This weekend was FUSION’s first official concert. (By the way, FUSION is the name of the band that the most important people in my Latvian life are in… Chris (my husband), Andis, Ieva, Peteris & Eduards.) Since there are 6 of us, because I refuse to let them go have fun like this without me, and our little 2-door car only holds 5, or 4 people and 4 guitars, we have to split up when we travel. This time we were off to Ergli and then on to Madona.

Phase 1 - Travel

1. Andis & Lydia leave Talsi by bus at 11:30am, headed to Riga.
2. Chris, Peteris, Ieva & 4 guitars (and all the other gear) leave Talsi at 1:00pm, and pick Eduards up in Stende at 1:15pm. Destination, Ergli.
3. Andis & Lydia arrive in Riga, kill an hour in town and board bus #2 headed for Ergli. Highlight - the 2 drunk guys in the back of the bus that almost got into a fight.
4. The car arrives in Ergli at 5:15pm, while the bus arrive at 5:30
5. We’re met by Kim & Bruce Thompson who are acquaintances of ours and work at the camp we’re headed to. We throw Eduards & Andis in the back of their pickup truck and head to camp. Arrive at 6:15pm.

The Agenskalns Church in Riga had asked us to come and play for their youth retreat. Everyone was nervous, being the first concert. Of course we had problems and miscommunication, but it all went really well. My biggest concern was the floor… we were on the second floor of a log cabin-type building… when the jumping and dancing started, I found myself thankful I was against the wall where there was a bit more stability! The concert was about an hour long.

We had alot of fun together. Eduards is new to the band, so it was cool to hang out with him and get to know him better, though he’s already friends with the other 3 from school, and he’s one of my students. He and Chris don’t know each other very well, though, and it was just cool to be in a different environment and all of us be together. That night we stayed in the meeting hall on the floor.

Phase 2 - Sunday Prep

1. Finally get to sleep at 3:00am. Must remember not to sleep so close to teenaged boys again!
2. Got up at 8:00am, desperately searching for coffee.
3. No coffee, but Bruce meets us with his truck at 8:30am to take us to his & Kim’s apartment for breakfast and to get ready for church.
4. COFFEE!!! Thank you God! Kim made us a wonderful pancake breakfast & treated us to showers & some old 007 movie for the guys.
5. More coffee :-)
6. Load the cars at 10:45 and head to Madona, about 45 minutes away. Since FUSION was in the “neighborhood,” we were also invited to lead worship at Madona Baptist Church. (The pastor is the camp director.)

A little different set than last night, but still very cool. The church was a split of elderly women and 16 - 30 year olds. Interesting. The church loved us & blessed us and invited us back! After a bit of potluck Latvian style (no hot dishes, but lots of sandwiches and yummy sweets) it was time for Phase 3.

Phase 3 - Travel, again

1. We say goodbye to Kim & Bruce and the church, and Chris drives me & Andis to the bus station. Our bus leaves at 3:00pm.
2. Since we were the last ones to get tickets and everyone ahead of us decided to disregards the numbered seats, we were split up. Our driver must have been either ex-military or a prison guard in his earlier years. So strict and demanding. Very un-Latvian.
3. Car with 4 people and 4 guitars leaves Madona at 3:20pm
4. Half way through our trip we stop for a break and Andis asks the girl next to him if she would switch with me so we could sit together. For reasons that will remain a secret (I think it had something to do with a Latvian girl flirting with him), he refused to speak Latvian and when his seatmate didn’t understand his English, he asked another passenger to translate for him! *rolling eyes* Boys. His seatmate did eventually switch with me which made the rest of the ride to Riga much more enjoyable.
5. Arrive in Riga at 6:15pm. We had 45 minutes to kill, so we head to the movie theater close by to use the restroom. At 6:45 we were waiting at the bus platform for our bus to come and leave at 7:00pm.
6. 6:50 - Waiting
7. 7:00 - Waiting. The car arrives in Talsi after dropping off Eduards in Stende.
8. 7:15 - Waiting
9. 7:20 - Andis spots another bus in the “waiting zone” that says it’s going to Talsi. He goes over to talk to the driver and find out what’s going on. Seems that somehow we missed our bus. The driver of this bus was very nice though, and talkative and said that, while he didn’t have to, he would let us ride his bus to Talsi and not charge us.
10. 7:45 - Our bus finally leaves Riga. It was pretty empty, which was nice, but took the long way to Talsi.
11. By 9:00 I have a serious problem. Not only have I drunk a whole bottle of water, it’s late, which makes my slap-happy, but we’re also telling funny stories and the roads are very bumpy, and I have to pee like mad! To make matters worse, there is a toilet on the bus, but the door is locked. Grrr… it was like it was taunting me, teasing me! “I’m here, but you’re not allowed to use me! Hahaha!” I finally swallow my pride and let Andis ask the driver if he’ll pull over for a “green stop” for me. I was so glad it was dark… not only could no one see me squatting in the woods, but they couldn’t see my blazing red face of embarrassment.
12. 10:00pm - We finally arrive back in Talsi. So tired. Everyone else has had dinner and is on their way to bed, while Andis & I have just arrived in town. Chris met us and took me home.
13. 11:30 - I finally head to bed. I have school in the morning and Chris is leading worship for DTS at 8:30am. :)

It was a great trip. The stars were beautiful that night. I had some great conversations with firends & the band did a wonderful job. I was so proud of them. They’re excited and ready to find out what’s next. So am I. Ieva thinks I should get a t-shirt that says “I’m with the band”! Sounds good to me!