Late Spring Update: Healing, Progress and a Royal Encounter

It's been quite a few weeks since we last sent something out.  A weekend in Stockholm, a visit from Prince Harry, a successful Easter event and a team weekend away are just some of the things that have taken place.

Summer arrived early too. Shade temperatures in the low 30's has Tallinn feeling rather warm and beautiful, if not a little close at times. Town Hall Square, in the picture here, has the outside seating areas packed out already. The first of the cruise ships have already docked - tourist season is also upon us!

Headlines for this update:

• News from the Easter Event
• Getting more than we thought from Stockholm Weekend
• July 'Missions' Week Update
• Prince Harry Visits Tallinn
• Team Weekend Away
• Visitors and Team Growth?

Toddler Group Families Easter Event

Last time we mentioned that as a church plant we were putting on an event for the families from the toddler group. It happened on the Easter Saturday and gave the team a chance to meet with more parents from the weekly group. In total there were 15 adult visitors and 16 children.  The venue served us really well, all the children heard the Easter story as well as doing other traditional things.

For many of the dads that came along, it was the first time any of us had met them. Among them included a politician as well as a professional basketball player!

The day before this, Good Friday, we'd driven 90 minutes south to the small town of Võhma, where we'd been invited to a BBQ. We'd done this last year - it's funny how traditions form so easily.  We were blessed with the warmest day of the year (so far, at that point!) and it was wonderful to spend time with the family there (a British family who've lived in Estonia for about 11 years) as well as met friends coming up from Latvia to join us all.

Last time we also mentioned how we are continuing with the Christianity Explored course on a personal basis each week.  Elisabeth, part of the team here, is meeting with an Estonian lady once a week to go through the material. Please pray for her as she continues with this.

Reign in Life - Stockholm Weekend

At the beginning of May, I got to go away with Rachel to a two night conference in Stockholm, hosted by Grace Church.  Terry Virgo was coming across for it, and spent two evenings talking about a subject he knows so well - Grace.  It was a brilliant time.  We were able to connect with folks up from Riga, as well as across from Helsinki, the UK and of course our friends in Stockholm. Flic even came across from St Petersburg.
During the day on the Saturday, there was an additional time for leaders, and Terry spoke about the filling of the Holy Spirit.  We'd got a chance to speak with him a little, which was lovely. He is such a humble man, with time for everyone - on the Saturday night, having spoken 5 times over the two days, he was praying for people for well over an hour.  He's not a young man anymore, but his passion remains the same!
And having gone forward, with about 11 others, for prayer for back issues, something quite extraordinary was about to happen.  Sitting down at our feet, he gently lifted our legs.  One leg was shorter than the other - a common reason for back pain, and 80% of the time the main reason.  Mine too were different lengths.  He prayed a simple prayer - and without feeling anything, without him pulling either leg, or me moving, the legs became equal.  Just like that.  And it was the same for all of us.  This was no hype, no show.  This was not for the cameras. It was simply Jesus healing people through the power of the Holy Spirit - just like the Bible tells us.
I stood up, walking to one side as he continued to pray for others.  I hadn't felt anything change, but was able to touch my toes without pain within minutes.  I even did it in front of everybody.
Since then, as my body has adjusted, there were some days when it felt bad. But I know I was healed.  Yes, I continue to do my strengthening exercises - it's for my own good for the long term.  But today, writing this, there is a huge difference.  Massive.  It's been 18 months of pain and difficulty.  One prayer and the power was broken. Healing has come.
So I'm going from strength to strength.  I'll keep you all informed.

Let me just say something at this point.  Healing is central to who God is. Healing makes what is done in faith, ie belief in a living God, come into reality.  After all, if God is real, wouldn't he still be able to do the things the Bible tells us he did all those years ago while on earth.  And He did.  I'm a man of faith, but my life has been scattered with times when these things happen.  Praying for sick people and they recover.  I've been on the receiving end enough times to know that God is alive.  And here is something more - if you are sick, and want to come to Jesus for healing, He is more than able to make you well also.  If you want to find out more, let me know.

A Week in Tallinn this July

Colin Baron was recently in Tallinn - he shared at our Vision Sunday and we had a day together before he flew back to Manchester.  In July, he is bringing a group of students over from his home church, about 12 in total.  There are a few others coming along too - Adrian Horner and two or more from Open Door Church in Kettering and one or two others as well. From Friday 18th July to Friday 25th, most of these will be in Tallinn. The plans are coming together.  We are still praying for the right venue to use as a base for the team in the week, so please stand with us in that area.
As part of the week, we'll be running a three day kids camp in a local school. We'll also be looking to do quite a bit outside - and have at least two BBQ's in the forest/beach near us!
Please be praying for the team coming over.  For most of them, this will be their first time in Estonia.  Pray for our planning of this event as well, that we find what we need to find and have enough translators etc for the week.  We'll be having two Vision Sunday's in a row - one with the team here, and one when Adrian Horner and his wife are still in town after the week.

Last Sunday, as mentioned above, was a Vision Sunday.  These are once a month (at the moment) meetings where we run more of a church meeting, talking vision out as we do things, we trust.  And though not all came that we invited, for the first time to this event, we did have a visitor with us, who came with her two children.  So praise God for that!
Please pray this meeting starts to grow over the next few months (well in Autumn really, besides the two in July).

Team Weekend Away

The two nights before Colin arrived, we managed to get away as a team to a lovely venue around 90 minutes east of Tallinn.  The aim was to build relationships by spending more time together, as well as worship God, soaking in his presence without the time restraints we normally face.  I also talked for one session on Vision & Values, which went down really well.
Each of the 8 adults and 5 children that now make up the growing core team are an answer to prayer.  It's great to see the outworking of God's plan for us all in Tallinn.  Because of the stunning weather, which started just before that weekend and has continued since, we were able to do worship outside in the covered BBQ area.  I even did my talk on a hillside, looking up to the rest of the team.  Can't say I've ever done that before!

From Right to Left - Arnoud & Elisabeth with Anna-Ruth, Ketlin
& Stephen, Enrico, Rachel with Mia & Anya, Rebekah, me,
Mattias & Vera

But Before The Weekend....

I left Tallinn on the Friday at about 5, with Enrico, Stephen & Ketlin in the car with me, heading east.  It was to be a 90 minute drive through stunning Estonian countryside.  Rachel, Rebekah and Mia & Anya were coming on by train - actually a quicker journey at just 60 minutes, but they were leaving later.  Before that, they had a small matter of visiting Freedom Square (with hundreds of others) trying to get a glimpse of Prince Harry, who was due there at about 17:15.  Their train was due at 17:45 I think, so it was cutting it fine to say the least!
Many of you will know already what happened next, but for those that haven't seen, or who just want to relive it, here is the video Rachel was recording when Harry turned around....



Needless to say, when I picked them up from the station at the other end, flags still waving, they were all rather excited. I'd not had any contact, so had no idea exactly what had happened.
With limited internet option at this retreat centre (at least for me), we were not really able to process all that took place until after we got home.
A reporter from The Sun newspaper in the UK had interviewed Rachel and Mia straight after Harry spoke with them, though it failed to make it into the Saturday edition.  There were many videos on YouTube from the day, Rachel and the girls appearing in some.  Maybe the best picture that got shared was the one on the right - we only saw it because friends shared it with us stating they knew the little girl in the photo!
It's a photo shared on Facebook that shows the moment Prince Harry took Mia's hand.  And the guy who shared it - Toomas Hendrik Ilves - who is only the President of Estonia!

Visitors & Praying for Team Growth

Rachel's mum and dad were with us at the end of April for a week.  My mum comes over in about two weeks as well for a week.  We had Colin with us for a night, and Sveta, from St Petersburg, has been in town for about a week. She is praying about Tallinn and what that might mean for her, so please pray that she knows the way forward.
As a family we've been very close to Sveta during our time in Russia, and since. Our girls are both very fond of her.  If God was to make it clear to her to join us, she'd be a great blessing to us all.

And since writing this, another friend has confirmed they will be joining us in July for the mission week.

Prayer Points

• Thank God for an amazing team, for time away, and what that means for our future together in Tallinn
• Pray for more growth - we are asking God for a core team of twelve, to give us the strength to launch well.
• Pray for July - for all those coming across, and for the planning on our side, as well as finding a venue to use for the base.
• Pray for our summer events.  The changing season means doing things a little different.  We have a Summer BBQ at the Beach on 1st June.  Pray for a huge crowd (and the BBQ's to feed them all!)

Thanks everyone!  It's been quite a few weeks.  Princes, Presidents, Healing... The next weeks couldn't possibly top that, could they..?!

Tallinn Update - First trip back to Russia and more...

By the end of this week, it would have been quite a ten days for us...

Firstly, looking back;
On Thursday 20th September, I took the coach, making my first trip back to St Petersburg, as planned, for a conference that Hope Church was putting on.  David & Scilla Devenish were coming over for this weekend, and though Dave Henson's back condition did not allow him to be there, Hannah Henson was able to come instead.

Arriving in the city in the afternoon, I was immediately struck as the bus approached the station at the amount of traffic.  The roads were blocked in every direction.  People were walking through the gaps in traffic, going about life. There was no doubt - I was back in the big city!

And I've never 'visited' somewhere before where I am so familiar with the place, and even have the foreign language....I was to get to speak a lot of Russian this weekend, not that we'd got out of practice in Tallinn anyway, with Russian being widely spoken here too.
Descending the metro it was no more unusual than when we lived there.  St Petersburg has the deepest underground (metro) in the world, so you descend and ascend for about 3 minutes each time.  I was not in much of a hurry, and had bags with me anyway.  
What was strange, once at the hostel I was staying at, was being in the city and yet neither (at that point!) being with people, working or at home.  The hostel was very central so while that made getting around easy enough, there was noise from the cars and people moving around in their thousands all day (and all night!)  But it wasn't like I'm not used to it....it's just been 6 months.
On that first evening I made the trip out to where Hansie & Lena live.  It was the end of their home group so I was able to see three of the Russian ladies (plus baby Gleb who was just two months old when we left and I'd just seen once).  I then went out for a chat with Hansie after that to catch up on the news and to see how he was doing really.  
Friday morning again felt strange.  I went down to the church office but at 10am (what was I thinking!) of course it wouldn't be open.....that's still like the early hours in St Petersburg!  (The days do start later and finish later - Tallinn is a little more like Europe regarding office hours).
I then went to a nearby cafe and spent a couple of hours working on next Sunday's notes for our first Vision Sunday (more on that in a bit!).
Though there was a set plan for that evening and then the whole weekend, there was still quite a bit of time on Friday with nothing as yet set.  Realising that I needed (wanted!) to be with some of the folks from Hope Church (the reason I came back after all!) I sent some texts around and soon had back to back meetings that afternoon.  So I met with two home group leaders first and then went onto meet with another two after that.  In the evening was a meal for 10 couples, plus myself and Hannah.  There were two couples from Hope Church, three from All Nations, an Armenian couple from the Newfrontiers church in Tver, plus three other couples representing four local churches, together with David & Scilla.  David would share some things, tell some stories about what has been happening and answer some questions. 
It was a really relational evening and great to chat and meet up with so many wonderful people.  A theme of the weekend, it would again show me just how many people I've had the honour of meeting and getting to know over these last four years.

On Saturday morning there was the start of a two day conference titled "Together on Mission".  The first day was held at the Christian University where I used to study Russian over the last two years.  David did a wonderful job in telling the story of some of Jesus' ministry, before reading back through the scripture to show us that what he said was in the Bible.  I really got a lot out of his teaching and his style was really engaging - I like story-telling too (as an author, that's hardly surprising!) so it was a great experience for me too on that note.  In the lunch break I also got to speak with another two home group leaders.  All in all these conversations had been about encouraging their groups to multiply and releasing new leaders into this.  This is now something I will look to help them do over this next month.
Saturday evening, after the conference, I went back with Hansie & Lena, David & Scilla and Hannah to their flat for a meal.  We were joined by another couple and talked and shared stories.  Later on, I then had some time with David and Scilla to talk about Tallinn and get their advice and input on some things.  It was a very helpful and equipping time - one of the many 'value added' things in being part of a wider family of churches like Newfrontiers.
On Sunday morning it was at the hotel where Hope Church now meet - Hotel October - in the centre of the city. There were two churches together (Hope & All Nations) plus another 8 represented as well.  It was amazing to see the hall packed out, and all available chairs needed.  There was easily over 300 adults.  Worship was passionate and God focused.  It was multicultural, with over a dozen nationalities represented.
I shared an update on Tallinn from the front.  People were so happy to see me again and gave loads of gifts for both Rachel and the girls, who were not able to be with me on this trip.  Faith was stirred and they prayed for us all here.
Not long after that, one of the real highlights of the trip happened.  David welcomed into our Newfrontiers family of churches All Nations church.  These guys have been working really closely with Hope Church for a few years and hearing their African pastor sharing what it meant to him, it was truly humbling to think, that even in a small way, God has involved us in his plans and purposes in St Petersburg.  None of us went to Russia to get other churches to join Newfrontiers, but to plant a church.  This has purely come out of relationship and their desire to be joined with us under the same vision and calling to change the expression of Christianity around the world.
So after four years of first moving to St Petersburg, there are now two vibrant and passionate Newfrontiers churches in that great city.  There is room for dozens more too!
The conference finished at around two and then, once the hall was cleared and chatting with people was finished, I joined the dozens going to a local food court in the neighbouring shopping centre to eat together and continue relationship building.  While here, I saw a young lad with an Estonian scarf on, so I went up to him (I think this seemed odd to him!).  It worked out that he too lives in Tallinn and when he asked what part I lived in, he responded in surprise that he lived 300 metres from there!  Who would have thought, of all the millions in far away St Petersburg, I'd meet someone living so close.
And on Sunday night there was a leaders meeting for those from Hope Church and All Nations.  And this was in the hall where Hope Church first started.  It felt fitting.  It was another encouraging and powerful evening.
On Monday morning I was back on the bus and heading home.  The weekend had shown me what was possible.  To meet with so many and encourage where ever I could.  To bring some fresh faith from outside, with the heart and knowledge of what is going on in Hope Church.  There were invites near and far to come back when I could.  And long term, this is something (in God's wisdom and knowledge) that I feel is part of us being based in Tallinn for.

And Finally, looking forward;
So getting back to Tallinn, faith has been stirred.  This weekend we have our first Vision Sunday for the church plant. Having been gathering socially to invite friends and neighbours, and build community, once a month we are meeting to be reminded of vision, to be encouraged from the word and to worship together, launching us into the next month with faith, passion and vision for all the further gathering we will be doing.
Please pray for us this Sunday.  I will be starting a series talking through the story of Acts, taking a chapter or two each month to draw on encouragement and examples from the life of the early church, into the life of this early church in Tallinn.  The two weekly toddler groups also continue to go well.

The next two months will continue to build forward.  We'll be hosting a special weekend in Tallinn (news on that next time) that will see several other city church planters together here, as well as a couple of trips for me - one being to Riga, where I will be speaking four times over a weekend telling the story of the book of Ruth.  And the other is for a special cities gathering in London that I have been invited too.  Both these trips will happen in November, so more on these nearer the time.  We also continue to have many visitors.  On all these above points, life in Tallinn continues to be very different to what life had been like for us personally in St Petersburg.

Thanks for reading - I hope you have been encouraged as much as we have!

Coming up next;
The Church planting series continues with news from Latvia, Helsinki and even the USA......you don't want to miss it!

Tallinn Update - Gathering a little momentum

Having taken the last three posts to share a bit about church planting in my new series where I have been interviewing others planting new churches, I wanted to come back and share a catch up with life in Tallinn these last two weeks.

Yesterday summed up a lot really in terms of the wonderful connection with 'random' encounters and God working in his own way through and around us during 'normal' life in Tallinn.  For our gathering event we were going bowling, hiring two lanes at 4pm on the Sunday.  (From the windows down one side, you can see the sea - not your usual bowling alley!).  It just so happened that walking into the place the team recognised another Estonian man and his family, from another local church we'd all been at a few times over the last few months.  Warm greetings followed.  It just so happened they'd booked the same time and were in the next lanes to us.  When we were leaving, the guy mentioned a volleyball match that was happening later on in Tallinn between Estonia and The Netherlands.  Arnoud, being Dutch, was quite up for going, as was I, growing more keen on volleyball since moving to Tallinn. 

Arriving for the volleyball match (which was being shown live on ETV2, one of the main national channels) we just so happened to park immediately behind the car of this same guy we'd met earlier (as we were to find out later, walking back to the cars and realising the coincidence).  Buying the tickets, he came and found us and we took our seats, just after the national anthems were played - and then, sitting just behind the service line, we just so happened to be on Estonian TV all night, the camera's kept picking us out, much to the sheer excitement of Mia and Anya (pictured above right). Rachel took a picture of us on the T.V (right).

And that sums up life in Tallinn - always open to the unexpected.  Never really knowing what the day might entail....and ending up on TV (and not for the first time this year, with our House Hunters International show to be aired this Autumn too!).

So what has been happening when we are not appearing on TV, you might ask....well, this is what;

Taste the Nations in Tallinn - a really successful event that we first launched in the international groups we were overseeing in Russia, was a meal concept called Taste the Nations.  And as part of our gathering strategy here in Tallinn, we are putting on this event twice a month in two venues, with the first event the previous weekend at ours.  

 It was a really fun time, and as well as people represented from Estonia, Russia, Holland, America and the UK, we had food from Italy, Mexico, England, Estonia and Russia!

This coming Sunday is the next meal, this time at the home of Arnoud & Elisabeth, and though that is only about 5 minutes down the road, it represents another gathering area as well as another circle of friends ready to come along and get involved.

I personally will not be in Tallinn for this meal this time, as I make my first trip back to St Petersburg since moving here in March.  So please pray for my trip - part of the vision of being in Tallinn was always to keep contact with Hope Church, our sending church in Russia.  God has not finished with us and Russia.  Having moved on more than six months ago, with so much no doubt changed in Hope Church, it promises to be an exciting, yet emotional, return.  Pray therefore that as I go back and share, faith would be stirred.  That all the new people who have joined in the last six months who I do not know, and of course who do not know me, will feel very much part of what we are doing in Tallinn.  Pray also for Rachel and the girls - it's not my first trip away but at five days, and with Mia now at school and the church plant meeting on the weekends, it will be a busy time on the home front.

These last two weeks have also seen the launching of two children's events.  One is an art group that Laura is running at her home, and the other, which started last week at ours, is an English Conversational toddler group. (Rachel and Elisabeth had met several Mum's who wanted to practice their English and felt this would be a fun way to do it).  As well as the three ladies from the church plant, there were two other mums visiting and joining in - with one helping to do some Estonian nursery rhymes!  Both groups will be happening every week, with the latter alternating between ours and Around & Elisabeth's.  I am so impressed by the missional endeavour that God has put around us!

It's really wonderful to see all that God is starting to do in Tallinn.  We are far from understanding culture here.  We have just started pressing in with regular Estonian language learning, and the early stages are very encouraging!  We do have a long way to go!

Knowing our time is the most valuable thing we have, we are being prayerful about how to use it best, getting that balance between being able to live here and investing in the church plant (which at this stage is such a wide range of things!)  We are still awaiting for our finances to really settle down, having taken quite a hit over these last six months with the moves and everything, but it does seem that we might be several hundred euros a month down from our necessary level of support, factoring in the gift of this car and Mia now starting school, both of these having an impact on our monthly out goings.  So this is something that we are also praying about, and ask that you pray for us as well.  Please pray that we hear God's wisdom for us regarding the correct balance between our own provision (and any extra work I need to do from this end - bearing in mind the time cost involved in this) and the provision we receive from outside, the value of this being the time it provides us to get on with the basic mission here - to plant a city reaching church that replants itself many times through the decades.

One long term hope is that my writing can provide the necessary income to not only provide for our own needs, but also fund many church plants.  And with a small number of film directors and producers starting to follow my books twitter feed, maybe that's not as far off as first thought.....Cherry Picking continues to get great reviews - why not see what all the fuss is about yourself, and in buying the book (which I trust you will enjoy reading) you are also helping us to church plant.  And by recommending this book to your unique circle of friends, you are helping the book to reach a global audience.  You can read some of the 5***** reviews here, and get your own copy too!

Head aega! Ja tänu lugemiseks (Goodbye!  And thanks for reading)

Contact Details;

Address: Helme 16/2, 39, Tallinn, 10614, Estonia

Email: timinrussia@gmail.com

Facebook Group: God Loves Tallinn

Cherry Picking (Tim's novel) FB page

For regular or one off gifts please contact our 

UK base church who are administering this for us: 

finance@stockportfamilychurch.org.uk

Tallinn Update: The Gathering Phase

The weeks have raced by already and so much has happened!  Like I've said many times, when the most is happening, you tend to have the least time to share about it with others!  
And that's part of church plant life, and life in a new culture really.  Sometimes you are on top of things - other times (which seem like the majority, especially in the first year) you are just taken along by life, doing what needs to be done, going from one place to the next....


It's now September.  School has started.  This happened on the 1st September, which like in Russia, is the start of the school year, and even though that was a Saturday this year, that didn't change things!  
In the short video you can see Mia being called up, where she received her Estonian language school book and her cap...she was just a little nervous, she told us after!
She then had her first lesson, which gave us time to meet some parents.  September 1st was also our 11th wedding anniversary, but like the previous four years, it does get a little swallowed by school (oh, and the fact that September 2nd is also Mia's birthday!).  We actually went back to the home of one of Mia's class mates after the events on Saturday.  They are an American family, very new to Tallinn, and also here to church plant.  You can see four more photo's from Mia's first day, including her answer to prayer uniform, by clicking here.

As mentioned in my last post, we had a few days exploring some of Estonia in August.  One day we went about 45km west along a coastal area that has stunning cliffs (picture 1), beaches (5) and a waterfall (2), as well as stumbling across a great Spa hotel that just happened to be on 'Happy Hour' at the time we arrived, which meant we could go swimming for half the price!  I couldn't help notice the conference facilities (that could host more than 400 people) and think "One day, we'll fill this..."

We also went a little east of Tallinn on another day and found (we think) the highest waterfall in Estonia, that actually freezes in winter (Pictures 3 & 4).

We also had Kev Jones over for the day from Helsinki.  Kev and his family had been in the Finnish capital for the month of August getting to know the place.  They are now aiming to move there permanently sometime in Spring 2013 to plant a church.  As well as being a prophetic call over Hope Church in St Petersburg, personally the nearby capital cities were part of what God impressed upon me when He spoke about us moving to Tallinn

So it's on the back of the prophetic that I've been building relationships, with the view to encouraging what God is about to do in these nearby cities.
So it was a great day showing Kev around, talking about how things have gone for us here, praying together.  We are excited to see what happens through them all in Helsinki in the years to come.

We also had Dave & Hannah Henson with us for a long weekend, actually arriving the day after Kev Jones was here (which was then followed by our friends Chip & Helen with their two children arriving on the plane the Henson's flew back on!).  
Dave's mobility issues following the serious back operation he'd had, meant we did less rushing around and more talking about things, which was also a real blessing.
Gathering together on the Sunday afternoon with those already involved, it was great to be released into this season of gathering others.  Taking the lead from Jesus, who gathered and taught to crowds before calling out from those same crowds his disciples, we are now setting out to do the same, with a emphasis on gathering, and not a 'religious' meeting.  So using meals (Taste the Nations starts this Sunday!) twice a month plus another gathering event (eg we played volleyball last week), we'll end the month with a Vision Sunday, which will give some teaching and come back to the big thing we are called to.  
Midweek we'll be praying together (with the first prayer meeting happening tonight!).

Elena arrived at ours early on Sunday morning from St Petersburg - she is looking to join the church plant and is here finding out about a job - she should hear today so please pray that something comes through.  She doesn't yet speak English (she will work in a Russian kindergarten) but has a great heart for Tallinn.

The Gathering Season - so with thoughts of this new season fresh in our mind, we hit the busy school weekend and new school week, and have been struck by how many people we are meeting!  Rachel especially, who has been picking Mia up, has had some great conversations at the school with a number of parents.  There are about two or three international and Estonian families who have expressed an interest in church.   
At our local bus stop as well, she met another mum with her daughter.  Mia pointed out she was wearing the same uniform, so Mia showed the girl her logo and they became friends just like that.  This girl has started in the other class in her year (there are two classes each year that take children from 7 years old all the way up to graduation age!).  This is a Russian speaking girl and mother, and having met them again today (Mia holding hands with this girl and chatting away in Russian) they are already talking about taking it in turns to take the girls in.
Jesus said "Put down your nets" and in just doing so, the act of obedience, they caught a great catch.  And so it seems, just positioning ourselves to start gathering, God is already gathering people to be caught up in the crowd, from which a church will emerge.....it's going to be an exciting season.

 It has been an intense week already, even if it's only Wednesday.  Getting Mia ready for school (which included an evening of double covering all her books!) we've had to very quickly work out what we need to do.  
With Estonia being a very cyber country, it means the school has it's own e-school, where as parents we need to register and once signed in it shows us homework for Mia, the teacher sends us messages as well as getting other notifications.
There is also the contact information for all the other parents and access to enroll in after school clubs and sports.   
The academic day is relatively short at the moment, with Mia's latest class finishing at around two, but yesterday, having done her swimming and ballet trial, she didn't leave until gone 5 - needless to say, both Mia and Anya, not to mention Rachel, have been very tired!

Please pray for them - Mia does love school now (despite the tears on Monday morning stating she didn't want to leave us - this was contrasted by moans that same evening saying she wish she was still at school as she loved it so much!)  Anya has also been 'difficult' this week....but she is making great progress with her potty training.  It's impossible to know the effect all this change is having on their behaviour, and what is just bad behaviour!  Much grace needed at times - thankfully much grace is always available, when we remember to ask for it!

Much more to come soon!

Also coming up;
Church planting series - hear from friends around the world also planting churches (at various phases).  First up, Chris Taylor in The Hague, Holland.

Tallinn Summertime Update - Part 4

 Well it's been quite a time since the last update.  Nearly a week has passed now since we finished filming the Tallinn episode of House Hunters International, which is the most popular program on the American  Home & Garden network.  We can't say any more about this until after the show has aired in the US this Autumn - after that, I will do a special update talking about all things television!  Here the crew (all from the UK) are shown setting up in one of the three properties we visited.  It was a fun, tiring but worthwhile experience - we look forward to seeing what gets produced in the episode that will be shown to millions of Americans.
If it's not too embarrassing (it does have that potential!) then we might share the link to you all at some point - if you ask nicely...

Church Plant: What has been really exciting over these last two weeks, which could have got lost in all the excitement of filming and our car arriving (more on that below) was the first get together of the three families that are part of what will soon be the church plant!  We had a BBQ together and as well as there being 6 adults, there were another 6 children (five of which are girls!)  Already we are an international bunch - There's English, then there is a Dutch family who've moved to join the core team (Arnoud, pictured below on the left) and there's an American family who've just arrived for two years in Tallinn (Nathan, below right).  Elisabeth (Arnoud's wife and pictured at the table with their youngest, the one little boy at the moment in the church plant) and Laura (nearest camera) make up the rest.  And that's before a Russian girl moves to join us and before an Estonian girl (as yet praying about whether she'll be in Tallinn) might join us.

 The girls had a great time playing together - it wasn't quiet but it was fun!

We're starting to meet on Sunday afternoon's now we are all together and it's August already.  It's very relational during the summer - making the most of the outdoors and the sunny sandy beach!
Last Sunday (actually just two families) we went onto the beach, and wanting to play volleyball, I got myself and Arnoud invited into a game where four young people were already playing - church planting can be so much fun at times!  It was great!  Being outdoors generally is just great for meeting people - we said how we met lots of people in the first few weeks, and now, in our new area, we are starting to see that again.  Last night, I 'had the idea' to go out to the field in front of our flat and play football together.  Very soon, a three year old Estonian boy came running over and was kicking the ball with us, his mother chasing after him.  Thirty minutes later, we'd properly met one of our neighbours.  Numbers were exchanged and Rachel and this lady will meet to practice Russian and English together.  This lady's parents also live in the building next to us.  And we know Arnoud & Elisabeth have also been meeting people just like this - it's always exciting to see how God does it, and we pray for much more of it.  It's got to be God that reaches the people of Tallinn - as the Capital city of the most secular nation in Europe, it's not an easy job for man - but it's nothing for God!

And after four years - we have a car!  A real praise point to finish.  

We said how Love Russia had contacted us some months ago about whether we wanted a car.  Not only had we been looking at that very issue ourselves already, we'd been praying for a 7 seater car so as to be able to fit visitors in etc.  Well, the car they generously gave us was indeed a 7 seater Hyundai and here it is!  Not only did they do this, they met us for dinner on the Thursday night before they flew back to the UK, having cleaned the car, done all the major repairs on it and even left a full tank of diesel!!  They have been amazing!  And we are so thankful to God for their hearts and support and generosity in this.  Having got used to travelling by bus, and with free travel for an adult when travelling with Anya (as she's under three) we are certainly not just going to drive from now on.  But with shopping, and crossing the city and longer journeys, it's a real blessing!  I've now been able to register it (an afternoon's coming and going but got there in the end!) as well as getting it insured under it's new Estonian plates!
We also signed up at a local doctors yesterday, which as well as being needed for the girls, and especially for Mia to get her pre-school health check (like in Russia, it's required here for all children), having a local doctor was also needed for Rachel and myself in order to obtain our Estonian driving licence, which we can do next month.  Yesterday we underwent the medical checkup and got our certificate to drive.
It's often this paperwork that can make moving to a new country so confusing - especially when you don't know the main language!  We press on anyway.

Settling in doesn't come easily but we are slowly getting there.  We are exploring the country a bit these next 5 days as we take a 'stay at home' vacation and catch up with ourselves, as well as having some focused family time before Autumn kicks in.  It should be great!  Later this month we have some more visitors - including Kevin Jones coming across for the day from Helsinki, where his family have been 'checking out' the place this month in view of moving there next year to church plant.  Dave & Hannah Henson will also be over in Tallinn for a weekend, no small event following Dave's serious back issues earlier this year.  Our time with them will be great and we are looking forward to showing them more of Tallinn and praying together at the start of this next phase for the church plant.

Hot of the press - As I was writing this during the morning, Rachel was again meeting another local neighbour while out with the girls at the play ground.  This lady apparently approached Elisabeth and Rachel and asked if it was a kindergarten! (Yes there were 5 children playing, but still, not sure it would have really counted as a kindergarten!).  They've swapped numbers, connected on Facebook already so please pray that a good relationship will grow and she'll be interested in what we are all in Tallinn for.  This is, after all, what we are here for!

Tallinn Summertime Update - Part 3 - Moving time

Just a short update as tomorrow the Internet goes off in our rental flat on Tartu Mnt, and is connected at our new flat, though we are a week from moving in.  I guess while we are on that note, it's worth updating you on our new Tallinn home address - we expect to move in to it about a week today!


Helme 16/2, 39, Tallinn, 10614, Estonia


And it's a miracle that we get to write that really!  We are so grateful to God for his breakthrough and to the masses of people praying with us, and helping us get to this point!


Since the last update, when I talked about visitors, we've had two more!  Flic, from Hope Church in St Petersburg stopped over on her way back to the UK, and immediately before that we had Matt from the Riga church plant staying with us for two nights.  It was a really enjoyable time of chatting, praying and stirring one another.
We successfully moved our boxes over to the new flat last Saturday - Flic was a wonderful help with the girls, and the seven helpers we had with us from Elava Vee Church meant we got the whole move done and into the new flat within three hours - a great result!  Rain had been forecast - with everything safely in the flat, literally five minutes later, we all watched from the balcony as the heavens opened as a storm blew in!


Heartbeat Tallinn starts next week - this is a huge week long event that Agape, the student outreach group, have organised.  They have 1500 people coming to the city, and joining with local and national Christians here in Estonia, it's going to be a great service to the city.  Please pray for it.  Please pray that we would also get connected into the right places.  It's the same week our kitchen is going in, and we therefore move in, as well as Arnoud and Elisabeth and their 3 children moving to Tallinn, so it's looking like a busy but exciting week.  A focal point of the week is Christ Day, which is the Saturday 28th July.  They are calling all the Christians in Estonia to come to the stadium for this day, where there will be prayer and other stuff during the day, and a big concert in the evening - among the singers is 'Britain's Got Talent' winner, Susan Boyle!


Tallinn has just hosted the Under 19s European Championships (Football), which was won by the Spanish.  It was really interesting to see all the various teams walking around the streets, exploring the city as we too have been doing these last months.


And finally, one thing I don't think we've mentioned, but seeing as it's on its way to Tallinn already, a praise point definitely worth a mention.  About two months ago, while we were thinking and praying about how to get a car, we were contacted by our friends at the UK based charity Love Russia.  When looking, we'd been hoping to get a 7 seat car, so as to be able to travel with people when they came to stay.  The finances would not actually have enabled us to pursue anything.  But the email from Love Russia changed all that - they are driving up a car for their summer camp in Estonia and asked us if, after they have finished, we'd like to have the car!  What's more, it's a 7 seat car!  We are so thankful to God, and of course the wonderful generosity shown by all at Love Russia for this truly wonderful gift.  Having lived without a car for 4 years, but with two children now, as well as living for the first time not in the directly in the centre, the timing is perfect.  They fly out from Tallinn on the morning of the 3rd August, so I will meet them there and drive back the car....and that's just in time, as filming begins on the 4th August with House Hunters International and a car is probably very vital for all that's needed for that!


God's perfect timing, as always!


So that's me signing off from Tartu Mnt....4 years of renting flats is coming to an end.  Next update is from the property no Estonian bank said we'd get - but God!

Tallinn Summertime Update - Part 2 - Moving into a new phase

 It's been longer than I hoped since the last short update, but here is another.
One thing that surprised us when we first moved to Russia nearly 4 years ago now was getting to March time and there being no Spring!  We'd prepared for the dark and the cold of Winter, but it hadn't occurred to us that other season's might be effected (all we knew was how it was in England - human nature tells you that this is therefore normal for all!)  Ha ha.  We laugh now about it.  Tallinn has an almost identical climate to St Petersburg, though thankfully maybe just a little less damp atmosphere which really makes it hard in cold, and hot weather.  So in Tallinn, the flowers are still out, and because of the great sunshine we've had, helped by the long nights, things really do come alive at this time of year.  The streets are busy, we've always noticed a healthy outdoors attitude by many that get to call Tallinn home - and this is certainly something we want to get into too!  Mia (pictured left) loves smelling and exploring the various flowers on show around the many parks here.


A new phase - What is really exciting is to be on the brink of a new phase to the church plant, which is of course the sole reason we've moved our family from Russia to the capital of Estonia.  Phase 0 was always making the move, settling into our permanent home, starting to learn language, getting schooling sorted, and because of our belief in team, seeing people move here to join us before we started any 'official' church plant activity.  Most of you will know that Mia has been accepted into school, and starts on 1st September.  We've started with language (though have a looong was to go as it's a really hard one!).  This month we will move into our permanent home, which we know will be a great base for all that God will do through us in this part of the world.  And also, on the 27th July, Arnoud & Elisabeth move with their family to join us here in Tallinn.  They are Dutch, and lived in the UK for about 5 and a half years before moving to Valga, southern Estonia, two and a half years ago.  They have three children, the oldest being the same age as Mia.  We are very excited to have them join us and so thankful by how God has started to answer prayers about team.  A Russian girl who is joining us from Hope Church also appears to have an offer for work here in September, so please do pray for her documents to come through (she needs a visa to live here) as well as for Arnoud & Elisabeth's move to be a smooth and easy one.
In Phase 1, which is now just a month or so away, we'll see this small team gathering, praying, seeking God together, while growing in relationship and community and looking to bring others along into that.  We'll be living out the values we want the church to have right from the beginning with the small group that will meet in our flat.  So it's really exciting.


And when God spoke to me about Tallinn, He talked about connecting with the other capital city church plants nearby - and it's exciting to see things growing in relationship in those areas - last night I spoke for a long time with Kevin Jones, who's family are moving to Helsinki, probably early next year, and they are coming for a month in August to explore the city.  He will come over to Tallinn for a day in August and we'll hang out, chat and see what God will do. And tomorrow, Matt Medd from Riga is coming up to stay with us for two nights.  We are really looking forward to spending this time with him, for talking together, encouraging one another and we hope learning from one another.  And this we know is just the start.  I'm planning to go back to St Petersburg in September for a church weekend away, that David Devenish is coming to speak at - I'll need to sort out another visa, but that's the plan.  


We've been really encouraged as well to hear from an American family who have moved to Tallinn for two years.  I met with the guy last night - they have been part of a New Frontiers church in Mexico and it seems want to get involved with us here too.  There have been a few others too looking in.

But life is never dull here!  The other day, just at the junction by our flat, we saw water flooding the street, and people stopping to take photo's.  I went out to investigate and there was already a camera crew there from a local TV news station when I arrived. A huge section of, I'm guessing, the main water main had clearly broken underground somewhere, so that, in many places, the water was pushing up hard and flooding the street.  Pavement and road were just being washed away.  Cars and buses were (usually!) slowly working their way around the worst of it.

And we were recently reminded of the extent to Tallinn being a WiFi city - exploring the beach area near to our new flat, I took a photo of one of the many signs you see, telling you how to get free WiFi, even while sitting on the beach!  How great is that!  ....that might be useful for sermon prep in the years to come...!


Visitors - It's been amazing how many visitors we've had already after just over 4 months - in fact, more than all our time in Russia.  The combination of cheaper flights and no visa certainly being a factor.  Each visitor brings something different - news from St Petersburg, encouragement for the work here, catch up with friends, help with the children.  It's great being part of such a global family of churches.
By the end of August we'd had have 60 days with visitors with us in Tallinn - a pattern of things to come?


And finally, we've mentioned this a while ago but not updated people since - when we arrived in Tallinn, we were contacted by the US TV show House Hunters International.  Well, now plans are more final, and they are coming to film us for one of their episodes on the 4th - 7th August.  We can't say much more now about this, having signed all their release forms, but it's going to be an interesting start to August!

Tallinn Summertime update - Part 1

I'm going to do this in parts so that it makes me write briefer entries, but more frequently!

 We have the keys!  Following on from the last blog entry, we've made great progress with the flat, so much so that we've signed everything at the bank and notary (more on that in a moment), as well as being given the keys last week.  We've now been able to measure up for curtains and start to buy things like a washing machine, which arrived today!  As the kitchen is still to be installed (new flats here come fully finished, minus the kitchen and most light fittings - unlike new flats in Russia, where not even the walls have plaster board on, so it could have been worse for us!).  The kitchen is due to be ready for installation on 23rd July.  As all our items are mainly still in boxes here in the rental flat, we will be moving everything over on Saturday 14th July, that being when we can get some help from some guys at Elava Vee, the local church we've made most contact with so far.  We can then unpack these boxes finally (Rachel still does not have her summer shoes as they are packed somewhere so she only has what she came with, which is a pair of winter boots!)  Therefore, depending on when the kitchen is finished being installed, we will be moving into our permanent (owned!) apartment on the 26th or 27th July!

Anya (pictured on the right) managed to give us a scare on the day we signed at the notary.  Not only did she get a raisin stuck up her nose while we were having the documents translated to us (Rachel managed to sort this out with tweezers and a torch back at the flat) but then, later on that same day, she managed to lock herself in our room using a key, and then couldn't get herself out!  Thankfully, after speaking with her (she was just crying and couldn't have done anything!) I remembered there was another key on our side, and pushing her key out managed to open the door with no damage done (to either the door nor our adventuring two year old!)  


Mia is also doing really well - and very excited about getting the new flat.  Her walk with God has really been strengthened through these last few months, as she's been praying real prayers for difficult situations and then having the joy of seeing things turn out exactly the way she was praying for!  
Last weekend we told Mia we were going to do church at home and she went to bed planning for what she was going to do for children's work with Anya!  She also made a microphone so that she could lead worship, saying to me how I needed to prepare a preach!  It was amazing how involved she was, and true enough, on Sunday she led worship (with Chris Tomlin helping with his CD playing!) and prayed out during this jumping about time before taking Anya out for her lesson on how God loves her!


We've continued to build relationships here - and I'll mention more about this in my next update.  We've also been really encouraged by more people feeling God speaking to them about Tallinn - one family from the UK, one girl we know, and also from a family that are just moving to Tallinn - so watch this space for more news as we hear it.


We've also 'bumped' into yet more people who we've had contact with.  This time an American family who I've been in contact with on Facebook for months, but haven't met before.  Rachel met his wife the other week.  In a shop last week we just happened to bump into them - what is extra nice is that I found out that he plays tennis, so now I have someone to play with when things settle down here and we can work out where to play.  They have only been in Tallinn for about 8 months, having moved also from St Petersburg where they had been living for about 3 years.


We've also had lots of visitors - which we'll mention next time I think - from random bikers doing crazy tours around Europe, to Rob & Sarah Walters.  Rob  leads our UK base church in Stockport, England.

We are so thankful for what God has done.  What we have seen so far has been amazing, and a pattern that we hope continues into the life of the church plant - the God of miracles doing miracles!  We've also been reminded recently by how quickly things can change.  The other week, while sitting at the desk working, I heard the crash of metal and noise of a tram colliding with a car, the impact so hard that the tram mounted the pavement.  There was only one driver in the red car, and though taken straight to hospital, had (rather quickly!) jumped out of the car just after the crash.  Praise God nobody was on the pavement at the time!
And just a few metres from this point, at another junction we cross every day, last week an elderly woman was knocked down by a bus and killed.  
So we are thankful that we have a God who is watching over us and keeping us safe while we outwork his plan for us in Tallinn.


And finally, Rachel celebrated her (23rd?) birthday yesterday, which was a wonderful day and lots of fun.  And (shameless plug I know!) it seemed fitting for this to be the day that my novel, Cherry Picking, was published.


This novel is really just another of the amazing sub-plots to have come out of our last four years since we first headed off from England on this amazing, ongoing adventure.
All the information about this book is available here, including how to buy the book, which is now on sale through Amazon in paperback and for the Kindle.  I highly recommend it to you!  (To clarify this, it is not a christian novel - the only christian bit about it is the author!)


We'll put more on here soon, but thanks so much for your encouragements and prayers over these last few months.  We really feel so many of you standing with us, praying with us and backing us - we know we are not alone.


We love Tallinn.  God loves Tallinn.  We're excited to be at the beginning of what is going to be an amazing church plant - and more on that real soon!