Download a .pdf of our Winter 2009 Prayer Letter here.
Dear Friends,
Merry Christmas to you from wintry Estonia! For some of you it has been quite a while since your last Edminster Update. Those with whom we were able to visit in March got to see the kids and hear our latest news in person. Others are reading our monthly “Corkboard” updates either on Edminsters.com or by email subscription. But I imagine if you are not in one of these two groups you might feel a little in the dark. So let us fill you in on what’s been happening.
A while ago Lea and I sat down and flipped through our pictures of the kids from last year. Not only have they molted a few clothing sizes, they have also hatched into little persons. Kevin has been in preschool this year and has really blossomed socially. During our trip to the States in March, he decided one day to start speaking English and now is quite comfortable switching between the two languages. On various other days he announced his decision to ride his bike without training wheels and to learn to read. Nobody knows when the switch will flip, but once it does he is full on. Miriam is enjoying being “two and a half years old” and is adding more items to her by-myself-list daily. She has been picking up phrases from both languages and now sings along with her lullabies and hollars to me from the kitchen, “dinnow is weady!” She loves to perform and frequently announces her arrival in the room with, “Miriam is here!”
In mid-March we scheduled a 10 day sprint to “Meet the Edminsters” in the US. Along the way, we were also able to meet up with many of you and catch you up on the last year. The kids held up so much better than Lea and I that upon arriving back in Tallinn Kevin declared, “Let’s go back to America tomorrow!” At the end of May, Kevin and I traveled together to Scotland to meet with other Alongsiders at our bi-annual Alongsider Gathering. Then in late June we loaded up the car and ferried over to Finland for a few days of camping in the archipelago. The kids have now accumulated more passport stamps in 6 months than I had before I graduated from High School (then again, we don’t get stamps for crossing state borders do we!).
As our family has grown our little one bedroom apartment has proved less than adequate. For the last year and a half, Lea and I have been sleeping on the hide-a-bed couch in our livingroom/office/ bedroom in order to make space for the kids. So in the Spring we began to search the neighborhoods around Tallinn for something a little bigger. In August we found a newly restored wooden building with apartments needing total renovation. The price was at rock bottom so we made our move. After about three months of building, we are finally entering the home stretch and are hoping beyond hope to be moved in before Christmas. But with the last few major projects drawing on scarce reserves, we may need to push things forward a bit. When at last we are moved in and furnished, our new digs will even have a guest room so come visit and give our new hide-a-bed a test.
The hub of our ministry in Estonia remains partnership with small congregations. Last winter I received approval to come on staff at the Viimsi Church as an unpaid associate pastor. In this capacity I preach once a month, conduct bi-weekly Bible studies, and provide pastoral care for our members. I have also been able to free our pastor to take a vacation – a luxury few Estonian pastors can afford to enjoy. Also, in partnership with the denomination I have been serving communion and preaching for a small, struggling, pastorless congregation in the countryside once a month for the last two years. The church recently welcomed a pastoral candidate marking a successful end of our relationship and my availability for a similar assignment in the new year. While I am still adjusting to the expectations and cultural nuances of my pastoral role and striving to leap linguistic hurdles, I am enjoying the privilege of serving the church in this capacity.
In addition to local pastoral ministry, we are continually on the lookout for ways to equip and encourage the wider Estonian church. Summers are generally occupied with these concerns and so I spent a large amount of effort last Spring preparing for a cross-cultural projects which were to form the bulk of our summer ministry. To my great disappointment, each of them unexpectedly fell through in the last two weeks of June. In spite of these setbacks, we were very encouraged by Liina-Ly Roos – a college student from the Viimsi congregation – who served as a summer Trainee at West Side Community Church in Richland, Washington.
One hidden benefit of this mix of project disappointments and one particular success was that it freed my schedule for some rest and reflection. During this time I was able to take a look at what sort of summer ministries were really meeting our goals of discipling young people, engendering mission mindedness and connecting and encouraging congregations within our ministry network. I concluded that with the exception of a few special projects, internships exchanges like Liina-Ly’s have proven to be far and away the most effective means of meeting all three goals. For three summers now we have paired an intern with a host congregation from within our network of ministry partners. I also realized that a number of Estonian ministries have emerged in our absence that are excelling in some of the areas we thought needed attention. It seems in sum that the way of wisdom then is to improve connections, free potential and support individuals within our network of churches and supporters rather than trying to effect this same potential by our own efforts.
In the midst of all our activity, Lea and I seldom get to minister together anymore. Our professions demand different times of the day and week and we easily get spread thin. However in the last year we have greatly enjoyed accompanying couples preparing for marriage using a “home-based” marriage preparation program we learned at Regent. Last April we presented the approach at a weekend seminar and the material was so well received that we translated it into Estonian and have invited the authors – Paddy and Carole Ducklow – to lead a training seminar in April 2010. You can read more about our use of the Ducklow’s program at www.edminsters.com/ministry/marriage.
Thank you so much for freeing us this year to minister locally, regionally and cross-culturally alongside the Estonian Church. Remember that you can find monthly updates, in depth articles and descriptions of our ministry at www.edminsters.com. You can also help us save time and money by subscribing to either automatic RSS or email delivery from the site. If you do stop by, leave a comment or drop us a note. We love to hear from you!
Blessings from the Edminsters!
Matt, Lea, Kevin & Miriam
