Can't we just stay forever?

Well, camp is over. The only way to dry our tears was to head back to our favorite city in the world, Rīga!

I love Rīga. If you ever have a chance to visit the Baltics and you don't stop by in this gorgeous city, you're wrong. A Camp Hope tradition is to go to the lock bridge in one of the parks next to Old Town and put a Camp Hope lock on it. I think this is the 5th year that they've put a lock on the bridge, it's just a fun thing to find and remember all the years. It's also a good conversation starter because people love to ask about the locks and their stories. Rīga was filled with Latvian kids from all over the country for the Youth Song Festival, an event they do every four years. Google it,YouTube it, it's seriously insane. This year brought 35 thousand people to Rīga, and we got to see a little bit of what goes on during it! Plus we got to wear a flower crown. 

On our days off, we got to spend some time in "our spot" with our friends, a beer garden in Old Town with live music, comfy chairs, blankets, and Latvian ciders. 

Ben = max comfy

We want to give a huge shoutout to these two Camp Hope veterans Hannah and Megan. We are clearly obsessed with yall and this picture is both of our backgrounds and is that weird? NO! You two both brought so much to us during and after camp.

Some back story on our relationship with the Virginia team; so here are these two teams from the states that work with/love the same Latvians. Obviously Texas vs. Virginia began and thrived for years. We were so sure that we were a million times cooler than the Virginians and that when our (our) Latvians were with them, they were only wishing they were with us. All of this was in good fun though..obviously. No lie, when we were planning to go to Latvia with THEM we were like "will we get along?" "What if they're terrible?" "What if they're better than us?" It was a stressful time. But never fear the fight is over. The Virginian team welcomed two insane, loud, Latvia-obsessed Texas girls with open arms. 

On a real note, we were really worried about not fitting in with the group or being outsiders and we were worried that if that happened it might effect our effectiveness as group leaders during Camp Hope. But God answers prayers in a huge way and now we laugh in the face of being uncomfortable around these amazing people. Shout-out to my Virginians: you guys are our family now. A.K.A. stuck with us FOR LIFE! Love y'all insane amounts. Seriously can not thank you enough. 

Our Rīga days consisted of an American team dinner the night we got back, a reflection/worship/eat and mingle night for the whole Camp Hope team, and tons and tons of FUN! Honestly the only negative part about joining the Virginia team is that now there are 32 more people we might not see again until next year. 

The reflection night was a really great experience. We had dinner and worshiped and then we had a mic open to anyone who wanted to share a story or personal thought about camp. It was incredible to hear about the experience of our fellow leaders, both similar and completely different. 

On Saturday, we were invited to go to the Asnevics' beach house in Pavilostas, a small beach town a few hours from Rīga. Holy Pinterest this house was perfect. All the furniture was handpainted, the ceiling lights were teapots, the neutral tone was way relaxing, and the garden was full of strawberries and cherries. In Pavilosa they were having a big fisherman celebration, so we got to walk around town and eat good food, hear some music, and we got to walk along the beach of the Baltic Sea. It was such a relaxing day, so we thank this awesome family for such hospitality, we love yall!!

We spent our last day like any other tourist would, eating lunch at Lido and walking around Old Town. We rule that city. This city is my favorite place in the world and these people make me happier than anyone else. Old Town is so beautiful and just more like a fairy tale than anything else. Just simply being in Latvia is one of the best feelings.

Highlight of our day - we got to walk around Maskačka where we've done Cerību Iela (Street Of Hope) camp for the past 3 years. It was kind of a shot in the dark whether or not we would find any of our kids but God was looking out for us. Two of our past campers, Anya and Alex ran up to us taking us completely by surprise. There were definitely some tears involved. The craziest thing was seeing how much bigger they've gotten! It's amazing how settling it is on our hearts to see them happy and healthy and excited to see us. We walked away with gifted bracelets on our wrists and happy hearts. 

We are so thankful for everybody here that has taken care of us, fed us, provided a place for us to stay, walked around with us, acted like you aren't annoyed of us, did everything in your power to make us happy even though it's impossible for us to be unhappy in Latvia. Amy and Bob and the rest of the Virginia team, Karlis, Toms, Valters, Arvis and Nauris, and the rest of the amazing Latvian family we have made over the past few years. You guys are seriously family to us, and we love you more than pelmini.

Tabita, we told you last night that everytime we see you doing something, we say "wow Tabita is the best person in the world." We mean it. You have such a big heart for the kids we work with, and you have such a big heart for your friends and family. You are always welcoming us with open arms, making us as comfortable as possible, translating like a boss, doing all the dirty work, keeping all the trouble makers in line, yet you always have a smile on your face. You really are something special and we love you!

Well, that's all she wrote. In all honestly we will probably reread all these posts and look at all the pictures everyday for the next year, so if anything these posts were for us. Shoutout to God for blessing us with the amazing opportunity to serve here again and again. Shoutout to our families for letting us fall in love with Latvia and for letting us keep coming back, because honestly I don't know if we can ever stop. We love it here.

Xoxo čau, G & O