pühapäev, november 21, 2004
Youth Councils
Chris and I just got back from the first ever Estonia Youth Councils. Youth Councils is a Salvation Army event for young people, and the one here was held at Camp Loksa. We had a great weekend.
There were 24 teens from Tallinn, Narva and Tartu (Chris!). They are all wonderful young people who, although at various stages in their faith journey, are all trying in their own ways to be faithful. Although there were both Estonian speakers and Russian speakers there, which at times causes difficulties in Estonian society, they blended beautifully--a picture of the kingdom of God. Because it was such a small group (youth councils in America often have hundreds of kids) we were all able to get to know each other well over the weekend, and there wasn't a rigid distinction between leaders and participants. We joked together, prayed together, sang together, cheered others on when they presented a dance or drama, plastered each other with snow, and genuinely shared the common ground in our lives that God has given to us.
One memory that stands out is sitting at a meal in the dining room, which has five tables with benches on either side and set close together because the room is rather small. One of the girls form Narva (who we have come to know during our visits there) was sitting directly behind me and decided to lean back as she was eating, using my back as a rest. By balancing my weight just right, I was also able to rest on her back and we ate most of the meal supporting one another. I'm not even sure why I shared this except it seemed like a metaphor of sorts.
One of my responsibilities for the weekend was doing a session on the choices we make in the media we expose ourselves to (music, TV, movies). To show them that there can be alternatives in music, I gave them some Christian CDs that I brought over when we moved here (they came from the time I wrote music reviews and record companies would send me dozens of releases each month, so I brought more than 200 here). Each kid ended up with seven CDs, and the response really blew me away. I've given CDs to groups of kids in America before and had polite thank yous or indifference, but these kids were genuinely appreciative. When I first told them how many CDs they would receive, there was an audible gasp from several in the room. Later, one girl, each time she saw me in the hallway, would say to me in Russian with her sweet, bright smile, "Thank you very much for the CDs." A guy said, "These are the first Christian CDs that I have." When I first gave out the CDs, I lost count of the number of hugs I received. It was a truly gratifying experience. Now I wish I had more CDs I could have brought from America to give away!
Overall, it wasn't about what I did, or the big plans for the weekend or anything else. It was in the little things--like giving music, sharing a hug, chatting during a meal, not fighting too hard while someone pushed show down my back, or singing together in different languages--that God revealed Himself and drew us together. That is usually the way; too often we forget that.
--Tim
There were 24 teens from Tallinn, Narva and Tartu (Chris!). They are all wonderful young people who, although at various stages in their faith journey, are all trying in their own ways to be faithful. Although there were both Estonian speakers and Russian speakers there, which at times causes difficulties in Estonian society, they blended beautifully--a picture of the kingdom of God. Because it was such a small group (youth councils in America often have hundreds of kids) we were all able to get to know each other well over the weekend, and there wasn't a rigid distinction between leaders and participants. We joked together, prayed together, sang together, cheered others on when they presented a dance or drama, plastered each other with snow, and genuinely shared the common ground in our lives that God has given to us.
One memory that stands out is sitting at a meal in the dining room, which has five tables with benches on either side and set close together because the room is rather small. One of the girls form Narva (who we have come to know during our visits there) was sitting directly behind me and decided to lean back as she was eating, using my back as a rest. By balancing my weight just right, I was also able to rest on her back and we ate most of the meal supporting one another. I'm not even sure why I shared this except it seemed like a metaphor of sorts.
One of my responsibilities for the weekend was doing a session on the choices we make in the media we expose ourselves to (music, TV, movies). To show them that there can be alternatives in music, I gave them some Christian CDs that I brought over when we moved here (they came from the time I wrote music reviews and record companies would send me dozens of releases each month, so I brought more than 200 here). Each kid ended up with seven CDs, and the response really blew me away. I've given CDs to groups of kids in America before and had polite thank yous or indifference, but these kids were genuinely appreciative. When I first told them how many CDs they would receive, there was an audible gasp from several in the room. Later, one girl, each time she saw me in the hallway, would say to me in Russian with her sweet, bright smile, "Thank you very much for the CDs." A guy said, "These are the first Christian CDs that I have." When I first gave out the CDs, I lost count of the number of hugs I received. It was a truly gratifying experience. Now I wish I had more CDs I could have brought from America to give away!
Overall, it wasn't about what I did, or the big plans for the weekend or anything else. It was in the little things--like giving music, sharing a hug, chatting during a meal, not fighting too hard while someone pushed show down my back, or singing together in different languages--that God revealed Himself and drew us together. That is usually the way; too often we forget that.
--Tim
