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!

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.