International Womens Group

Most my life I have never considered myself as a “social person” and have avoided social gatherings with people I don’t know. But serving these humanitarian missions is bringing out a part of me to help the work go forward. Recently, searching online I discovered an International Women’s Club here in Riga, Latvia. I didn’t know what to expect and hoped to meet someone who would speak English.

Upon arriving, I was pleasantly surprised to find this group of twenty women all who spoke English very fluently. One was the wife of a Turkish Ambassador who arrived five months ago. Another was an older woman who has attended these meeting for years. She asked what I was doing in Latvia and I explained we are serving a humanitarian mission for our Church. When she thought of the name of our church she explained she recalls working alongside our young missionaries who volunteer at a soup kitchen in a large old brick cathedral in old town.

Another woman I met was from the local Salvation Army office (Kathleen). When I asked if she had ever heard about our Church she replied oh yes – the Salvation Army and LDS Church worked together on a very large humanitarian project in a nearby country. A friend of Kathleen was a woman named Amanda who works at Lighthouse Transitional Care who help foster children transition into living on their own. Amanda stated she was born and raised in Texas, but had now lived in Latvia many years. Penny has lived all over Europe. When someone asked where our church is located I couldn’t pronounce the street name, so I started to spell it, immediately they knew where the church was. They helped me learn how to pronounce the street name.

I was able to share with them the current projects we are working with and the humanitarian efforts in the Baltics. The Church helps fund thousands of projects across the world including Riga.

After I returned home, it occurred to me how beneficial attending this meeting was. I represent the Church and share the support we do for other charity organizations, even right here in Latvia. I was able to exchange business cards with a couple women and look forward to the next meeting.

Maybe, another few humanitarian projects will come forth from my being present and willing to step out of my comfort zone to attend a women’s meeting.