God Speaks - Visions & Pictures - Part 2

Welcome to a brand new series that I'm calling "God Speaks..."
Over these nine entries, I want to look at some of the ways that God speaks to us (it's not an exhaustive list of course - I'm sure others can add to it!). Because He does speak.  All the time.
Because God is real, because He loves us and because He is good - He speaks.
Usually, it's us (mere people!) that fail to listen or maybe fail to understand that it was God speaking to us.
I want to share from my own life, as practical examples, some of the ways God has spoken to me.  In all, I want to briefly look at these nine ways that we hear from God:

Dreams (click here to read this section)
Visions & Pictures
Through Others
Angels
Bible
Words
Small Still Voice
Burning Bush
Audible Voice

Personally, I've experienced six out of these nine ways listed - and as we go through the series, I'll make these clear how that happened.  So, here we go with the next part!

Part 2 - Visions & Pictures

Have you ever read about something, maybe a painting or sculpture, but then only really understood it once you saw what it was you were reading about with your own eyes.  Suddenly it became real - you understood it in a different way.
Sometimes it happens the other way round too - you might watch a film, but only when you read the book did it really come alive (books have a way of doing that, which is why I love writing them!).
God speaks to us in a number of ways, and each way has its own use for communicating what it is we need to understand.  And that's important to remember. We need to hear in different ways at different times, to understand what we need to understand.
The purpose of all spiritual gifts is to communicate something.  God's heart for us.  His plan for us.  His intention for our lives.  His warning to us (maybe) but certainly His best for us.
The writer of many books of the New Testament, Paul, was a man who had visions.

Acts 16:9

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

This resulted in movement!

Acts 16:10

After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Wow - no waiting around there then.  Why?  The vision had been so clear - this picture of a man in Macedonia begging Paul to come and help - that Paul knew it was God, and was able to act on it straight away.  Sometimes it takes longer for this to happen, as I'll get to in a moment.

Later on, we hear about another vision Paul has:

Acts 18:9

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.

This time, instead of resulting in instant movement, the vision (we are not told any more of what it looked like, or what else happened) was used to bring a confirming word to Paul, that brought peace and an encouragement to press on with what he was speaking about.

For me, maybe not necessarily as vivid as with Paul, the visions and pictures I've had have also brought clarity.  As an author, I am a very visual thinker, but what has marked out these visions as being from God, was their sudden and deliberate interruption across my normal thought pattern.  And it's something you certainly learn to pick up upon in time as being authentically God.

When God first spoke to me about going to the former Soviet Union, the map that appeared before my eyes was so random and outside anything that I was thinking about (or even remotely interested in!) at the time.  Instantly I knew it was God.  And what was about to happen, which probably in real time was only happening in a matter of seconds, was going to radically shape the rest of my life.

On the map I was looking at (with my eyes closed) I saw it covered in, what looked like, five forests, three along the top and two underneath (similar to how the 5 Olympic rings are).  As I looked, in my minds eye, into the detail, I became aware that these were not trees but people, and at that moment of revelation, heard a voice (again, I assume this was in my head, not audible) telling me "These are people for salvation - go!" and the map rolled up, just like someone screwing up a piece of paper.  At that precise moment, the same voice said that I was to move to Manchester (from London) the following year and do the year team.  That was August 3rd, 1999.

It was actually nine years, nearly to the day, before we landed in Russia, as a direct response to that vision.  I'd just spent eight years in Greater Manchester, at Stockport Family church, growing in the things of God, growing in leadership.  My time there was indeed a great stepping stone to Russia.  By following in obedience, I learnt many things that I needed to know, that I guess I would not have learnt staying where I had been.

And by doing the year team, it put me in contact with a certain young lady named Rachel - who just months after meeting her, was to become my wife. Had I done the year team but not moved, I would not have met her.  God is in the detail - and He speaks to us, through different ways, to communicate that to us.

For our part, we need to obey.

We first started talking about our move to Tallinn in 2011, after God once again spoke to me through another vision whilst at home in St Petersburg (in January 2011).  It was much the same as the time mentioned above - it broke clearly across my natural thoughts, gently making known it's message. Though there isn't always the feeling of gentleness when you start to think about the consequences of yet another move to a new country!  But we'd learnt the lesson of obedience.  Trust God and He will guide your path.

So we've seen, whether from the Bible or our own experiences, God speaks through Visions & Pictures.  

Do you need to hear from God about something?  Maybe He'll speak to you this way soon!  If you ask Him, just be prepared to follow what He shows you.

Next up we'll look at how God speaks through others.

God Speaks - Dreams - Part 1

Welcome to a brand new series that I'm calling "God Speaks..."
Over these next nine entries, I want to look at some of the ways that God speaks to us (it's not an exhaustive list of course - I'm sure others can add to it!).  Because He does speak.  All the time.
Because God is real, because He loves us and because He is good - He speaks.
Usually, it's us (mere people!) that fail to listen or maybe fail to understand that it was God speaking to us.
I want to share from my own life, as practical examples, some of the ways God has spoken to me.  In all, I want to briefly look at these nine ways that we hear from God:

Dreams
Visions & Pictures
Through Others
Angels
Bible
Words
Small Still Voice
Burning Bush
Audible Voice

Personally, I've experienced six out of these nine ways listed - and as we go through the series, I'll make these clear how that happened.  So, here we go!

Part 1 - Dreams

We all dream, I remember being told.  It's only (if you are like me!) that when you sleep soundly, you don't remember them!
And God can speak through dreams.  What I'm not saying is that all dreams are from God.  No - there is a huge difference!  Sometimes it really is that cheese you ate before going to sleep making you dream those strange dreams.  
The Bible tells us in loads of places that God gives people dreams - Joseph is a key character that himself had dreams - both for himself, and also he was able to understand them for others.  I've actually done an entry a few years ago on Joseph and his dreams (a series I've not yet finished, oops!).  You can read that exciting entry here.  Here is a snippet from that entry:

Coming back to the story, when you look at what has happened to Joseph, at the hands of his own brothers, it might lead you to ask the following questions;

Did God abandon him to his dream? As if to say, having revealed something to Joseph, did God stand back and take His hands off the matter?

When God speaks through a dream, I believe you know about it.  It's unmistakeably different.  It might be confusing, at first, but if it's really from God, it'll become clear.  God is the God of clarity, not confusion.  Like Joseph, you might be able to work out the meaning yourself.  Or like Pharaoh, who himself had a troubling dream that he knew he needed to know the meaning of, someone else is able to come and bring that clarity (which was, in that case, also Joseph).
At times, I've prayed for dreams (maybe I should start again).  And God has powerfully, once, spoken to me through a dream.  I had this dream one night in St Petersburg back in December 2011, at a time that I needed real clarity, and first mentioned it here in an update (it's in the paragraph third up from the end).  Here is another snippet:

I was at a window and saw a tornado in the distance going to the right and into a harbour. Then I went back to the window and saw a tornado heading my way, as if to just pass in front, before suddenly I was engulfed in it and the room I was in was just being messed up - I was screaming out but no one could hear me. I was hurting too. After 2 minutes (why this amount I don't know, but it represents a small amount of time with a clear end) it passed and things became calm. I could then get the help I needed.

What this dream fully means, I do not know

This dream had a double meaning and was not fully understood, as I was to find out, until a few months later.  You can read about that here (this entry got the most comments and is currently the third most read blog entry).
The key is, that a 'God-Dream' brings faith and clarity, or revelation and warning, to a situation.  It brings an outcome.  Most dreams are just our mind processing information.  But allow God to speak to you when you are asleep, and anything really is possible.

Acts 2:17

“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

This verse reminds us that because God's Spirit has been poured out on all people, one result is that we will 'dream dreams'.  It also mentions visions, and that's the next topic in this series, coming soon.

As we go through the series, if you also have testimony of God speaking to you through a dream or anything else, please feel free to leave a comment and share this with others.

I hope you enjoy this mini adventure through the various ways God Speaks...

News from Tallinn - Late Summer update

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

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

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

Hope:Tallinn gatherings

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

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

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

Riga Conference

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

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

A Week a little further South

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

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

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


And then came August....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Time Challenge

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

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

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

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

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

Three Practical Ways to Help....

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

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

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

Thanks for lasting until the end!

Prayer Points

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

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

Does putting a prayer request post on social media show more faith in your friends responding than in your God?

I recently wrote the following as a status on Facebook:

Is putting prayer requests (especially for money!) on Facebook, showing more faith in your friends responding than in your God? Discuss.....

It was great to get a cross section of answers from people all around the world, some not even believers in the God they might (not) pray to.

So I wanted to put my answer down here, because if it's something I've asked, then I know others would have asked it - and if it's something a few have answered, I know it would be something many others would be looking to have answered.

The reason for the post was really to create a discussion - it wasn't prompted by anything I'd seen at that time.  Not that, in the past, I haven't seen such posts.  I'm sure we all have.  The kind that talks more about what the need is, and how much people can give, and even the bank account details, and then adds on, 'Amen', as if it's just a prayer all along and we have somehow, inadvertently, 'walked' in on this friends private chat with God.

It was interesting to be told of two accounts where a positive financial outcome had come from this very thing on Facebook - once where a person had been given an amount in their head to give, without knowing for whom, until they saw something on Facebook.  The other setting was someone saying how they gave, several times, because of seeing the need raised on Facebook.

Clearly, there is a balance between how often, and to whom, these requests are made - consensus was too much too often and it's a negative thing.  Discreet and appropriate ways are best - but I guess that leads to the question of what is appropriate?

At the other extreme there was the thought that any financial support is just sponging off others, and these people are simply failing, or being disobedient to, their God given talents - simply asking for the easy life instead of working hard for their own money.

I felt this was a bit harsh, and misses the point, as I'll come to a bit later.

Thinking this all through over the last week, one picture keeps playing out in my head.  When you need a home loan or mortgage, you don't address the individual account holders and savers, but speak to the bank itself - the bank manager if you got the chance.  And God is not only the guy above ALL banks, but has even more resources of his own compared to the combined wealth of every bank and business on the planet.  How much more do we need to make our requests known to him!

And ultimately, as was commented by a friend on Facebook (a great part of the Tallinn church plant too!), it's more a matter of the heart than any currency the planet might otherwise use.  Do we really believe that God is for us?  Can we trust him with our prayers, as wild and as unlikely as they might be?  Do we really know him as a loving father that wants us to ask him for anything, in order to bring him glory (let's not forget that part!  Many of my requests as a young boy, thankfully were not answered, as I know they were not for his glory and probably would have killed me!)  I stopped praying for flash cars, because if I owned a fast car, I'd be at greater risk of driving, well....fast.  

And regarding financial support, the key to understand is that it buys you time - not an easy life.  Time is our most valuable commodity, if we can call it that, as it is so out of our personal control so often.  We're judged more on how we have used our time, than how we spent our money!

Personally, God called me clearly and straightforwardly to the nations - the Russian speaking world of the former Soviet Union.  Up to the point of leaving the UK, I had worked since the age of 18 - never actually being 'full-time' in the church, though having been in leadership.  But by being obedient in going (obedience is a huge currency in the Kingdom of God!), I was making it impossible to do my God given gifting, especially initially.  I had no language to make me employable, and even if I did, the visa restrictions made it illegal to work.  

To go down the road of saying I needed to do my God given talents, would actually mean staying in the UK - not going anywhere!  That spiral of events and thinking can be more destructive than anything - the church could end up doing nothing!

And having worked (with some standard of living in the latter years), to live on support was really hard - horrible at times!  

So while I'm sure, sadly, a few might abuse such a position, really for most it's the opposite - less holidays, less things that others see as must haves, and a great responsibility for every pound, euro or ruble at your disposal.  

The support we did receive gave us vital time - to learn language, to understand culture, and to serve in the growing church once it got started.

And let's not forget the vital truth - it's better to give than to receive!  Better by far.  I've always loved to give - it's a great joy to do it and we can't forget the dual blessing that comes with giving - both to those receiving the gift, but also for the giver itself.  If the global church suddenly said let's stop giving to others, it would be the givers that would be most effected, not the others - God would find a way of funding his work.  Which, after all, is what anyone serving Him is actually doing anyway.  His work.

So, to draw these thoughts together.  Go first (maybe only) to God.  He knows what you need before you ask him, but He so enjoys you actually asking!  Keep persisting in prayer to God - talk to him about it daily.  He's a great listener!  Then, if you want others to pray with you, let the need be known in an appropriate way.  Maybe a group on Facebook, or something similar.  People want to know about your needs.  If something serious arises, your friends and family want to know about it.  That's what makes the people of God, the church, one big family.  And the stories above show that for some it's been the answer to their looking in regards to giving!  When your prayer is answered, if you've used Facebook (even if not) let them all know too.  

And where you do have the opportunity, look as to work in such a way that you can cover your own needs - and have some left over to bless someone else too!  That for me remains the goal, and the perfect situation.

Thanks for reading - I would be really interested with any further comments on the subject....

News from Tallinn - The Mid-Summer Update

Midsummer falls on the 23rd June in Estonia - and the holiday of Jaanipäev (St John's Day) is a two day event and is probably the biggest party of the year.

Though we missed the bonfire, we did hang out as a group on the beach, watching the sunset late in the day and letting off our own (less than successful!) lantern.  The photo below was taken quite late:

Since the last update, Mia has finished school - her school broke up on the 6th June, though she went to a summer camp for a week from 17th June.  This was with a friend from church.  The photo below shows Mia on her last day of school, which seems to be as big an event as the first day, standing next to her two class teachers and her PE teacher.  As also mentioned last time, at the end of May we traveled back briefly to the Stockport Family Church weekend away, which was held over the bank holiday weekend.  It provided once again a great time, spending lots of quality time with old and new friends alike.  Two years ago, at the last one they held, Mia managed to make a really good friend, and break her arm.  Thankfully arm unharmed this time, and friendship continued!  Anya too was making friends.  It was great for us to be in a context of wider fellowship, worship and the opportunity to step out in spiritual gifts, something that has continued since coming home.

Arriving back in Tallinn at the beginning of June, we had the first of a steady flow of visitors already arrived.  Wei-Jin, originally from Malaysia, but living in Cambridge, UK, was here for about 3 weeks, and it was good getting to know him, show him some of the sites (though in the few days before we'd seen him, he'd already seen a bit of the Old Town and done a day trip to Helsinki!), and share a bit of who we are as a church plant and what the vision is.

As it proved with others that would follow, just having some extra folks around for our gathering events helped give that sense of something bigger, a direction we are certainly keen to head into!

Not long had he left (he only actually stayed with us for about 5 nights during his time here) we had family friends from Finland come and stay, a family of four who came down for the Jaanipäev weekend.  They joined us on the beach for the Sunday night gathering on the evening of the 23rd itself.

Leaving on the Tuesday, with Rachel's birthday on the Thursday, little did Rachel know at the time but a surprise was in store - a big one at that!  Offering to get the sheets washed and things clean again, though there were no visitors due (as far as she knew), I was able to put the final touches on a plan that I'd thought up some months before.

Kate Tolhurst, is one of Rachel's closest and dearest friends, and for some years has been working in Uganda with orphans and special needs children at New Hope Uganda.  Their last time they saw each other, ironically in Tallinn on a short weekend as the obvious meeting point (Rachel from St Petersburg, Kate from the UK), whilst Rachel was looking at rental flats in January 2012, they'd not spent any real length of time together for years, each of our UK trips being at times when the other was abroad.  So the plan was that Kate would come for a surprise visit for her birthday, and that's how things worked out!  Rachel opened the front door, only to find her best friend standing there, a friend she was unsure when she'd see next!

Kate was with us for a week, leaving yesterday.  Already planned before her confirmation, was the visit last weekend of a UK based pastor who was in the middle of his two month sabbatical.  Adrian Horner, from Open Door Church in Kettering, UK, had wanted to connect with some international settings in the Catalyst network of churches.  We'd been in touch for a couple of months planning the details, and Adrian arrived from 28th June to 1st July.  He was able to share at our Vision Sunday that we held on Sunday 30th June, our biggest yet.

And the visitors didn't end there - unable to meet a guy passing through Tallinn from St Petersburg on his way home, we did have another such person who we did meet up with - Flic from Hope Church in St Petersburg, who was literally picked up by Rachel on her way to the airport (to drop off Kate) and then came back to us.  Flic was herself dropped off at the airport last night, due for a holiday in England this summer.

There is a small pause in guests, with our next special guest due being Dave Henson, who comes for a night on Monday 15th July.

Estonian Churches Growing Desire to plant more Estonian churches

Last time round I mentioned about attending a church planting conference here in Tallinn.  Relationally it was really good, and personally great to see and hear, and feel, a hunger for church multiplication.  A New York church leader, Tim Keller, was quoted at the conference with something of the following: In a study he'd done, in cities where few new churches are being planted, ALL churches are in decline.  In cities where some churches are being planted, then most churches are about stable.  But in cities where lots of churches are being planted, then ALL churches are on the increase.

And that kind of summed things up for me, and for all the leaders there, whether representing the majority established churches, or the good number of plants, or soon to be plants, it seemed to envision the desire and need for lots of churches to be planted right across Estonia and even beyond.  There were several denominational leaders from Estonia and Latvia present.

And of course, as one of the new church plants in Tallinn, we are a part of all this!

Serving Local Churches

A great honour that recently happened was being asked to speak at a local church, Praise Chapel, as they moved into their new, bigger venue.  We went as a team on 21st May, and before I spoke, I really felt I needed to leave time for the prophetic, and not sharing what I was bringing, opened things up to the team to bring some words, having prompted them a few days before, saying I would give them time to share.  I had no idea if anything would be brought, or if things started flowing, whether I'd have time to speak after!  What was so encouraging was that all of the words totally linked into what I was about (and went onto) share!  One word even included a phrase, which word for word, was my third point!  And that was one of now three contexts, in this last month, that as a group we've had space to step out in the prophetic, and each time a good number of words have flowed.  I'm really encouraged.

A young Estonian/American couple are still very excited about joining us at the end of August, as they move from America.  They will really fit in well with this prophetic culture that is developing, and I'm personally looking forward to getting to know them both.

Another great encouragement, and yet more of God working behind the scenes, was going over and chatting with a small group of young Estonian's at our local beach.  One guy, who later I was to find out was not yet 15, really is growing in God, and though only a young Christian, knows God has called him to church plant.  Having spent all of Sunday night, after our Vision Sunday, with him and answering his questions, he feels that Hope:Tallinn is the place God wants him to grow in and wants to get involved with things from now on.  So we are encouraged to see that local people, who are invested deeper in life here than we are, are beginning to sense God encouraging them to get involved with what we are starting.

Family are continuing to do well.  I think in the last update I suggested how things might 'quieten' down for Rachel and her teaching, and while the hours of teaching no longer clash with dinnertime and bedtime, she has picked up about as many new students as those that she was teaching who have stopped for the summer.  And with both Mia and Anya now off for the summer, we are having to plan time carefully!

Next Monday for 4 nights we are managing to get away just outside of Tallinn.  Please pray for a great rest, for strong family memories and fun together, and especially for recharged batteries.  I'm already aware that this Autumn is going to be a busy period of increased growth, but there are two months of summer to go before that of course!

New Conference - Riga 19th - 22nd July.

Girl's playing 'Dentist' on the balcony

One thing that I will be going to later this month, in which I am also speaking at, is a conference in Riga organised by Matt and his team in the Riga church plant, as part of the Relational Mission sphere of churches.  It's a great chance to hear about church planting in this region, to get a taste for cross culture life, and visit a great city like Riga.  There will be a number of folks coming over from the UK - if you are interested, please get in touch.  The conference itself is free, you just need to get the flights and accommodation - all the information you need is found here.  Do let me know if you are coming!

Finally - our Beach Day this Sunday

This Sunday we are hanging out on the beach, and inviting everyone that we're in contact with to join us.  Please pray for great community, as we look to develop the Hope:Tallinn community, share our lives and enjoy the great Estonian summer together.  Here's our flyer for the event - why not come join us for the weekend!

Thanks so much for reading, for your prayers and such encouraging support.

There are going to be loads of really exciting things happening over the months ahead, so we'll do our best at keeping you updated on all of these as they happen.

Poker, President and Planting

Among the random things that have happened to us over the last 5 years (and for those that have been following us during this time, there have been a number), one two minute conversation with Mia this last month was to provide yet another!
I'd read on Facebook a status from another Dad of a boy in Mia's class, and it said how his son had told him about meeting the President of Afghanistan during the day.  Now, it made me wonder; seeing as they were at school together, surely the same would be true with Mia.  Not wanting to put words in her mouth, I simply asked "Did anything unusual happen today at school, Mia?" to which she answered "No".  I then read her what I'd just seen to which she replied "Oh yes, we were going to PE today (they do this outside and need to walk through Freedom Square) and suddenly there were police cars and cameras and then we met the President".
And, I am pleased to say, a Canadian father who was also with the children at the time, managed to record the whole event on his phone and has put it onto YouTube.  So here it is - Mia is wearing a pink knitted hat and is standing near the front.  You can hear her say she is 7 and a half and then later that she is from England.....they were clearly very excited to be involved in this!



And I guess, for Mia, maybe this is just normal life?  You go to PE, and you meet the President of a far away country.  Of course you do!

Gathering of like minded people
On 1st May (a national holiday here) we drove down to Võhma, which is in central Estonia (about 1 hour 45 minutes south of Tallinn).  We were going to the home of Simon and Heloise, an English family, who have lived in Estonia for around 9 years already.  They are planting a church in that small village.  With a house and garden, there was plenty of space for the children to play and for us all to sit around the fire and enjoy a BBQ together on a very warm and sunny day.  Arnoud and Elisabeth came down as well (breaking down on the way and needing to change cars!) as well as David Jones, and another Dutch lady, coming up from Smiltene in Latvia.
It was also great to be able to enjoy some of the beautiful countryside that there is in Estonia as we drove south.  Dotted along the roadside were lots of nesting cranes, and we were also passed overhead by literally thousands of returning migratory geese - a sure sign that winter, and the cold weather, has finally gone!  The only scary thing was helping Arnoud tow their broken car for part of the way back - something I haven't done before and am not in a rush to do again!
This coming Friday, I am also going to attend a local two day church planting conference here in Tallinn.  It's been organised by an American guy, also planting a church here (the same dad from Mia's class who I referred to above) and there are speakers coming from far and wide.  I trust it will be a relational thing more than anything, and any setting that is encouraging church planting in the most unreached part of Europe, is a good thing in my book!

Focused men and women events
Last weekend we tried something a little different with our weekly gatherings.  On the Saturday night, I hosted a Poker night at our home - where we gathered six guys together (from three continents).  For one guy it was the first time I'd met him.  It seemed to be a great success.  There were a number of guys who were unable to come - it was the Mother's Day weekend so many were away on family duty - so in future it is something I'd love to do again.  And to put you all at ease, we only played for chips!  There was no money at all involved, as the idea was to have fun together and not to gamble!
And on the Sunday (Mothers Day in Estonia) Rachel hosted a Spa event at a local place that could be privately hired, and there were 8 women in total (the maximum allowed) who enjoyed two hours of relaxation - which they all deserve, after all! There was a good mix of nationalities including Estonians and Russians.
So it's shown us the potential, and success, of a different kind of event, which we will look at doing again at various points in the future.

God places you where He most needs you to be
We have learnt a lot about the darker side to Tallinn and Estonia these last few weeks as well.  In regards to the horrible reality of human trafficking, Rachel has been able to meet up with the lady from a local project, looking to help the victims of this industry.
And what she learnt has really made us aware that God has placed us exactly where we are living for a very good reason!  Firstly, outside of Africa, Estonia is the next highest problem area for human trafficking.  Because of Tallinn's ease of access into Western Europe, Tallinn itself is a hub for it.  And Rachel learnt that while a popular street on the edge of the Old Town is where these ladies work for the tourists, for the 'local' market the focal point is a lot nearer home to us - literally a few hundred meters from where we live; (the home God found for us and put us in!)  Ironically, it's also near to the main police station in Tallinn, which we can see from our kitchen window. This industry has links with the Estonian mafia, and though the police are nearby, they are unable to do much about it - with some suggestion of corruption with mafia payoffs.
We pass this place every day.  Our prayer walking always included this area too, and now, it seems, nearly 10 months after moving into our miracle home, we can see why God was so specific about placing us here.  And we are going to pray for God to radically change that area for His glory and free these women, who are trapped in this.
So please pray for real wisdom and protection in this. 

Church Weekend (UK) and the start of visitors coming
Next Wednesday, we make a brief flying visit back to the UK to be part of the Stockport Family Church weekend away.  The weekend runs from the Friday to the Bank Holiday Monday and we are really looking forward to connecting with everyone there, for sharing some news during one of the main sessions, and for just meeting new people as well.  For Mia and Anya, it gives them a chance to make new friends and hang out with old friends (in Mia's case, anyway!).
And when we come home to Tallinn, the first of our summer church plant visitors would have already arrived - Wei-Jin from Cambridge, UK.  Please pray that he has a great time in Tallinn and that God confirms what He has spoken over his life and his involvement with us in Tallinn.

Family news
Anya was unwell for about a two week period, but got better properly before last weekend, and has gone back to kindergarten this week.  She is doing well there, making friends, and is herself very happy to be better!
Mia continues to be a very busy little girl - with lots of school work, party invitations and ballet performances, it's a challenge to fit everything in!  She breaks up for summer on 6th June, so finally things might slow down a little for her.  Last Sunday, she was performing in a huge Ballet Gala the other side of the country!  We were unable to go with her for several reasons, so she left home at around 7:30am and then was dropped back on the dot of midnight!  She was at school the next day!  
Dancing continues to be something she loves to do, and it helps that she has an Estonian/Russian friend to do it with.  Being in the UK next week, she will miss her school's end of year Ball, they've been learning to ball room dance in her class! 
Rachel continues to teach a number of children from Mia's class, helping them out with their English.  This has made the week really busy, and often she doesn't get home until after the girls have got into bed.  It will change a little through the summer though, with the few that are continuing able to hopefully have classes at better times for us! This has provided good connections with families from Mia's class.
I am continuing to push doors with the new business venture.  I traveled down to Tartu last week for two meetings, one with the teachers at the International School there, and then again with the parents in the evening.  I'm yet to have any confirmed business, which isn't through want of trying, but I still have faith that this is something God has opened up so will keep pushing!  Health wise, I still have a little pain in my leg (usually first thing in the morning) and some general discomfort, but have finished my treatments now, as it is felt my exercises/stretches that I need to do every day, should bring about total recovery.

OK, that's enough for now!  Who know's what will happen over the next month!  Especially with Mia and her interesting final few school days! Thanks for listening and all your prayers and encouragement.

Tallinn Update: The Winter's Over edition..

Hello from a Spring-like Tallinn!  The snow is (nearly!) gone!  Only the last sections of the huge piles remain, and they are getting smaller by the day.  Winter was long this year, but we are greatly looking forward to summer, which we know will be light, and hopefully warm too!

The photo above was taken from Tallinn's newly reopened Seaplane Harbour museum, which is meant to be the best of it's type in Northern Europe.  And having spent a day walking around, and on, submarines, aircraft, ships and much more, we would not argue with that fact!  In this photo, we got to dress up in our choice of costume, much to the girls delight, and in true Estonian fashion, not only is there a camera to photograph us, but then it emails us directly with the photo!

It's been two very busy months since our last update, so here are the headlines as to what has been happening!

Following on from the last update

Anya started kindergarten on 1st March and has made friends there already, ironically one boy being an American whose family are also here to church plant!  They are part of a team running the Serve the City events, and we have been getting to know the founding couple, Brett and Tammy Toft, who also came around for dinner at ours last Tuesday night.

Our Estonian classes continue, and we have intensified our supplementary internet courses to often doing them every night, and with the lighter evenings already, have often had to stop ourselves at gone ten.

We are continuing to gather, having put on an excellent Easter meal as a team, for a few people.  A roast dinner was followed by an Easter egg hunt for the children, before separate discussions were had looking at what Easter is all about.  For one visitor, it was her first ever experience of Easter.
Earlier that day, I had also spoken at Praise Chapel, a small local Estonian church where we have been getting to know the leading couple.  And as also mentioned in the last update, I visited Hope Church St Petersburg again, this time preaching there, which was my first time doing so since being sent to plant in Tallinn.  It was my second return trip to Russia, this time going on my new multi entry annual visa, so for this next year at least, I will be looking to go regularly, maybe every 6 weeks or so.

Prayer for Business

Last time I mentioned how things had opened up so that I had founded a new business in Estonia, which long term we hope to be able to help support the work we are doing in the nations.  I'm looking to be able to combine ministry trips with business, so for example, when I was in St Petersburg in March, met with two schools in relation to study options in the UK.  A third school has since been in touch (they were unable to meet with me then because of a vacation).  Around Estonia I have also been having a little growing interest, but overall, still nothing concrete.  Please pray, therefore, for God's favour upon this new business, and for contacts to emerge all over Estonia, and wider in places like St Petersburg, Riga, Vilnius, Helsinki and Stockholm.
And as I said before, being in business has continued to open up opportunities with others in Tallinn - I met with a Canadian business man last month, and also will catch up with another Dad from Mia's school when he returns to Tallinn in May.

One Year On+

We've now been in Tallinn for over 13 months.  For those with 3 minutes to spare, I've put together a photo collect to reflect the changing seasons of Tallinn.  And here it is;


Team Growth

Last time I talked a little bit about folks looking to join us, and since then the young Estonian/American couple have confirmed they are moving to join us this year, arriving at the end of August most probably, ready for her studies to start in September.
And the British young lady I mentioned has also booked up a trip to Tallinn, coming for a month from 22nd July, initially, depending on what work options open up for her.  Please pray for her, and this other couple, that God would bless their plans over these next few months.
Today I also had confirmation of a UK church leader coming to visit us during his sabbatical this summer, coming for a long weekend and being part of our monthly Vision Sunday.
With summer fast approaching, the Hope:Tallinn team are looking forward to putting on a combination of indoor and outdoor events.

Social Action that impacts the city and effects the region

For a long time we have had a heart to bring genuine change for the good of this city.  We believe that is what the church is for.  And this was particularly highlighted when I was in London last November and met with a homeless lady called Anita, as mentioned in this previous update.
Two areas that are opening up are the following.  The first is with Rachel and a women's refuge centre here in Tallinn.  Many are women who have previously been trafficked into the sex industry.  This centre empowers them to get regular jobs and rebuild broken lives.
The other development, which is still in it's early days, is with the charity Care for Children, which up to now has been working mainly in Asia.  A mutual friend, after visiting us here, asked the director of this charity if they would consider working in Eastern Europe, and to our surprise and delight, said yes.  So far in Asia, they have placed 250,000 children from state systems, like orphanages, into loving homes.  They work at government level and God has opened some amazing doors for them in the past.  So please pray as we are at a very preliminary stage here in Estonia, but our hearts are to help support a similar ministry in this region too.

Singing

Mia is part of her choir at school and does love to sing (and dance!).  Recently, they sang as part of a kindergarten's graduation.  This is, of course, all in Estonian.  Mia has been taught the Estonian national anthem, and in this little video, standing on a large pile of snow outside our apartment, sings the first verse;

Prayer

So the above gives you a little more ideas to pray for us all here in Tallinn.  I am also personally having continued treatment for my back and leg, which is currently sessions of physio.  It's been over 4 months since the initial injury and I pray it is finally starting to get better.  I have at least three more physio sessions, which are good but quite painful, and maybe another 5 water sessions too before further assessment is made on my condition.  I'm still praying for total health, especially with summer coming, and life speeding up even more in Tallinn.

Sorry it has been a long time without any updates - as always, because so much is going on, it makes it hard to actually share what God is doing!  We value every single prayer, and thank you all deeply for the love and ongoing support you have been showing us.