03. Jul 2025

Jaunmärupe/Bejas - Tireli

Photo 1: Bejas Campground... normally they do not have campers here, just cabins. But the person in charge had been on a Camino in Portugal and has a heart for pilgrims. She allowed me to pitch my tent last night right on the lake. As I was doing so, an older couple from Sweden approached me. We started talking. Before we parted I gave them a pilgrim blessing, particularly that their children would find their way to God and live in the eternal purpose for why God crested them. You see, God has a plan and a purpose for each of us, not just now here on earth, but also for that which is to come. This thought must have touched them. They were wiping away tears.

Photo 2: On a journey like this, you really come to appreciate foot bridges...

Photo 3: Most of the day looked pretty much like this. It was hot and sunny until mid afternoon, so the shade in the forest was welcomed.

Photo 4: I went through the trenches today, literally. During Workd War I this was the defensive position of the Latvian Riflemen of the Russian Imperial Army. Part of the fortification had been restored for this memorial. I was there alone. It was a very peaceful place... the green of the forest, blue sky, gentle breeze, the songs of birds giving accent to nature's whisper. I wondered what battles might have been fought here, where I was now having my lunch break, and how many mothers might have lost their sons. And for what? What did Kain ever gain by killing his brother Abel? What does anyone ever gain by ending the life of another. May that day come quickly as the prophets of old had promised, that men would no longer learn war. ( Isaiah 2:4)

Photo 5: Looking down upon the Latvian forest from a lookout tower...