Good evening from Estonia! We arrived yesterday with no problems -- sorry we weren't able to get on the internet last night to let you know we made it. We were greeted at the airport by Kristina (from Aseri), Andre (Viktor's son), and Julia (Maksim's wife). We headed out from Tallinn and drove to Aseri, stopping for a late lunch along the way. We got a small tour of the town, had dinner at the church (cooked by Tatiana), and stayed for a nice evening of fellowship. We stayed at a new guesthouse/hotel just out from town along the main road.
Also, last night we gained another team member, an American from Georgia who is living in Estonia for a year. Her name is Susan, and we're glad to have her with us.
This morning began a day full of surprises and adventures! We didn't know what we had in store.
We began by going to Aseri School, the public school in town that is grades 1-12 with 156 total students. As a group, we spoke to three different classes for 45 minutes each about life in America and Tennessee. All the students are studying English and were excited to have Americans to speak with. The school told us we were the first Americans to ever teach classes. It was a treat for us and for them to be there. We were truly their guests and were welcomed graciously with love, lunch in the cafeteria, coffee/tea, and a tour. The school was started in 1905 and maintains a museum about the school and Aseri. It was nice for us to see the heritage of the area and hear stories from two teachers, one of whom had attended Aseri School as a child. An interesting piece of the history is that the original school building is now the Aseri Methodist Church! We were at the school from 9:00am to 1:30pm and had a great exchange with students and teachers.
We then headed to Camp Gideon, about a 30 minute drive from Aseri, where we will be spending the next three nights. This is an amazing place with an amazing story. It is a camp built on the shore of the Baltic Sea, originally built by the Russians in the 1920s or 30s after Russian occupation of Estonia. After the Germans occupied around WWII, it became a retreat for German officers. Then once the Soviets occupied at the end of the war, it became a Red Pioneer camp, a communist indoctrination camp for children. Wow, what a history already! The Methodist Church was able to purchase this abandoned property in the 1990s, and it is now a Christian camp for children and youth from all over the world. Just this summer, we know there were Estonians, Russians, Americans, Brazilians, Israelis, and Australians here. What a transformation from the past history of the camp. God can do amazing things.
Late afternoon, we were due back at the Aseri Church for snacks and to prepare for an evening worship service since we are in town. However, today was a special 'sports day' for the town of Aseri, an annual event where the whole town comes out for a walk/run. They told us to bring shoes and clothes with us for it. Not really knowing what to expect, we asked a few questions beforehand and found out that the run was more than we thought. And in fact, it seemed to keep getting longer the more questions we asked. It turns out it was a 6k race (3.6 miles)! We had already volunteered and gotten our race numbers. Hmmm.... Scott, Rachel, and Jim ran the 6k, and Kate, Leigh, Susan, and our Estonian friends walked a 4k walk. Did I mention it rained on us after we started? Apparently, only serious runners run the 6k, because we Americans were left in the dust (or rather, the clay mud). At home, we would be middle-of-the-pack runners, but here we weren't. Oh well; we were pleased with our times. The walkers had an amazing narrated tour of Aseri as they walked and really enjoyed it.
We came back to the church after the big athletic event for an evening service. It was a joy to see Pastor Viktor again. He had been in Finland for work this week and was just able to join us for the first time this evening. We sang together with the church, and several of us spoke -- Susan and Leigh gave their testimonies, and Scott preached. We fellowshipped and ate dinner at the church afterwards. It was a good evening.
We are now back at Camp Gideon and settled in for the night. It is cool and raining, so the covers will feel good tonight. Tomorrow we are doing a kids day at the church for the children of Aseri. Please pray for our day.
Good night from Estonia.
Jim and Rachel, for the team
