Tarzier
Memoirs |
Part III Two Decades
of Freedom
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ALONE IN LATVIA
Robert served in the Latvian army from 1919 to 1922. During that time,
Karlis was killed; Latvia embarked on a war of liberation from Russia,
a peace treaty promising to respect Latvia’s borders in perpetuity
was signed by Russia; brothers Osvalds and Janis came back to Latvia;
Robert, Peteris, and Jule sold the family farm and burned Karlis’
letters and poems, in expectation of imminent Armageddon; Peteris and
Jule, along with 2500 other Baptists, emigrated to Brazil, while Robert
was sentenced to serve another year in the army to prevent him from leaving
the country. As this story begins, Robert has been released from military
service but finds himself rootless and forlorn--MT
I sat on the steps of the Lidere Baptist Church on a poignantly beautiful
summer day that belied the heaviness in my heart. Tall grass now swayed
in the breeze where the congregation had worn a path to file into the
chapel for services. The birthplace of the Revival was now empty and forsaken,
no, I felt empty and forsaken. Alone on the
steps on the church, I cried my pent-up grief—for our former way
of life, for my brother and my mother, and above all for the loss of my
father. Psalm 137 spoke to my heavy heart: By the rivers of Babylon,
there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hung our
harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
About ancient Israel it was said, they had mocked the messengers of God,
and despised His Word, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of the
Lord arose against His people “till there was no remedy.”
Had we also sinned in this manner, that the glory of God was removed from
us? One thing was clear to me then, or has become clear as I write sixty
years later—the mass departure of thousands of the Revival people
brought irreparable harm to the Gospel efforts in Vidzeme. The Revivalists
left ashes, in my heart and countless others, in the wake of their mass
exodus to Brazil.
In Daugavpils I had enjoyed unusual freedom of movement, even though,
technically speaking, I was under arrest. It was really a time of training
in God’s special school. I was free to attend whatever church services
I wished. So I was given the opportunity to give witness, both in church
and outside of it. Services in those days were conducted in both Latvian
and Russian. Following my release from military service in 1922, I was
commissioned to proselytize—that is, to be traveling minister—for
the Daugavpils Baptist Church. I traveled to Rezekne and Tilzha, where
I met Oswald Blumit, pastor of the Tilzha Baptist Church. I spent several
weeks in Tilzha, during which time Oswald and I became good friends. I
mention Oswald because, twenty-four years later, he would be the sole
friendly face to welcome us to the New World.
The Daugavpils church gave me a farewell love offering which took care
of my needs for some time. Also, I had managed to build up a generous
surplus in the army depot, and I left with underwear and clothing for
years to come. A love offering paid for the train tickets. Food and shelter
were provided for me by Revival people wherever I held meetings. My first
trip took me from Daugavpils to Rezekne in central Latgalia, then Tilzha
in the northwest, then various parts of Vidzeme. After several months
of this travel I arrived back in Riga, where I boarded with a widow, a
strong believer nicknamed Yourka Maam. Too old for the long sea voyage
to Brazil and a new life in the jungle, she stayed behind, prayed for
the colonists, and, as it happened, took care of me.
Fetler
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