neljapäev, juuli 29, 2004
From Aston to Estonia
Three weeks ago today, we moved into our new home here in Tartu, Estonia. It is a two-bedroom apartment, and while we have lived in apartments and not houses for most of our 15 years of marriage, this is our first time doing it with three kids, one of them being a teenager! After much lengthy and intense negotiations, we have settled -- at least for now -- on me, Tim, and baby Peter in the big bedroom; Chris in the smaller bedroom; and Elizabeth in the living room.
Auntie Mary-Kay is here visiting us this week, so she is also sharing the living room with Elizabeth!
Tim is busy taking classes in Estonian language and culture full-time for three weeks. The kids and I have been learning by attending an Estonian vacation Bible school, and meeting American and Estonian kids here.
What has God been saying to me in our short time here? (Much more important than our sleeping arrangements, eh!) First, Nehemiah 2:11-16. This is very much what we are doing right now. "I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do." We are still listening and watching and praying. Our hearts are quite drawn toward the homeless and mentally ill, especially after our three years in Chester.
Second, Judges 6-8. "The Lord is with you ... mighty warrior ... go in the strength you have ... I will be with you ... not boast against me ... anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave ... I will save you." We feel, along with Gideon, that we are "the least" and sometimes are overwhelmed by the mission of opening the work of The Salvation Army in Tartu, Estonia. But this causes us all the more to rely on God.
One of the things that has occurred to us is that we both feel strong in our language skills. We have both done a lot of literary and editorial work for the Army, and this is something we really enjoy and think we are good at. Now we are in a country where even the little toddlers speak better than we do, and we find that our strengths count for nothing. For some reason, God wants to humble us even more than He did during our three years in Chester (where we felt we were taking a test we had not studied for!). So be it. It feels a bit like we're playing "how low can you go?" and so we bend still further down!
All this has been filling my head for our three weeks here. Congratulations if you have read this far! Next time, I'll include more of Tartu and less of me.
Kapten Evelyn Clark
Tartu, Eesti
Auntie Mary-Kay is here visiting us this week, so she is also sharing the living room with Elizabeth!
Tim is busy taking classes in Estonian language and culture full-time for three weeks. The kids and I have been learning by attending an Estonian vacation Bible school, and meeting American and Estonian kids here.
What has God been saying to me in our short time here? (Much more important than our sleeping arrangements, eh!) First, Nehemiah 2:11-16. This is very much what we are doing right now. "I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do." We are still listening and watching and praying. Our hearts are quite drawn toward the homeless and mentally ill, especially after our three years in Chester.
Second, Judges 6-8. "The Lord is with you ... mighty warrior ... go in the strength you have ... I will be with you ... not boast against me ... anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave ... I will save you." We feel, along with Gideon, that we are "the least" and sometimes are overwhelmed by the mission of opening the work of The Salvation Army in Tartu, Estonia. But this causes us all the more to rely on God.
One of the things that has occurred to us is that we both feel strong in our language skills. We have both done a lot of literary and editorial work for the Army, and this is something we really enjoy and think we are good at. Now we are in a country where even the little toddlers speak better than we do, and we find that our strengths count for nothing. For some reason, God wants to humble us even more than He did during our three years in Chester (where we felt we were taking a test we had not studied for!). So be it. It feels a bit like we're playing "how low can you go?" and so we bend still further down!
All this has been filling my head for our three weeks here. Congratulations if you have read this far! Next time, I'll include more of Tartu and less of me.
Kapten Evelyn Clark
Tartu, Eesti
