Thoughts on Adventure Camp from 30,000 feet

I’m writing as we are flying in a Air France 767, 50 miles northwest of Paris. Since our six hour layover in Paris was cut short we were not able to leave the airport. However, we have been blessed that both flights have been without issue (minus a slight delay in the first one) and that our group is still in good spirits, despite averaging two hours of sleep last night!

Thank you all for your patience in us getting our big weekly update on the blog. The week was amazing. Just for a little background for you all, we were told there are about 320,000 youth ages 12 to 21 in Estonia. Of that 320,000 there are roughly 3,000 believers…that’s less than 1%! There is obviously a huge need to impact the next generation in Estonia and Eastern Europe as a whole.

English camps are very common in Eastern Europe. Since English is the international language and it is an essential skill needed for communication today, students have a huge yearning and need to practice English. That being said, there are many Christian organizations that host English camps in Europe. Their intent is to share the Gospel (usually more of an introduction to the Gospel) and at the same time practice English with the students. It is an incredible way to show the students that one, Christians aren’t nuts (there are a lot of false misconceptions about Christians in their society), and two, to show them the love of Christ through our love of them. Because of the background of the students, our adventure camp was a step beyond the average English camp.

This camp was for people already with an interest, knowledge, or thorough understanding of Jesus Christ. Because of that, instead of tiptoeing around God, He was the sole focus of the week...and some awesome adventure challenges too! Our week-long focus was Disciples in Christ. Our mornings consisted of practical talks: community (by our very own Stuart Brown), prayer, the bible, and testimony/personal stories (eloquently and humbly spoken by Calder). The evenings were the four G’s of God. God is great (He is in control so we don’t need to be), God is glorious (we don’t need to worry about what other’s think, only what God thinks), God is good (we don’t need to look elsewhere for joy; He is enough), God is gracious (we can’t earn His grace; it is freely given). Before our talks we had amazing times of worship in both English and Estonian. Our talks were also followed up by small group discussions. They consisted of guided discussions and questions for three to five students lead by an both an American and Estonian leader.

Success is defined in many different ways, but I can solidly say, our week was amazingly successful. Our goal wasn’t to convert every student; it was to take as many students one-step beyond where they were. For some, this meant for the total atheist students to simply recognize that there may possibly be a god out there. For others, if they thought there may be a god, it was to show them of the God that we know. For believers, it was to help them greater understand God and His love for them. We did just that. And because of that, we had tremendous success.

God did amazing things this week in a little camp in rural Estonia. God moved mountains, broke down walls, in the hearts of the students. He also spoke through and worked so clearly in the leaders, both Estonian and American. I so strongly felt the “mutual encouragement through each other’s faith,” the disciple Paul speaks about in the book of Romans. It was clear that our group was so clearly handpicked to be apart of this trip. Thank you for trusting both God and us with your support. Thank you for all you have given and for your continued prayers.

With much love and gratitude

Still hanging in the Tallinn airport...

I know that we have way, way more important things to share than airport delays, but couldn't resist posting this picture that I just took of Grant and D-mac sleeping:

A few photos...

Ok, hopefully we can get a couple photos on here prior to boarding the flight. 

We did a "prayer walk" on Thursday night where we walked the students through thoughts on the greatness of God, the personal nature of God, his unfailing love, his forgiveness and our "new creation" status once we are saved.  As a part of this walk we blindfolded the students and had them carry a brick around camp as they walked "by faith" and not by sight.  It was a powerful way to bring camp to a close (or so we thought).  The students, for the most part, really engaged with the premise of the evening - especially after Craig (one of the Pastors for Risttee) did an exceptional job of re-telling the story of the Prodigal Son.
At the end of the walk, the students took off their blindfolds, dropped their bricks and then tossed a piece of paper with their barriers to feeling loved (or to believing in God) into the fire as their small group leaders hugged them and reaffirmed both the fierce love that God has for them as well as the love that their leaders possess for them. 

In this photo, we wash away the dirt that remained from the brick - symbolic of God's redeeming love cleansing us through the death of Christ.  Just as we come away pure and blameless in God's eyes, the students walked away cleansed, once they have let go of their burden (in the form of the brick).

Worship took place each morning and each evening in the Pavillion.   "Au Sinule, Igavesti" was our favorite song (Glory to God).  We always took turns singing both in Estonian and English.  These were some of our favorite times.

This is Eric preparing for the Amazing Race.  He didn't have a small group of his own b/c he was way too valuable in putting together the games that we did every afternoon for up to 3-4 hours as well as the crazy games we did for a few minutes at the beginning of each evening worship time.  For a taste of what we mean by "crazy" - one night the game consisted of eating bananas while wearing pantyhose on your head - hilarious (and not easy at all!)  The next night we did a game called "Eat it or Wear it" in which the contestants have to make a decision whether or not to eat or wear whatever substance is about to be presented to them...messy was a big part of these games.  

Ok, this is so random, Dolly Parton is on the TV here at the airport.  Not sure why I felt it necessary to share that, but if you were to ask me to list 1000 artists whose videos would be playing at the Tallinn airport at 8:07 in the morning, she would not make the list.  

I have not missed the flight by the way.  Our flight has been delayed a few minutes in case you are wondering.  I think we should be boarding momentarily.  Either way, we have a 6 hour layover in Paris, so there's no way we should miss our connection back to Atlanta...

Sara and Rachel get their team colors just before the scavenger hunt on Monday morning that kicked camp off. 
Tat showing off his Navy Blue...
Amy in Florida Gator Orange...
Grant & Jeremiah "proudly" display their shades of pink....I promise it was random that these two got blessed with shades of pink...really...
Ok, this is from dinner in Tartu on Sun night.  D-mac looking at his "Chips Pizza."  I'm fairly certain that he is the first person over the age of 12 to ever order this.  If you will look closely his pizza is covered in hot dogs and french fries.  Of course, the 2nd adult to ever order that pizza was Grant Gilley...   And, you can see his picture with the "Chips Pizza" in an earlier post.

Ok, that's it for now.  Time to hopefully get on our way to Charles de Gaulle....unless....and, it looks as if we are delayed for another 45 minutes...estimated departure time of 9:30 AM local time....I think.  It may be 9:00.  We'll see and will keep you posted. 

Good-byes again and again and again....

We are now at the airport in Tallinn after a crazy early start to our day.  When we left our hostel just after 4:15 AM, we were sent off by about 10-15 students who surprised us by showing up and sending us off in style. They had stayed up all night and walked to the hostel from several kilometers away (arriving at the hostel at 3:15 to make sure that they did not miss us).  And, many of them had an even longer walk home!  We were clearly blown away by such a show of affection. AND then, when we got here to the airport, we were even more surprised when one of the students showed up here to say good-bye to us.  She had hitch-hiked all the way from Tartu to make sure she got here in time to say good-bye.  For many of these students, there is no doubt that their lives were changed by their encounter with our team.  I can say this b/c for the most part I only got to know the students from a distance - it was the rest of the team that loved the students with a gentle tenaciousness that can barely be fathomed.  These students came to church last night with gift after gift for their small group leaders, notes, jewelry, t-shirts, sweaters and on and on.  It was overwhelming to see such an overflow of love.  Thanks for making this happen.  We all come home to you guys changed in huge ways by what God did in us - AND by the recognition that we were privileged for Him to work through us to further his story in Estonia.  We know that there are so many details that we need to share....we are working on that and will get those posts up as soon as we can - thanks for continuing to check in on us and our stories.   And thanks for your prayers as we begin a 19 hour journey back to Atlanta.  Although we'll be tired and probably a bit smelly and grumpy when we walk off the plane in Atlanta in something like 20 hours, please know that we are excited to see you and we come home with a little of our hearts left in Estonia...

Quick update and preparing for a long hard goodbye..

So it is about 1 a.m. here and Grant G., Jeremiah and I are up because well, we know that when we wake up we will have to leave. It has been kind of a fast day here but at the same time it does not seem like we did much. We woke up around 830am, ate some good breakfast and then went off to a meeting with the Estonian leaders about the camp. We exchanged stories about the camp and how God really moved through each of us. As we reflected about the events of the trip so far, it is really apparent how God was all over. He blessed us with safety, companionship, love, and patience. There is plenty more to write about and we will be doing that in the morning, but we have to wake up at 315am for a 4am departure so until the next post...

We're back! Well almost...

Hello!

Just a quick blog update to let you know that the team has just arrived back in Tartu. We had an incredible week at Adventure Camp! We left camp around 3:00 p.m. this afternoon and dropped the students back off in front of the theatre in Tartu, the spot where this journey first began on Monday. The bus then dropped us off here at the hostel where we will be spending our next two nights before our trip home.

On the bus ride from the theatre to the hostel all of us began scheming to see who would be first to take a hot shower. I was lucky enough to be one of the first to take a shower, and I feel amazing. Calder and I both admit to being city-slickers so this camping and no showering gig was foreign to us both. 

I also feel amazing about what happened this past week at camp. We played some grueling games that wore us out and beat us up, but more importantly we built authentic relationships that will last for a lifetime. I had a small group of four teenagers and I was fortunate enough to be able to share with them just how majestic and great our God really is. At the beginning of the week they were a little shy and not to sure why I would come all the way across the globe to camp out with them for a week, but after a week of sharing our stories and our struggles together they understood that God had a reason for all of us being there.

I have learned a lot this week about people and God, it has been one of the most powerful weeks in my life. All of us have so many stories to tell about this week and we cant wait to get home and share them with you. Check back soon as we will have more details about Adventure Camp 2009!

Final showers before camp (i.e. for the next 5 days)

Ok, from top to bottom on the pics:

The top 4 pictures are of Rachel, Amy, Jeremiah and Grant.  These head shots are a part of the scavenger hunt game that will kick off camp in just about 9.5 hours from now.  In case you are wondering, Grant is eating a pizza that looks like it was made for 10 year olds - french fries and hot dogs....and it wasn't on the kiddie menu.  I figured you were wondering.

The next two pics are from worship at Risttee Church this morning.  The bottom pic is from the spiral stairwell that heads to the top of Oliveste Church - it is from Sat, but was too good not to post.  A very, very, very long stairwell that is also very, very, very narrow....

Back to the important stuff:  worship.  Peep preached from Acts 16 while Timo sat with us and translated.  We also Still, I think most of us agreed that the best part was the privilege of worshiping through music in another language.  We sang Heart of worship, Agnus Dei, Draw me close to you, Glory to God Forever and Here I am to worship.  When we talked to Daniel afterwards he said it was pretty cool to hear the Americans singing the songs in English (at least when we could remember the words - which was for most of them) mixed in with the Estonian.  And, of course, it is always an incredible thing to participate in communion - especially the way that Risttee practices communion where you get to serve the elements to the person standing next to you.  For many of us, it was the first time for us to serve communion to someone else.

Au Sinale, Igavesti - that is how Glory to God forever is translated into Estonian. 

After worship we had lunch and then went to a training session where we discussed cultural issues, logistical issues and general camp planning.  After about 4.5 hours of this we were done and nearly ready for camp.  We are slowly overcoming our jetlag - just in time for camp where we have heard that 4 hours of sleep per night is about typical.  So, yes, you now now how to pray for us - that our limited rest would be multiplied, that our bodies would hold up both while we are at camp and once we return to the States and that in the midst of all the activity we would be able to focus on our calling (at least for this week) of being a part of God's story here in Estonia.  So much incredible cultural stuff to share - maybe I'll be able to update the blog in the morning before we head off to camp, but for now my alarm is going off in under 5 hours....

Thanks for your prayers!  We look fwd to sharing some amazing stories on Friday afternoon when we return from camp (Friday morning your time).  We'll be sure to shower before we start blogging again - for most of us, our last shower for the next 120 hours has been had...and I'm fairly certain that you won't even have to try that hard to notice that this blog is scratch n sniff....

Heb 10:24

The Singing Festival (sort of) and the bus to Tartu

Camp is steadily creeping up on us.  In just over 30 hours we will be on a bus filled with teenagers who are excited about Adventure camp - and if you have ever been on a bus filled with excited teens, you know it is a treat.  It is just past 2:00 AM in Tartu.  Our bus arrived shortly before midnight after a 2.5 hour drive.  I'd love to describe the scenery, but the only scenery I saw had to do with the back of my eyelids.  

After a quick stop at McDonald's (I know, I know...stereotypical Americans abroad.  In our defense, it was midnight and the only thing between the bus stop and the hostel that was open was McDonald's).  So with McDonald's in one hand and suitcases in the other (and strapped to our backs) we checked in.  It's finally getting quiet in the hostel and that's a good thing.  We have another busy day ahead of us - our last day prior to camp.

Our afternoon in Tallinn began with a climb to the top of Oleviste church.  At one point it was the tallest church in the world - and some reports indicate the tallest building in the world.  My Estonian is not good enough to confirm that.  Regardless, it is tall.    You can see a photo by clicking on this link:

http://www.7is7.com/otto/estonia/tallinn_oleviste.html

It used to be about 159 meters tall and after the spire burned down in 1625 it was rebuilt to it's present height of about 123 meters.  It is a beautiful building and from the top you have a great view of the Baltic as well as Old Town Tallinn.

After the trip to the observation platform, we headed to lunch at a place called "Hell Hunt."  Upon arriving and so that we wouldn't wonder what kind of place he had picked out for us, Timo quickly informed us that when translated Hell Hunt means "Tender Wolf."   After getting some nourishment we headed out to explore some more.  Once we came back together in the main square we swapped stories of coffee shops (still trying to get over jetlag), ice cream, souvenirs and gifts for loved ones to a backdrop of hare krishna's loudly singing and dancing.

From there we walked about 45 minutes to an hour along the parade route to the Amphitheater on the edge of town.  I have no idea how many people were there or how many singers dressed in traditional costumes filled the amphitheater.  In September of 1988 there were 300,000 people there.  Of course there weren't that many today, but the number sure seemed countless as the people spread out before us in a seemingly endless manner.  

Unfortunately when we had to leave about 8:15, the singing had  yet to start.  The official start time was 7:00, but with something the scale of this festival, things don't always go as planned.  The good news it started to rain right as we were leaving, so we were spared being cold and wet all night.  

Ok, that's it for tonight...There will be a couple more posts tomorrow and most likely Monday morning.  After that, we're likely to be offline until Friday night when we return from camp.  

For those of you who are praying for us - thank you for your consistency and for walking with us through this journey.  We are all healthy and upbeat - albeit a bit tired.  Please continue to pray for discernment, patience and wisdom as we prepare to lead the teens that we will be coaching for most of the next week.

 

Pictures from Tallinn's Old Town

Hope you enjoyed the pictures from Tallin's old town...Much of it from the 14th century!  More photos to come from the Singing Festival later on today.  Oh yeah, the Singing Festival!  As it turns out, every 5 years, Estonia has its Big Singing Festival.  This weekend is that once every five years event, so our hosts changed the game plan for us and have made arrangements for us to attend this afternoon.  Singing Festivals may not sound like a big deal to us, but in Estonia it is a way big deal.  See this link:

http://www.singingrevolution.com/

You can see that since Estonia owes its independence in part to singing, that the festival is a huge deal.  It takes place yearly, but as I said a few moments ago, it's only every 5th year that it is as big a production as it is this year.  

Having today to rest and sight see works out great b/c it gave the team this morning to catch its collective breath and to rest up after a long, long day of travel.  I should also mention to those of you sweating it out in Atlanta that the temperatures over here are in the 60's and low 70's w/ humidity of about 0%.  Clearly this is a nice treat.  Eric and I both thought it felt like Colorado in September when we got off the plane last night.  

We met this morning and discussed 2 Cor 2:15 - the idea of being the Aroma of Christ.  What a great thought for us and a challenging one - especially since that is the last thing that comes to mind when you are tired, jetlagged and don't speak the language all the while learning a new city and carrying the sum total of all your possessions for the next 10 days on your back.  Fortunately our God is much bigger than our tiredness and emotions.  Not to mention, we have an incredible team that has been amazing during the last 48 hours of travel and transition.  We said early on that flexibility would be key and they have embraced that whole-heartedly.

Ok, Timo and Hannah just showed up and we are off to experience a bit more of Estonia.  Hannah is giving Jeremiah and Grant vocabulary lessons - I have no idea what anyone is saying, but I think for some reason that she is teaching Jeremiah how to say "Help me!  Help me!"  Everyone is laughing, so call it a hunch that the pronunciation was a bit off.  

Tallinn: On the ground, safe and sound

So, after about 19 hours of travel, we are here in Tallinn.  The weather is beautiful and we are all excited to meet Timo, Mart, Daniel, Craig and the rest of the gang from Risttee church.  We have yet to even get our bags from baggage claim, but since wireless is fairly universal here, we get to update all of you while we sit here. 

Tat was the sleeping hero of the journey - he slept for nearly the entire flight to Copenhagen and again for most of the flight to Tallinn.  The rest of us had varying degrees of success - as in not much at all.  After our 3 hour sprint into Copenhagen for some sightseeing and some lunch, we made it back to our departure gate at the airport with about an hour to spare.  Nearly everyone one of us immediately fell asleep on the cold, hard stone floor of the airport.  And, again, Tat was leading that charge.

While the rest of us were sleeping or watching movies on the plan, David met Ralf, a new friend from Dresden, Germany.  I was able to drop in on the conversation and heard them swapping stories about community groups, hiking in the Smokies and their faith.

Oh yeah, when you get a chance, you'll have to ask Jeremiah about his Forrest Gump comment....Ok, looks like our bags are here.  Time to run......