?

At the other end of the property we had this project thrust upon us. Yes we ordered the gravel but it was a project we hadn’t planned on just yet, but the rains came and Ian got stuck twice or was it thrice?Can you see those water-filled ruts? With the help of Lauris and Kaspars we managed about half of it spread on Friday. Even I hefted a shovel for a couple of hours. Where is the road grader when you need it? That pile may not look like much but it is 10 tons and by the time we put on 20 more tons we may have a fairly decent drive. For those who know about such things yes, we should have graded it first laid down sand and then the gravel but NEEDS MUST!!! Finances are always an issue as well. And everyone said “AMEN!!!”

We have had warmer weather though and such a blessing, but not the rain. Above zero C every night and even into the 10’s and 15’s that is 50 F for you dear foreigners. Running our electric heaters has been a bit spending keeping  Jack Frost from our mobile home door so this break is really encouraging.

Well it is a short one this week no more time left to type or stay on internet.

Tuesday October 27th. Here is an update: about the middle of November we should have internet down on the farm yippppeeeee!!!! Our wonderful, English speaking computer guy, just met us at the flat and we made the arrangements. Next step, get the washing machine moved down and the freezer. Still no movement on the hot water heater, so prayers are appreciated.

October— golden, red and falling leaves right? Sometimes it also means snow. Yes, we had our first snow of the Autumn at Kalnozoli 1 this past week. It was blizzard conditions and then it passed and the following days have been lovely again. This woman was on her knees when the flakes started. Ian was trying to help our neighbours finish our pump house before the really bad weather arrived and the snow was a real fright for us. But God . . . heard our pleas and the snow was gone. Our little pump house is finished and the pump is installed and we have running water in our mobile home. I am learning daily thankfulness for what used to be just the ordinary things of life.

Following the completion of the pump house came more digging of ditches. Pipes must be insulated and buried deep, over a meter to be kept from freezing. At times I think Ian wondered if he would ever get the trench dug deep enough from the well to the pump house. Now he is on the home stretch of the trench from the pump house to the mobile home. Next Spring in the warm will be the trench from the pump house to the timber farm house. Currnently the insulated pipe is above ground but should be in the trench by tomorrow as we pray for good weather to remain. We invested in some insulated waterproof overalls for Ian this past week and he has been ever so thankful to have them with the cold and wet weather. He is so amazing to be so active and glad to be able to do all that he is doing. Don’t worry friends he takes it slow and steady and even allows me to call for coffee breaks but not for long, “I must get on” is his mantra. LOL! We have been enjoying lots of hot stew from the crock pot on these cold days and I have even ventured a bit of baking to make the guys coffee breaks a bit nicer. Trouble is I rarely have all the ingredients called for so they take “pot luck.”Here is Lauris our neighbour, friend and builder removing ’shingles’ from a timber outbuilding. The plan is to use it for tool storage and workshop. He is young and agile and better able to scamper over the roof pulling off the shingles and removing the thousands of nails used to put them on orignally. Ian started the job but when his ladder slipped suddenly we both felt it was a job for the younger ones.

Here is the building currently sheeted for the winter. Now the interior work can be done and the roof finished in better weather in the Spring.

We are both doing well and enjoying life so much on our farm. We go to bed early and rise early and enjoy all that each day brings, for the most part. It is so much of an adventure, walking this path with our Lord. It is hard to express the richness of each day and each task that is joyfully seen to completion. Remember, its never too late for dreams to come true.

When I was a little girl and even when my children were small, we had a toy building set called ‘Lincoln Logs.’  Each log was notched on either end and with different sized pieces you put together buildings of varying descriptions.

The logs you see in the picture above are NOT toys but notched logs from a tumbled down building on our farm. They are layed out in the order they were to be used to build our pump house. Our neighbour Lauris is skilled in timber structures (side note: Timber Structures was the name of the company my Dad worked for for over 25 years in Portland) and he is building the pump house for us. It is so interesting to watch him work, especially as I can sit in the warm house, drink tea and see it all happening out my dining room window. On the right you can see Lauris placing moss between the logs, Latvian insulation. Ian has taken the young men, Lauris and Kaspars to the woods on two occasions to gather moss for this purpose. The first time they also picked bear, chicken and one other type of mushroom. That night we enjoyed omlettes with fresh eggs, homemade cheese and bear mushrooms, oh, and freshly picked onions, whipped up with fresh cream, chased down with a lovely red wine. Ah, the ‘good life.’

Back to the building project — our pump house. Here is the South wall done, showing the space for the door facing east. You can also see the first picking of moss placed between each layer of log. Ian got his hand into it and is enjoying learning Latvian timber building, another skill for his overloaded CV, LOL. When we left home this morning for Ergli the North wall was finished including space for a window and the East wall was also up but both need the moss that the guys got in the wood yesterday. Tomorrow the roof will begin. So more pictures to follow of the finished project. All this to be followed by more trenches and pipes laid to bring running water to the mobile home. Pipes must be thoroughly insulated and put about a meter and half down in the ground to prevent freezing, one hopes. We need to further winter proof the mobile home but are held up with the pipework needing to be done underneath, ah the ‘good life?’ With all the work Ian has been doing his waist has gone from 44 to 36 inches since we moved here in March. He feels much better and loves working each day and feeling work satisfaction at the end of the day. I am really happy in our mobile home, easy to keep tidy and clean and hopefully Internet soon to be added. My next project is curtains for the back door, our main entrance, and one over the toilet window and bathroom window. We bought some nice weight green material yesterday in Madona so this week is ‘curtains.’ This will be a hand job and very simple, something I can do sitting on my green couch in front of the fire. The curtains should add to the warmth and winterizing the ‘tin can’ we currently live in. This past week I picked up a lovely bright rag rug for the hallway and we already feel the difference in the temp there with the rug down. Now here is what I love about Latvia, I bought it at the local building merchants, on sale for 4.20 Ls. I love the shops because you never know what might be tucked up in some corner just waiting for you to discover it.

So with all the building and winterizing what is God teaching us these days. People are more important than projects. We need to get this pump house done but it is more important to build relationships than get jobs done and usually both happen but there is less frustration when the focus is on people. We had this pointed up to us recently when we went to a big chain store in a nearby town. I won’t go into detail but after spending a fair amount on equipment and things a simple act of changing a till roll left us without one of our items on the copy we were handed and after going to customer service for the gaurantee on one item it was discovered the item wasn’t on our receipt. This led to about a half hour hassel through translation which ended in Ian, Lauris and Kaspars being allowed to leave with the cart and all items but not before Ian suggested he return all the items and get his money back. It was Ian that told them to go and check the till copy which they did and gave him a copy of that till receipt. Only when we got home did he realize the item in question showed up on the till copy and that is why they let them go ahead. No ’sorry’s’ were said and no fault admitted. It is doubtful we will return to that store, a shame as it is the closest one for us. Their concern was for their proceedures not customer relationships. We have been enjoying our times together in God’s word each morning along with prayer time to build that relationship as a priority. Once or twice the day has got on top of us and the quiet time pushed aside and often the result has been painful as our relationship with God wasn’t where it needed to be, though He remained faithful we weren’t aware of Him as at other times of coming fresh from meeting with Him. As we move into this new phase of our lives here in Latvia, time with Him becomes more crucial everyday so that we hear the voice of our Shepherd and walk in the path he has chosen for us.

A few days ago I said to Ian, “If we don’t get the bulbs planted in the bed you prepared it will be too late.” I felt the Shepherd prompting me. Ian agreed and so, near the chapel where Ian had rotivated a flower bed in the form of a cross, we planted about 150 Spring bulbs. We planted them in compost covered by thorougly rotted dung and covered over that with the dirt taken out of the bed itself. I believe what Alan Titmarch always says, “Plant ‘em deep!!” The hay mixed in with the dung will keep them toasty until Spring. We hope to show you glorious pictures of flowers  as Spring takes hold. The cross shape is outlined with crocus bulbs so that should appear first then other Spring beauties to follow. As Ian was digging out the dirt, actually wet mud, from the bed he asked the Lord to keep it dry and send wind to help dry the dirt. Such a wind from the South began to blow and not a drop of rain fell until it was all filled in and the tools put away. This is not always the case but I felt my Father’s compassion as I am not a very good all weather gardener. Even though Ian did most of the labour I stayed out there with him and we finished the project holding hands and blessing the planting for a ‘fruitful harvest’ come Spring. Ian also staked each end of the cross so any mowing will not harm the plants coming up. My role was mostly design and overseeing the placing of the bulbs, and so we wait to see succesive years of Spring beauty near our chapel, in the form of a cross, the sign of hope in the season of hope.

Here is our newest adoptee, Tessie the T25 tractor with Ian putting her through her paces on our farm. We travelled down near the Lithuanian border for Tessie, her plow, cutter and harrow. She is a lovely little pop pop tractor but she does need some work as most 39-year-old tractors do. One neighbour commented she should be in a museum but Ian really identifies with her and is looking forward to putting her non existent wiring back in place as currently he has to jump start her with the car each time he takes her out for a spin. Yesterday we discovered her PTO shaft for the grass cutter is the wrong size so that will be something more to put to rights or maybe  better to save it for spares and pickup another cutter for a reasonable amount. I helped Ian, like a good farm wife should, to get the mower on the tractor a matter of lifting and fitting rods into specific holes and having the right pin to drop in before the rod slid out, oh what fun!!! I will share more redemption stories as they happen.

Here as promised are pictures of Molly our mobile home with her new canopy added for style and grace to give a measure of dryness to the entry door. The picture on the right is taken facing her lovely windows from which we enjoy the sunset each evening. Even on rainy days there is usually a sunset often quite spectacular. Then we light the candles and enjoy our electricity free lifestyle. Hopefully, tomorrow we will take the next step in bringing electricity to our comfortable home when we register with the electric company. Then we wait for them to come and put up a meter and fuse box and our friend Calle to do his magic bit with cables and such. The big thing is making certain they wire in the 3 phase power as that is a must on the farm. Don’t ask me to explain it I just know we need it, LOL.

Having posted this yesterday I realized, in the night, that one of the redemptive stories needing to be told was of Tilly our utility trailer. A couple of weeks ago we travelled to Cesis to look at and hopefully buy a double axel covered trailer. She looked good to us and so we watched her go through road inspection, pass, bought her, hooked up and drove home. She handled very well on improved and unimproved roads. That week we loaded her with several things for the farm and took them down, she did very well. We then planned to take her on our journey for the tractor as she was listed as being capable of the weight. Having agreed on Tessie’s the T25’s price the loading of impliments went well but as she was being driven into Tilly the trailer the farmer caught the corner of the trailer with one of the attachments and broke it and that part of the floor. This meant we could not safely carry Tessie the tractor. The farmer said he would deliver the tractor on his flatbed trailer the next day. This meant we had to cancel our proposed visit to our friends Val and Roger and rush back home with a strapped up Tilly the trailer. On our journey back home we received a call from the farmer’s son saying he was delivering the tractor that night and would be about an hour behind us so on we sped. As we were on the infamous A12 headed for our turn off onto the P84 we had a call from the non-English speaking famer to say he was in Jekapils so he was about 3/4 of an hour behind us. We hoped he would make to the P84 turn off where we waited for him. I referred to the infamous A12 as we had this same meeting agreement with those who delivered our mobile home but in their wisdom they choose to take the P62 and with much consternation they finally got rerouted to the P84 so where we going to go through the same thing again? But NO, our farmer arrived at the P84 after midnight and on we travelled together to Kalnozoli 1, our dear little farm. We pulled into our front field and turned round with Tilly safely attached so our headlights could facilitate unloading Tessie. All was done with ease and we waved the farmer off on his over 4 hour journey home. Next morning Ian joyfully goes out to start up Tessie the T25 and as he is driving her round to the farm yard he sees a wheel laying in the grass and thinks, “Oh no, the farmer has left his spare trailer wheel behind. Then he drives pass Tilly the trailer and sees it is SHE who is missing a wheel. Ian realized that God had indeed protected us on our journey and perhaps angels were involved holding that wheel on until we arrived in our own field. We both praised the Lord and expressed great thanks for the completed journey. So Tilly the trailer needs much work toward her full redemption. She is sitting in the farm yard with her wheel arch broken and the bearings on the stud axel missing with her axel exposed ready to repair, we hope. But each time I look at her I praise the Lord for his protection and pray for the way forward to restoring Tilly again.

Tomorrow we  have the deeds registered in the land book and that is important, hopefully they can give us precise measurements of our boundaries as Ian is purposed to get boundary fences up so we can bring sheep on to our pastures. Our neighbours use light moveable fencing for their cows and they would be helped immensely to have permanent fencing at least on one side. We will put in a gate on their side so we all have access.

Here is Beka, Ian, Kaspars and Davids. Yes, Beka is an abandoned fawn who adopted this family when another brother, Andris, found it in the wood. Beka is a type of mushroom and the colour of the fawn so it all fit together nicely. It thinks Andris is its mother but it sticks close to all the boys.

After petting her Ian said the scripture that came immediately to mind was, Ps 42:1, As the deer pants after the water so my souls pants after you, O Lord.

I could only take her picture but I couldn’t get close enough to pet her, maybe another time.  Our adopted sometime dog, Meggis thought she was quite interesting also. Meggis continues to come over every morning and then spends most of the day following us about to see what we are up to. He is very affectionate and funny to watch. He has decided that empty Pepsi bottles set out to fill with well water are good play things and goes after them with great gusto.

His first attempt he tried a full one and got a bit of a surprise when he got squirted after a particularly forceful bite of the bottle. Now he drags one off by the neck and throws it about to make certain it is empty. Ian filled an old tin tub with well water and I am so tempted to put Meggis in for a good scrub but he is not ours and wouldn’t want to cause an offense. He is a real mop haired darling. Even Ian gives him a playful pat or two during the day. When I am in the mobile home he sits at the door, usually on the step, right in the way, waiting for me to come back out. At night when he knows we have gone in and called it a day he trots on back to his real home across the road.

Ian has been so busy clearing out more weeds, tree limbs and even buildings that needed to come down. Our neighbour Kaspars has been a faithful, willing helper and worked two full busy days helping Ian with various projects moving us further along than we could have imagined. The picture on the right is of a tumbled down timber workshop that Ian and Kaspars cleared out and have begun dismantling saving any good bits for further construction. Redemption work sometimes means tearing down the ravages of time in preparation for the new build.

Another site we saw this past week was another bit from the past. Our neighbour Kaspars working with his horse and wagon gathering sacks of potatoes.

I have begun a daily visit to the horse who is staked out in our field, giving him one or two apples a day. He loves them and when ever he sees me out side he tosses his head as if to say, “Where are my apples?” Ah life down on the farm. It feels more like home every day and we find it very difficult to leave it for any length of time. With scenes like these, is it any wonder?

Yes we have a mobile home on site at the farm and we have been there this past weekend, rain and all, it was soooooooo lovely. The peace is penetrating and the views are so inspiring. We work and we laugh. It was fun to set up our little second home, a home with no rennovation dust and every room complete. We are just adding our personal touches here and there. The pictures are ones we took when we chose the home at the dealers, our camera has hidden itself away in all the toing and froing.

We received word on Friday that the home was to be delivered that afternoon. The last 2 times the vehicle bringing it broke down so we said of course we can be there, dropped cleaning this place threw some things together and hit the road. Our dear friend Santa had communicated clearly that we would meet the driver on the turn off to the P84 with a British flag attached to the top of our car. He phoned Santa when he was leaving Jekapils headed our way and we went to the appointed meeting place, and we waited and waited. Santa rang frantically saying he had turned and not seen us. We knew immediately he was on the wrong road several phone calls later we met him on the A12 from Jekapils and flag waving we lead him and his pilot car with flashing lights and our hazard lights blazing down the A12 to the P84 then down our road to Kalnozoli. All the time the big question was, will he drive into our track known as our driveway? Basically it is a field and he is a semi with a mobile home on a long trailer. He did and then came the point when as a wife I debated whether to hold my tongue or not.

There was a big problem. The lady at the dealer’s said they would load the mobile home back to front and Ian had prepared the site accordingly and he directed the driver to swing the trailer around to unload the home front first, only problem was they hadn’t loaded it thus. In his frantic concern Ian hadn’t noticed the change, I had. But he usually is so on top of things I didn’t want to point out the obvious and thought he probably knew something I didn’t so I kept quiet. Meanwhile the vehicle got stuck so the second part of the show began. Our neighbour Uldis had come over to see if he could help and immediately suggested getting our other neighbour, Leonidis to bring his tractor which he did.  They unloaded the mobile home, with many scary twistings and bumbs, the tractor pulled the lorry (truck) out after several broken towing ropes and our mobile home was on the farm.

But wait, the saga is not over yet. The mobile home is sitting in the field a ways from its assigned site and Ian was certain he could move it with the Land Rover. I was never convinced of this but again remained quiet. Several attempts later Leonidis hooked onto the Land Rover and pulled (again with some very scary twists of mobile home and Land Rover) them both to the right site if not exactly where planned. A big sigh of relief went up by all.

Next came the placing of blocks and attempts at leveling while I unloaded the car and placed just inside the doors of back hallway and lounge, all the must haves to spend the weekend on the farm. Eventually, we stepped into our new home and I began to domesticate the place. That evening we opened a bottle of wine purchased for the occassion and toasted our first night to stay on the farm. Followed by a gourmet meal of meat and cheese sandwhiches. The next night we splurged and had beans on fried bread by candle light of course. Did I mention we have no electricity yet but we do have a gas cooker top and heater. Also no running water but the good news is we had the pump on the well working and we have beautiful clear well water, howevere we stick to bottled water to drink. Here are pictures of our lounge and dining area. The first thinkgI did in the domestication process is loose the nets. Hopefully in the near future we will find our misplaced camera and I can take some pictures of the peaceful pastoral scenes out our windows.

As we have been enjoying the weekend we have been enveloped in the peace of our landscape and location. Ian has set himself the discipline of strimming for an half an hour before breakfast so that he can see daily progress in the vast job of tidying our fields. Also this is preparation preceding the fields being cut when we find the right tractor at the right price. All these chores and projects are being undertaken at our own pace and for those of you who know Ian that is decidedly slower than his normal intensity. Though I did need to have stern words with him this morning as he was strimming for an hour way out of hollering range. LOL

Not certain when I will post again as we are headed back down to the farm. There is such peace in that phrase.

Blessings from yesterday, running water on the farm!!!! Now the work begins to get a proper sized pump and pipe in the ground. Also notice the colour of the leaves, yes autumn has begun its forward march and to celebrate the arrival of water from our well the rains came a little later in the afternoon.

I had hoped to do laundry today but the grey skies tell me no, not today. After 2 weeks of ceiling work in our flat and little laundry time we are running short of clean clothes. Hopefully, tomorrow they should be donewith the ceilings. We need to vacuum every wall, every surface, every item and return every room to a liveable place. Did I mention wash every window? LOL, but we have ceilings!!!!!

If you follow this blog you might have been expecting to see pictures of our ‘English House’, mobile home to non-Latvians. On Thursday we received the disappointing news that the vehicle used to deliver the homes had broken down. So we are still waiting to stay our first night at the farm. Also, the expected electric pole was not installed but we believe God is in charge of timing and it will all come together well in the end. We hope ‘the end’ is this week, LOL.

So what’s been happening on the farm this week: LOTS! On Wednesday we prepared the way for the electics by removing a dangerous tree that had grown up against the house.

This is Uldis, our neighbour up the tree hooking the wire cable around it for removal. A lovely old oak who had become rotten at the core and whose main branches were over the roof waiting for a good storm to send it crashing into the house. Helping Uldis is our ‘adopted grandson’ Kaspars. When judging the situation about cutting down the tree Uldis decreed, ‘too dangerous’ and said a tractor was needed. So Leonids was summoned and he came dragging his cable on the ground behind his blue tractor. A side note on Friday he paid us a visit and we got to know him a little better. He came to offer his services for any tractor work we might need. We are feeling very accepted in our farm neighbourhood. Here is another picture as the tree is falling toward me and our car, don’t worry neither of us will be damaged. I couldn’t get a side angle on the falling oak without putting myself in harms way so gave up the exciting shot for the sensible one. However, I should have shot it about 1 second later to really show the fall, ah well, live and learn. The shutter clicked at the sound of the loud CRACK as she went down.

Here is our Trio of Tree Fellers LOL, Leonids, Uldis and Kaspars. When asked if they would pose for the picture they remarked, “is it for a family portrait?” Love the Latvian sense of humour.

There was a great sense of satisfaction to have the tree safely down. Apparently, it has been a concern for some years. The two concrete slabs in the foreground are where the back, corner stabilizer jacks will sit supporting the ‘English House.” So, you can see another reason to get the tree down before the mobile home arrives.

Next came the cutting up party with Ian and Uldis each manning their chain saws and Kaspars stacking the wood.

It was amazing how the house looked with all the light flooding in after the tree had been removed.  The guys spent the afternoon sawing and stacking away with water breaks when I MADE them stop. After a year of drying that oak will be wonderful fire wood, the best. Ian, looking at its rings, reckoned it to be about 50 years old. Young for an oak of that size. It seems the porch was added when the tree was quite young and as happens, it was paid no mind as it grew to endanger the house.We have decided to use some of the wood slabs as steps for our mobile home. Ian calls it going back to nature, lol. Here are the mighty sawyers, Uldis, Kaspars and Ian, with the twigs on the left and the wood on the right. I need to get down there and rake up the middle so we have a clear path between the house and the track known as our drive.

That large piece in front of Kaspars will be cut and used to make a sign to put out next to the road with the farm’s name in Latvian and English. “KALNOZOLI 1″ & “Oakhill 1.” This is a common practice here in Latvia. It also denotes the address of the farm.

Yesterday, I added my own touch to the downed oak. Even though it is late in the season I saw these petunias and thought how nice they would look in this pan I found in the farmhouse, sitting just here on the oak stump. It is the first thing you see as you walk toward the house from our track/drive. Ian indulged me. I intend to paint the pan green as green will be our feature colour around the place,  hoping to have a new green roof before the snow flies. Those who know me well will not be surprised that I introduced flowers so quickly to our farm. In addition to the petunias I bought, at a bargain price, a fuschia tree to place on the porch of the chapel. The photographer slipped into a hole as the shutter went, lol.

Hence, the crooked picture. You might think me daft for such a gesture but I really wanted to do honour to the little chapel who has weathered so many storms and survived a threat to burn it. Also, honour to the man who built it and our God who protected it. As the season ends I will plant it near the chapel, hoping it too will revive in the Spring/Summer.

Another event centred at the farm was the sad day on Friday when Kaspars left his aunt’s, Janina’s, across from our farm. He spends his summers there and we have so enjoyed his company these few weeks that we have had the farm. Soon after we pull in the drive and get unloaded he comes quietly over asking how he can help us. His English is coming on leaps and bounds and to say thank you we gave him a good English/Latvian dictionary which he told Ian he wanted when we showed him ours. He only put it down when we got out of the car for pictures in Lubana.

Also to our delight he asked for a ride up to the road leading to Lubana where he lives. We said, “NO” we will take you to your home. He was embarrassed but finally agreed. On the way he said he almost cries when he has to leave his aunt’s farm. He loves the farm life so and probably misses the outdoors as he returns to a flat in town.

As we were approaching Lubana some 16 kilometres from the main road, the distance Kaspars would have walked if we let him, his mother rang his mobile and invited us to meet at a local cafe for refreshment. We met her and we shared a lovely meal together with Kaspars interpreting, very well, I might add. She wants me to hurry up and learn Latvian so we can talk face to face on our own, she asked if we could be good friends and of course I said yes. So here you see us on the steps of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lubana. On the left, Ian, Inga & Kaspars. On the right, Inga, Kaspars & Farm Woman.

She is young enough to be our daughter so we have unofficially adopted them and look forward to a growing relationship.

Here is the lovely Evangelical Lutheran Church building. We will visit one Sunday for their 10 AM service. We will defffinately return to Lubana to visit the Ripinska family.

In addition to Kaspars there is another son, younger whom we have not met but who posted those fake properties for sale that led us to our wonderful farm. Another adopted member of our farm family is Meggis, Janina’s darling dog who comes to see us even without Kaspars now that he has returned home.

This is Meggis, he has gone straight to our hearts and seems to enjoy being with us. He follows me around and yes I have given him tidbits now and again. He is so lovely, such a sweet nature and so bloom’n cute. He does not, however, like Friskies treats for dogs. At first when I offered him one I thought they might be too hard but even after crushing them he wasn’t interested. The soft chew type treats did meet his approval so we are onto a winner there. I long to bathe and brush him but I need to have Kaspars there so I can ask permission of Janina. Kaspars jokes and says Meggis belongs to us now. Janina also has about 6 cats that Kaspars offered to us as I mentioned wanting one. I don’t know if Janina has been told of this offer. She has however offered us milk and any other help we might need. Such lovely neighbours. She has beautiful flowers and I hope to ask her advice about what grows well in the area. Yes, for those who are wondering I will be planting roses but probably not until next Spring as soon as the snow goes and they arrive in the shops.

This week at the farm hopefully our mobile home will arrive along with the electic people so we will bring a touch of the modern world to Kalnozoli 1. Though having said that they did have electricity in the house, barn and even TV. Now to add internet, running water and indoor plumbing. LOL such fun we are having.

We continue to pray in resources to refurbish the chapel. Please pray with us for God’s provision. You see on the right an original picture of Kalnozoli Chapel with its steeple.

Come back next week and see if we have our ‘English House’ and electricity.

The smile on Ian’s face is genuine we are loving work on our farm. He is dressed in his bright blue overalls with a belt as he has lost from a 44 waist down to a 38 waist. My work stamina is not as great as his so my loss is less but none-the-less there is a bit of loss in weight for me too. We continue to go to the farm at every opportunity and we often take breaks during our work to just sit an enjoy. We spent yesterday there preparing for the arrival of our “English House” (mobile home) on Friday. Our new friend Kaspars came and helped us. We really enjoy having him around and he seems to enjoy practicing his English with us. He insists on mucking in with the work and just waits to be told what we need doing.  He told us yesterday he loves helping us and he is a very good worker. We know from his Mum that he hoped to be able to have the farm as he really loves farming yet he seems happy that we have it because he can see we mean to restore it.

Kaspars is a bit shy so I haven’t forced him to have his picture taken, yet, LOL. But here is my favourite piro tending what is becoming a permanent fixture at our working days, the bonfire. We are really making headway at clearing out the house from stacks of old clothes and other rubbish. Yesterday Kaspars and Ian carried out a rather ‘nice’ tin bath full of things that went on the fire, that plus all the twigs and small branches Ian cut from the apple trees bordering the area where the mobile home will be sited. We have learned that Kaspars has experience with both the strimmer and the chain saw and is eager to help us bring order to our ‘jungle,’ though the fruit trees will have to wait until after the season. Anyone want to open an applesauce shop with me? LOL

I will just mention another dear little friend we have acquired, Meggis. Meggis is a sort of long haired floppy-eared little, darling dog.  He comes with Kaspars and has accepted us as being part of the farm. His larger companion has not, however and tells us in no uncertain terms and remains totally aloof as all good guard dogs should. Yesterday, I endeared myself to Meggis by feeding him a few ‘Ritz’ type crackers he then stuck to me like glue. Will it last? We will see next time we go to the farm and I will definitely take a picture to post for next weeks blog.

Our life now centers around hunting for things like a tractor, a large utility trailer suitable for car and tractor, impliments for the tractor, fencing and dreaming about sheep, hahaha. What of the house you ask? I see by your question you are not a farmer. When the pioneers arrived in Oregon they did not first build their houses, oh no! The barn and concerns for crops and animals came first. English farmer – - no different. Though to be fair we have got our ‘English House’ coming Friday with its fake French provincial bedroom decor. So he has not ignored this creature’s comforts, or his own, LOL. We may even be able to boil a kettle before the week has ended as the electrics should be positioned for hook up this week, we learned today. Our friend and electrician/plumber Kalle is going to be on hand Friday for the big ‘English House’ installation so here is hoping all things will dove-tail together. Ian is quite capable but it is an extra blessing to have a second expert opininon on things like electrics and such. We have a gas cylinder at the ready to hook up for the cooker top so cooking may actually be an option. There is a microwave in the mobile home and an electric oven so we will have the standard options for heat, re-heat and potential cooking options.

What of the chapel? Ian strimmed around it yesterday and one day last week I pulled the weeds from the porch at the front of the chapel.  We continue to make plans about the restoration, keeping it a priority. This picture is pre-strimming but post weed pulling. We continue to trust God for the resources and wisdom needed for the restoration. The first thing we must do is lift it on the side where it has slipped its foundation, the right side as you face the chapel. Then we can open the wedged door and actually go inside, we hope. We plan to move it forward a bit so it is more prominent, giving easier access to the orchard behind it. The area around and to the right will become a lawn and lots of flowers with eventually a water feature and some swings for all who would enjoy. Swings are a big thing here in Latvia, not just for children. I like that. I envision a large swing set made of logs like several I have seen here, out and about. We will also be putting a definite path from the road to the chapel hopefully encouraging people to stop and pray awhile or just rest in the peace and quiet. No, the swing set will not be too near the chapel, LOL. A line from the film “Field of Dreams,”  “If you build it, they will come” for the peace that passes all understanding from meeting with our Prince of Peace.

When we peered in this is what we saw. A plain altar and a cross that was leaning sidewise on the altar. At this point I jumped back from the chapel porch and shouted, “This is it!!!!!”  By this time Kaspars had joined us and was bemused at my radical reaction.

Earlier that day Ian and I had talked about the possibility of buying a farm and wanting to put on the land some distinctive mark to designate that the farm belonged to  God and here it was, already in place.  A chapel, a place of prayer, peace and quiet. A place to listen to God as well as talk to Him. I couldn’t wait to share it with Ian who was just coming to the front area of the property. I walked over to him, though I wanted to run, and calmly said, “Come and see this little building at the front.” He asked a few times, “What is it?” and each time I replied, “Come and see.” Looking in through the glass in the door he said one word, “chapel.” Together we said, “God’s mark.” I remarked, “SOLD!” As we all walked toward the road we conferred and agreed we wanted to declare our interest. A phone call was made by our interpreter to Kaspars mother who shared a large part of her life history but eventually an appointment was set within a few days to meet and confirm details. Inga, the owner, was overjoyed at our reaction to the chapel and our commitment to restore it.

We already see God at work through beginning a relationship with Inga and her son Kaspars. She already has plans to come and see us when she visits her aunt later this month. Inga told us on Friday that the people of the are are so thrilled that the chapel will be restored. Please pray with us for God’s provision to accomplish this asap. If you are interested in contributing please comment on the site and I will get back to you. You can also reach me at: ergliangel45@googlemail.com

Our plans are to keep as much of the original chapel as possible and primarily restore rather than replace in honour of the man who loving built it and preserved it during Soviet times. I can’t wait to get back down to the farm and get the weeds out that are growing in the porch. We also purchased 2 large teracotta pots to go one on either side of the porch with bulbs to plant in them for a great Spring Resurrection show. Our current plan is to develop a lovely parkland around the chapel a long term plan that is.

Where we planning all along to buy a farm? NO, but God moved in such extrodinary ways that  the doors flew open and we followed Him through the portals. We think there are two themes: Redeem and Restore the Land and Build Relationships. The two are intertwined. Loving the land as we love the people of the land. Watch this space.

For those not in the know, Farm Town is a virtual game on Facebook, the social network site. I have had moments of serious addiction with this game but never in my wildest imaginings did I think we would really buy a farm yet that is what we have done. It is a God ‘thing.’

Here is the story, so far. Ian likes to troll through Latvian websites particularly looking at agricutural equipment and for fun even farms. In fact he recently bought a baler that he has loaned the Christian camp where he helped with the sheep. So there is Ian looking through the adverts and out jumps 2 properties (farms) at ridiculous prices. A few days later we decide to take a drive in the country and see if we can find these 2 properties offered by the same person and they are close to one another. We finally find them both, we think, but its time to eat and so we drive a ways down the hiway and find a very pleasant looking place on a river and have lunch. Remember we still have no Latvian language skills but after lunch in the nice surroundings we decide to try to phone the person selling these two properties. At this point in the story I need to say we each remember the sequence differently.

A Latvian speaker answers but says in English someone will call you back. So we head back to the first property and waited a while. It seemed like no one was going to call so we headed off down the road for a long drive to visit some friends. We hadn’t gone very far when the phone went and a young man asked what we had called about and we said the property for sale. We explained we had been there , we thought. He said go back up the road looking for a yellow house with a green roof and ask for Kaspars. We saw one house with a yellow ground floor and green upper story but not green roof. We stopped and ask a neighbour near  what we thought was the first property, who spoke no English but showing her a computer map of the property location she indicated that we were on the right road. Across the field was a yellow house, I pointed and asked “Kaspars” she shook her head ‘no’ and spoke the family name.  Back in the car, the phone rings again and they ask have we found the yellow house with the green roof and we say no, they ask if we have an intrepter and we say yes tomorrow so we agree we will have our Latvian speaker call the next day. We return home wondering what it is all about. Remember we are just ‘researching.’

Next day we phone our friends who are visiting another town and we check to see if they are coming anywhere near these properties and they are. We tell our story so far and they agree to meet us at the nice resturant on the river. Simple right? HUH!!

We arrived at the apointed place and waited and waited and waited some more, long story short several phone calls later we finally met up and went in to eat. We were going to phone the people with the property after lunch and close to our finishing lunch they rang and we turned the phone over to our patient interpreter. The location was confirmed and off we went. Green and yellow house we had seen the previous day was the right place and we met the property owner’s son and walked across the road to the property they were selling. The green and yellow house belongs to an Aunt. The owner’s son, Kaspars was very helpful showing us around the property and speaking English as well as answering more detailed questions through our intrepreter. It was NOT the property we thought we had come to see and there was no second property. Later we were to learn that Kaspars younger brother had put two fake properties on the web resulting in much anger from Kaspars and his mother. But God used it for good to bring us to “Kalnozoli 1″ Oakhill Farm.

Here is our little timber farmhouse. You see roofing felt on the walls used as insulation. One of our first jobs is to remove this and inspect the timber validity. Anyone up for a bit of strimming? As you can see Ian has already made a dent in the grass as a way in from the drive or rather track that is the current drive. Lovely apple trees all around, even plum, oak and birch. Some will need to come out as they are up against the house but Ian already has a plan and volunteers in place. You may be wondering how many rooms in our farm house what are the size and so forth. Dear ones, you are thinking like typical westerners, lol. Here is our kitchen.

Great brick pizza oven, yes?  We plan to take it back to the walls and make totally open plan living area with bedroom in the loft. We may have 54 sq. meters on the main floor, and there really aren’t rooms as such except for the addition Inga’s (the ‘former’ owner) father started but never finished. I would hope we could some how incorporate this brick structure but that is a distance down the road at the moment. Ha ha ha. First job is to carry out all the junk that remains in the buildings. Yes we actually have a barn that includes a woodshed, cowshed and hay/impliment storage. Farmer Ian says it is useable with a little attention – - like doors that need re-attaching and such. There are many, what I call ‘puttering’ projects to do. You can

see Ian strimming down the side of the barn building looking ever so fashionable in his blue bib overalls. You can see stretched above him an actual electric line. Yes, there was electricity here but it needs to be brought into the property again. New poles and wires have been put in the area just two years ago but as the property was vacant Inga did not have the house connected. We will have it done soon as we plan to put a mobile home or as they say here, “English house” put on the property. We are considering the farm our Spring/Summer residence for now.

Now wouldn’t this be a great space for a real country hoe-down?

It is twice as big as seen in the picture. Plenty of room for the fiddler and the dancers plus a table laden with farm fare. Ah, one can dream. . . . And yes one must look the part, love my straw hat. This building like all the others needs a good clear out, hard graft but a labour of love. We will be spending as much time as possible doing just that as soon as we have our “English house” in place. Of course depending on how long the weather holds before winter sets in. We are already seeing the trees starting to turn.

This little log building is a mystery building. The door is wedged and we haven’t been able to see inside. Even looking through the little window gave no clue. We are wondering if it was a sauna there is a pipe extending out the side. The leaning structure in the foreground awaits a push and then a rebuild for further storage. The roof of the little log building is shaved wood probably a dead or dying skill. Are you keeping track of the number of projects? Wait there is more.

The best for last. This is our CHAPEL! Such a story here and we hope to gather more details so it can be told properly.

This was built by Inga’s father during Soviet occupation. It originally sat closer to the road and at one point the Soviets threatened to burn it so Inga’s father moved it back closer to the house and took the steeple down. The picture on the left is an original photo of an unkown date showing the steeple.

On the day we first looked at the property Ian, our friend and intrepreter, Santa and Kaspars went off to look at more of the land behind the barn. Our friend Kalle and I chose to walk to the front of the property looking more closely at the outside of the house then proceeding to the front area to investigate the “little building.” I approached it first and then we both went to the door and finding it wedged peered in. Continued tomorrow.

Saturday afternoon the doorbell rang, Ian opened the door and the 2 young men in the picture above we standing there. We knew them from our work at the Christian Camp and of course we invited them in and promptly put the kettle on, as you do. We chatted for a bit and then came an even bigger surprise they had come to volunteer for any DIY projects we had that they could do for us. WOW!!! The younger one, a lovely Latvian boy had suggested to our friend Marvin (from Oregon.) He wanted to do it as he knew, from having lunch with us one day, that we had many things that needed doing, saying Ian is always at the camp and we could help them by doing something in their house. The first thing that came to mind was painting the feature wall in our living room AND THEY DID!!! They moved the furniture away from the wall painted and cleaned up even moving things back in about a half an hour. We are so blessed and know it was a gift from God.