lawyer signed the document, confirming that
Anna had owned the property at one time.
Anna didn’t live to see her dream come
true. She died in her 80s in 1972, nearly 20
years before Latvia gained independence.
Shortly after Latvia became independent
in 1991, Pauline resolved to make good on
her promise to Anna. Pauline was already 95,
and she presented the will and ownership
papers to Pastor Armands. The two witnesses
who had signed the will were still alive and
praying that Anna’s dream would come true.
Armands agreed to help, and Pauline
signed over a power of attorney to him. He
needed to unwind the situation and explain
to the authorities that the property belonged
to Pauline.
It was quite a long process. Complicating
matters, Pauline’s own children and
grandchildren, who were not church
members, demanded that the property be
kept in the family.
But in the end, Anna’s dream prevailed.
Pauline received ownership of the property
and handed it over to the Adventist Church.
The church gratefully accepted the generous
gift and began holding meetings on the
property. Construction was completed on
a new church building on the property in
2004, four years after Pauline died at 104.
Armands is now 76 years old and retired.
He lives in an apartment on Anna’s old
property. He loves to tell the story about how
Anna and Pauline looked at the property
with eyes of faith. “The faith of these two
sisters is amazing,” he says.
Anna and Pauline had faith in God, and
this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering
will provide an opportunity to teach other
people about faith. Part of the Thirteenth
Sabbath Offering will help construct a
building in Latvia’s capital, Riga, that will
serve as a center of influence with language
classes and a health club. Thank you for
planning a generous offering.
By Andrew McChesney
Story Tips
Know that the full names of the people
in this story are Armands Bérzins,
Pauline Aunina, and Anna Terauds.
Download photos on Facebook:
bit.ly/th-mq.
Download Mission Posts and Fast Facts
from the Trans-European Division:
bit1ly/TED-2023.
This mission story illustrates the
following objectives of the Seventh-
day Adventist Church’s “I Will Go”
strategic plan: Mission Objective No. 1,
“To revive the concept of worldwide
mission and sacrifice for mission as a
way of life involving not only pastors
but every church member, young and
old, in the joy of witnessing for Christ
and making disciples,” and Mission
Objective No. 2, “To strengthen and
diversify Adventist outreach in large
cities, across the 10/40 Window, among
unreached and under-reached people
groups, and to non-Christian religions.”
For more information, go to the website:
[WillGo2020.org.
Fast Facts
[ce hockey, followed by basketball, is the
most popular sport in Latvia.
The largest river in Latvia is the
Daugava and has been used by Vikings,
Russians, and other Europeans for
trade, war, and conquest. With a total
length of 634 miles (1,020 km), it is
about 590 feet (180 m) across when
it enters Latvia, winds through the
country for 219 miles (352 km), and
increases to around 2,460 feet across
(750 m) before emptying into the Baltic
Sea at Riga.
Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald is the only
Latvian to ever win a Nobel Prize. The
scientist won the prize in chemistry in
1909 for his work on catalysis, chemical
equilibria, and reaction velocities.
LATVIA
AdventistMission.org
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