Saturday, April 26
Brother and Sister Spalvens and their daughter Lydia are the glue that hold the Daugavpils branch together. They are amazing people, and know how to love and serve. The know that we are leaving soon, and wanted to have us over for a meal before we left. The road to Daugavpils follows the Daugava River, which made for a beautiful 3-hour drive this time of year. The leaves are out in earnest now, and everything is the intense Baltic green that I love so much. When we got to the city, Anna (Our friend who came along to translate) directed us to Spalven’s home. They have a good-sized yard, in which they have planted several vegetable gardens, and a greenhouse where they grow their spring vegetables. When we got there, Brother Spalvens was out in the backyard preparing šašliki, a shishkabob dish that is native Latvian. Today it was pork dipped in spiced mayonnaise and put on the skewer. He had a homemade barbecue grill, which was a metal box with ventilation holes in the sides, and laid the skewers across the box full of coals to cook the meat. It smelled wonderful! Sister Spalvens had prepared plates of fresh vegetables – cucumbers, tomatoes, pickles, spring onions – and some boiled potatoes, so we had quite a feast. She also served us some home-canned spiced pumpkin that was delicious with the šašliki, as well as another home preserve known as “mother-in-law tongue.” It was also really tasty. Anna and Lidia did the translating as we talked and ate, so we were able to carry on a pretty good conversation. As we were leaving after dinner, Vera presented me with a jar of each kind of preserves – gratefully received!
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