Creative Team – Austra

Austra Peltmane

Hi there, my name is Austra Peltmane. I come from a family of 3 children where I am an older sister. I have the best brothers Martins and Janis, and of course both are taller than me. Martins has the greatest heart, he is not afraid of work. He has been interested in the operation of motorized equipment since childhood, and is now responsible for the production of the equipment from inception to commissioning. Janis is quiet but very witty, his hobby is confectionery/baking. Unlike me he likes to experiment and try new recipes.

My parents divorced before I started school but it was not an obstacle in my life because I was raised by strong grandmothers. I have learned from my grandmothers about respect for the elderly and how strong family values ​​are. My family’s favorite tradition is that we are always at the dinner table together for dinner. In recent years I consider myself as a Ridzeniece (girl from the capital), although I grew up in Lielvarde, a city with strong Latvian traditions. I have lived most of my life in the city but I am also no stranger to farm work because I spent most of my childhood on a family farm where work never ended. I like to be in nature, where there is peace when walking or cycling. On a daily basis I work at a computer where I work for a local Latvian company that has developed a program for house managers so that they can bill their customers and communicate in accordance with modern requirements. My job is to help homeowners use the program and make the billing process easier.

My parents of 3 children baptized only  me in the church when I was an infant, as I can only look back on it in pictures. After graduating from primary school I continued my schooling in Riga, where one day my girlfriend invited me to a youth evening at Akas Street 13. 10 years ago I entered the Methodist Church for the first time, which I now call my own church. I got to go to Wesley Camp, where I accepted Jesus for the first time, and as I actively continued my participation into a youth group later I was addressed to become a teen leader in the church. While working with teenagers in the congregation, Jesus one evening addressed my heart to serve young people in the whole of Latvia, after which I was invited to become the youth work coordinator of the UMC of Latvia. This time was challenging and a great blessing, and the experience and contacts with the Methodists made this service exciting also internationally. Although I am leaving the ministry this year, youth ministry is still in my heart and I will continue to be involved.

I came to this team with one call. Laura called me and invited me to join the team to create an electronic version of this newspaper, which you can find on the blog section of the UMC of Latvia website. The exchange of information is important and I am glad that there will be a Methodist newspaper in which to find the most up-to-date information, and I hope that it will strengthen the faith of every reader.