by Gita Mednis

The Hope Center is an outreach ministry of The United Methodist Church in Liepa, Latvia, that provides a temporary home for young mothers and their babies. Many of the women come from troubled backgrounds and were living on the streets with their children before coming to the Center. It began in February 2006 near Straupe, Latvia, an hour and a half from Riga, the nation's capital, and has since moved to Liepa.

God continues to bless this ministry. This past year has been filled with challenges and joys. We thank you for your part in this ministry. Many caring hearts have visited us, prayed for our ministry, and supported us financially.

I know no better way to share than to give you a glimpse into the lives of some of the girls in our care. Last year we had the challenge of learning to help a mentally challenged young mother take care of herself and her baby; and helping a young mother to accept her hermaphrodite child and not reject her after the birth of her second child, Ester.

We said good-bye to our Katja and Emily, Kristine and Karina, who lived with us for more than a year. Both young mothers reached the age of 18 and have moved on to new lives. They both stay in touch with us and know that they can always come to us in case of emergencies.

In December, we moved all of the girls to the Liepa house. This move was precipitated by our Liepa house mother's move to Ireland and the high cost of heating two facilities. This move brought positive and negative results.

On the positive side, our staff has become more solidified and stable. The housemothers seem to be more content and feel less isolated. Rigonda is our "mother" role model who prepares the girls for the birth of their babies, sits by them and holds their hands during the birthing process, and teaches them to take care of their infants.

Maxim's Mother

The negative side was evidenced in the behavior of our young mothers. Moving into town and having more freedom had a very negative effect on our miracle baby's (Maxim's) mother. She had told us that she never wants to return to the life that she had led before coming to us. Unfortunately, in town, she became tempted by all of the boys in town and of partying again, so living with rules became less and less appealing.

She also began to resent her baby. She began hitting him at night and ignoring him during the day. The staff became Maxim's mother for all intents and purposes. One day, she took Maxim and wanted to go to Riga in the company of some inebriated young men. Rigonda went after her and told her that she could not leave. She said,"I am leaving, you cannot stop me." (She had turned 18 and was now considered an adult.) Rigonda insisted on taking Maxim back to the Hope Center.

That is the last time that Maxim's mother was with us or showed any interest in her son. The Children's Court has taken away her mother's rights, and the baby has been put into foster care. It was hard on all of us to have Maxim leave, but it was important to give him the opportunity to experience real family life.

It has been a time of adjustment for the staff and the girls. In the beginning, young men would show up wanting the young mothers to come out and talk to them. They brought cigarettes and alcohol. It became quite a "policing" job for the staff. The girls got distracted from their main task of taking care of their babies and learning life skills.

Now things have calmed down, and in retrospect it is good that the girls experienced their return to town while under our care. Although Maxim's mother was not able to hold on to her hopes for a different life, I am sure that the seeds planted in her will someday take root. It is in God's hands and in His time. The rest of the girls have now returned their focus on their babies.

A Choice to Be Made

One of our young mothers who has a toddler and baby was dealing with very low self-esteem and a very self-centered husband who wanted her for the children's support money. It was difficult for her to see him for who he was. She finally came to the realization that her husband did not care about her or her children. This realization was long in coming.

She would willingly help everyone in the Center. She is a good cook and an intelligent young woman but had a blind spot when it came to her husband. He would show up drunk, bring the girls and the children food he had taken from garbage bins, as well as cigarettes and alcohol. He got the girls to lie and to sneak around. He persuaded our young mother to give him money meant for the children's food.

Social Services gave up on her and said that they would take her children. Faced with the realization that she had to choose between her children and her husband, she finally saw the light. (It also helped that she found out he was having an affair). She rallied. The girls gave her a haircut and a new look. She has gotten a job, reunited with her mother--who will care for the children while she is at work--and found an apartment. She is a smart young woman and willing to work hard. Her life has totally changed.

A Young Romani Mother

At present, we have in our family a young Romani mother and her little daughter. The mother can now read and write at a beginner's level, thanks to our girls and staff. We are looking into getting her into school or getting a private teacher. She needs to have some basic education so that she can get a job to support herself. She is much on my mind.

How very isolating to be Romani, but not know the Romani language, to know nothing about your siblings because you were put in different orphanages at a very early age, to know only work, to have a temper that Social Service says must be controlled in order to keep your baby, always to be judged and watched. Being Romani in Latvia means that many people assume you are a thief.

This young woman has asked to be baptized and to also have her baby baptized. Please pray for them. I will baptize them this Sunday. She attends the Liepa Latvian services but wants to be baptized in Riga. She has nowhere to go, no future to look forward to unless we can help her get an education and give her that boost that no one has given her up to now. She just had her 25th birthday and had her first ever birthday party.

Other Young Mothers

Another of our young mothers came to us because she was alone and had nowhere to live. While living in an orphanage, she was given the opportunity to work in France as a nanny. While there she became pregnant. Her employers immediately shipped her back to Latvia. Now too old for the orphanage, she had nowhere to go. We were asked if we could help. We went to pick her up in Cesis, and found her sitting on her small suitcase in the rain.

She speaks French, English, and of course Latvian. We are trying to help her get an apartment and deal with Social Services. She is another person God has sent us. No support from an agency, just a need for help. It is a joy to watch her hover over her baby watching with fascination every movement and development.

The last young woman we accepted into our home without any outside support is now serving the Liepa Russian speaking congregation as its Sunday School teacher and very active church member.

We have another young mother who will also be baptized on Sunday along with her baby son. She seems to have a good relationship with the baby's father. He, too, comes from the orphanage. He has found work and an apartment. He wants to prove that he can be responsible and take on the care of the mother and baby. He visits once a week. Our job is to teach her how to care for her son, manage a budget, and learn some life skills that she will need.

Our newest resident is a young pregnant HIV-positive girl from an orphange. This is a new challenge for us. We want to make her life as normal as possible under the circumstances. She is eight months pregnant. We are very happy that we can be her support system for this crucial period of her life.

We are expecting another young girl this month.

Hope Center Staff

We are very happy to have our missionary, Courtney Randall, visiting the girls weekly. She has become their special friend. She has Bible studies, shows movies that portray important life issues, and talks about whatever is on their hearts.

Every day seems to bring new challenges. God has given us a wonderful staff. Gita Binane and Rigonda make a very good team, and they are meeting these challenges.

Up to now, we have been able to make sure that each mother leaves the Center

with someplace to go and an opportunity to care for her baby (with the exception of Maxim). The girls are given baby carriages, clothing, and other items that the baby needs.

We have a social worker and a psychologist for the girls. The psychologist has been holding group sessions. It has taken a long time to gain the girls' trust. It is still an ongoing process.

The atmosphere at the Center continues to change as we learn and grow, and as the mixture of girls changes. The young mothers seem to be less focused on having to follow rules and more on appreciating the help that they are receiving.

The staff at the Hope Center all attend worship at the UMC in Cesis. Rigonda is the lay leader of the Cesis congregation. Most of the girls attend worship in the Liepa Latvian service. Most have been or are being baptized.

God is truly good. He is faithful. Each year has brought different challenges, but He has always given us the strength, courage, and endurance to continue His work. Again we thank you for being a part of this ministry, of making such a difference in the lives of these mothers and their babies.

It is such a wonderful gift that God has given us--to withhold judgment and really see them as individuāls needing our help, as God's beloved children that have been entrusted to us. God has given us the opportunity to be His hands, His feet, His heart, His mouth and His love. Thanks be to God!

For more information, go to: http://latviamission.blogspot.com/

*Gita Mednis is the District Superintendent of Latvia.

	See Also... Topic: Children |  Health |  Women |  Geographic Region: Latvia |  Source: United Methodist Churches
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Date posted: Aug 11, 2008