What a blessing to be spending our last evening in Estonia at Peep and Anna Saar's house in Tartu! Julia and I came to Tartu last night so we'd have a chance to spend time with our friends at Risttee and my good friend Liisi.
Liisi is the reason I was introduced to Estonia in the first place. For those of you who don't know the story, I will give the short version. I met Liisi on a Lord of the Rings chat room back in college. God had already given me the desire to be a missionary, but hadn't shown me where or how. While getting to know Liisi, my heart became drawn more and more to Estonia until finally I prayed and asked God to show me how to get there. The rest is history.
This morning we went to a baptism for Risttee church. It was great to reconnect briefly with some of the people I met 3 years ago and to see how they've grown and matured. Later this afternoon, we met with Liisi and wandered around Tartu, visiting the toy museum, the best swing in town, and a local pub.
Tomorrow we begin our long journey back to the States. Please pray for our endurance! There are many stories we haven't shared on this blog, but feel free to ask us questions. God is moving mightily in Estonia and in the hearts and lives of those who will offer time and energy toward His ministry in this place. We've been blessed to share some of this journey with you and hope some of you will be able to join us in person sometime soon.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
It's official
I can't believe I'm awake past 1AM now. We stayed in bed till 11 this morning, so most of the day was uneventful. Daniel is now on his way back to England. :(
This afternoon we walked to downtown Tallinn and caught a bus to Saku for debriefing and the afterparty! We grilled sausages and bread, played camp games and new games, etc.
Tomorrow we will have another debrief with the teams from the other camps. This is the first year there have been more than one camp at a time, so it will be interesting to see what kind of stories the others have.
This afternoon we walked to downtown Tallinn and caught a bus to Saku for debriefing and the afterparty! We grilled sausages and bread, played camp games and new games, etc.
Tomorrow we will have another debrief with the teams from the other camps. This is the first year there have been more than one camp at a time, so it will be interesting to see what kind of stories the others have.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Camp is over :(
Camp has officially ended. Today was just a half day. Instead of telling a story this morning we talked about the concept of a perfect world and God's plan to redeem the world. We only got around 4 hours of sleep last night, so it was hard to keep going strong, but we made it.
Julia and I are staying in Tallinn with a couple of ladies from the local youth leadership team. Tomorrow afternoon we will debrief with the team and then in the evening is the AFTER PARTY!!!!! We'll be playing all the camp games, dancing the camp dance, singing the camp song, and just having a great time.
The best part is....we get to sleep in tomorrow!!!
Julia and I are staying in Tallinn with a couple of ladies from the local youth leadership team. Tomorrow afternoon we will debrief with the team and then in the evening is the AFTER PARTY!!!!! We'll be playing all the camp games, dancing the camp dance, singing the camp song, and just having a great time.
The best part is....we get to sleep in tomorrow!!!
Julia's Post
I am in the middle of a loud dark disco party, so I will try to write well. Please forgive me if not all of it makes sense. :)
Today was the last full day of camp. In the main meeting, we talked about Jesus talking Nicodemus and Jesus with the woman at the well. Afterwards we had a really good discussion in our small group about what we believe about God and Jesus.
Our English environment for the day was Facebook. We made profiles for people we made up and we played charades with things you would do on Facebook.
During free time, Bekah and I took naps. That worked out well for us because it's 12:55 AM. We get to stay up extra late since it's the last day.
In the evening meeting, we did an outside personal thing where we went to different stations and had to do things like write a letter to ourselves, write down the names of the people we needed to forgive on a pebble and throw into the woods, etc. There was a lot of crying, but of the good kind.
Now I'm gonna go join the dance party, so we will post more later.
-Julia
Today was the last full day of camp. In the main meeting, we talked about Jesus talking Nicodemus and Jesus with the woman at the well. Afterwards we had a really good discussion in our small group about what we believe about God and Jesus.
Our English environment for the day was Facebook. We made profiles for people we made up and we played charades with things you would do on Facebook.
During free time, Bekah and I took naps. That worked out well for us because it's 12:55 AM. We get to stay up extra late since it's the last day.
In the evening meeting, we did an outside personal thing where we went to different stations and had to do things like write a letter to ourselves, write down the names of the people we needed to forgive on a pebble and throw into the woods, etc. There was a lot of crying, but of the good kind.
Now I'm gonna go join the dance party, so we will post more later.
-Julia
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Camp day #3
Hey everybody!
We just finished another wonderful day of camp. Today I told the stories of Ruth and David & Bathsheba. This is the first English Camp where I haven't been part of a small discussion group, so I'm trying to get used to not being really close to the campers. It's fun getting to wander from table to table at meals though.
During English environments, I'm in charge of the Hollywood environment. The campers first have to design a new look for "Estonia's Next Top Model" using a few items such as toilet paper and tin foil. Then they have to make a video. It can be either a music video, commercial advertisement, or a movie trailer.
At free time in the afternoon we played Amazing Race. The teams had to race to different stations and complete certain tasks at each. My two stations were Cake Fishing and Gummybears Mix. In Cake Fishing the team had to have one person be a fish and another be a fisherman. The blindfolded fisherman uses a pole with a chocolate bar attached and must feed the fish who is lying on the ground. Only the other teammates can give the fisherman directions. Gummybears Mix was the final challenge and the most exciting. Each team has a giant bowl of gummybears and must transport them across the grass into different bowls by color. One person at a time. No hands. They can only carry them in their mouths.
Tonight after the final story, we had open mic night. Daniel, Helari, and I performed an interpretive dance born out of great love and admiration for the campers. I "sang," Daniel "danced", and Helari played drums. Julia did a short ballet solo and made our dance look amateur to say the least! Some sang or mimed songs. One girl read a poem she wrote today. It was her first poem in English and was very moving. It was about friendship and she dedicated it to all of us.
And now it's time for sleep again. Tomorrow is a big day for us. In the morning I will be telling a few stories about Jesus and how He has redeemed us. All the stories so far have been leading to tomorrow, and in the evening, everyone will be going through a labyrinth and stopping at various stations which represent the redeeming work of Christ. Please be praying for us, as this can be a very emotional opportunity for many of the campers.
We just finished another wonderful day of camp. Today I told the stories of Ruth and David & Bathsheba. This is the first English Camp where I haven't been part of a small discussion group, so I'm trying to get used to not being really close to the campers. It's fun getting to wander from table to table at meals though.
During English environments, I'm in charge of the Hollywood environment. The campers first have to design a new look for "Estonia's Next Top Model" using a few items such as toilet paper and tin foil. Then they have to make a video. It can be either a music video, commercial advertisement, or a movie trailer.
At free time in the afternoon we played Amazing Race. The teams had to race to different stations and complete certain tasks at each. My two stations were Cake Fishing and Gummybears Mix. In Cake Fishing the team had to have one person be a fish and another be a fisherman. The blindfolded fisherman uses a pole with a chocolate bar attached and must feed the fish who is lying on the ground. Only the other teammates can give the fisherman directions. Gummybears Mix was the final challenge and the most exciting. Each team has a giant bowl of gummybears and must transport them across the grass into different bowls by color. One person at a time. No hands. They can only carry them in their mouths.
Tonight after the final story, we had open mic night. Daniel, Helari, and I performed an interpretive dance born out of great love and admiration for the campers. I "sang," Daniel "danced", and Helari played drums. Julia did a short ballet solo and made our dance look amateur to say the least! Some sang or mimed songs. One girl read a poem she wrote today. It was her first poem in English and was very moving. It was about friendship and she dedicated it to all of us.
And now it's time for sleep again. Tomorrow is a big day for us. In the morning I will be telling a few stories about Jesus and how He has redeemed us. All the stories so far have been leading to tomorrow, and in the evening, everyone will be going through a labyrinth and stopping at various stations which represent the redeeming work of Christ. Please be praying for us, as this can be a very emotional opportunity for many of the campers.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
First Day of English Camp
The day began....waking up at 4AM. I couldn't go back to sleep. Suddenly I heard a knock on the door. "We are leaving in 5 minutes." Julia and I looked at the clock. 8:55AM. We'd slept clear through our alarm.
The theme of camp this week is Redeem. God gave us a great example of that today by redeeming our day and turning our weakness into His strength. At 9AM we left Tallinn for Juuru. (Julia thinks Juuru is a fun word) Camp is being held in a school building and all morning and early afternoon was spent setting up the rooms, making signs, finding showers, etc.
We heard the bad news at 3PM. Half of the campers would not be coming. We now have 10 leaders and 7 campers. But we firmly believe that God has hand-picked each person here and are looking forward to what happens next.
We had our first main meeting this evening and I introduced out theme to the group. This is the most talkative English Camp I've witnessed yet, which is very encouraging.
I have 5 minutes to get ready for bed and I'm being distracted by the camper playing guitar and singing about Digimon, so that's all for now. Good night!
-Bekah
The theme of camp this week is Redeem. God gave us a great example of that today by redeeming our day and turning our weakness into His strength. At 9AM we left Tallinn for Juuru. (Julia thinks Juuru is a fun word) Camp is being held in a school building and all morning and early afternoon was spent setting up the rooms, making signs, finding showers, etc.
We heard the bad news at 3PM. Half of the campers would not be coming. We now have 10 leaders and 7 campers. But we firmly believe that God has hand-picked each person here and are looking forward to what happens next.
We had our first main meeting this evening and I introduced out theme to the group. This is the most talkative English Camp I've witnessed yet, which is very encouraging.
I have 5 minutes to get ready for bed and I'm being distracted by the camper playing guitar and singing about Digimon, so that's all for now. Good night!
-Bekah
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Day #2
A day full of training. Today we met with all three English Camp teams that are running this week learned more about how the camps will be run, prayed together, and did some practice small group questions. The jet lag isn't too bad today. We've all eaten way too much.
Tomorrow morning is when the drama begins. We could use the prayer because it's the first day of camp tomorrow and this is the first English camp for most of the people there.
That's it for now. I'm watching the USA/Ghana World Cup game and bonding! :)
Tomorrow morning is when the drama begins. We could use the prayer because it's the first day of camp tomorrow and this is the first English camp for most of the people there.
That's it for now. I'm watching the USA/Ghana World Cup game and bonding! :)
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