The Corkboard – October 2009

The Apartment on Köie Street

The last couple of months have flown by at lightning speed. At our last update, I mentioned that we were working to secure a loan so that we could purchase and renovate an apartment we found closer to town. Earlier attempts throughout the summer to build on the family property in Viimsi had been hampered by bureaucracy and neighborhood negotiations. In the end we simply ran out of time and what plans we had been able to make expired. We decided to check the listings once more before retiring our efforts until Spring. Lo and behold, the apartment at Köie Street caught our attention. In the remainder of the month of August then, we filled out applications, requested evaluations and jumped through endless hoops until finally in early September, we sat down in the notary’s office to sign away our next 30 years. Finally on Wednesday the 16th, the realtor met us on the property and handed over the keys. The following Monday we began a renovation project which will hopefully have us moved into a functional living space (though probably only partially finished) by Christmas. You can follow our progress on the blog and you can find the latest pictures of each week’s work in our “Köie Apartment” picture album.

The four of us are now engaged in our normal school-year activities. We found a preschool in the same neighborhood as the Köie St. apartment and were able to enroll both Kevin and Miriam. We had some doubts about making the switch from Kevin’s last preschool and enrolling little Miriam but both have taken to school like fish to water. They love the social environment and seem to be making quick friends and their teachers are great. Lea is back to school with her standard load and has also been given some English courses for upper grades. She continues to excel in all she does and gets a lot out of her work there. Now that summer break has ended for our parishioners, I am back to a weekly schedule of Bible studies and preaching. What time is not put into preparing for these I spend organizing events and projects for the coming months, attending meetings, and trying desperately to keep up with my always lagging communications.

August marked the completion of the kids new playhouse (sandbox and enhancements scheduled for later) which gave me some sense of having accomplished something visible during the summer. Then in September, a congregational work crew gathered for “talgud” – the Estonian equivalent of a barn raising applied to any monumental task. This year we’d been given a mammoth load of logs to be cut, chopped and stacked for our winter heating needs. The crew was assembled in the hopes that we could cut and chop the majority. But never underestimate the work ethic and determination of Estonians. Morning til evening we worked away until every last piece was stacked nicely in four beautiful head-high rows. A few even stayed behind to sweep the parking lot. And to top it all off, it rained during the night so in the morning you couldn’t even tell we’d been there.

In mid September I joined a group of men from the Ristee Church in Tartu on a roadtrip to the Josiah Venture conference in Malenovice, Czech Republic. After a summer of project disappointments I was looking forward to some time away from Estonia to gather my thoughts and seek guidance on the way ahead. The time we spent together on the road (18 hours each way!) and the conference itself proved to be exactly what was needed. The teaching was a straightforward call back to fruitfulness and simple discipleship. I was struck by the fact that in planning projects and filling standard pastoral duties I had drifted somewhat from the call to focus attention on a few people and journey together with them on the road to discipleship.

Here’s a look at what’s coming for the month of October:

1. Köie St. Renovation
2. Driving School (the epic continues!)
3. Preach (10th) and Bible studies (7th and 21st) in Viimsi
4. Marriage Mentoring (8th)
5. Köie Fight Club and Film Night (9th)
6. Family Radio Devotions (18th-24th)
7. Rakke Church Anniversary (25th)
8. Lea’s Fall Break (26th-1st)