Estonia Reboot Tourists

Estonia there and back again. What an adventure filled with performances and also very sick people. I know that God has used these two weeks to heal our bodies from physical sicknesses and spritual brokenness. What an amazing testimony to what God is doing for us all.

Monday Jan 23
We slipped out the base door around 2:30am to get ahead of the weather as we drove through Norway and all of Sweden to reach a 6:30pm boat across the Baltic Sea. Wow, this was quite the exciting day for me. I have never been on a boat before....and especially not one across anything like a sea. The others were slightly tired and our first experience with sickness kept all of the excitement at bay. I have to be honest the Tallink boating adventure was cool, but not spectacular. I would be the first to admit that I have a overly positive attitude sometimes. Make the best of a smoke-filled floating piece of iron on the sea. One thing I remember well was going up to the observation deck with Eirik (a tech guy in our group) and we sang Trust in the Lord over the edge of the ship. We talked about God, that it's tough to trust him, expecially with everything. Had I known that this tour alone would express our need to trust him evem more than we ever had. So I went to sleep....wow, just imagine being rocked to sleep with the waves below.

Tuesday Jan 24
We arrived in Tallinn, Estonia around 11am. There are no expectations for this place. I had seen no pictures of Estonia, and actually had no clue what it would be like. I can say I was not disappointed. Its an interesting feeling to be in a new place. All the people walking around become like museum pieces. 'This is a living person that was born here, they live here, this is thier life.' For the first moments it always seems really refreshing to see a life of someone else, then your mind explodes because you dont have the real capacity to think that deep. People do have different lives, they are living thier own lives and yes, Tallinn is a home for many...not millions, just some. We have a habit on our team to be hungry all the time. I wonder if it is because we are NOrwegian and okay with eating all the time, at least 6 times a day. We stop at grocery stores like captives straight from a deserted island--like a rat on a potato chip.

Our contact person named Kaido (Kigh-dough) was there at the border to pick us up of course and take us to his home town called Saue. It was a few kilometers from Tallinn and we would stay there in the Free church for the night. We had news that the week before all of Estonia was burdened by a -30C weather and this church had frozen over--pipes and everything. So this expectation kept us all very anxious if we would ever get a good nights sleep in the next 2 weeks. Dont worry, western Europe isnt that stressful. It was freezing in the church, but we did have water to use. We took the evening and spent it in downtown Tallinn, doing some shopping for souveniers and the like. We were blessed again that we had no show that evening so we could relax in Kaido's sauna. Another first experience for me. Check!

Wednesday Jan 25
After breakfast and worship time we began our journey for the village sized destination of Rakke. Our first show, our first encounter with Estonian youth and what an expecation we had. Nothing in Estonia is too far, so a long trip for them is close to 2 hours drive. Wow, welcome to the midwest where a shopping mall is close to that length in travel committment. So we arrive to see three people waiting outside of thier cars for us. Huge smiles on thier faces. Its the closest thing I have seen to an outskirts Romanian town, with the exception of a large and very nicely built community building in the middle. The place had a darkness and a cold brush upon it, but perhaps it was the cold weather. The smiles of our greeters melted any uneasiness I had. And really, its not my job to be uneasy, I dont live here...God does. This was the first night that I would be singing two solo songs and I was excited. Is it possible now looking back that I realize it was one of the only times I could do this. The youth came maybe 30 of them. Real lives and real hearts that God cares for. wow. The show went well, and it was fun to look into the audience and smile at the strangers, but I knew something they didnt. God was working in their hearts as we spoke, as I sang, as they sat there. I was sure of that so I couldn't help but smile. After the show I was bold to ask some of the young girls to come on stage with me and learn some dances. They were shy, but then got excited and really opened up. I was sweating, and really joyful to have just had fun with them. Step outside of yourself Erika, have fun and bring others with you. We ended the evening with fellowship at a house church, eating some interesting white dessert with a warm red sauce---I could have gagged, but was oddly thankful even for that. The people make the place of dark coldness come alive. Thank you God for Rakke, Estonia. I never knew these people existed, but you did.