Riga, Latvia
Rommel & Ira Cervantes and family
It is hard to believe that the man God has called to reach out to the
nation of Latvia for the past seven years, and counting, would be shy.
Filipino pastor Rommel Cervantes speaks fluent Russian but insists he
is insecure to preach in the language.
Having first arrived in the
country in his mid-twenties as a church planter with a group from the
Philippines, Rommel helped pioneer works in Jurmala and Riga in Latvia
and St. Petersburg in Russia. He now oversees the congregations in
both Jurmala and Riga where he lives with his wife Irina and two
daughters – Isabella (4) and Marsela (9 months).
Pastor Rommel describes himself becoming totally immersed in his adopted country. “Being a foreigner opens doors and starts up conversations easily for the most part. Most young people are eager to speak English with me and are pleasantly surprised when I speak to them in Russian or in my very limited Latvian.” 
The pastoral staff of Morning Star
Language not being a barrier for this missionary, Morning Star Church of Latvia, or Rita Zvaigzne in Latvian, recently integrated the Latvian and Russian services in each city. Latvians and Russians worship the Lord together, a major breakthrough, as the collapse of the Soviet Union left behind a divide between the two cultures.
Morning Star Church of Latvia Rommel shares that his wife Ira is “probably equal if not more pastoral in gifting”. For the time being, she has decided to focus her efforts on raising their two young daughters and spending time with her Small Group. With the Philippines being thousands of kilometers away, becoming a part of her family has made a difference to Rommel’s life in Latvia. The major adjustment has actually been the weather and climate. Long and cold winters with temperatures dropping to -25C at times have been a shock to his tropical background, but the extra long days in the summer make up for it.
The temperature notwithstanding, Pastor Rommel sees himself in Latvia for at least another five years, if not longer, “…ultimately for as long as God wants us here. We might have Latvia as our base in the future if God calls us to establish churches in the Baltics and Russia.” Future church plants will target 5 more cities of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. This year’s goal is a university town called Jelgava which is an hour away from Riga. Whenever these may be, this Filipino missionary will definitely be there to do God’s will.
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