Estonian Music Memories

Playing in Copenhagen

We spent a few days in Copenhagen sightseeing and playing. Our first stop was a boat tour that provided a great overview of the sights and of the rich architecture. We were able to take a closer look at the city, including the Little Mermaid, by living like the locals and renting bicycles. Copenhagen is an extremely bike friendly city with bike lanes on every street and plenty of bicycle parking. Even though we were at play, we took time to thank the great Lord above with a communion service in the hotel bar area. On our final night, we visited Tivoli Gardens. A few of our team members rode the rides and then we had our final team dinner in the oldest restaurant in Tivoli. Our last supper was full of reflections and sharing warm memories. We were blessed to be part of this awesome mission and know that we'll be returning home changed as a result of our Godly experience.

Riga First UMC

We stopped in Riga , before leaving Latvia, and visited the Riga First UMC. Our arrival happened to coincide with with Riga UMC Women's Cookbook Club dinner night and lucky for us, they invited us to break bread. They served a delicious potato dumpling soup, with some excellent side dishes, and a scrumptious strawberry cream dessert. The church Pavarotti performed a solo and Rita sang "Amazing Grace." After dinner, the Pastor, held a brief candle lighting prayer service. Our time at Riga First UMC was short, but meaningful. The next day we did some sightseeing around the charming city of Riga and toured the Museum of Occupation. Our experience helped us gain a deeper understanding of Estonian and Latvian history. From Riga, we headed to Copenhagen for R&R.

Liepa, Latvia

We worked with the Liepa UMC during our time in Latvia. Our team held a Vacation Bible School with children from the local community and over 40 children ages 3-14 attended. Our activities included crafts (see the crowns), games, music, and reading. During our time at the church, we bonded with the mothers and babies in the Liepa UMC Hope Center. This center supports single mothers in transition. Susan prepared lunch for the team at The Hope Center each day. We took plenty of time to hold the babies, pray for the babies, and to spread God's love to the babies. The construction team made great progress on the dry wall project in the future Liepa UMC Chapel. They taped and floated all the walls during their three days on the job. The construction team also squeezed in a quick shoe repair job for another team member and gave their work a 30 day guarantee! "Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights above (Psalm 148:1)."

Goodbye Estonia, Hello Latvia

Our last days in Estonia were blessed with more beautiful connections. The youth performed music and a drama the final night of camp, and we wrapped up with a bonfire and smores. On the last day of camp we had a communion service and blessed each camper with a wooden cross from the St. Luke’s UMC Mens’ Ministry. The service was followed by our goodbyes and, of course, a few tears. On Sunday we attended two services, one in Voru and one in Vitka. Wick shared the message with the Estonian people that we are God’s Beloved.“……. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased (Mark 1:11).”Several members of our team gave testimonies at each church service where we exchanged gifts and reminisced about the many blessings God granted us during our camp, construction project, and time together. On our way to Liepa, we stopped for dinner in Cesis. After a few wrong turns, and an excellent collaborative map reading effort by the MEN on the team, we arrived at midnight just in time to catch the Latvian sunset.

Vitka UMC Construction Project

Our construction team (Estelle, Kevin, Susan and Wick) finished the third day of working on the Vitka UMC sanctuary. The project involves plastering all the walls and the ceiling of the worship center. Today we finished plastering the ceiling and began sanding the walls. Tomorrow we hope to finish sanding the walls and ceiling, so the church will be ready for worship on Sunday. One of the highlights of this project is our daily lunch prepared by the church members. One our favorite lunches was sausage and mashed potatoes with Estonian mustard, which would put any Texas spicy mustard to shame. We have two desserts and fresh, home-grown strawberries everyday. The best part is getting to know our new Estonian friends. Tiit, who has an awesome singing voice and beautiful heart, has been with us daily. Not only is he an immense help from the construction stand point, he serenades us while we work. Malais, the father of one our campers, spent his holiday helping. Margos, who is a graduate student and works from the Estonian Ministry of Culture, spent two of his vacation days helping us plaster the sanctuary. Please pray that we finish preparing the sanctuary in time for services on Sunday as our whole team will be attending along with the local congregation.

Estonia & Latvia Youth Camp

We're having an awesome time with the youth at the Estonia/Latvia camp organized by the Voru UMC. We've been sharing the spirit of God with these "kids" who are the first Estonian generation of freedom since the end of the communist reign. Our days are filled with worship, singing, workshops (drama, music, dance, and sports), Estonian meals, walks, canoe trips, bible discussion groups, and just hanging around chatting about life. We're encouraging the youth to follow their dreams and to listen to God's guidance."To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue"(Proverbs 16). Doug led a bible chat yesterday focusing on the beauty inside of us as we were all created in God's image and He didn't make anything that wasn't beautiful. "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18)." This morning we did a presentation on life in Houston,Texas and on life at Chapelwood. Rita led us in singing "Deep in the Heart of Texas" and taught the Cotton Eyed Joe. We gave out cowboy hats as mementos. Please join us in praying for the youth of Estonia as they move forward in the journey of self discovery.