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.

St. John's Day

We had the great pleasure of celebrating St. John’s Day with members of the Voru and Vitka UMCs. St. John’s Day is the Estonian holiday honoring the birthday of John the Baptist. The holiday falls during the summer solstice week of many celebrations and during the week when the days are blessed with 19 hours of sun light. The pastor from Vitka UMC hosted our celebration at her country home. After a brief evening service celebrating the glory of God, we moved on to the festivities. We learned traditional Estonian dances, played Estonian games, and shared a traditional summer outdoor meal. God blessed our celebration with beautiful weather and beautiful fellowship.

Arriving in Latvia and then driving to Voru

We landed safely in Riga on Monday and made our way to Voru, Estonia via the team vans to meet with the Voru United Methodist Church (UMC). We had a productive meeting and learned more about the Voru UMC's core values and ministries. The Vitka, Estonia UMC pastor attended our meeting too. Vitka is a small, rural community approximately 30K from Voru, Estonia. One of our teams is working on a construction project for Vitka UMC for the next three days. The other team will be hosting a camp for kids 11-16 for the next three days. We're planning drama, music, and sports workshops along with bible chats and small group discussions. We're looking forward to sharing our love for God and to building connections with His Estonian and Latvian children.

The team has boarded the Amsterdam flight and is getting ready to take off. Say your prayers for our safe journey across the Atlantic.

Houston IAH

The Chapelwood Mission Team has arrived at IAH and is waiting to board the plane to Amsterdam. The flight is delayed and we're hoping to take off soon.