esmaspäev, september 13, 2004
Visit
Today the leaders of The Salvation Army in Finland & Estonia, Colonels Carl and Gundren Lydholm, visited us here in Tartu. I felt a bit nervous having the "big bosses" come, but we met them last year when we visited Estonia and know that they are good people.
It was actually very fun to show off the city of Tartu to people who had never been here before (which we would be glad to do for others--hint, hint). They arrived right around lunchtime, and the rain (almost a daily occurrence here lately) had stopped for the moment, so we went with them to a nice Estonian restaurant on Raekoja Plats (Town Hall Square). Click here for a nice live web cam view of the square. From there, we showed them some of the sites of the city, like the kissing couple statue, Jaani Kirik (St. John's Church), and the Tartu University main building. Of course, the rain came back again, so we weren't out too long, but long enough for the Colonel to spoil Elizabeth by buying her some sweets at the bakery shop on the square.
We were also able to show them the apartment were we lived and where Mario will live, and to give them the grand tour of the house (they congratulated us on the sauna!). They were so encouraging about everything and offered lots of confirmation of God's hand in all that has happened thus far. They are down-to-earth people with a real interest in individuals, and they felt it would help them to understand the work here if they had seen the place. We were able to chat easily with them and enjoyed the fellowship.
It was a good end to what had been a tiring weekend, as Evelyn told you about. For as tired as we felt, the weekend really did draw together the various people from corps in Estonia. And the focus was on strengthening our faith and encouraging us to strive for greater things. I think this is what the Lydholms envisioned for the weekend, and it definitely hit the mark. I look forward to what lies ahead!
--Tim
It was actually very fun to show off the city of Tartu to people who had never been here before (which we would be glad to do for others--hint, hint). They arrived right around lunchtime, and the rain (almost a daily occurrence here lately) had stopped for the moment, so we went with them to a nice Estonian restaurant on Raekoja Plats (Town Hall Square). Click here for a nice live web cam view of the square. From there, we showed them some of the sites of the city, like the kissing couple statue, Jaani Kirik (St. John's Church), and the Tartu University main building. Of course, the rain came back again, so we weren't out too long, but long enough for the Colonel to spoil Elizabeth by buying her some sweets at the bakery shop on the square.
We were also able to show them the apartment were we lived and where Mario will live, and to give them the grand tour of the house (they congratulated us on the sauna!). They were so encouraging about everything and offered lots of confirmation of God's hand in all that has happened thus far. They are down-to-earth people with a real interest in individuals, and they felt it would help them to understand the work here if they had seen the place. We were able to chat easily with them and enjoyed the fellowship.
It was a good end to what had been a tiring weekend, as Evelyn told you about. For as tired as we felt, the weekend really did draw together the various people from corps in Estonia. And the focus was on strengthening our faith and encouraging us to strive for greater things. I think this is what the Lydholms envisioned for the weekend, and it definitely hit the mark. I look forward to what lies ahead!
--Tim
