POLAND 2009 - Church Planting in Belchatow

Bełchatów, PolandMonday, June 29, 2009
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Church Planting in Bełchatów
Quite a few months ago, I met a man named Krzystof from the Pentecostal Church in Radomsko. He had actually come to the concert we held in the church in Piotrków-Trybunalski, and brought some youth from Radomsko. It was there I found out he was planting a church in Bełchatów.
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We have had a place in our heart for Bełchatów ever since our friend Damian took us there and showed us around after we first arrived in Poland toward the beginning of this year. We felt as though there was a spiritual darkness over the city and wondered at the city slogan, being Adam, Eve and the Serpent. “Be Tempted! Come to Bełchatów” was a popular slogan used by the city. Sure enough, in talking to Krzystof, it has been an uphill battle trying to plant a church in Bełchatów, and it seems that any evangelical or Pentecostal church that has attempted to do so in times past has failed.

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Krzystof and his team from Radomsko have been doing warfare prayer in the city for some time now, and every Friday and Saturday afternoon, their team hits the streets to do outreach, weather permitting. This is a great strategy in church planting, being in the community, meeting people, evangelizing and praying with people. They invited me to come and play some of my original worship on the streets as part of their outreach. I gladly took their offer for assistance in this and last Friday, the same day we got back from the Ukraine border, Jonas and I went to Bełchatów to help with the outreach.

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I just played some of my original songs through a microphone and small sound system that was powered by a small generator. It was an interesting sight to see the response to the music, as well as to Krzystof and his team handing out Bibles and trying to start conversations. Most people walked by disinterested, and even disgusted it seemed. But there were people who stopped and listened, bought CDs, took Bibles and talked with the team. I would take breaks from playing guitar and singing, hand out Bibles and start conversations as well. I was able to connect with a few younger people, and even give them some of my CDs. They were grateful and were glad to talk to me. I think that there is such a huge spiritual battle here in Bełchatów. I also spent time on that street corner just praying for a spiritual breakthrough in the area. It was a great day of reaching out to people in the name of Jesus, and assisting Krzystof’s team. I have an open invitation to help out more over the next couple of months before we leave. I’m sure I will be back some more.
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Christian Young

POLAND 2009 - Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #12

Piotrków-Trybunalski, PolandFriday, June 26, 2009
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Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #12
Now the drive back home from the Ukraine border. Remember how I said that we were able to watch the cool lightning and thunder storm while we waited at the Ukraine border? Well, right after the border we had to drive through it. It was not just some storm. It was a huge storm, with lightning every other second, torrential downpour of rain and huge gusts of wind. We just wanted to make it to a gas station to use the restroom.
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All of the sudden, there were huge tree limbs all over the road that we had to dodge, and flash floods that we were driving through. It was probably the worst storm I’ve ever had to drive through. There was a truck with Ukrainian tags right in front of us that we followed very close to, as it parted many deep waters in front of us, that we otherwise may have been stuck in. I felt as though this truck was driven by an angel sent to help us through. I even named him, our “Ukraini-angel.” We followed him until he turned down a street near a gas station. We stopped to use the restroom and eat a peanut butter sandwich. Then decided to hit the road again, praying for God’s favor and protection once again. Amazingly, we caught up to our “Ukraini-angel” once again and followed him for hours through the storm. We thanked God for this truck, and finally passed him as the weather had cleared about half way through our trip back home. We made it back home after 3:00 am, and were just dead to the world. What a stressful end of our trip across Eastern Europe, yet God sustained us through it all. I’m sure we will face many stressful situations as missionaries in Africa and elsewhere. We just “count it all joy.”

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Overall, we had a great journey these last two weeks...The divine connections and the friendships we were able to make. God is so good to us. Thank you all, once again, for your prayers for us as missionaries. We know that we are so loved and supported.
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Christian Young

UKRAINE 2009 - Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #11

Kovel’, Ukraine
Thursday, June 25, 2009.
Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #11
We had to change our travel plans a little bit. We were originally going to travel from Latvia south through Lithuania, then through Belarus and into Ukraine. But we found we needed to purchase visas to travel through Belarus. We had the option of purchasing them in Riga, but didn’t have the budget for them, and because we didn’t have anywhere we were specifically traveling in Belarus to stay or minister, we decided to bypass Belarus, travel the way we came, spend the night in Poland, and then head to the Ukraine border early the next morning. Once again, we needed the stamp on our passports from a non-Schengen country, so that we could legally stay on through September, when we leave for Africa.
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It took us a little less than 4 hours to travel east to the Ukraine border. We had heard some horror stories from Cheryl, as well as from others about getting in and out of Ukraine. So we spent time just praying for God’s favor in this venture. Let this be an official word of warning to anyone who desires to drive through the Ukraine border: Don’t! I mean, unless you have to, or want to purposely deal with hassle and harassment, and have hours and hours of time to waste, don’t attempt it.

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Border going into Ukraine..................................Border going into Poland

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When we got to the border, we waited for hours in a line of vehicles, which seemed to be stopped and going nowhere. After a couple of hours waiting and barely moving, a guard saw our Polish tags on our vehicle and pointed us to another line. It was hard to tell who were officials and who were not. We saw other people handing wads of cash to officials in order to be brought into a different line. We had big, scary looking guys staring us down, trying to get something from us, but I didn’t give anyone anything. I spoke in my limited Polish to all people we had to deal with. We got closer to a booth where they wanted to see our passports and vehicle documentation. I guess I was supposed to have some kind of letter from Andrzej (whose name our vehicle is under) stating I can drive the vehicle through Ukraine. They reluctantly let me past that point anyway, as I explained I didn’t have such a letter. Then we came to a line near another booth. A scary looking lady with a lot of make-up had me get out of the car and wanted to see what we had. I think that maybe she wanted money, too. She was speaking Ukrainian. I just spoke Polish. She even lifted my sleeves to look more at my tattoos. Then I had to walk to the booth, with everyone and our passports and documentation. It was then I was interrogated about why I was coming to Ukraine, where I was going. I had to fill out more paperwork. Then, after looking at the picture of me in my passport (where I had long hair), I was being questioned about smoking marijuana, and perhaps bringing drugs into Ukraine. I could hardly believe it. It was like something out of a movie. Maybe they were waiting for a bribe as well. I think they just got tired of me, and stamped our passports, letting us through.
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As we drove into Ukraine, we observed the line of vehicles trying to get into Poland with disdain. Knowing this, we decided to drive only a little ways into Ukraine. If we had a bit more time, perhaps we would’ve driven south a ways to L’Viv, as it is a bigger city. Instead, we drove toward a town called Kovel’ and turned around to drive back toward the border. Everything in Ukraine is written in Cyrillic script, which we have absolutely no clue as to how to read. Ukrainian is a Slavic language related to Russian and even Polish, so we can understand bits and pieces, but can’t read a thing. Thankfully, I had filled our gas tank in Poland. I wouldn’t have even been sure which fuel was diesel. We just prayed for the people of Ukraine, and sang worship songs as we drove through. The scenery was beautiful. It was a very lush country side, and I am sure that if we were able to spend more time in Ukraine, we would be able to meet the lovely people of this country. Perhaps some other time.

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We thought, perhaps, that the border going into Poland would have been smoother than the border going into Ukraine. Well that was some stinkin’ thinkin’. No way. I mean, I wasn’t harassed quite as much by the “officials.” But there was line after line. We were stopped in these lines for literally hours at a time with no one moving. Everything was a mess. I even passed up a point that I was supposed to stop at and hand off some paperwork that had been stamped. I just played stupid (didn’t have to act too hard, as I felt stupid). Then at one point, after we had made it through two passport control areas, we thought we had made it free and clear. Nope. We then were forced into a long line of vehicles with rude, angry drivers, honking and yelling at each other. I guess there was supposed to be one line for cars and one line for trucks. Instead, the road was strewn with cars at all kinds of angles, trying to merge, with no one letting anyone over. Again, it was like something you would see in the movies. At this point, none of us had used the restroom for hours and hours, and after drinking Red Bull to stay awake, I probably had to go the worst out of all of us. We literally stayed stopped here for about four hours. Then, finally, people started their cars. I tried to get over in front of a guy with Ukrainian tags, but he was just so rude and nearly hit us, not letting us in. Same with the guy behind him. Just as it seemed the lines would move. Bam. Dead stop once again. One thing that was cool, was that there was a huge lightning and thunder storm we were able to watch as we waited. Then, the cars started once again. I wondered how we were going to get over and just prayed. Then the guy next to me, who wouldn’t let me over earlier couldn’t start his car. We quickly jumped in front of him and rejoiced. Then it was the same game all over again. Another guy with Ukrainian tags wanted to get in front of me. I let him over, in plain view of the guy behind me, working in the opposite spirit of what we were seeing. The guy was grateful, got out, shook my hand and thanked us. I spoke to him in Polish and tried to witness to him. Then, later, I saw the guy behind us let someone else in. Perhaps he was convicted by the kindness he saw. After more passport control, vehicle inspections and documentation checks, we had almost made it. Then the guy two cars in front of us was stopped and the guards brought a dog sniffing his car for drugs, so we waited longer. Altogether I think we spent about 8 or 9 hours at the Ukraine border. It was almost midnight by the time we were finally allowed to enter Poland. Then there was still the four hour drive to Piotrków-Trybunalski ahead of us.
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Christian Young

LATVIA 2009 - Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #10

Robezkrogs, Latvia
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
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Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #10
Viktor’s band went on at midnight. Some of his band members were the same as on Saturday night when I played with them, but a few were different. They did an awesome job of bringing people into the presence of the Lord through Latvian and Russian worship songs. Most of the bands up to this point had more of a rock edge. Viktor’s group definitely has a more gospel, funk feel, which is fun to dance to and easy to get into. I love the variety in music expressions. I get a little bored with rock sometimes, to be honest, even though it is what I tend to gravitate toward.

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My turn came at 1:00 am. A lady named Ilza came up and prayed before I went on. She also translated for me at the seminar. She is a Latvian who grew up in the U.S. and is an awesome intercessor. We talked with her about the things of God for quite some time. She is a kindred spirit. She even wanted to pray over us and bless us. We were so glad to have met her. Viktor’s band backed me up once again. They are so talented to be able to jump in like that without any practice beforehand. Before the event I looked at popular modern worship songs in English with Cheryl, and she told me which ones had been translated into Latvian. That way, even though I would lead them in English, they would know them in Latvian. Songs like, “How Great Is Our God,” “Mighty To Save,” and “Here I Am To Worship.” It was so neat to just see the many people gathered under the makeshift shelter singing along in English and Latvian. I thought about the impact of what was happening this night. I even talked about it during the worship time. I talked about raising our voices so loud that they would echo out into every area of Latvia, pushing back the darkness. I also sand a couple of my own original songs, “In The Silence,” and “Thanks To You.” I donated a bunch of my CD’s to the table where they were selling others’ products, and told them to use the money they got from them to go toward funding the event. I really believe that what was birthed in Valdis about this event is such a God thing, and only wish we could somehow support it more. I ended my set by having the worshippers singing a reprise of “How Great Is Our God” in Latvian, as Viktor’s band and I exited the stage.

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Valdis came up to lead worship with his band next. Man, that guy has so much passion for the Lord. It is so evident as he worships. I have also had one of Valdis’ CD’s for the last couple of years, since Cheryl came to visit us and speak at SkateChurch in Vancouver, Washington in 2007. So at least I could sing along to some of his songs. In fact, the previous week I had been listening to Valdis’ CD quite a bit so that I could understand his heart through his music, in hopes that it would help me to be aligned with this during the event. After quite a bit of Valdis’ set, Jonas and I headed to the tent to lay down. I think the kids all slept through the music, but I couldn’t, maybe because the music was so loud, but maybe because I wasn’t supposed to. So I just lay there, soaking it all in, praying for Latvia.
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I woke everyone at around 8:30 am. By this time, everything had died down. Many had already left. We got our sleeping bags and headed to the car. After some trips to the outhouse, we spent some time praying with Cheryl. Again, we feel so blessed by her friendship. Then we said our goodbyes to Cheryl and our new Latvian friends and hit the road. We drove through Lithuania and back into Poland, making it before 10:00 pm.
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Christian Young

LATVIA 2009 - Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #9

Robezkrogs, Latvia
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
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Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #9
Packed everything up as we will be going straight from the worship event back through Poland and into Ukraine. Headed on a road on the south side of the river from the Riga area about two hours southeast to the property that Valdis owns where the event took place. A little over an hour of the journey was on paved roads. The latter half of the journey was on gravel roads that were rutted out from the rain. This made travel a bit sketchy, especially since the cars in front of you kicked up tons of dust from the road, making it nearly impossible to see. But we made it after twists and turns on roads in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere, yet all of these Christ-followers from different churches in Latvia would travel to and worship their King.

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The property is gorgeous. Valdis and others had built an awesome covered stage and sound booth toward the back edge of the property. There is a beautiful pond in the middle of the property, next to which the girls played with many snails and frogs. We were one of the first to arrive, so after parking, we asked how we could help prepare for the event. Valdis had Jonas and I collect firewood from the property and add it to the many bonfire piles. So Jonas and I took wheelbarrow loads of wood to the different piles, even when a thunderstorm came upon us.

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It was amazing to see the many people in cars and minivans, and even a bus arrive. And all for the sake of worshipping God throughout the night, rather than drink beer and celebrate summer solstice like many other Latvians. They set up their tents on the other side of the pond. Juris and Kristine from Liepaja were so kind in bringing an extra tent for us to sleep in (well, some of us). They are such precious people. Anyway, people came by the hundreds. Some were playing volleyball. Others were cooking meat on some makeshift grills made from the campfires. It was a very raw, grassroots event. The first of its’ kind here in Latvia. We were able to see history made in Latvia, and even be a part of it. Wow! Thanks God.
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The event started with some seminars. The first man to speak was a Lutheran pastor, who seems like a very good guy. Next was Viktor, who is the key leader in the area of worship among the Russian community in Latvia. Then was Valdis, who is the key leader in the area of worship among the Latvian community. This, I believe is huge, that Valdis asked Viktor to be a part of this whole thing. I believe that there are some deep-seated issues between Latvians and Russians here in Latvia, left over from communism and the Soviet Union. Tonight, many walls were being broken down. I was the last speaker of these seminars. Each of us that spoke gave pieces of a puzzle, creating a beautiful picture of what worship is, and how it is important for this specific time and place. It was wonderful.

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Then to start the actual music part of this worship event, Viktor, Valdis and Cheryl all stood on the stage and blew on shofars from Israel. It was very powerful and prophetic. You could hear the sounds of all three reverberate throughout the property and beyond, as the sound just echoed out. It was beautiful. Then, many different groups came up and led worship in Latvian. Each band led worship for about an hour each. There was a Baptist group. Then Santa and Dave’s (YWAM staff we connected with in Riga) band, Xenos, went on. I have had Xenos’ CD for a couple of years now, so it was neat to hear them live. Then Maris and Linda’s band, Jurspeis, played. Elice (another staff member from YWAM in Riga that we connected with) played percussion for them. They sounded beautiful. Then there was a couple of other bands. It was so neat to hear some familiar, and some unfamiliar songs being sung to the Lord in Latvian. Some were jumping up and down, others had their hands raised and eyes closed. It has been such a privilege to hear indigenous worship from the various places our family has traveled as missionaries. The Latvian style is definitely unique, and lovely sounding. How our Heavenly Father must delight in hearing such expressions of worship, as He created all of these different languages. Still able to see at midnight, Viktor’s band went on. But that is tomorrow. So I will write about it on the next blog post. =)

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Christian Young

LATVIA 2009 - Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #8

Jurmala, Latvia
Monday, June 22, 2009
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Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #8
Hung out with Cheryl today and geared up for the upcoming all night worship event. The kids went down to the park and spent a few hours there, playing, while I continued the work on my next CD, cutting tracks and sending them to Jackson back in Vancouver, Washington. This evening a really neat couple came over to Cheryl’s place. Their names are Maris and Linda. They have a really popular Latvian band called “Jurspeis.” We got a chance to listen to each other’s music and fellowship together for a couple of hours. Then Viktor came over so I could give him the pictures and video from Saturday night. It has been so nice staying with Cheryl here in Jurmala. She is such an awesome woman of God who has been here in Latvia as a missionary since the early ‘90’s when this country first opened up for missionaries to come in after communism fell. She is now one of the national leaders of YWAM, and has become very precious to us. We are so glad that God has called here to serve in Latvia. She is a tremendous asset to this nation and has seen a lot of things happen in Latvia over the past 20 years.

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One cool thing that we invested in before we left the U.S. was a good mobile phone. We needed something that would work all around that world that we could simply get different pre-paid SMS cards for, wherever we are at in the world. So we purchased the newest Blackberry Bold World Phone and had it unlocked so that it can be used anywhere in the world. We have a prepaid SMS card in Poland, but since I was using it so much to SMS people in Latvia, our money was running low on it. So while we were at the beach in Jurmala yesterday, we stopped into a little shop and bought a Latvian SMS card with about 5 Lats (U.S. $10) on it so that while we are here, we can communicate with people in Latvia and back in Poland. Man, I tell you. These days technology has made it much more easy to be missionaries. I think back to what I have read about missions in the early 20th century, where communication was nil, travel was horrendous, and missionaries to the interior of Africa packed their belongings in a coffin as most died within the first two years of service because of the lack of vaccinations and the presence of rampant disease. I don’t think we even know what it really means to suffer for the sake of Christ in missions.
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Christian Young

LATVIA 2009 - Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #7

Jurmala, Latvia
Sunday, June 21, 2009
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Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #7
We slept in this morning after a late night last night. It was a little cool, cloudy and windy at the beach in the morning and real early afternoon, but cleared up a bit by mid-afternoon. So we walked down to the beach and joined Cheryl. We had a cup of coffee together, laid out on the beach and talked, while the kids built sand castles next to the water. Then we went to the covered theater where there was a free event. It was actually a dancing competition with young people from all over Eastern Europe. Ended the evening back at Cheryl’s place staying up late and talking.
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Christian Young

LATVIA 2009 - Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #6

Riga, LatviaSaturday, June 20, 2009
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Trip Across Eastern Europe DAY #6
Left the YWAM base in Valdemarpils this morning at a little after 10:00 am and headed back to Jurmala. We decided not to take direct route back, but to drive a little more north, and then drive along the Baltic coast. It was a beautiful drive.
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Jonas and I needed to head out the door right after we got in to Jurmala. Viktor picked us up and we headed to an interdenominational worship gathering where I was to lead a few songs in English, even though the meeting was in Russian. I have to say that these were definitely charismatic people who were gathered together at this meeting. 58% of the population of Latvia is Baltic peoples, most of which are Latvian. 40% of the population of Latvia is Slavic peoples, most of which are Russian. Perhaps I will write more on this on a future blog post. I believe that Viktor Isajev is key leader here in Latvia, as well as in other countries, and is all about the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of man. I have very much connected with him and there is resonation between his spirit and mine.

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I can’t even begin to find the words to describe what took place during this meeting, so I am posting a video that captures much of what took place at the meeting. I want to warn you in advance, that if you are not from a charismatic background, or don’t much care for meetings that just “flow” in the Spirit of God, you probably won’t be interested in the video. Anyway, it’s here for you if you would like to get a glimpse of what Jesus is doing among the Russian population in Riga, Latvia.


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The church we met at is a rented space in Riga, and the pastor of that church is an awesome man of God who was also a worship pastor before. The Holy Spirit just radiates from this guy. He led the first worship team. We prayed for him and his two sons at the end of the meeting. Then I led three songs, with Viktor’s band backing me up. They are amazing, Spirit-filled musicians. Viktor asked me to stay on and play with their band as well. I have to say, that this is probably one of the most talented, Spirit-led groups of musicians I have ever played with. It was downright fun. We had a blast. Once again, there is a shift taking place in the heavenlies over Latvia, and I feel so blessed to be a part of it in some way. I also feel blessed to continue to meet and minister with some of the coolest Christ-followers in the world.
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Christian Young