In 1992 the opportunity to serve as missionaries in Latvia was offered to three Latvian-speaking brothers who had grown up in the United States. Along with their wives, they were Valdis and Linda Purin̗š, Alfreds and Doris Elksnis, and Ivars Elksnis, Alfreds’ brother. All five arrived in Riga in July 1992. Their four-room apartment became a missionary home, a literature depot, and a translation center.

A good sense of humor helps when learning another language. “While conducting a study with two young women,” relates Doris Elksnis, “I tried to explain how Satan spoke to Eve through a snake. However, I used a Latvian word that sounds similar to the one for ‘snake.’ The result? I had the Devil talking through a pig!”

GILEAD GRADUATES PROVIDE A BOOST

The first Gilead-trained missionaries arrived early in 1993. Swedish couples Anders and Agneta Berglund and Torgny and Lena Fridlund were assigned to Jelgava, a city of over 60,000 with 28 publishers. “Upon our arrival,” says Anders, now a member of the Branch Committee, “we joined the brothers in field service, and they kept us busy! On some days, we practically ran with them from one study to the next for seven or eight hours without stopping to eat! Their zeal was inspiring. Many of those students are now in full-time service themselves.”

Torgny Fridlund recalls: “After a three-month language course, we felt ready to converse on our own. We selected territory that had not been worked since World War II but failed to get much of a response. Was our approach wrong? After discussing the matter, we tried another approach​—reading a scripture at each door. Thereafter, we started several studies.”

More Gilead graduates began to arrive in April 1995. They included Basse and Heidi Bergman from Finland, who now serve in the traveling work in a Russian-language circuit. “I asked the local brothers to correct me when I said something wrong in the ministry,” says Basse. “And they responded with gusto, spontaneously correcting me not just in the field but also during meetings! Nowadays, it warms my heart when I hear brothers say, ‘Basse has become one of us.’”

Carsten and Jannie Ejstrup from Denmark served together in Latvia until Jannie, while still in her 30’s, lost her fight with cancer. “The best way I can honor Jehovah,” says Carsten, “is to continue faithfully in my missionary assignment.” What an example such brothers are!