The kettles are coming!

Captain Ave Kalme (CO at Kopli) with her new kettle

I know that the mere words 'Christmas kettle' send a shiver down the spine of many officer friends around the world. The kettle is a symbol of the wonderful generosity of supporters but also, probably, the busiest season the year. Well, this week the iconic Salvation Army red kettle arrived in Estonia.  Our kettle programme in Estonia has been developing in recent years, largely in the Tallinn area where we are blessed to see many tourists and visitors who know the work of The Salvation Army and recognise our uniform (and kettle!) from back home. This year we are hoping to expand our programme - and all corps are making plans for locations and volunteers. Trouble is, whilst we had some collecting boxes we needed more if we were to move out around the country.
So a quick shout for help and an appeal to colleagues (in the USA) generated an immediate response from Majors Philip and Susan Wittenberg, leaders of the Hempstead Citadel corps in New York. Philip and Susan know the needs and opportunities in Estonia very well - having served here themselves a few years back. Actually, years later, Susan is still revered for her ability to learn and speak fluent Estonian (I'm so jealous!). They stepped up with an immediate offer of help. And courtesy of generous donations from soldiers and advisory board members, 4 brand new kettles arrived in Tallinn this week. The donation would not have been possible without the assistance of UPS - the international shipping company. As part of their support for The Salvation Army they shipped the kettles free of charge. So it's a big 'thumbs up' to our friends in Hempstead Citadel and UPS. Now, let's pray for some good locations, generous givers and that Estonia won't be quite as cold as usual for our first Christmas here!