Kids will be kids

This week has been regional children’s camp in Estonia. Our own SA camp facility at Loksa is closed as it is in need of essential repairs.  The cost of renting an alternative placed the camp in jeopardy but a local firm generously donated around €2,400 which covered the cost of hiring rooms at Nelijarve camp. It is a wonderful facility in beautiful surroundings (Neli = 4, and jarve = lakes). The 18 kids and adult helpers drawn from the Region’s 5 corps gathered excitedly on Monday. Some were old hands at camp, others newbies attending their first. There was the usual nervousness as they introduced themselves and discovered who they were rooming with.

The Region has the challenge of working bilingually. Children from the east are largely Russian speaking; those from the south use Estonian and those from Tallinn are mixed. This means that translation is always needed for united sessions (2-way translation when Lyn and I spoke with them). The theme for the week was journeying with Joseph and Captain Ave had produced wonderful materials, games and craft activities to help the children learn this Old Testament story.

Having dropped the children on Monday it was great to return on Friday and sense the change in mood. The children had clearly enjoyed a wonderful week. The usual mix of late nights, lack of sleep, fun and games and meeting new friends was just what we have experienced at every other camp we have witnessed anywhere.  Kids will be kids – and when the final worship session and prize giving was over and they were released for one last swim in the lake it was great to see the smiles and hear the laughter. That wonderful sound crosses all language barriers and needs no translation. It was great to meet the children (and their adult helpers) and our lack of language skills certainly didn't prevent them from befriending us - and sharing with us their prize sweets and cookies! (Thank you)

Having spent much of the week in the office discussing financial matters and the challenges of property

projects it was a wonderful reminder of the real reason why The Salvation Army exists here in Estonia. It’s the same reason we exist anywhere – to share the love of Jesus with boys and girls, men and women; to demonstrate His care to the in practical ways and to help them on their journey with Him.

It’s been a good 2^nd week here in Estonia. The car has started (eventually!) every time we have used it; our Estonian ID cards (confirming residency) have been issued; we now have local bank accounts so can receive an allowance (and pay bills!); and have managed to get around and about without getting lost; we've made some lovely new relationships and discovered beautiful areas of Tallinn and the wider Estonian countryside!

God is good, all the time – all the time, God is good.

New beginnings

Well, it's Saturday 20th July 2013 - which marks the last day of our first week in Estonia. It's been quite a week and, if I am honest, my head is spinning! Travelling to a new appointment evokes so many emotions: fear of the unknown, nervousness about the new role, worries about the shortcomings you know about (such as not knowing the language!) as well as those you know will manifest themselves as the demands of the task become clear. Then there are the feelings of excitement about moving to a new home, meeting new colleagues and building new relationships,  discovering fresh and different areas of ministry and exploring an unknown country. Couple all these with the inevitable physical tiredness that goes with spending days at work and evenings unpacking boxes and trying to make the new quarters into a new home and it has been some week.

We have only met a small number of people so far, but all have been really welcoming, helpful and friendly. The team at the office deserve medals for putting up with our daft questions. Kerlin, Evelyn and Shelby have made our first week so much easier with their practical help - not to mention their tireless translating.

We haven't set foot outside Tallinn yet, but have visited Hope House rehab centre and firewood project and had a look around Kopli corps. It is clear that there are some wonderful ministries going on here. The guys from Hope House have been amazing - Maxim (the centre leader), Sergei and Alexi worked until 11pm on Wednesday night building flat pack wardrobes and helping sort the bathroom out. That's despite Maxim preparing for his own move just 2 days later. Over the next years Hope House will surely feature prominently in these blogs as the ministry amongst guys suffering addictions, and families and individuals coping with biting poverty is demonstrably powerful.

Estonia is evidently a very bureaucratic country. The SA has to work within a demanding framework of rules and regulations (on top of all those we seems quite capable of creating for ourselves!). The most obvious challenge seems to be that our constitution  demands we operate within a Board framework, with everything requiring signatures from Board members. The chairman of the board is the TC and changes (even to practical issues such as bank acc
ounts) often require his signature. The small issue of him being located in a different country might present a few obstacles to swift progress :-)

On a practical matter, we now have our temporary ID cards bearing our new numbers. Our formal cards should be ready in a couple of days. The bank have approved our application to open personal accounts (so we can start sorting out things like TV and actually receiving an allowance).

The car is a bit of a liability. It was obviously a nice vehicle once - but that was a few years ago. It has eventually started each morning but the lengthy whirring of the starter motor before the engine eventually starts doesn't inspire confidence for the long journeys we will need to make to visit corps around the country. A replacement is a high priority, but there is no budget. So if anyone is looking for a project to fund please drop me a line! Having a reliable vehicle would certainly ease our day to day concerns.

Tomorrow we will attend the corps and sit in worship. We are really looking forward to meeting corps members and fellow worshippers. As we wrestle with the essential and inevitable practical issues that are part of an officer move, we remind ourselves that the people we serve with, those we worship alongside and those we are called to minister to are the priority and, ultimately, the only reason we are here.

Thank you for your prayers and your love and support.