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..?!

Spring Update From Tallinn: One Giant Leap for the Church Plant

It's March 10th.  To be able to call it spring already means something has happened with winter!

In the last update (you can recap here if you need as I'll be referring to it a little) in early December, I talked about how winter had arrived at last.  Well, it would appear it didn't fancy staying around for long!

Not only did we not actually have a white Christmas this year, but when the snow did properly come in January, and temperatures dropped to their normal -20c, by February we hit zero again, and now in March, all the snow has long gone, and temperatures are picking up.  These two photos were taken over the weekend just gone.

It's beautiful.  Dare we believe spring really is upon us - maybe.  It's two years since we arrived in Tallinn, which was on 1st March 2012.  Then, in April, it snowed. But it was already snowy in the March.  So we'll see soon enough.
What is funny, was that in the last update we talked about Rebekah who was joining us in February "the coldest month" and please pray for her to settle.  As you'll find out in this update, both prayers were very much answered!

Here are the headlines from this update:

• Team Growth
• 'Christianity Explored' course starting this week!
• Packed Events
• Breakthrough?
• Chart Topping Author?

St Petersburg

In December I took the guys from our core team to Russia to serve two churches in St Petersburg. It was great for the team to spend time together, as well as to work together in the settings we found ourselves in.  On the Friday night, we spent time with some friends at a coffee shop, one of the best in the city.  I'd love them to think about opening a similar venue in Tallinn.  We'll see!

On Saturday, we served at a Russian church called Open Heaven church.  I spoke for about 25 minutes (plus translation) and then the team got to share words etc.  Two hours later we were only just leaving, having prayed with lots of folks, which seemed to go well.

 

On the Sunday I took them to Hope Church, where I spoke again and the team shared words and we prayed for people after.  We were the last to leave again, walking with a group of the leaders from the church to the offices, where we were going to eat together and pray for them.  We did that over about two hours, hanging out there long after the crowd had left, as another friend dropped in and we spent time all talking together.  

That left time to eat together as a four before all getting the lunchtime bus home on the Monday, back in Tallinn at around 7 that night.  A busy but worthwhile trip. It was good for Hope church in St Petersburg to be able to make a wider connection (beyond me and Rachel) with the team in Tallinn, and also for the team here to see something of the history and connection with Hope Church.

Team Growth

On the 26th February, Rebekah Wisbey landed in Tallinn, the latest addition to team Tallinn.  As well as the favourable weather she has found since arriving, another remarkable answer to prayer is how quickly she has settled in.  She stayed with us for her first two nights, but did get her keys to her own flat on the second day, a place that up to that point, only Rachel had actually seen.  She is now settled there, still not used to waking up and seeing the sea (which is right in front of her building!).

Since the beginning of January, we've also had three YWAM workers, in Tallinn for 3 months, joining us.  Milena (a German lady), Stephanie (an English lady) and Daniel (an English guy) who have all been a great help, the two girls also able to get involved with the Thursday morning toddler group, which we'll come to in a moment.

It's had the effect to boost the numbers - a core currently at 11, if not all permanent people.  It has made a big difference though.  We're enjoying the extra bodies!  If it's right that any of them stay on after (which is a possibility, but they'd need God to make it very clear!) we'd be delighted!

The connection with YWAM has been positive, and as well as these three, there have also been two teams through Tallinn in the last month or so, bringing more people to the different events.  And sometimes crowds draw a crowd.  

The Big 'Next' Step

For a long time, we've had the aim to run an Alpha style course as a stepping stone for many people in the crowd we've gathered to have a place to explore a little deeper together.

A full 12 week Alpha course was a little too much at the moment we felt - both for the small core team, as well as for our guests.  Many are business people who would miss many weeks through travel.  We'd been recommended the Christianity Explored course, which goes a little slower than all that Alpha covers, and in seven weeks, worked with our timing.

So we are launching this course this coming Sunday, 16th March, in Tallinn.

We wanted a venue to host this one - aiming to find somewhere catered, that allowed space for a separate area for children.  With Rebekah arriving, we at least had the right person to head up the care for the children.  But where to find the venue.  Would we find favour working in our situation?

Well, a church leader was passing through Tallinn, and I was meeting him one lunchtime with Arnoud.  We were due to go to a restaurant on the other side of town near to where Arnoud works, so as to be able to maximise his lunch break.  It so happened that the day before Arnoud had been a little unwell, so was instead working from home the day this meeting was to happen.  We therefore had the option of going somewhere much more local, and Arnoud had been recommended a place near by, in the part of the city we both live in.  It was whilst having lunch, that we spotted on the menu the facilities that were available to rent.  Soon we were speaking to the owner, having a good look around, and feeling very excited.  Just a couple of weeks later, all our seven dates are booked and we start this weekend!  

The venue offers excellent food, and space for adults to eat together, with another area where Rebekah and her team can run a kids club.  It was a real breakthrough and real favour.  You can even check out the restaurants Facebook Page as they too are advertising our event to their 3200+ followers!

Needless to say - please pray for us with this event.  It represents a huge leap for us, but done in an appropriate way. The catering is taken care of, and the talks will be done from the DVD, so the teams focus can be on the discussion and relationships element.

So far we have about twenty signed up, which includes around eight guests.

The Favour Word

I've picked up on the word favour above because when I was in Holland in October, there was a prophecy over us in relation to breakthrough, and while it started with finances, the main emphasis was in relation to favour.  Is this yet another example of the outworking to that word?

Hope:Tallinn Events

Last Thursday, at the regular weekly toddler group, there were 33 people in total!  This is the most we've ever had!  The breakdown was 16 adults and 17 children.  It must have been approaching a dozen nationalities.
It was so busy, that Rachel had not realised I was not there at the end - having gone off midway through to meet someone in town.  Running late for the bus, finding my coat proved a little hard, as it was TEN deep on the coat rack....I think I need to plan for this in the future, keeping my coat with me if I need to leave before anyone else!
Rachel took a photo of some of the coats, though this doesn't even tell the whole story.

And on Sunday, at the monthly meal, we had even more people - 34 this time!  Only about 10 of these where children, and of the two events, only about ten people where at both.  Needless to say, it was a little busy, and having arrived before 5, the last people were not leaving until 8:30, when the cleaning could begin!

We are so thankful that God has given us a flat with enough space (just about) to fit in all these people at the same time.

Invites for next Sunday were given to folks at both events, and I even made a public announcement at the meal yesterday, but it remains to be seen exactly how many people will come to the event next weekend.

Family

Finding your coat isn't always easy

Though life is often busy, and visitors to our home are plenty, we are all doing well, and trying our best to get a sensible balance between these two worlds, as overlapping as they are.
Anya turned 4 at the beginning of the month, and had a little party to celebrate the fact.
As her birthday fell on a special day in Estonia, she got to ride on a horse and cart at her kindergarten, which was hired as part of their celebrations.  An extra special treat!
Mia is continuing to do well at school, and has a little less commitments as we've made her have a break from ballet this term, much to her own disappointment at the time, but she understands it - and enjoys it all now. We'll look to get her started at a new ballet later this year.

I also managed to surprise my mum for her 70th birthday, flying back to the UK for the weekend at the beginning of March, turning up on her doorstep to her surprise.  All the family knew, my mum aside, so the details worked out well.  It was nice to have been able to be a part of it all, even if it meant I missed Anya's own birthday party - I was back in time for her actual birthday, which was a lovely day as well.

Breakthrough as an Author

Since the last update, things have gone really crazy with my writing side. Approaching the end of January, I was slowly approaching 200 likes on my official Facebook page.  The readership of my one published novel was in the 100-200 bracket.  Reaching the 200th 'Like' triggered a special promotion, which ran for three days on Amazon over the last days of January.  In those 72 hours, there were 2,566 downloads of my novel, and in the month of February, more sales than all the previous months, combined.  At the height of the downloads, Cherry Picking stood at #2 on the UK Mystery Chart with Amazon, and #6 on the All Books chart!
By the end of February, my Page stood at over 1,100 likes, an increase of 900 in one month!
My new novel is also approaching its final stages.  Over 100,000 people saw my page as I asked fan's advice about cover designs for the two books.  Is this another sign of favour coming my way - not to mention breakthrough!

And a final off shoot of this was being contacted by Amazon themselves, who are discussing enrolling Cherry Picking into their Daily Deals program (a huge honour!) because, according to their message, my book "had come into view and they thought it could do really well if selected for the promotion."  It remains to be seen what will come of this.
I've also had another publishing company contact me, also stating they were impressed and wanting to know if I'd be interested in working with them.

Is this favour or distraction - or something else?  I guess only time will tell for sure.  But with my new novel set to come out later this year (I hope!), and a readership approaching 3000 people now, its a great platform for launching the new book onto, so I'm excited by what might come of it all.

Because last time around, we talked about needing breakthrough.  And while none of this mentioned above physically represents that (yet - as exciting as it sounds), we are still in that place of not fully knowing what the future needs to look like.  No job options have yet come up for me.  Not even one interview.  The record book sales of February, are not continuing in that pattern for March.  God did do some extraordinary things in December, so that things are a lot calmer financially at the moment, for a few months.  We are so thankful for that.  But still the medium term solution is unsure.  Does this look like more work locally?  Will this be even greater breakthrough in book sales and the like?  Is it something else entirely?  We do not know - but we ask you to pray.

And pray all the more.  It came to light yesterday at the meal, that while in the UK my part time job is under the tax limit, so not subject to payment, in Estonia this is chargeable - as is all charitable giving we receive!  And while I was ignorant of that before, now aware of it, it's a situation that is a little concerning, but also one we need to resolve.  It seems gutting that while our UK support was not 'acceptable' by the Estonian banks (meaning we were penalised and put onto a much higher interest rate mortgage), this same income source is acceptable to the tax office!  Potentially losing a big percentage of this 'income' to tax is another little issue for us.

But praise God he is the God of breakthrough - and favour!

Prayer Pointers:

• For the start of Christianity Explored this Sunday at 17:00
• For continued growth for team Tallinn, and the protection of all here
• For wisdom regarding the growing events - space and numbers are becoming an issue!
• For more breakthrough, especially in my writing life

Thanks for reading.  Sorry it's been such a long time since we've updated you all.

News from Tallinn - Autumn Update

It's great to actually get to appreciate the changing of the seasons here in Tallinn.  I guess it's the trees that are so plentiful around us that make us notice the change.  Summer is certainly gone, and while winter is at times making itself known that it is on the way, it's the lovely colours of the increasingly falling leaves that tells us we are in a season of change between the two.

And that change of season for the church plant, mentioned and talked about in the last family update, has been one of amazing speed and encouragement!

So we want to bring you news on what is happening, some of it a development from the last update, much of it just answered prayer to the requests we made last time.

Here are the headlines for what this update will go on to say:

• Core Team Growth and fresh momentum
• Packed out social events
• The four guys go to Holland
• Football fever hits Estonia
• Early answers to prayer
• Treasure Hunting to start in Tallinn
• Toddler group is flying

Hope:Tallinn core group and momentum

We mentioned last time how things had been progressing, but there has been an acceleration since September that has taken us all by surprise, in a wonderful way!
Over the summer, we certainly had been talking about a sense that this Autumn we'd be moving up a gear, even if that didn't come through on here. The natural addition of Stephen & Ketlin to the core (we mentioned they were about to arrive last time) we'd see as giving increase and therefore faith.
We were not wrong!  In fact, it feels with a core of seven now together in September, we really were starting the church plant.
One thing we have been reflecting on, which has been amazing to realise, is that none of us knew each other as we were each heading towards being a part of Hope:Tallinn.  It was God who pulled us together, which is hugely encouraging and hugely releasing.  Had we 'recruited' our own team, we'd have fallen so far short of what God had for us.  They are an incredible bunch, and the chemistry and connection is so releasing.
While we continue to have a gathering focus, we have increased intensity in prayer and worship together.  The weekly prayer meetings since the beginning of September have been electric.  There has been a very strong prophetic sense, a wide use of spiritual gifts, prayer for the lost and worship that has touched heaven.  
Stephen has been able to slot in, playing guitar for us so well and leading us in worship.  Both he and Ketlin have a keen prophetic sense, which works with the incredible gifting in this area already obvious in the others.
We said before how our basis of team is relationship, but with that strongly in place already, each has been able to serve with their gifting.  It's team how we love it and team as it's meant to be.
Hunger for God was such that we've now started doing 'mini' church together, taking an hour before/after a social gathering to worship together and study the word, so these are happening every weekend now, with once a month a longer, Vision Sunday.  That happened last Sunday, and we had two visitors with us from other countries - an Estonian lady who is married to an American, and mother to five, who might one day all move back to Tallinn (!), and Veronica, from Hope Church in St Petersburg.

In September we also held specific men's and women's events.  A 'high tea' for the ladies which saw eleven come together and was a real success, enjoying delicious cakes and plenty of tea.  Also a success were the two men's Poker nights (not for money, before you comment!).  There were about a dozen over the two nights, and one guy commented the following week that he realised he'd been laughing all night, and hadn't drunk any alcohol.
This Sunday we have a meal together that we hope a great crowd of people will come to.

Trips & Visitors

Last time round we mentioned both of these taking place (in various quantities), and the same has continued.  In the time of writing this so far, Rachel has had a message confirming another visitor is coming for a week, which is happening when we have two others with us.....the logistics will be fun, but it's an exciting development.  But more on that some other time.
I went to St Petersburg in August, spending time with the core team there and wider leaders, having traveled while Dave Henson was also in the city.  Dave himself also came over to Tallinn a couple of weeks ago, and is coming back in November with Colin Baron, from Manchester.
Also from Stockport we have Rob & Sarah Walters coming over for a long weekend later this month.  They will share at our Vision Sunday as well as helping with an informal marriage seminar we are putting on at ours.  We are keeping this one low key, inviting just four ministry leading couples.  A strong marriage is key to serving best in the local church, and all marriages take input.  We are taking this encouragement to build in help before we need it!
We also had Matt Medd briefly visit from Riga and Sveta from St Petersburg.

Holland

Last week, I also went to Holland with Arnoud, Enrico and Stephen from Tallinn, to be part of a church planting conference hosted by Relational Mission, which is Mike Betts' apostolic sphere.
It was a timely visit, stirring in many ways.  We've come back with a greater sense of salvation, and prayer to that end.  One phrase I have taken away with me was this:
"No to conversion without the church and therefore no church (planting) without conversion!"

My other three highlights were; team time together.  It was brilliant to do this trip together (even if not possible for all 7 of the team) but as guys together, we really moved things on, within our friendship and understanding of each other, a long way.  Secondly, it was great to be in a bigger context of worship and teaching, to connect with new people, and experience something of Holland.  And thirdly it was great to be encouraged prophetically for Tallinn, to connect deeper with friends, and build closer.  One particular example is with Phil Whittall, who was over from Stockholm.
Some more photo's from Holland can be found here.

Football

Future England players signing their autograph
resting on a copy of Cherry Picking!

Something a little different in September was the chance to go to two football games in two days.  Firstly, via our friends from Võhma, Simon & Heloise, they were coming up as a family to watch the Estonia Vs England under 19s match in Tallinn and asked if we'd like to join them.  England won easily, and it was great for Mia and Anya to celebrate their first ever game with a win.
The following evening was the World Cup qualifier between Estonia and The Netherlands.  And for but the final minute, when Van Persie equalised, it would have been an unbelievable win for little Estonia. The game finished 2-2.  For this second game, I'd taken a group of about 11 to the match, and later found out there was at least another 6 people we knew who were at the game.  It's part of the joy of living in a capital city with a small population.  It was a great night, especially for the Dutch friends who went with us, as well as Arnoud and Elisabeth from the team - it was their first ever football match!
Here is a video Arnoud took while we were standing behind the goal (including the penalty that made it 2-2 in stoppage time!):



Prayer update from last time

Mia's party at a soft play area with girls from her class

Rereading the areas we asked for prayer from the late August update, there have been some noticeably positive developments so far.  As said already, the Stephen and Ketlin arrival and settling process has been brilliant.  Rebekah is very positive about the prospect and chance of moving to Estonia, and is now planning to come for a week in November to look for jobs possibilities.
Our call with Open Door church, made available through the connection with Adrian Horner, also went well.  They even clapped as we finished and burst into prayer for us.
In relation to the prayer about finances, the teaching I had coming up did not go past the two week trial period, the Finnish student feeling he needed American English (!) more than British.  One Skype option might be opening up for teaching a lady in Moscow.  We never cease to be amazed at how God works!

A lot of girls!

Business wise, there have been some positive developments in relationships.  I got to meet with Mia's school Director in September, and he was very positive, even wondering if something could be built into their school curriculum!  Another school in Tartu is looking at options, that came about through a 'divine appointment' through Rachel, but we'll have to save that for another time!
My writing has been consistent too, and there has been some publicity for Cherry Picking, in rather surreal circumstances!  Angela Kemm, who is part of Mike Betts' team, recently was also in Holland for the conference.  Coming over to pray for me, publicly in front of others, she started with "Oh, I bought your book - nice to meet you!"  Needless to say, I was blown away by the encouragement!  She even went on to mention it during her session at the conference in front of everyone there.  Because of that, at least another person there said they'd buy the book!

Having brought these back from Holland, and starting to
eat them, we were told they are for St Nicholas's day
in December.  Oh well, tasty all the same!

And this kind of thing is exactly what I asked to pray for last time.  Thank you for your prayers!

Treasure Hunting in Tallinn

It's nearly three years since I started taking teams out onto the streets regularly in St Petersburg, as talked about here. And this Saturday at 4pm, the whole core team is meeting to go out around Tallinn and do the same.
One of the big stirrings that came out of our time away was the call for real gospel proclamation, and the awaited celebration of the first person to give their life to Jesus.
Please pray for us all!  God often does as much in the team who are stepping out in this way, as He does on the streets. But having said that, we are excited by what will happen, what will open up as we look to follow His lead and go where He will show us.

Parent and Toddler group growth

Another area of rapid growth has been the Thursday morning weekly children's group that meets at our house. Rachel and Elisabeth have been faithfully running this for a year now, but like everything else, it's started to take off this last month. The other week there were three new people that morning, and since starting to write this update, Rachel got a call from someone asking if it's OK to bring three new people tomorrow!
Rachel is also going to start doing baby massage regularly within this group, a skill she picked up some years ago in the UK and yet again, God is using this to further open doors of relationship with people.

Family, closing and prayer!

It goes without saying, life at times has been rather fast paced but through it all, though often tired, we are enjoying the ride!  The girls continue to do well.  School for Mia is often some long days and/or early starts, with typically an hour or two (sometimes more!) of homework each night.
Anya is starting to speak away in Estonian.  Both girls are starting to understand so much - unlike their parents who are working hard but it's not coming so naturally!
When I was in Holland, Rachel took the girls to the International Horse Show that was happening in Tallinn last weekend, and it was a great hit with them all!
Mia is well liked within her class, and some comments made at her birthday party in September show that she is kind, caring and helpful to her class mates which is encouraging to here!  
I'll end with the prayer points for this update:

• For the Treasure Hunting this Saturday
• For the meal this Sunday
• For Rebekah to be offered a great job that firmly opens the door for her to move and join us in Tallinn
• For the first person to be saved

Thanks everyone!  Your prayer makes the difference!

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

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UK base church who are administering this for us: 

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