Search

Estonia Chronicles – Prayer Letter 3

Posted by On Filed under bulletinboard, Missions

Church groupOur first day of class, as always, was a combination of welcoming back old friends and greeting new ones. We have a total of six different classes this year: beginner, intermediate and advanced adult classes, a high school class, a children’s group, and a pastor’s class. Renovations at St. Paul’s are now complete and so we have more space available to us.

On Wednesday we visited the Tartu Academy where, as Siimon and Eenok shared what’s happening at the institute, it is apparent that God is working through them. Thank you for the blessing of the largest new class they’ve ever had.

  • Pray for the pastors and congregation of St. Paul’s Church. Thank God for their gracious sharing of their space and resources every year as we take over much of their building for the week. Ask God to bless them in their ministry, which also includes a daily soup kitchen, a day care, and many other outreach programs.
  • Pray for our language camp. Pray that God will send new people each day and that relationships will be formed that will continue and grow in the weeks and months to come.
  • Pray for all those who struggle to deal with pain resulting from childhood hurt. Pray that God will send people to support, comfort and encourage wherever such help is needed.
  • Pray for the youth of Estonia. Pray that the young people who know God will be bold in their witness, that God will give them the words to share truth with their friends, and that their lives will shine light into the darkness of this nation.
  • Pray for a woman being tested for cancer, that her tumors will be benign.
  • Pray for comfort for Kerli’s family following the death of her mother on Wednesday.
  • Pray that the farm animals of an older couple be protected from predators; pray also for their health.
  • Pray for Estonian freedom and that the people will return to the Lord. Pray that they will learn to turn troubles over to God. Pray for revival in this tiny nation.
  • Pray for the children of Estonia, that marriages may be strong, that families may grow in faith and love for Jesus. Pray for protection from addictions and for healing where it is needed. Pray for provision through work.
  • Pray that God will open our eyes to the people around us who need to be seen, who need to be loved.

Thank you for your support!

The 2016 Tartu, Estonia Mission Team

Estonia Chronicles – Prayer Letter 2

Posted by On Filed under bulletinboard, Missions

Ill woman in care centerThank you for your prayers for Sunday; all our team members were blessed as we visited a number of different churches. Thanks also for your prayers for Pastor Bob and those team members who spent time in prayer with a terminally ill woman in a care center on Monday morning. Please continue to pray for this woman and for her daughter, a student at the camp.

On Sunday, Pastor Bob preached at Pastor Eenok’s church in Mustvee; he was accompanied by Patti, DeDe, Lori, and Jake. They witnessed a rare Estonian baptism and enjoyed a wonderful lunch and time of fellowship with Eenok and Eha. Lori was greatly impacted by the joy on the face of Eenok during the baptism.

Barbara and Perry attended worship at Pastor Andrus’ church, where Barbara shared her testimony; following the service, they went with Andrus to a home for those with mental challenges. They were greatly touched by Andrus’ interaction with the people as he led them in worship.

Linda and Richard attended worship at St. Paul’s in Tartu, the church where our camp is held. It was a special service to recognize all those confirmed over the past fifty years.

Pam, Mot and Pastor Kathy attended worship at the congregation of Pastor Urmas, where Pastor Kathy gave the message. Following the service, we had the privilege of praying with a young man who’s been a Christian for only four months. We then traveled to Pastor Aivo’s church, where they have a twice-a-year tradition of holding Sunday afternoon worship in the cemetery to remember those who are buried there. Linda and Richard joined us for this special time of worship, after which we returned to the church for a communion service.  Over lunch prepared by Aivo’s wife, Heidi, we talked about the challenges that congregations experience in both Estonia and America, especially those in small rural Estonian communities. Aivo requested prayer and before returning to the hostel, we anointed and prayed for Aivo and his family, as well as for Matthew, a lay leader of the congregation.

Bob and Patti were able to spend an extended period of time with Bill, a Chinese man staying at the hostel. Bill is an alcoholic resisting God. As we walked to the church last night, we met a man at the gate of the church, who spoke no English but who clearly was in need of help. He cried as we prayed for him.

Pray for this man, for Bill, and for the multitude in this nation who are struggling with addictions, struggling with identity, struggling with a lack of hope.

  • Pray for marriage and the condition of marriage in Estonia.
  • Pray for the team, that we will “keep alert, persevere, pray for the saints, and that also we will …. open our mouths boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19).
  • Pray that camp attendance will be grow each day, with people excited to return.
  • Pray for new Christians, that their faith will grow and mature, especially in this hostile environment.
  • Pray that as the team leads the camp, we will be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit at all times, even when it conflicts with our agenda.

 

The 2016 Tartu, Estonia Mission Team

The 2016 Tartu Mission Team

Posted by On Filed under bulletinboard, Missions
Missions Team

Back Row: DeDe Elliott (Colorado), Lori Nagle-Reimann (Iowa), Pr. Kathy Sandmann (Iowa), Patti Nordvall (North Dakota), Barbara Felt (Colorado), Linda Cruz (California), Pam Hedges (Washington),

Front Row: Jake Ritland (Iowa), Perry Ritland (Iowa), Our Leader Pr. Bob Nordvall (North Dakota), Richard Mahlow (Iowa), Mot Hedges (Washington)

Estonian Chronicles – Prayer Letter #1

Posted by On Filed under bulletinboard, Missions

Missions TeamThe Tartu team has gathered over the past week. Saturday evening, we were able to have the whole team together just in time for evening devotions in the Men’s Room (Perry, Richard, and Jake’s room). Unfortunately, devotions were cut short by the fire alarm. Thank the LORD it was a glitch due to construction. This gave us the opportunity to meet some of the other residents, who are students from neighboring countries here for a training camp. We finished our devotional time with hymns sang in the parking lot.

Yesterday we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day without rain, the first in 2 weeks. Today, Pastors Eenok and Siimon Haamer showed us the places in southern Estonia that Pastor Eenok, his mother, and brother hid-out from the Soviets in order to keep from being arrested and deported to Siberia. They were in hiding from 1949 to 1955 and the story is still inspirational today.

Below is a prayer list. It includes specific prayers for our group as we will be splitting up and visiting several different churches tomorrow – a testament to relationships and spiritual growth that is occurring between our team and the Estonians.

  • Pastor Bob will be preaching at Pastor Eenok’s Church in Mustvee. Patti, DeDe, Lori, and Jake will also be in attendance.
  • Pastor Kathy learned just today that she will be preaching at Palamuse with Pastor Urmas Oras. Mot and Pam will also be in attendance.
  • Barbara was asked to share her testimony at Pastor Andrus Mottus’s Church in Kambia. Perry will also be in attendance.
  • Linda and Richard will attend church services at St. Paul’s with Pastors Joel and Kristian Luhamets. This is the church that hosts our camp. It will be a special day at St. Paul’s as it is Confirmation Sunday and they will be celebration confirmands over the last 25 years.
  • At 2:00pm, Pastor Kathy, Mot, Pam, Linda and Richard will attend a special ‘mission-type’ outreach service at the cemetery with Pastor Aivo.
  • Kerli Krillo, her mother and the family. Kerli’s mother is dying of cancer and in now on palliative care only. They have requested that Pastor Bob, Patti, DeDe and Barbara visit them on Monday morning to pray for them.
  • Set-up classroom on Monday morning prior to student arrival at 3pm. This will stretch the team as set-up has been delayed to Monday morning to accommodate confirmation celebrations at St. Paul’s Church.

GOD has blessed us with your support. Thank-you so much for your faithfulness and prayers.