Glad to spend another dessert with my Estonian friends.

Tonight after work, I made my way over to Daryl and Betsy Griswolds' condo to again have an opportunity to hang out with the friends I have made in Estonia, have some dessert (always a plus), and listen about what God is doing 7 time zones across the world. It was fun and of course great to see Peep and Tarmo again since being at English Camp in Estonia last July.

The cool thing about Daryl and Besty's place is this really huge clubhouse on the first floor of their building that is really perfect for events like this (that, and their amazing knack for hospitality). When we all arrived, the desserts were all set and we mingled for a while catching up, followed by Peep, Mart, and Tarmo each talking about Estonia, the Going Up/Risttee ministry, and what God has been doing over the last year.

What was really cool about the evening, other than seeing these friends again and hearing their stories, was the cool "déjà vu" moments I had from the evening... I'll share a couple:

At one point, Tarmo got up and talked about his cousin Ragnar and the story about how he had come to faith in Christ and about his baptism at English Camp this year... especially relating the difficulties that reaching family can be. I got a chance to meet Ragnar at English Camp and witness his baptism :)... he is a great, quiet yet strong guy with a good heart. I felt a swell of (good) pride swell up when the story was told and the pictures from the baptism was passed along. It was encouraging for me... especially to keep praying and being Christ to family and seeing what God will do in their lives.

Second, Peep told us about Daniel's rise to leadership in Going Up (he was... sadly... unable to be at dessert... boo!) and how God has been growing him. Again, I had a chance to serve with Daniel before his being given the mantle of leadership (at Bear Week in 2007) and after as he led the English Camp we attended in July. I have been able to see first-hand how much Daniel has grown and matured as a leader and I am excited to have witnessed it.... and look forward to serving with him again (praying about English Camp again) real soon.

Third, I don't know why but at some point I had this thought of "this scene (dessert @ Griswolds in October) really seems familiar" and then recalled that I had been here before... last year... in the same clubhouse... listening to Peep talk about Risttee. That time, however, Daniel was there. What was different at that time is that I brought a very special (girl) friend with me to share the experience... and a couple of things made me think about that. The first was that two people after the event asked me if she was my girlfriend (Daniel was one of them... I'll pick on him since he didn't make it tonight :-) ), and to tell you the truth I really wanted to tell them yes... this person has a real heart for God, is genuine, and sees life as adventure (I can ask forgiveness for this later... since she happens to be now living 6+ time zones away and can't give me a dirty look for writing this :) ha!). And though that never really worked out, I'm glad to have her as a friend and have been really encouraged to hear how God has worked in her life over the past year and to have heard about the incredible ways He has shown up for her.

Thinking about all that has transpired in the past year... with heartbreaks, missions, job transition, and the like... I'm starting to see now in this season that God was working in it all to bring about His purposes... trials are in many ways God's way of strengthening our faith and letting us know that it really is He who is sustaining us... Risttee had the same story last year when they got kicked out of their facility in December and God used it to position them for greater ministry opportunities today (for a later blog for anyone who doesn't know this story).

You know (another thing that was really cool), in a moment of unscripted spontaneity, Peep said something about how God has been molding him this year and that they weren't any longer about "doing church" but about "being the church." You know, being the body of Christ out in the world loving each other and letting a world that needs to see the hope of Christ in us SEE that hope played out in our love for one another as Christians. I was really encouraged and got a little swell of pride when I heard that... it's cool when you see a people that truly get the gist of what the church is and I've seen them live it out in Tartu. This is something I hope for us at Buckhead Church and also for all of us that hope in Christ :-).

In closing... thank you Peep for coming and sharing your lives and your hearts with us here in Atlanta. And also thank you for inviting me to participate in what you are doing and what God is doing through you through Bear Week and English Camps! It has been a privilege and I look forward to serving with you again real soon. To all reading this... he encouraged us to say "YES" to participating with them... through praying for Estonia, through giving of our resources, to GOing to Estonia to serve, and through telling others what's going on... which is really my point of writing this blog tonight.