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Chris and I finally arrived on the island on Friday evening, after traveling from Amsterdam to Munich to Tallin by air and then by bus and ferry and bus again. On Saturday we settled in, rested, and did some sightseeing. On Sunday we attended worship at St. Laurentis, our host church. The 2 hour service included a message from a visiting pastor from Finland, a greeting from Pastor Bob Nordvall, and communion. We spent the afternoon setting up for the camp after which I worked on my upcoming sermons (next Sunday in Mustvee and the following week in Rahu) and prepared to lead devotions this morning.

We had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time with Mark, a young man from the Netherlands who is bicycling around Estonia. We prayed over him as he departed from our hostel this morning. We have also been able to spend time with Pastor David Breiderbach and his wife Angela, who are with us until tomorrow. Pastor Davis is the director of EEMN (East European Mission Network).

Please continue to keep the entire team in prayer, to pray for the students who will be coming to the camp, and for the Estonian people. When we arrived in Tallin, the airport was filled with hundreds of soldiers from various countries, preparing to engage in NATO military exercises. Many looked very young and very frightened. The Russian threat is very real here; please pray for peaceful resolution to this difficult situation.

Praying for all of you, Pastor Kathy

From Pastor Kathy

Not where we planned to be today, but apparently God had other ideas. Chris and I had an uneventful trip to Minneapolis and then to Amsterdam, but five hours after arriving here, we discovered that our connecting flight to Estonia had been canceled. We spent several hours making arrangements to fly today by way of Germany. We will spend an additional five hours in the air on two flights and then an additional five hours on two buses and one ferry – at least that’s our plan.

We’ll see what God has planned.

We spent the night in a hotel in Amsterdam, the city often referred to as the modern day Babylon. I discovered a tourist magazine in my room praising the advanced understanding of the human condition in which this city prides itself, an understanding that any life style is equally valid and we just need to be tolerant and accepting of one another. I also found a New Testament in four languages: Dutch, German, French, and English – something I’ve never seen
in our country.

I have felt a great burden to pray for this city while I have been here and ask you to join me. Pray that God will be at work in hearts and minds, especially in those who don’t know Him. We had the opportunity to share Him with the delightful young woman who helped us with our flight arrangements yesterday and also to be encouraging at a time when almost everyone else was yelling at her. Pray for more opportunities today.

Remember that nothing we can say or do can be effective unless God has first prepared the soil of the heart to receive. Pray that He is going powerfully ahead of us and that we are able to see and hear.

Praying also for all of you.