Success -- səkˈsɛs --

What is success?

As I sit down here today to write, I realise I've been working through this idea a little these last few weeks. Or more to the point, God has been working through it in me.

Today, I feel more content than I have been in months (years?!).  I feel less stress.  Deep down I feel happier and calmer.  My wife has noticed it, my kids comment on it.  All is well with my soul.

So, what's been going on?

I've no huge answer really, like most times, just life experience that I reflect upon and learn from.

For some, in relation to success, they live their lives craving it, looking for it, hunting down any opportunity.  Others, however, are not necessarily looking for it when they might come across it.  They are more afraid of being a failure. Success therefore means very little to them.

I have certainly related to that second group for much of my adult life.

This year, I started working through the BIOY app.  Simply reading the Bible each morning, taking in vast chunks of text (which is needed in order to finish it in one year) has had a noticeable effect.  My reading habit (for the Bible) had become a little careless - too many excuses, I think really! I've certainly noticed a change inside.  So that's one thing that's had an impact on me, for sure.

I was also listening to a talk recently. It shared how a barren couple sensed God telling them to stop asking him for children, and instead thanking him for children!  They now have five kids under the age of five - truly over blessed! It made me think about my writing life.  I often ask God for breakthrough, for success with my writing. Most would look at me and probably say I am successful already with three books published and another two or three in the process of being finished.  But as I said above, it wasn't really success that I was running to, but something else I was trying not to be discovered as (a failure, to be very clear!).

I realise that has always been a weakness, and something God has worked through me these last twenty years. Still, I've not learnt yet to really enjoy or appreciate success for what it is, passed the day or so around the event. Nothing seems to affect me long term, in order to give me some lasting peace, some on going contentment.  Or so it seemed.

Applying what I heard above, the other week I encouraged the church plant to thank God for success in our lives, on an individual level as well as a group. So in my heart, I thanked God that I am a successful author. I prayed out thanks for what God was doing with us all in Tallinn, the lives being changed, the people taking steps towards or with Jesus.  In the midst of darkness, there really is some light breaking through!

I've also had a greater sense of planning this year, of walking into new stuff this year and taking hold of what God has for me.  That's helped to build in a more focussed routine.

At the beginning of the year we shared with the church plant how we felt we needed to spend more time with friends in Tallinn, and less time doing meetings. It's brought real life to us, so that we've been able to spend hours with folks that we've been getting to know, time that we just didn't have to spare when trying to do 'church' as much as we were - of course, the element of building relationships in the community we are called to reach, is the essence of church.

We hold the vision and value of a larger gathering of Hope:Tallinn highly.  One day we'll come together weekly as a group and worship and pray and preach. But not until God has sent us co-labourers.  In the meantime, we are reaching out to those that need God. And in doing this, we are being a success for Jesus in Tallinn, bring Kingdom culture in our relationships with others, as we look to love, serve and just hang out with folks that don't yet have a close knowledge of the love God has for them.

In holding the future of the church plant loosely (it was always in God's hands anyway, really) it has brought huge comfort to me. I guess it was a weight I never intended to bear alone and so it being lifted has allowed life and freedom to return. In thanking God for the success already happening its also brought about a change in me.

As I mentioned last time (I think), the parable of the talents has also really spoken to me. It's where Jesus shared a story about a landowner who gives to one servant 5, to another 2 and to another 1. The one with 5 produces 5 more, the one with 2 produces 2 more, but the one who was given 1 simply buried it because he was afraid of his boss. The guys who'd doubled the investment both were allowed to share in the blessings of the landowner. The guy who had not done anything, his 1 was taken away and he was banished.

In the commentary notes about this passage, Nicky Gumble says that what was given to even the guy with 1, represented 20 years salary. In other words, a huge amount. Enough to put to work, to invest and to produce a return.

It's therefore a related thought with all of the above. The point of the story isn't to be the most talented, but to use what talent you have to the best of your ability. To make it personal for me, as an example, it doesn't actually matter if I'm a 5, 2 or 1 'talent' author - what matters most is what I do with that talent. Do you see? It's really powerful. Both the first two servants got to share in the masters success. I don't think it was a proportionate reward based on their returns. I think it was equal, because Jesus wasn't trying to highlight a hierarchy in rewards based on ability, but a shared blessed of the much based on using what you've been given. Anyone given even 20 years salary has more than enough to get started.

So if I'm faithful with the little when it comes to my writing (I'll let you decide if I'm a 5, 2 or 1) Jesus promises he'll give me much. It's a nice word, isn't it. Much.

So, no more excuses. Regardless of what you don't yet have, use what you've got. And thank God that you are already successful.

----

As a funny side note, I've recently implement a number of new marketing ideas in relation to my writing life. One includes putting out a book permanently free (which I've just done). As I write this, I'm #3 in the USA Conspiracy Thriller chart - an unbelievable position given how much competition there is in that market. Just using that little talent...and knowing God will make it much.

If you want to check out my book (and find out details how to get my second novel FREE as well) click on the relevant link. Whilst these two links are for Amazon in the USA and UK (my main two markets), the FREE book is actually available everywhere, on all types of eReader. Just search your favourite database for 'Cherry Picking by Tim Heath' and you should find it.

USA - http://amzn.to/1XxE6Rg
UK - http://amzn.to/1QlHiJS

Believe -- bɪˈliːv --

Belief.  It's powerful and it's divisive.

Powerful - because it can change your whole outlook, your whole worldview, even your life.

Divisive - because it can alienate you from others or make you a target.  It can separate families, it can put you in prison and it can make you lose your life.

Last month, I saw something on Facebook posted by one of my Estonian connections.  It had other Estonians commenting, liking, suggesting the fact they'd like to move there.  The post?  It was from Iceland, supposedly reporting the 'fact' that 0% of under 25s believe that the world was created by God.
I think the person had posted this with the hash tags along the lines of 'religion', 'fake' and 'eduction.'
Some of the comments went along the lines of 'see what an education teaches you!' and others just said; 'when can we move there!'

Estonians, once more, revelling in the idea that God doesn't exist.

But it got me thinking...because of my education, not despite it, I know that just because someone says or thinks something, doesn't mean it is.  Education has taught me that we don't know all the answers!

So when the leading minds of the world taught that the world was flat, the Earth didn't change shape to go along with this 'fact.'  When mankind assumed everything orbited the Earth, the solar system carried on as it always had, and always will.
When people say to God "you don't exist" He must just look upon them like some father marvelling at the rubbish coming out of his child's mouth and reply: "I do, and I believe in you, even if right now, you don't believe in me."

Since when has someone denying something ever actually had any effect on the reality of, or existence of, the object of that denial?

Education, and logic, has taught me to think like this...and when I apply that to faith (everyone operates in faith, as I'll come to in a moment, regardless of what you believe) it only strengthens that conviction, not destroys it.

It's illogical to throw out the claims of Jesus, the existence of God, wholesale. Totally illogical.  Firstly, there is the undeniable historical person of Jesus, undisputed by Christian and non Christian historians.  This guy walked the earth - fact.  

In the Bible we have evidence of what this man said.  The Bible holds up to all textual analysis, far more so than other great works which are also undisputed. The time we have the earliest copies from, the quantity of these copies, the time between events, no other historical document has as much evidence going for it.  We therefore know, without any doubt, that what we have as the modern day Bible is as close to the original as we can get - far closer to any other text of its age.

What Jesus said in the book provides another issue - to quote C S Lewis, Jesus could only have been Lord, Liar or Lunatic based on his own words.  No other title is justified.  He wasn't 'just a good person or just a good moral teacher' though he was also these things.

Central to his life is actually his death and then what followed.  If Jesus didn't come back from the dead as he said he would, then everything that went before becomes invalid, we need not accept his words.  But if he did...!
Again, the evidence is there.  The lack of body, lack of the Romans then producing a body, the fact each of his followers lived outworking the knowledge of Jesus' resurrection, and most dying horrible deaths defending that fact, no one denying it at the end...

Lord, Liar or Lunatic.  Education and applied logic leave us with no vague, confusing situation.

Back to belief - we all believe in something, even if its nothing.

Picture a room if you will.  There is a big wooden door that is standing closed, so that we can't see into the room. Inside that room, I believe God himself dwells. It's the man Jesus Christ.  I'm standing next to you, outside the room.  Let's pretend there is no other supporting evidence - it's just you and me, outside a door.
You, as an atheist, don't believe there is a God.  You don't believe Jesus is in that room - you believe the room is empty.  You see, it's not enough to say that you don't believe in God, because you are also therefore saying that you believe there is no God. 

We all believe something.  Some in a person, others in a void.

And here is the thing - I'm happy to know you if you have no belief.  We can be friends, I can share the things I know and feel, if you like, but I don't need to. But want I can't accept is the statement that belief equals fairy tales and life without God is because of good education and logic.  I'm a very logical person and I see this completely simply.  There is no confusion at all.

Sadly, it's often other people who choose to distance themselves from this kind of open, relational conversation.  I'm here for anyone who really wants to talk, to walk through this all, even if it takes us years of talking to get there.

It's said that soon schools (in England) might not teach about what happened to the Jews during the war because it offends muslims, who deny the holocaust actually took place.  People deny the moon landings too.  Does that actually have any affect on the truth of the events?  No, of course not.  Education has taught me that, and that's not about to change.

So what do you believe?

Obedience -- əˈbiːdɪəns --

I'm blogging again.

I've been writing a lot, actually.  Mainly novels (number four is just about to be finished in draft form, very exiting!) and sometimes for websites, a recent one being for 'Encourage Dads' which was fun.

Last night I was on a call with Maurice Nightingale, who is a leader in a church in Ipswich, UK, and part of the team that serves us all in Relational Mission. He's a good guy.  At the end of the call, he encouraged me to blog again, stating that he used to point people to the way I regularly posted.

The last posting here was back in March last year - oh dear.

The thing is, there isn't a lot to say.  A change of approach is needed, therefore.

In reality there is loads to say, but that can wait.  What I was encouraged to do was just pour out my thoughts, the visions for church in Tallinn that are rattling around, even if just to encourage myself.  Yet looking at the stats as I came but to this (rather dusty!) blog, I've had thousands of visits in the time I've been away, so someone is reading.

The aim of this blog was always to have a place where you could hear from my heart, hence the name.  But maybe the next phase will be hearing the vision for Tallinn.  For Estonia even.

So this is me, back again, with a maybe fresh approach.  We'll see what happens.

I've been thinking about obedience today.  We're in Tallinn because God said so, quite simply.  The same went for our time in St Petersburg.  He said, we obeyed.  It's quite simple really.

What has happened in the two place's 'numbers wise' has been (so far) quite different.  There are a few reasons for that, which I'm sure will come out in the months ahead (if not, or you want to know before, just email me and ask!).
But shouldn't we measure obedience, primarily.  

Let me tell you this story, then I want to touch on something from the Bible.

Meet Joe Bloggs.  Like many others, he's called to reach ants.  The great God in the sky wants all ants to know that he loves them.  God tells Joe to go stand on an ant hill.  Joe engages with lots and lots of ants.
Meet Johnny Bloggs.  He also wants to serve God.  God tells him to go stand next to a tree.  He does see some ants making there way up and down the tree. He tries to tell all of them that they are loved.
Meet Julie Bloggs.  She also wants to serve God.  God tells her to stand in the middle of a field.  With the long grass it's hard to see if there are any ants, but there must be some.
Meet Jim Bloggs.  God tells him to go stand in the home range of an anteater. There are not many, if any, living ants here for Jim to find.  It's the last place ants want to be! 

Joe is hailed as very successful!  His 'church' is seeing ants arriving all the time, and they now need three venues hosting five meetings to fit them all in.  Johnny too is doing well, his constant stream of ants have helped him grow a big 'church'.  He gets asked to the speak at the occasional conference too, though nowhere near as much as Joe does.
Julie has found it a challenge, though has managed to spot a few ants, two wanting to join her group.
Jim feels worthless.  He's not found any ants that are still alive.  He's looking at the success of the others and wonders what he's doing wrong.

You get the picture.

Yet, say we measured it on something Biblical like obedience, what then do we see?

God looks at Joe, Johnny, Julie and Jim and says to them all - "Well done!  You are exactly where I asked you to be! Great job!  I'm proud of each of you."

I've been working through Nicky Gumble's 'BIOY' app where you read through the Bible in one year.  I'm sure this will feature strongly through the months as I pull Biblical stories.  At the moment, we're in Job.  Throughout the whole book (and therefore life) of Job, we see a man obediently serving, loving, and worshipping God.  Yet outwardly, we see two different versions of the same man.
In the opening verses of chapter 1, we see Job the successful man!  In verses 13-18 his world (and roof, literally) comes crashing down.  He's lost everything!  In chapter 2 its his own health.  Same man, two different states.

Which of the two versions would get the invite to speak on Sunday at your church?  The first one, obviously.  Yet its this mans obedience that should shine through, his unwillingness to 'curse God and die' as his own wife suggests, his determination not to blame God for what had happened to him.  It's the same man throughout.

And I identify with Job in that.  I do with Jim Bloggs as well.  All to often we allow the worlds system of 'value' (ie wealth, success, fame) to infiltrate the church.  It can make me look and wonder at times - what's actually happening here, Lord?  Can anyone get saved in Tallinn?  

The answer is a resounding yes, of course.  And despite 'nothing' much happening here, even within our humble realms two people made first time commitments to Jesus last year.

And I'm the same Tim that was part of a super-doper 'successful' church in St Petersburg.

It's time I stopped looking at 'success' and start resting in obedience, which is the core of what I'm trying to say. I'm not actually trying to speak at conferences.  Let's value obedience.  Let's encourage generously.  Success in God is being exactly where He wants you to be.  No other qualifiers.  

That must also mean you can be worldly 'successful' yet not in the place God wants you - and that, my friends, is scary.

1 Samuel 15:22 

But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

Enough said.

Spring News from Tallinn!

It's time we updated you on a rather interesting few months.

Well over three months ago (a now growing habit of blogging less and less) we updated you with all that had taken place since the summer.  You can remind yourself of that news here if you like.

Many of the things I talked about then have continued on the same path, whilst for some things totally new possibilities have opened, as you'll read about below.

Here are the headlines:

• Hope:Tallinn has a venue!
• Largely Snow-less Winter in Tallinn (again!)
• Family Fun
• Key Visitor in March
• Baby Shower and Soon Arrival
• Six@Six Prayer Initiative

But I'll try and tell the story a little chronologically otherwise the news (and photo's!) will be jumping around, and we'll end in snow having started with a nice sunny picture above, which was taken in February (usually, the coldest, frozen sea month there is in Estonia!)

The Christmas and New Year Break

What ever snow there was, it certainly had to be appreciated! We actually only got out skiing in December, this photo taken not far from our home.

We were in Tallinn over the holiday, though did manage a couple of nights away once Rachel had finished at the school and the girls had broken up, literally picking Anya up from kindergarten (as I recall now writing this) and going away to the west of Estonia.  It snowed whilst we were away, allowing us to arrive home on the 23rd December to an even whiter Tallinn and thankfully White Christmas.  That snow was basically gone by the first week of January, though did return a bit as the next picture shows, which I'll get to in just a moment.
New Year's Eve is fun in this part of the world, a much 'bigger' deal than we ever saw in the UK.  In Russia, it was their main event in the year, and that tradition lives on in Estonia, though gifts are given on 24th December for Christmas, that being the only real difference to New Year in Russia (though Russian background people here also give their gifts only at New Year). Rachel's mum and dad were over with us for this period too.
One of the huge divides we notice that show up in Estonia between the two ethnic groups happens on New Year's Eve.  We noticed it last year which was a surprise and then this year, maybe more aware of it, it really struck us as unusual.
It goes like this.  As eleven o'clock comes around that night (yes, one hour before midnight) the skies around our home light with fireworks.  Just north of our home in a large Russian area - and from our window we see multiple displays all going on.  Whilst there are 'main' displays that take place, most are people buying their own fireworks and having their own party.  That's what happened on our street at midnight proper, the field in front of us becoming a shared public display, something we too joined in this year, even with our own box of fireworks.  It was amazing to meet so many neighbours, in a country so often silent with strangers, we were able to celebrate with the locals.  But why the two time slots?  Well, eleven in Tallinn is midnight in Moscow - the Russian background people let off their fireworks once Putin's speech is finished and New Year has hit the Russian nation.  The fireworks are most vocal at midnight, though only a little more so.  And it's not people just travelling to Estonia for the holiday (though that was true of Rachel's folks, who weren't going to wait until 2am to celebrate New Year), this is people living in Estonia permanently.
A few days after this, we got to meet some neighbours again, inviting them over for mulled wine and English (homemade!) mince pies.  Seven households came in total, including everyone from the small handful last year.  It seems to be growing! It was great for us to meet some more people.  Two couples came from our floor, including our next door neighbours (there are five flats on our floor).  These were both young Estonian couples and it was clear they hadn't ever properly met each other before.  They obviously enjoyed the opportunity to speak to each other longer.  Fascinating, that it would take us to bring even Estonians living in the same building together!
And then maybe a week after that it snowed heavily for a day.  I spotted someone rolling a huge snowball, clearing snow from the parking area.  He's the guy in the red jacket in the picture.  He was out with his two boys and they'd all been to our house for the mince pies.  I offered to help him as the snow ball was as much as he could move on his own by this stage and in the middle of the car park!  We managed to get it across onto the field, by which time it was as big as the both of us could manage.  He turned to me and asked "What should we do with it?" to which I mused: "Build an ice slide?"
Two hours later, with two other families (men, women and kids!) joining in, the community project was taking shape! Another fab way of connecting with people, and lots of fun together!  All the kids would take turns on the slide, and while it never got to being sheet ice as I had planned (we'd seen this once in northern Finland and it was really cool!) it was the last piece of snow to melt, staying for weeks on the field as the compressed ice refused to melt, even after the field was totally clear of all other snow.

Family Life

While it has been a season of illness and battle (spiritual often), we've continued to make time for family as much as we can.  Over the Christmas holiday it was my pleasure to take each child out on their special 'Daddy Date' which we do at this time of year. They buy a new dress before, Rachel helps them dress up and then we go and do something (their choice) and have food together after.  It was Anya's first time.  It's my honour as their dad to show them how they should be treated, to spend time getting to know them and strengthen that already strong bond, whilst creating fun memories.  I love being the father to these two amazing little ladies.  Whilst church planting is a focus and something we've given ourselves wholeheartedly to these last seven years, it can never be at the expense of this wonderful family God has placed me into.  My role as husband and then father has to come before that of church leader.  With Anya, we worked together on making this wonderful (and tasty!) marzipan Christmas tree.

This year, the girls have also let their creativity flow as part of an art class that they joined on Saturday's from February.  They did this class weekly for the first month but now they go every fortnight, so that we have some time as a family.  On the right is just one example of the kind of art work they are able to produce with the help of the Russian artists who run the group.  For those who have not seen the growing collection, you can view them here, which will take you to the Facebook album I add the latest works to.  

At the beginning of this month, Anya turned five.  It was also three years since we moved to Tallinn, having moved four days before her second birthday.  Parties are generally done in play areas in Tallinn, so this is what Anya wanted, and she invited about half a dozen children from her kindergarten class to the event happening at the play area in a nearby shopping centre. The only alarming thing (literally) was mid way through the party, the fire alarm sounded in the shopping centre and everyone had to evacuate.  The children were in tears! Thankfully it was nothing serious and we were back in about thirty minutes later no worse for ware.

Tim The Writer

Last time I also mentioned this aspect of my life and 2015 so far has been a big step along in my writing career, with my second novel being released on 16th January and then in February, for the first time, I hosted a book launch party in Tallinn to celebrate.
Following on from that, one of the main newspapers in Estonia asked me to give an interview for their weekend edition, which was a great joy.  The photo shows the double page spread, even if the picture of me holding the book as if it was a baby (taken for fun at the book launch event) wasn't necessarily the one I thought they'd use!
The article is in Estonian, though was also translated into English (from what the reporter wrote, not what I actually said in the first place) for their online version, a link to which is here. 

Following this was another first for me.  The main book store chain in Estonia, Apollo, started stocking both books in March.  It was surreal seeing them in the 'Uus' section (which means 'New') though the price they've set is so high I wonder if they'll sell any. They've already purchased the books from me, so in that regards it doesn't really matter, but if I'm to grow a local readership in Estonia (beyond the friends I know here who have bought the book from me) then the overly high price is not a good thing.

All these things being said, even with my Twitter following going through the 11,700 mark (its was just through the 5,000 last update!), I've a long way to go.  Launch figures were okay, though not extravagant. The book didn't chart as high as I'd hoped and without advertising, isn't selling copies at the moment.  The initial buzz has therefore soon passed.  Whilst the reviews that have been coming in are already excellent (see here for details of these) it seems any major breakthrough is still a long long way off.

If you have any ideas, any invitations for book parties, anything really that you'd like to run past me, please drop me a note.  It's my dream that writing becomes my paid vocation, supporting all that we do here in Estonia, whilst opening doors of opportunity.  I've seen God's hand with me but need more of that, as well as people recommending me to others, and those that have read the books already remembering to review them.  Reviews really do help other readers to make a purchase!

I've also not forgotten about these Christian book ideas I asked you about last time, and am thankful for the few that gave me some feedback. It might be a project for this summer.  All of this is part of a need to see more finance coming in, making up for a drop in support that has happened over the last year.  I might pick up on this theme a little later.

More Recent/Upcoming News

Rachel hosted a baby shower for Elisabeth, whose baby is actually being delivered tomorrow (Monday 30th March!).  The shower was a great success, people travelling from across Estonia to join Elisabeth.  Since finding out they were pregnant, it has been a terrible nine months for Arnoud & Elisabeth in many ways, health for Elisabeth at an all time low, totally taken out by the pregnancy and other related health issues.  For Arnoud it's meant running the home as well as his full time job.  It also had a knock on effect with church, in a season of pushing for something, that 'next step', this key family were needing to take a step back.  Please pray for them as the baby is delivered through C-Section tomorrow nearby.  Pray also for the recovery, and the healing of everything that has happened to them these last nine months.  Whilst we know it'll take at least the summer to adjust back to things, plus they will have the new baby, we trust the worst is now behind them.  

Sherron Fensome is still planning on moving to Tallinn, aiming for the first Monday in May.

Please also pray for her over this next month, for her transition (she's finishing work this coming week!) to her arrival. Rachel is looking into possible housing options, already visiting one.  Also keep a job in your prayers for her.

Sherron does love cats, so a recent visit to a newly opened 'cat cafe' in Tallinn might be the purr-fect (sorry!) thing for Sherron. The cafe has six cats, though the friendliest of them all gravitated to our table right away, the girls doing their best to copy its expression in this photo.

Autumns Lows and Seven Year Effect

This update has been largely lite and newsy so far, probably because I knew I needed to write this next section.

In the last update I shared how things were tough, how the New Year gave chance for fresh vision, because what we had been doing in the Autumn hadn't grown things the way we thought, and energy had dropped.  Obviously the (temporary) loss of Arnoud and Elisabeth at such a time, as detailed above, did have an effect on our ability as a group to press on.

I personally felt more alone as the season pressed on. The New Year brought a prayer focus, and obvious need to fall on God to grow this church plant, our efforts (and our energies!) failing.  So January started with us meeting to pray every Sunday for an hour followed by a drink in a cafe.  Back on that first Sunday on 4th January, we actually had more visitors than core present, five were over from St Petersburg and another locally based German man came along as well. It was Stephen & Ketlin's last weekend with us before they flew to America to spend eight months - they come back in August.

The weekend after was the #TallinnPrays event, this time gathering people from five churches, though none from the church we were hosting it in, who usually did come.  A seventh church also had planned on but were not able to come that time. We'd then used that venue once more for our own Sunday meeting, but a weekly commitment for this other church was too much so venue became the most pressing issue.  Sitting in the cafe after that prayer meeting (which must have been Sunday 22nd), we looked through the options Enrico had found for rent-able premises and nothing really hit the mark, some a little too isolated, or too derelict! Looking at this list with Arnoud, we revised the search area and suddenly another venue looked promising.  The following Wednesday I visited it with Enrico and we shared what we saw at group that evening. It seemed doable, and I was back that very Friday to sign the contract and collect the key. We used it for the first time that next Sunday, less that 7 days since first spotting it online. That first meeting (which was prayer and worship) we only had the chairs we could bring easily from home. These two photos show the hall, plus the chairs we were able to buy and now also the banners that have gone in this week giving a little more colour to things.  (The door in the photo doesn't open, before you wonder why we are facing that way!)  

On that first Sunday, a family of five (Canadian) were there for the first time. They've come back once too, looking for a local church.  Whilst what we are currently doing doesn't meet their immediate needs, they have said if we were to launch this Autumn, they'd look to join us then.

A Stake in the Ground

My first conversation with Arnoud once he'd come back from their three week break in The Netherlands over Christmas, was telling.  Clearly the time away had given them time to talk to others, getting things off their chest, even if the sickness was still with Elisabeth.  And as we spoke that day, something we both needed to answer was this - how long do we keep going as we are until we call it a day?  At what point does this stop becoming a church plant heading for launch and just a group of burnt out people?
What formed in my head that day was the need for a stake in the ground, a timing we are working towards that either confirms God's call or makes us ask some tough questions.  For me, October felt the right kind of time for a launch.  We push hard this year, praying into and building towards a launch Sunday in the Autumn.
Now, the speed of the venue coming around seemed to encourage us in that regard.  Clearly, if we were to launch we'd need a venue, and suddenly we had one.  A place that we could use throughout the week, the fortnightly toddler group instantly growing in numbers the first week it moved to our new venue - the mums seem to really like it!
The real prayer is for growth.  Getting to October the size we are now (even including Sherron into that figure) doesn't give us the core size we need to launch well.  It might get us someway, but we'd soon all run out of energy. So the stake in the ground is for God to bring in the extra people, key people, that we need in order to launch.  This would grow into an easy prayer initiative that I'll talk about later, but before that a little more darkness...

Can We Do This?

I guess, mirroring Elisabeth's own sickness as she approaches the new birth, we've felt this same struggle spiritually as we've pressed through these last months.  Energy levels dropping, vision for what is happening taking a hammering. Bouts of sudden sickness falling upon us, often the night before a special church gathering.  These stopped once we started asking people to pray for us on Saturday's.  It's led me to ask (constantly) of God - can we do this?  And if I'm honest, I often followed this with the question; And do I want to do this anymore?  By January, finance once again became a problem, a long standing church in the UK announcing they'd stop later this year, a figure that represents about 40% of the total support we now receive, support which makes up (thankfully) about a third of our current income.
Nothing was running as smoothly as before.  We were doing all the right things outwardly, but something was suffering inside.  I felt my walk with God was also struggling.  I was too busy trying to fix our situation to spend the time I wanted (and needed!) in the word!  Crazy, I know.
And then the realisation - carry on as we are, and we are heading for burnout.  In many ways, it's great that we recognised this, as one spots a potential danger far enough ahead to avoid a collision.  You see, whilst this current season has been challenging, by itself it's not outstripped all that's gone before.  It's just followed on from it all.
For us, it's the awareness that the last seven years have caught up with us, that it's not just about the last nine months, nor even the three years we've now been in Tallinn for, but actually going back seven years plus, from the transition in Stockport where I stepped down from leadership to focus on the move, to landing in Russia (spiritually exhausted) then the church plant there, before moving on again and all this time in Tallinn since.
The thought that we were praying into an October launch given our situation, made no sense.  We didn't have enough energy to get us through to the summer, let alone beyond that.
Something needs to change.  We need space.
We've now talked this through with everyone here, plus Sherron (so she is fully aware what she is arriving into).  We still have faith for an October launch, which has grown this last week, as you'll see in a moment.  But for that to happen, we need a time of rest as a family.  Spiritually to lay down the cloak of leadership responsibility, for a season, in order to hear from God and come back stronger and more envisioned, especially ahead of an Autumn push.  So what this looks like is this summer, once Rachel finishes for the summer at the school (mid June) we'll take three months 'break'.  It's not a sabbatical, as I'm not full-time for the church.  I'll still have my U.K job and writing, but it's more the leadership responsibility for this season we'll lay down. We're talking this through with the team about what this will look like.  We'll certainly be around socially for things, especially meeting any new people that turn up, but won't take the reigns back properly until mid-September, ready for that push.  We'll do it in such a way as to recover ourselves whilst not hampering in any way the small core we have and our ability to push hard this Autumn.  Summer is always a very social time, plus a time people arrive in Tallinn from overseas, maybe moving for a new job or to study something at University.  So we will make sure we don't lose any opportunity whilst also reflecting our need to recharge.  Please pray for us as a family during this time and also for the church plant.  One amazing thing that came out of this last week and in relation to the summer was one visitor seeing the need for us to get some sunshine and time away offering us use of a holiday property, only for someone else to say they'll cover the flights for us all to get there! We're very grateful to them, God is so good!

Give Us Six People Lord!

Last week was a good week for outside input - first a Skype call with Adam Bradley (Life Church - Peterborough) and then Maurice Nightingale was in Tallinn for a day on Thursday.  Both were aware of the financial situation as well as the fragile state of things (I'd sent them an urgent plea for wisdom the week before in relation to another situation they both helped with).  But as I prepared for these times, the more I thought about what we needed, the more I was led to my hearts core cry - for people! Finance tends to sort itself out - any short-term help offered only delays the issue anyway - and venues and things like that do help, but without the people we are stranded.  Then it came to me.  Six people added to our core team (even for a short 'season' to help us) would be the game changer.  We should pray for six people - at six o'clock.  The #SixatSix hash tag prayer was born!  We're asking people around the world to pray for Hope:Tallinn - that six extra people would join us.  Whether it's six in the morning and you are just getting up, or six in the evening and you are sitting around the dinner table (with others maybe), please say a short prayer, asking God to send us six extra people.  Ideally, the six would include a couple of musicians, some with teaching ability, all with servants hearts and the ability to be relational and connect others in! Six game changers that added to this great team already would give us the wings we need to really fly.  So will you pray with us?  Maybe you could be part of that answer - giving even six months (October - March) this Autumn could be an amazing time for us all.

Maurice's Visit

What was great about this timely visit, was that it's come at what now seems to be the end of this challenging time, and has given us hope and a road map for what this next year could become.  It's allowed us to talk through the issues and have someone help with the solution.  And he might even have the first of these six game changers in mind....watch this space on that one!
We'll focus especially for this next year - building up this October for a launch (hopefully) and stepping into the next stage of things.  Come next Easter (2016) it'll give us a fair understanding on what is happening - it's either on wards and upwards, or something else!

Easter Event

To finish, I'll ask for prayer for us as the team (probably just four of us!) host an Easter Family Fun event next Sunday on Easter Day. We did something similar last year and it was a real success.  Now that we have our own venue to use, we really pray the message of Easter rings true for many who come, as well as being a fun time for all.
We're doing this event between 4-6 Tallinn time, so depending on where you are reading this from, please do remember us in prayer on that day.  We really want to be able to serve these families well, whilst sharing with them the real message behind this special day.

Prayer Points

• #SixatSix - Team growth!
• Next Sunday's Easter event.
• For rest this summer and recovery ahead of the Autumn push
• For baby Bakhuisen being born tomorrow!
• For Sherron's move to Tallinn in early May.

Tallinn Update - Winter at Last!

As we hit the first of December, so we had the first real snowfall.  Winter has come at last!  Over night, the temperature has dropped down to nearly minus five.  The rain and overcast (slightly warmer) days have given way to sunny, clearer skies and noticeably colder days.  But these are what make Tallinn winters so beautiful!  And I much prefer sunny days in winter.

So, as we hit December, a busy time of year for all, we wanted to send out an update in good time, before things get too festive, with all the news from us in Tallinn.  As usual, our now annual (it will be our 5th one!) Christmas musical photo/video card will come out later this month, so keep an eye on this blog for when it does.

Before we get stuck in, and so that you can see what's coming, here are the headlines for this update:

• Continued favour on the Toddler group
• Core formation and hopefully soon growth
• More Visitors - though finished now for the year
• Job Challenge
• St Petersburg trip coming up
• Health challenges as we mark one year since my back injury

The Winter Market in Tallinn has opened - this photo, I guess taken a few years ago, shows the setting for the market. The huts are set up a little differently now, but with the snow and lights, the effects are still as magical. It makes the Old Town, just that little bit more special.

Toddler Group

One thing we've often mentioned but not said too much about, is the weekly Sing & Play children and babies group we host at ours every Thursday.  This is certainly Rachel's 'baby' - if I'm home, apart from being around to help set up a little (though not as much as Rachel needs often), I tend to get to listen through the walls as the flat fills up, talking to the parents as I make the odd drink, while working in the office.  This group has continued to do really well.  Please pray that Rachel and Elisabeth (who runs it with Rachel but has her hands full with 3 children of her own!) are able to get more help with it.  Rebekah (who we'll mention again later) was able to help while here for ten nights recently - staying with us, and therefore here for set up and clear away, it really showed the great value this adds, and something Rachel is now missing with Rebekah being back in the UK!   The other mums are getting involved too though and are now making a cake for the group each week.

  Once a month Rachel has now started including a Baby Massage class within the group.  This is a skill she picked up when she had Mia back in the UK.  She was given training and taught some classes in the UK at the time.  It's funny the things that come back years later - like her Body Shop training with make-overs and facials that opened the door to working with the Butterfly project in Tallinn.

The group of mums (there was one dad for a while, though his working pattern changed and he's not currently able to come) is a mix of several nationalities, but there are several Estonian mums coming, including one neighbour from the fifth floor of our building.  She has helped with doing some of the songs in Estonian.  These babies are all going to be singing in many languages!

Core Development....and Growth?

The last two weeks have seen some challenges - but I write this saying that as a team, we are in a much stronger place because of it all.  I think the adjustments that we have made to our program, which came out of long conversations over about three days last week, have put us in a better position to move forward.  It was as if God was in the midst of the conflict, bringing us safely through to a much better place.  It gives us all more room to grow, and helps launch a weekly home group meeting which should really serve the core, as well as being a building point for those that have shown an interest in what we are about.

And on the back of this, Rebekah, who we've mentioned already, and talked about praying for in the last October update, has stated that she is planning on moving here in February next year, to help out with the church plant!

This is fantastic news, and though the details are not sorted out (like job, where she will live etc!), it is a great statement of faith.  Please pray that she gets some great options offered to her, that allow her both to build relationships and flourish, whilst giving her time to get stuck in with Hope:Tallinn events.  She is wanting to come and help establish a Children's ministry, serving both those within the church, and as options develop, those outside.  She would be a great blessing, so please be lifting her in your prayers as she outworks the practical elements of this over the next two months.  

Arriving at the coldest point of winter, pray for a great adjustment - I guess, it can only get warmer for her!

She would be the 8th adult member of the team - and we are praying that the current core doubles to 14 (very quickly!!??) in order for us to think about launching the church plant into the next phase.  

Visitors
Last month saw some more visitors, and actually the last for the year.  As well as having Rebekah with us for ten days, we also had a visit from Colin Baron (Manchester, UK) with Dave Henson (Cardiff).  They spent a few nights in Tallinn, having come from St Petersburg.  Dave, because of his back, stayed in a local hotel, to give him space to move around in the night, without disturbing anyone.  They spoke at our midweek meeting, and I had as much time as I could with them.  For Colin it was his first time in Estonia.  I don't think it will be his last.  And then just a few days after they both went, Rachel's mum and dad came to stay for five nights.  They were a real blessing and Mia and Anya especially enjoyed having Grandma and Grandad around for the weekend.

December and January are clear, and will be kept that way.  As a family there has been a lot of pressures, which is natural in our situation, but it seems a good time to pause a little, and enjoy the holiday when we get to Christmas. The girls are also getting busy with school plays and ballet concerts, as is normal for this time of year, so it gives us the space to enjoy these events with them.

Taken the other month looking towards Tallinn in the distance

As a numbers man, I totaled up the visitors this year.  March and December will have been the only months that no one was staying with us, but if you take each nights sleep someone has had, and put them in a row, it comes to 136 nights out of those 10 months.  Of course, most of these have been multiple people staying at the same time.  On the other side, there were also 54 days when one (usually this, and usually me) or all of us where away from home, often in another country.

This fact alone is so different to what life had been in Russia, and especially in England.

Events - Gathering of a Community
The main events that are now happening each month are a big meal together once a month, as well as the focused men's and women's events.  For the men, this has been Poker nights at our home which I have hosted.  It's great for building friendships together, creating a bridge in our relationship where we can meet at other times to talk, and is also just about having some fun! I'll say it again, as I've said before - we do not play for money!  

For the ladies, Rachel has recently hosted a SPA event, which is the second time they've done that.

And all of them together are building community.  It's ironic that while most people in the world now live in cities, statistically mankind is now the loneliness we've ever been.  Simply having people living around you doesn't cut it - unless you are part of a community.  And we've seen, through the meals and these other events, a community emerging.  Having come here not knowing anyone, we've seen friendships developing.  And as life gets busier, our prayer and battle will be to keep space for relationships, and building others into communities.

And it's also just a good principle to bless the city - to be a blessing to those around us, regardless of their beliefs.  

The view from our window the other day

Another way this was recently outworked, was Rachel hosting a baby shower at ours for a lady from another church.  We are really friendly with them, have served them on a Sunday a couple of times, and it was great to help make the event possible, by hosting and organising the event.  It's Rachel working to one of her main strengths - hospitality.

The Challenges

Health has been a bit of an issue with the girls (Rachel included!) over this last month or so.  Both Mia, and Anya more so, have missed days at school/kindergarten.  Rachel has been fighting something for some time - and if I'm honest, as I'm writing this, I'm starting to not feel so good myself.  It seems we really do need a cold snap to kill off these nasty viruses.   Your prayers for health would be appreciated!

It is also now a year ago since I was taken to hospital in an ambulance, not being able to walk.  And twelve months later, the time they said it would take to fully recover, I can say I'm getting better all the time.  I will of course be careful - it was when the snow first arrived last year, and something I did moving the snow, that caused it all in the first place! So while it has been a challenge on many fronts, I am looking forward to really enjoying this Christmas and winter, which were a struggle last year.

The Job Challenge

Something that came to head with the visit of Dave last month, was this issue of family income.  While we are only in the early phases of church planting in Estonia, we have also already been away from the UK for over five years now. So it's been natural that churches and individuals have felt they were unable to continue with their monthly giving.

While we continue to live by faith, with about half our income coming through faithful giving (not only from the UK), we are thinking about ways to press through with finance.  For the last few years, we've been living on a very fine line, and this last year in Tallinn actually spending more than came in.

In relation to paid work, I am now working two days a week for my old full-time UK job, which I've been doing some hours for ever since we first left the UK.

This year, I launched a business as a language agency.  While that is getting some teaching work in (all Rachel's lessons are now going through the company) it's yet to really stand up on it's own two feet as a business - please pray for continued favour on this - as well as with my writing.  My book is continuing to sell, and I am well on my way to finishing the second novel as well.  I really hope that this can be released in 2014.  My official Author Page recently went live on Facebook - please be sure to connect to it here. By liking the page on FB, it allows your friends to see the page, and increases my reach.  I am so thankful to everyone that has already done this. If you haven't yet, please do. It means so much to me. And long term, I really hope to be able to focus solely on writing as my trade.  I believe this is the career God will open up.  For this, I really do need your prayers.

This all being said and done, there is a real need now for income, so I am exploring the options of increasing my working week to full time - by either finding a part time job in Tallinn for three days a week, and still doing my two days in the UK, or needing a full time job here.  

This option does scare me if I'm honest.  It would be a huge change to life here, and a real challenge to fit everything else in with church.  The wider travel side I would need to lay down, and as the church grows and approaches its launch, again, that would be a challenge for time.  

But I do tend to focus on the specifics and not look too far ahead.  While I would love the business to take off and my books to sell rapidly, it might well be that in the mean time I need to take on some more work.

Please pray for the right job - the perfect job that pays well and matches my skills.  Having started looking, I am already really limited with options. Due to language and experience, my skills are more easily fitted to the UK market.  But I only need one job that's right for me.  Please pray, in what ever God wants, that this whole situation changes rapidly.  We know God has the perfect way through.

St Petersburg - next week!

As I check the calendar to see when it is that I am going, I had a mild panic to realise it's only the end of next week when I am going back to St Petersburg.  I am travelling on the Thursday with Stephen from the team here, and Arnoud and Enrico will be joining us on the Friday.  We'll have the whole weekend in the city, encouraging the church there, and exposing both groups to each other.  Please pray for a blessed trip, and like in Holland, as the four of us spend more time together, for great fun and memories to be formed. We travel back to Tallinn on Monday 16th December.

Family and Prayer Points

Mia had a small part in a ballet show yesterday and has a bigger role, where we will all be there to watch, in the middle of next week.  Both girls are continuing to enjoy life.  Both are so much fun, though we are aware with Mia's school, there is a lot of pressure put on the students.  She gets hours of homework each week.  It's often hard for us to keep on top of it.  They are both speaking Estonian well, in their own little way.  Anya certainly understands a lot, and is the one most surrounded with it, when she is in kindergarten.  Mia's Estonian class teacher has mentioned to Rachel how well Mia is picking up the language and that she has surprised her with the things she has understood.

We will be staying in Tallinn this Christmas - the tree should be going up next weekend, which I guess will also feature in the annual Animoto video greeting that I will try and get around to doing soon!  We'll leave you with some prayer pointers.  Thanks for reading this year - the blog went through the 20,000 visitor mark last week - an incredible thought!

• Pray for God's abundant breakthrough with the job/finance situation
• Pray for a quick recovery of this nasty virus
• Pray for Rebekah as she makes final plans regards moving here
• Keep praying for salvation 
• Thank God for every visitor we've had this year!
• Thank God for the great communities that are developing!

News from Tallinn - Late Summer update

Certainly at the early stages of church planting, there are very different 'seasons'.  Some busy with people, some busy with tasks.  At the early stages of starting anything, especially a local church, there are often some 'quiet' times when due to people travelling etc, less is happening.  Most of the previous five summers have shown us that to be true, at times.  August was often a specific example.  Except this year, it seems.

Our last family update was at the start of the long school summer holidays, and yet, now, this Sunday (yes, you read correctly!) Mia starts back at school, going into the 2nd Grade.  September 1st is always the first day of school, regardless of when it falls.  This will be our 6th such day, but it's the first to fall on a Sunday.

So before that all starts again, I wanted to bring you up to date on some of what has been happening over here, on what has turned out to be a rather busy summer after all.  I know it's a longer one, but it seems easier to get to write updates every few months that cover more, than more regular, shorter ones.  I trust you make it to the end...!

Hope:Tallinn gatherings

The name of the church plant is Hope:Tallinn.  We've kept the name Hope from St Petersburg for two reasons - firstly, we are an extension of what God started in Russia.  And secondly Jesus is the only Hope for St Petersburg (hence the name!) and that remains only too true for Tallinn also!  We have the ':Tallinn' part because we are intent on planting other churches into other cities, whereever that might be.  So we will just change the city name for all the future Hope:CITY churches God would lead us to plant.  It's a prophetic statement of intent.  We can't say God has given us any more clarity on that yet - one church plant at a time! (God IS gathering in Tallinn folks who want to church plant in the future though!).

In a culture and nation with little understanding of church, even the idea of church, we have been working with the characteristics of what church is instead - family, community, relationships etc.  We've been building relational groups that gather together regularly, usually every Sunday at 4pm, growing in friendship together, as we get to know one another.
For us it's important that people feel they can belong together, be a part of a community, before they might believe the things we believe.  The church, after all, shouldn't be a place for only Christians, but should be much wider than that.

We hope to be able to host some events over the coming months that would open opportunities to discuss some deeper stuff, maybe focused around issues to do with parenting or relationships.  We'll let you know more details about what will be happening when we have a clearer idea. So watch this space!

Riga Conference

In my last update, I mentioned about going to Riga for the NEW conference which was held in July.  It was a great time of fellowship together, both during the social times, and throughout the four sessions which made up the conference over the weekend.  I was speaking at the third session on the Sunday morning.  It was encouraging, especially compared to last year, to see lots of people there, many from different settings in Latvia, and one guy from Lithuania.  There was also a strong sense of the prophetic, helped hugely by Mike Bollinger's presence (the first time I've met him) and Maurice Nightingale, who I met first time last year, and he also came to Tallinn in the Autumn.  On the Monday we met as leaders together for a time of sharing and praying for one another, which was really helpful.  On that day, and throughout the weekend, there was a repeated prophetic sense of God doing something great in the region, and especially in Tallinn and Riga, as we continue to connect together.

I was also prayed for regarding my back injury (sustained last December), and since my time in Riga, arriving home with a sense I should start jogging again, this month especially there has been a huge improvement.  Only just able to jog slowly at the beginning of the month, the more I've gone out the stronger I'm feeling. Praise God for breakthrough at last!

A Week a little further South

At the end of July we got to go away for a week, travelling south from Tallinn, around 100 km or so.  We were staying in a log cabin in the woods which enabled us to have BBQ's and bonfires most nights, heating sausages over the fire one evening.
There was a pond, which was possible to swim in, but we didn't, the hundreds of frogs jumping around everywhere enough to put me off, though they weren't restricted to the water, but thankfully, were not in the cabin (as far as I knew!).

A little further south from where we were staying was the quaint seaside town of Haapsalu, which we thoroughly enjoyed.  Estonia has so many hidden treasures, this being one of them.

Anyone wanting to one day plant Hope:Haapsalu will be living in a lovely, if not small, town!


And then came August....

Hospitality is key in relation to church planting, and it's something we do enjoy, so when we talk about how many people have been around, we are far from complaining!  Just sharing what's been happening...

Arriving back from our seven days in the forest, literally that same night our first guest arrived, Flic, now on route back to St Petersburg, but spending the night (exchanging holiday stories) in Tallinn.  And actually, for the seven nights following our week away, we had people with us on six of the nights, including a group of four Russians (from St Petersburg) staying with us over the weekend. 

That weekend, we held a Hope:Tallinn prayer night, and the Russian's were joined by three others, all having been at a 'Love Russia' camp in Estonia, so we had a packed house, and that with most of the core team being away at the time.

After the meeting, we all ate a meal together - Rachel cooking a great chilli for 13 people, before all taking a walk to the beach at around 9.30, Mia swimming in the sea - and loving it. Anya was starting back at kindergarten the following morning, but there was no chance of her having an early night! Not that she minded!  The group photo on the right (below) is us on the way to the beach, with Yan standing behind his daughter (he is part of an orphan ministry in St Petersburg), Sasha in red (part of Hope Church) and Masha with Mia and Anya.  Masha was a surprise to meet in Tallinn, her being a link back to the early days in St Petersburg, when she had come to the meals that were happening.  She was the link for Rachel to get into the abandoned baby unit in the city.  She is part of another church.  It was great to see her again, and the girls loved her!

August also included a wedding - Rachel and Mia away for four nights on a busy flying visit to the north of England.  Mia was a flower girl for Sarah, the youngest daughter of a family we've been very close to for many years. Rachel was also able to spend a little time with her Grandma, who turned 90 the day after she came back to Tallinn, in time for my own birthday.

During the week, with Anya in kindergarten, I was able to focus a little more on writing, making good progress on my second novel, though the end is not yet in sight.

For my birthday, which fell on a Sunday, we did a BBQ in the forest near us (third picture from the top on the right).  In the end we had four different mini grills going, and a small crowd of visitors.

One of these was an English girl named Rebekah, who spent a month in this part of the world between the end of July and August.  Two weeks were spent in Estonia, with another two weeks in St Petersburg.  She is praying about if/when she is to come and join us in Tallinn.  This would be something we'd be very keen on so please pray that she finds peace about it, and as part of the open door, a great job here!

And finally (for the moment) on the visitor front, we had my brother and his family stay with us for a week last week.  They live in London and have two young children so it was great to see the cousins all playing so nicely together.  The weather was great and they all left with a fresh view on Estonia, their previous time being snowy, icy and cold!

The Time Challenge

In my last blog entry, I talked about putting prayers on Facebook, especially regarding financial needs, and it was said that in moderation, in specific places, it was good, if not even desired.  People wanted to hear about real situations they felt close to and maybe able to help in.

Our goal financially is self sufficiency.  Of course, all money comes from God, whether through working, or being supported in ministry from others, we know it's all from Him and we give Him thanks for that.  As many of you know, since leaving the UK in 2008, we have been supported financially.  The support we've received from others has always been for about 65% of our expenditure. 25% has come from my working remotely with my old UK job, which leaves another 10% which has been irregular, one off payments, sometimes gifts, often just random things.  We love the way God works!
Of that 65% that is support, much of this has been people with us from day one.  Five years of faithful, releasing support.  These were mainly individuals, but there were two churches as well, our original home church in Stockport, and another within the region, much to our surprise at the time!  There have been two new individual supports start up within the last year, which helped with the natural drop off of individual supports after four years.  Stockport continues to be our admin base for the UK giving, reclaiming the gift aid for us and passing that onto us in time.  We are so grateful for their willingness to help us this way, and the time it frees up for us.
The other church, so faithful in their support of us, have after five amazing years, said it's time for them to invest in other areas, which is of course their great privilege.  We have nothing but thanks and praise for their wonderful support, and know that they continue to pray for us.  They end this month, so there will be a noticeable gap come September.

God has already been aware of this of course.  Starting next week, there is a Finnish man who I will start teaching three times a week.  It's an immediate provision, and we'll see if it continues after our two week trial together.

As I said above, our goal is self sufficiency.  Rachel has started teaching children English, and that has been growing steadily.  She already has as much as she can manage starting again next week (one draw back being the naturally unsocial hours it requires).  Earlier this year, I started a business.  I also published my first novel last year and am working on another.  Both of these are not producing much, if anything, yet, in regards to income.  The business is yet to make it's first proper client, though the teaching Rachel is now doing is able to go through its books.

So I come back to the challenge of time.  We will be diligent to throw ourselves at all that God opens up.  We believe in working hard and to the best of our ability.  Our problem is balance.  The more time we sacrifice to work and cover costs, the less time (and energy) we have for church.  In this I mean, meeting up with and building key relationships with those that God has connected us to.  Also with preparation time for preaching trips, which have been happening more regularly.  I'm due in St Petersburg a little more this Autumn as well, besides all there is in Tallinn.  With these relationships I mentioned, there are many already, and we see them as much as we can, but compared to the early days in Russia, it's much less often than we'd like!

Three Practical Ways to Help....

The first way is to help publicise my novel - every time a book is purchased, whether it's the paperback or ebook, I get a small royalty.  People are really starting to rate it well, so buying the book yourself, or getting it for others, isn't going to be a bad experience, I trust!  There are many reviews up on Amazon already, so you can see what others are saying if you want to know more.  The internet is the world's market place - so sharing the link to the book, talking about it, 'selling' it to your friends all help very much.  Writing reviews are such an encouragement.  I'm sure you can think of even better ways of getting the word (literally in the case of a novel!) out.

The second way is prayer.  Pray for favour in business, as I continue to lay the grass roots in relationships for a business I hope, but have no guarantees, will be a success.  Pray for favour with my writing.  Let God take the novel to unforeseen places.  Pray for opportunities with teaching, especially with Rachel, though more for balance as to new students....she has about all that she can manage.

The third way is monthly support.  And this is just us sharing the need.  We do not aim to live on support for ever.  Far from it.  We look forward to the day when we are off support.  But that day is not today, and this coming year, with another couple moving next week to join us in Tallinn, is a big year for building.  If our gaps in finance are met through support, it buys us valuable time, which I've always been saying, is ultimately our most valuable thing.

Thanks for lasting until the end!

Prayer Points

• For Stephen & Ketlin Morrison, who move here next week from the USA to join us in Tallinn
• For Rebekah as she prays about her future
• For Adrian Horner, who visited us (as mentioned in the last update) a month ago from Open Door Church in Kettering.  We are joining them via Skype for a prayer meeting next month.
• For the coming year, whatever that involves.
• For continued, sustained momentum and growth of all things Hope:Tallinn.

Thank you guys so much for praying with us and standing with us.  It makes EVERY difference for us with life here in beautiful Estonia.