You Raise Me Up.

The title of this post has nothing to do with anything really, but it's been stuck in my head because Märt has been singing it all week.

I leave for camp tomorrow.  Märt, Innar, Tarmo, and I are going to a place called Pala to host camp for the youth from Jõgeva while Chris and Liina (my surrogate family/hosts) Brock, Brett, Evelin, and Kati are going to Sihva to host camp for the youth from Pärnu and Elva.  We also have two American teams coming to help us--the Ohio team will be with us in Pala while the North Carolina team will be in Sihva.  I'm excited, and I think the rest of the team(s) is

 excited.  We need your prayers, though.  We're all more than a little tired, and we really need

 energy as we head into a full week of activity.  

The great thing has been seeing how God is completely in control.  Things have not gone according to plan (like the North Carolina team getting stuck in Illinois), but the so-called "problems" always end up being blessings for us.  It's been a very long week as we've been working hard at the office, trying to prepare everything for the start of camp, and by the end of it we were all feeling a little loopy (hence Märt's singing and whatnot).  Just to show you what I mean, here are some pictures I took at the office that past few days...

This is Märt.  

I was trying to drape my scarf in a way that would've protected me if I were Eve in the Garden of Eden.  It didn't quite work out.

Evelin has no excuse.

To prove that this week was more than just a costume party, here is a glimpse of the set I designed and painted with Brett and Ev's help...it wasn't finished at this point (I think this was about hour 9 of my 1o hour workday on Wednesday), but I'll put up pictures of it once we have it hung at camp.  It took forever, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement.  I'm having an incredible time here, and I know that God is going to do HUGE things in everyone's hearts this week.  I can't wait to tell you more about it.  I will be out of contact for the next week, but I'll be in Tallinn on the 4th (for what is apparently the world's greatest song festival) so I'll try to post some sort of update next weekend.  

One more thing, tonight when I was on my way home I was stopped by a bus full of men...well, actually one man stopped me.  He was wearing a white tutu.  In broken English he explained that it was his bachelor party and one of his "dares" he had to fulfill was to pick up a woman and take her somewhere on the bus.  Even though I was only a couple hundred meters from home, I agreed (after lots of begging on his behalf) and let the bus take me across the street.  It was hilarious, and I was shocked at how many times they offered me a drink in the minute-long bus ride.  Don't worry (Mom, Dad, or Granddaddy), it wasn't shady or anything.  Just thought you might enjoy that little story.  Okay, ciao!

Peace and Love,

Lo B.

Jaanipäev and so on...

So this is mostly going to be pictures.  Wednesday, the 23rd, was a huge holiday in Estonia called Jaanipäev (meaning St. John's Day).  It's a day of celebration, bonfires, delicious food, and fun.  For most people, it involves a ridiculous amount of alcohol; for me, it involved going to a town called Jõgeva, which is where the youth group from my first camp is based.  I spent the day hanging out with people that don't speak much English, but the language barrier didn't stop us from having fun!

Invitation to Jaanipäev in Jõgeva

Bonfire in Jõgeva.  at 9 p.m.

Night sky...crazy.

Traditional Jaanipäev games...

So that's that.

Peace and Love,

Lo B.

Meet and Greet

I have now been in Estonia for ten days, and I think it's about time that I start introducing some of my new friends.  I've met so many new people, so I'm just going to introduce a few crazy kids that I've had the pleasure of getting to know a bit better over the past week or so.

Meet (front to back):  Brett, Evelin, and Oliver

I'll start with Brett.  He's the other American, and he also hails from the great state of metro-Atlanta.  Brett is about to turn nineteen, and this is his third summer in Estonia.  Yes, I said third.  He came for ten days before his senior year of high school to help at one of the English camps, and the Estonians haven't been able to get rid of him since.  Seriously, though, he was an intern last year and it's been great having someone who knows the ropes but who also knows how to make me feel more comfortable adjusting to life in Estonia.  Brett is a drummer, and his dream is to go to Hillsong College to get a degree as a worship pastor.

Evelin is next.  Oh my, what can I say about Evelin?  She's just a beautiful ball of joy.  She's crazy as can be, but that's why I love her.  She's eighteen, and she's lived in Tartu all of her life.  She's the only Estonian intern this year, but her personalit(y/ies) sometimes feel like she's about ten people rolled into one.  She's goofy, smart, sweet, sarcastic, and one of the most unique people I've ever met.  I'm so glad we're working together this summer.

Oliver is great.  I mean, obviously--the kid has dreadlocks.  Of course he's awesome.  I met him this past Sunday, and he had been awake for thirty-five hours straight when I met him; he was slightly delirious, but it didn't take me long to realize why everyone loves him.  He's another person that is just full of life, and he is like a little ray of sunshine everywhere he goes.  He's getting ready to begin his eleven month duty of serving in the Estonian army, a requirement for all Estonian boys (II men).  Oliver is looking forward to his service, though he's not so excited to cut off his dreads.  He says that he once he's done with the army he wants to grow dreadlocks for seven years, and since he's nineteen now I guess he'll be sporting the rasta look into his late twenties.  More power to him!

Next is Kati...pronounce it Kah-tee, not Katie.

She's probably going to be mad at me for using this picture, but she always hides when I take her picture so this is all I have :).  Kati is turning twenty-four in July, and she works at Risttee as the pastor's assistant.  She and Evelin are two peas in a pod, both crazy and fun to be around.  Kati LOVES Edward Cullen and hip-hop music, and I'm pretty sure she loves America more than Obama does.  She speaks English incredibly well, so I use her as my translator whenever I don't understand the gibberish (just kidding...Estonian is a beautiful language) everyone speaks when they forget there are Americans present.  Love her.

This is Meelis (May-leez):

I knew I'd be friends with Meelis before I even met him because I thought he looked like he could be related to my college pastor.  He was shy when we first met, but he warmed up to me shortly afterwards when I turned on "Bohemian Rhapsody" and he freaked out yelling, "AAAAAHHHHH!!!  THIS IS THE BEST SONG EV-ER!"  I've now realized that he gets that excited about pretty much anything he likes (and he likes a LOT of things).  He's seventeen and crazy about life.  He's the type that will try anything once, and he pretty much reminds me of a male version of myself except I think he might like to shop more than I do.  Crazy, I know.

Finally, I give you Maret (Marr-et).

Maret is a sweetheart who just moved back to Estonia after spending a couple years in London.  She, too, speaks English incredibly well...maybe even better than I do.  Oh, and she now has an English accent, so I definitely think she sounds better when she speaks.  She is generous and positive, and she just radiates Christ's love.  She makes the most out of pretty much any circumstance, and she is always upbeat.  She also volunteered to be my tour guide this past Saturday when I wanted to explore Tartu, and she didn't bail on me even when it started pouring down rain.  She's great.

This last picture is a shot of Kati, Oliver, Brett, me, Meelis, and two other friends, Hanna and Timo, this past Sunday.  We spent the afternoon at the house where Brett is living, and it was so wonderful to just hang out with friends (and make a pie and do four haircuts).  The best part of the evening was when I got to Skype with my parents and introduce them to everyone; they all agreed that Bill and Lindsay rock.  I hope you've enjoyed getting to know some of my new friends!  Keep up with the prayers; we all appreciate your support!

Peace and Love

Lo B.

Dandelions

Matthew 13:31-32:  "³¹He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. ³²Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."

Now that I finally have a few free minutes, I'd love to share something that happened on the intern training retreat.  My teammates and I split up for half an hour to spend some time alone with God, and during this time I decided to walk through a large field of dandelions and sit by the lake it bordered.  As I sat and talked to God, I felt led to read the Parable of the Mustard Seed, a parable that I've never really been able to relate

 to since I've never seen a mustard tree.  As I read the verses I couldn't help but look around at the thousands of dandelions surrounding me and thinking, "This is what Jesus was talking about!"  

Yes, I know dandelions aren't strong trees.  That being said, they are weeds which is exactly what farmers considered mustard seeds to be during Jesus's time on earth.  Weeds are nearly impossible to uproot.  Weeds spread their seeds quickly with the help of the wind.  Weeds take over.

As Christ-followers, we should want to be weeds.  We should be willing to go wherever the Lord wants us to go in order to share His story.  We should be so firmly rooted in our faith that nobody can lead us astray.  We should spread God's love all over until His presence is known everywhere we go.  We should be dandelions.  We should be mustard seeds.  We should be witnesses.

So that was just one of the many things God communicated to me during the retreat.  The rest I will just have to tell you in person because, like I said in my previous entry, it's far too long a story to write about.  

I have had a great first week in Tartu; I'm looking forward to having this weekend for some R&R time, and I'm also excited about getting back into the office on Monday to get serious with the prep work for the English camps.  Please continue to keep my team and the people of Estonia in your prayers; this is a dark country, but God is doing some amazing things in the hearts of the people here.  Thank you for your

 support!  Or, as we say in Estonia, aitäh (pronounced eye-tuh)!

Peace and Love,

Lo B.

Too long to write about...

Well these past few days were awesome, but it would be far too hard for me to sum it all up in a short little blog entry.  Instead, I'll just give you the link to my facebook so you can see lots of pictures.  Enjoy!

Oh, and the picture above is from our team's excursion to a ropes course in the Estonian countryside.  

Peace and Love,

Lo B.

Welcome to Estonia

I'm here!  It's currently 8:18 p.m. and a lovely 53 degrees Fahrenheit in Tartu.  The other American intern, Brett, and I arrived in Tallinn last night around 6:00 (after our flight from Frankfurt was delayed for an hour as we sat on the tarmac) and were picked up by a husband and his wife, Inar and Siri (I probably misspelled their names).  We began the 2 1/2 hour drive to Tartu and stopped along the way to eat at a quaint little restaurant that used to be a windmill.  We finally got in to Tartu around 10:00, and I met my new boss, Chris, and his wife, Liina.  I'm going to be living with them when we're in Tartu, and they're awesome people.  I crashed not long after getting settled in, and I slept for about 11 hours (though now it doesn't feel like I slept long enough).  

We went to church this morning at Risttee Church and I got to meet a lot of new friends.  After church we (Chris, Liina, Brett, and two Estonian girls, Kati and Evelin) went to lunch at a restaurant that has a giant bird cage inside it along with 2 WC's (water closets, obviously) that look like giant bird's eggs.  Liina had to leave after lunch, so Chris, Brett, and I went to get coffee in the city square while Evelin and Kati ran a few errands.  We met up again and went to see "Angels and Demons" (movie tickets here cost half the price they do in America) during which I fell asleep.  Oops.  Chris, Brett, and I came home and spent some time talking and getting to know each other better.

I'm getting ready to go to bed again since work starts tomorrow.  I have to be at the church office at 9:45 tomorrow so I can participate in the 10:00 staff meeting.  After a few hours of work we will have lunch and get ready to leave for intern training.  Brett, Evelin, and I are the only interns, so we have our work cut out for us.  We will spend the next few days in the Estonian countryside where we'll be planning and doing a lot of team-building activities.  I'm excited to really get into the work, and I should be back in Tartu on Friday with lots to report about our plans for the camps.  Until then, I believe I will be incommunicado.  Thank you for your prayers...keep them up!  Ciao!

Oh, and for some unknown reason I can't upload any pictures right now, so I'll post some later.

Peace and Love,

Lo B.

Three More Days

I'm currently feeling inspired by my good friend Ray LaMontagne (I call him my good friend because I met him in San Diego...and he was the most socially awkward person I've ever met) and his song "Three More Days."  The inspiration lies in the fact that I'm leaving in three days.

  Original, I know.  

I guess the realization of my imminent departure is more bittersweet than anything else; while I'm so excited about this summer, I'm pretty bummed about one thing that is going to take place while I'm gone.  No, I'm not talking about the No Doubt concert on June 5 

(since it OF COURSE has to be the day I leave)...

or the Jason Mraz concert in July...

I'm talking about how my life-long friend is moving in the middle of July 

to go to school for two years in Australia.

If you don't know Haylie, well, it's your loss.  Hay and I met when we were seven years old and ice skating at the same rink.  To use her words, she was the little butterball with bangs and I was eyes, teeth, and legs.  Case in point:

Since the days of early morning practices at the rink, Hay has become more like a 

sister to me than anything else.  We've been through everything together.  

Literally, I think people associate us with each other. 

 Like when I show up somewhere by myself someone always asks, "Where's Haylie?"

 She is, without a doubt, one of my favorite people on earth.  She is one of the most joyful people I know, and I'm going to miss her like crazy.  

I love all my friends, of course, and I'm going to miss them terribly...

But they aren't going to be in a different hemisphere when I get home.  

So while I'm thanking God for the opportunity He's given me this summer, I'm also thanking Him for thirteen wonderful years (and the many still to come) He's given me the privilege of sharing with Haylie Francesca Montgomery.

Here's looking at you, kid.

Until Estonia--

Peace and Love,

Lo B.