Tallinn old town and Kuressaare

I had every intention of writing a blog before now, but apart from our first morning it has been full on. On Thursday morning we had a look round some of the old town with Sue so she could see some of the  buildings that have been wonderfully restored after the Communist era. In many ways their buildings are similar to what one sees in Prague or Krakow but none the less, the nooks and crannies, the cobbled streets and courtyards give Tallinn an attractive look.  We have used as our guide book the Bradt Guide to Estonia, and on the cover it has a picture of a door.  And we came across the very door!  Here are Sue and Ann outside it. 

Sue has apparently always been taken by men who are in shining armour, so she had to stop by this one!

Yet another colourful door, outside the House of the Blackheads!!

Part of the old city walls.

And then back to our hotel for lunch.  I had sult, my grandfather called it pork cheese, pork meat in jelly, with boiled potatoes, horseradish and mustard.  Just to perk it up!

On Thursday morning we had a brief walk around some more of the old town. There is something different and attractive around every corner. More of the narrow streets, 

knit wear, winter pullovers, hats and mittens, being sold beside the city walls,

one of the stalls at the flower market

and yet more of the city walls.

It was time for coffee and a bite to eat before Ain Vares' son Vilu arrived to take us to Kuressaare. We loaded up and were on our way. Mile after mile of spruce and fir and silver birch trees on flat countryside. Soon though we were going aboard the ferry for a 20 minute crossing to the Island. Even Sue said she could manage 20 minutes on a boat especially as the sea was as flat as a pancake. The Baltic Sea has a tidal range of about 6 inches and is far less salty than the open ocean. I have drunk some of the sea water just to check!

Here is Riina on the left, our interpreter for the whole of our time, she did a marvellous job, and now must be completely worn out.  Next to her is Marven and Vilu.

By late afternoon we arrived in Kuressaare and we stopped of at an Irish pub for a meal. An ice hockey match was in full swing on the tv between Finland and the USA, and the pub was crowded with noisy Finns. Kuressaare is a spa town and very popular with Finns and Swedes in the summer season from now until September. Then we went to the home of Kalmer and Angela where Sue is staying. This couple were part of the team who came to Kerith in March. And we went to our apartment. Just time enough to freshen up before going to the first of our many meetings.  We will be in touch. Ken

Estonia

By the time you read this my wife Ann, and Sue Davis, above, and me will be on our way to Estonia from Luton Airport.  You may know that we had 6 leaders from a church in Kuressaare on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia visit us in March this year.  This is the home church of Virge Maton, who is married to Mike who are part of us. The pastor Alur and his wife Marvi came with Kalmer (worship) and Angela (children), Ain (artist and leader) and Karin (youth).  They saw most of what we get up to, and though they did not see our mum's and toddler's work called Sparklers, they believe this is what they want to run with.  So we are travelling with Sue who has been involved with Sparklers for more than 20 years, who will share her experiences.
We stay in Tallinn overnight and then we will be on our way on a 4 hour journey, including a short ferry crossing, to Kuressaare.  The island is as far north as the Orkney Islands and the weather will be similar to here, a real mixture of showers and sunshine and it will be cool.
Please pray for us as we build relationships, share with the people from the church, speak on local radio, and for Sue who will be experiencing Estonia for the first time.
We look forward to blogging from Estonia.
Ken

Shume urime per ty, shume urime per ty..

I forgot to mention that last Friday was Colin's birthday!  So when he started the evening session here in Elbasan, we sang to him "Shume urime per ty", Happy Birthday to you, same tune just Albanian words! 

The photo above is from Saturday morning showing some of the girl singers from Tirana and Elbasan.

They are increasingly using young people which is what we like to see, so here is Daniel from Librazhd

And this is Elizier, who is about 8 years old. She has an amazing ability to draw especially animals and make them look lifelike. Blerim, the man we rent our apartment from is a Christian and an artist and has her as a student and speaks highly of her gifting in one so young. She remembers details he says of how an animal should look, better than most adults.

Lunchtime on Saturday after Colin and Dave's sessions consisted of byrek, see below.  It is filo pastry filled with either spinach, meat or cheese.  When you have a good one, preferably home made, it is superb.

Here is Dave hard at work this time on the keyboard and not guitar!

After the Saturday session finished about 2.30, Liam and Colin and Dave set off in a forgon with some of the guys from Korca to go there, a 2.5 hour drive.  I thought this would be good experience for them.  They get to see another city where they have not been before, another church they have not been to before and opportunity to spend time with Edi and Artina who lead the church there and be with their musicians and singers.  Edi gathered his guys for a session with Colin and Dave on Sunday morning and afternoon, with a short break for lunch.  Liam spent time with the young people and with Edi talking through the Youth Camp in more detail, and Liam spoke to the church on Sunday evening.  (Sorry I don't have the photos, they have them!)

On Monday the guys left Korca and headed for Elbasan but stopped off at Librazhd to meet some of the young people from the church there. (To those of you who have been to the Youth Camps Librazhd is the place with the rickety bridge across the river!) Dave and Liam know many of them from our Youth Camps. They had a great time catching up and looking forward to the next Camp. Then back home to Elbasan and a meal at the home of Ilir and Rudina who lead the church here.  They live in an apartment on the 4th floor with their 3 girls, Sara, Eliada and Abigeila. 



And so to this morning.  After breakfast Liam and Dave caught a forgon for Tirana to meet up with Tani and some of the young people at the church there.  Colin and I had a look round some of Elbasan, then lunch and it was time for farewells to Colin and see him on his way back to Tirana and then to the airport ready for the flight back to Gatwick and your cold wet weather.  It is hard to think of it, when we have been enjoying 30C and blue sky.

It has been a brilliant time, and everyone has spoken so highly of Colin, Dave and Liam and what they have brought to the churches here.  They have left an excellent legacy and I know will be welcomed back with open arms. 

Ann and I have 2 more days here and then we too will head for home.  We look forward to seeing you soon. All our love.

God knows Lydia doesn't like the sun...

and so we had rain and some sun whilst she and Gita were with us, but the moment the guys arrived, Coiln, Dave and Liam we have had blue sky and SUNSHINE!  Here are the guys with Ann in the centre and Lili from Burrel who travelled with us on the forgon from Tirana to Elbasan.

We are staying in the same apartment we usually use that gives us wonderful views over the city with the mountains still topped with snow in the distance.



Colin and Dave began their first session on Friday evening,



with Arjan translating for Colin



and some more of the musicians and singers.  As Dave has been out to the Youth Camps before and Colin came to Elbasan last November they now know most of the people they are talking to.  It is also great to see friendships being built and renewed amongst the singers and musicians from the different churches.



After a well received first session, it was time for the guys to eat (no shopping!) and return to the apartment.



Saturday morning saw a 9 o'clock start that will go through to 3pm.  Here is Visi from Korca on the drums,

with Lindita, called Vila, singing, with Xhuljo on electric violin and Geni on guitar all from Korca.

and just to finish for now, here is a photo of Diti, Mirjana and Jorida from Tirana.

This morning Liam is with Lili from Burrel, Ilir from Elbasan and Ilir from Librazhd and Edi from Korca talking about and working out the programme for the Youth Camp in July.  I had better get back to see how they are getting on..Lots of love Ken





Lydia and Gita in Albania



 What seems like ages ago, but is only last Thursday, Lydia and Gita and Ann and I left Gatwick bound for Albania.  Lydia and Gita are here to help several churches develop their work amongst children.  First in our time here was meeting the Roma children that Shaban and Elvira work with from their church in Tirana.  Lydia introduced them to games with her multi coloured parachute.  We played these indoors as it was pouring with rain outside.  As you can see the kids loved it!  A quantity of materials were left with the leaders for their use with the children.

 Here is a photo of Lydia and Gita with the children present on that day.  Numbers vary quite a bit, but they are taught to read and write, fed and helped with clothing and they also hear  the news of Gods love for them through Jesus.

 And before we left they had a time to pray with the leaders of the work with the Roma children.
Then it was time to catch a minibus to Elbasan.  After leaving our things in the apartment in Elbasan we were ready to eat, so fast food was the order of the day,

 which went down well with Lydia and Gita!  Then the task of getting our food from the supermarket for the next few days, and settling in ready for the gathering of children's workers on Saturday. We had an evening meal with Ilir and Rudina who lead the church in Elbasan, to catch up with them and hear how their church is doing and learn of their expectations for the next day.

 Children's workers came from Elbasan, Librazhd and Korca, which is almost 3 hours journey away.  Here are 3 of the leaders from Elbasan, Adiana, Yeta and Blerina taking it all in.  What Lydia and Gita had to say was a great encouragement to the childrens workers.  Gita was able to speak about her experiences of running childrens work in a country that also has little money and not many resources readily available.

 After a busy day we had an evening meal.  The roses seemed a good foreground for a picture of Gita.

 Sunday morning was time for the children's work to be put into practise as Lydia and Gita spent time with the children whilst I spoke to the increasing numbers of people being gathered in the church.

 On the Saturday evening Gita ordered prawns, but was surprised when they came all displayed like this.  All quite a cultural change for Gita who is from Lithuania. 

 This photo is of the time Lydia and Gita had on Sunday morning again with the parachute.  The Elbasan church have a large basement where the children gather, ideal in the hot summers but very very cold in winter.

 All the activities were interspersed with cups of coffee. Here is one venue they like at Divina, a revolving  coffee bar high above the city of Elbasan and a place that commands wonderful views of the surrounding mountains that are still covered with snow.

 On Sunday evening we had a lovely ,meal at the home of Ilir and Rudina, the church leaders. 
On Monday it was time to show Gita and Lydia some of the sights of Elbasan.  These include the Ethnographic Museum, which may sound tiresome, but it is in an old Ottoman house with a beautiful balcony and with rooms decorated as they would have been in times past.  It is a good introduction to Turkish Muslim culture that has prevailed here for almost 500 years.

 Here they both are on the via Egnatia, the old Roman road from Rome to Constantinople (Istanbul), that runs through the centre of Elbasan.  We then toured the old town that is encompassed by the walls of the former Turkish fort.  The electrics leave a bit to be desired, but this are is home to the oldest Orthodox Church in Elbasan and to the oldest Mosque.

 Being with 3 women is very different to being with the guys, Colin, Dave and Liam who will come out this coming Thursday.  The girls are shoppers!! We seldom walk straight pass a shoe shop or clothes shop!

 Finaly, for the moment, here is a photo of the refurbished Skampa Theatre.  It was very badly damaged by fire just after our concert there last year.  Nothing to do with us of course!  But it has been very wonderfully and beautifully restored.  We send our love from us all and we look forwarsd to seeing Colin and Liam and Dave here in 3 days time.  Tomorrow it is time for Lydia and Gita to pack their bags, travel back to Tirana and fly home, their wonderful work well done!

Pervomaiske and a Tartar church

At 08.30 on the Sunday morning I was collected by the Pastor of the church in Pervomaiske and driven for an hour to the small town of about 9,000 people. In the photo above,the Pastor is on the left at the front. After the worship I preached and then several in the church took part, reading scriptures or singing songs. My interpreter Julia said this was usual for them at Easter, Pentecost and Christmas. Here are four of the ladies who read scriptures about Christ being risen.



After the meeting the church were having lunch together just as the church in Balaclava had done, but I was whisked away with the pastor and Julia and her husband Roman to lunch in a nearby house.



Here are Julia and Roman. It was Julia's first time to translate in a church meeting.



After lunch I met up with Martyn who had preached at the church in Armyansk, and we travelled back to Simferopol to a Tartar church led by Andrei, photo below. Historically the Tartar people are Muslim.



For worship the women singers and musicians wear their national dress and they sing in the Crimean Tartar language. All other speaking and preaching is in Russian.



The children were invited to recite a verse of scripture. If they could do this in Russian they received a chocolate bar, if they could speak it in Tartar they received a Kinder surprise.



Again Martyn spoke on the fact that Jesus has risen from the dead, and then we prayed for sick people to be well and prayed and prophesied over people.



A year ago when in this church we heard the remarkable story that the lady below has to tell how Jesus healed her and her son. Briefly, she was in hospital to give birth to her 6th child by C section, when the nursing staff gave her too much anaesthetic. She went into a coma and was put on a life support machine. During this time Jesus came to her three times dressed as a doctor and told her not to fear as she would be healed. When she awoke from her coma she began to disconnect herself from the life support machine, and told the medical staff of her vision. They thought she had lost her mind. Then some Orthodox believers passed by her room door carrying an icon of Jesus that was exactly as she had seen in her vision. She exclaimed that this was the man she had seen during her coma and in that moment believed on Jesus. Later, she prayed for one of her sons at home who had never walked from birth. That night her husband heard movement and going to the bedroom door found their son who had never walked, walking. Many in her village have come to Christ and her story has impacted many other Tartar people.



Her remarkable story brought our time in the Crimea to a close. It was home to my host, yet another meal, and a very early start on Monday morning getting me back to Gatwick by midday.

A video clip of a Tartar girl dancing during worship.

Training days

One of the main reasons for going to the Crimea was to spend a whole day talking to about twenty pastors of churches about eldership and elders working together in leading a local church. Where we have a history in our country of democracy, they have a history of autocracy. Therefore gathering a team all who have a contribution but who willingly hear each other and work together, coming to agreement on the way ahead is a novel idea, and not an easy one to grasp. The morning and the afternoon were given over to biblical teaching on this and the work of apostles. But even the best of times have to be punctuated with a lunch, as here with Martyn in the foreground.

After a whole day of this it was time for some fresh air and where better than by the sea. Here are some of the Russian sailors queueing for a local ferry.



The Russian flag flies proudly from their naval base.



Sevastopol is a separate municipality apart from the rest of the Crimea, and after the fall of communism it became a matter of serious dispute between the Ukraine and Russia because of its strategic importance.

Below is the apartment block where we stayed.



Saturday morning saw us meet with two church leaders from Sevastopol and Armyansk and discuss pastoral issues.

Sevastopol has many forms of transport. Here is a one of the many trolley buses. It was time too for us to be on the move and head north, through Simferopol to Armyansk, at the top of the Crimea, where the Crimea joins the mainland of the Ukraine.



Much of the Crimean countryside is just plain flat. Just like my home area of the fens of Lincolnshire. I liked it and felt very much at home. A big expanse of sky, flat fertile soil growing the same crops as in the fens, wheat, potatoes and vegetables.

By five thirty we had arrived at a small cafe in Armyansk and ready to eat. We were served some of the best food we had in our time in the Ukraine. Wonderful home made borsch (beetroot) soup followed by pork chops and potatoes. We were well fed and ready for another day.