Trip to Tallinn, Estonia

We are in Estonia for a couple days to apply for residence permits at the Latvian embassy. This trip is essential to our mission because we had to apply outside of Latvia before our visa free time is up. We had all the documents ready and we were excited to see the capitol of Estonia: Tallinn!

We drove up yesterday with the Yeats family in a borrowed minivan to Tallinn, a 5 hour trip. With the exception of a tired, crying kids and some crazy drivers, the trip went smooth, especially on the newly paved highway that ran North through the forest and along the Baltic coast. Steven drove and I navigated our way to the apartment I reserved online. Last night, after we got our kids settled in bed, I walked around scouting for the Latvian embassy and found their hours for visa issues were only 10am to 12 noon. Then I walked up to the top of the hill where the old town is. It looks like you stepped back in time 6 hundred years to explore narrow cobble stone streets and quaint buildings overshadowed by majestic cathedrals. Then I found probably the best view over the city and took pictures until the sun set around 11 PM - so late because of the summer solstice and because Estonia is so far north.

New Sunday night meeting

Tonight, we hosted our first weekly meeting for people who we met when street witnessing. Seven long-haired, 17 year old young men came with questions about what we believe and heard Steven and I share our testimonies from 8pm to 10:30pm. They actually spoke and understood English very well, so we were able to share freely how Jesus called us to himself. They listened intently and asked a lot of the same questions we asked ourselves before committing our lives to Christ. I think we related well to each other since I too was a long haired rocker in my late teens. I let them take turns playing my guitar in the background while we all talked seriously and ate cookies our wives brought out to us. They said they would come next week to begin learning what the Bible has to say and perhaps bring some girls so that our wives could share their testimonies too. Our meetings will start at 8pm after our kids go to bed, and it doesn't get dark until about 10:30 this far north. We might set up a circle of chairs right outside our front door like we did tonight, although we are thinking of buying a couch so that more people can comfortably sit inside where there are no bugs. Anyway, we are trusting the Lord to save some of these guys and to see them begin to live for Christ.

Ministry Opportunities

I'd like to tell you about some of the ways God has given us to serve Him in Ogre.

• Every Monday night we are committed to prayer. Lena and I pray with Steven and Teresa. We have been praying about how God wants us to begin ministering here.
• Thursday evening, Steven and I go to a men's fellowship and discuss discipleship.
• Friday night, the Lord put it on my heart to do evangelism in the center or parks where young people hang out. Many Latvian young people would rather speak English than Russian.
• Sunday morning, the baptist church has invited me to teach the Bible, which I am doing in Russian, verse by verse every week for 30 minutes. I started with 2 John and will go next to 3 John and then Jude. I am also leading worship (also in Russian) while their worship leader is out of town. This is a good experience for ministry while we are still seeking to form a fellowship of our own.
• We are still looking for a Latvian language teacher or beginners class but are learning a lot with books and out of necessity while shopping for food.
• With high speed Internet, I have been able to post more pictures and video on the web. I see this as a possible ministry to future missionaries who want to know what it is like trying to pioneer a new ministry on the mission field. If this ministers to you, please send me an email. We need more missionaries, the harvest is great but the laborers are few!
• Our kids are also important to minister to as we adjust to a new country. We are praying about putting Caleb in preschool so he can learn Latvian and make friends. Lily has been irritable lately, could be sick or just needs extra hugs. Please pray for our kids.

There are so many opportunities that its almost overwhelming, like sharing my testimony on a local TV program, or being a counselor at a Christian camp for 6 days or visiting a Latvian speaking church Sunday afternoon. I have to pray about these and hear from the Lord before getting over committed with various ministries that we neglect our main focus of church planting.

New photos: Walking through Ogre

Ogre, Latvia May ’07

Yeats family helping us get started

The Yeats (pronounced Yates) have joined our Latvia mission team for a season. They are our dear friends who we co labored with in Calvary Chapel Nizhyn, Ukraine years back, After serving the Lord in Ukraine for several years, the Lord called them to serve in the poor country of Moldova where they have been ministering to a small fellowship and Steven has been pastoring. Well, they have had trouble getting visas to stay in Moldova year round, so we have the honor of hosting them for the next 3 months.

Steven and Teresa along with their 8 month old baby, Aiden, are living with us and we are all praying together, getting acquainted with the city of Ogre together and serving together. They are a huge help to us personally and in the ministry. We will have team prayer meetings every Monday night, Steven and I will go street witnessing together and will take turns preaching in the baptist church next door. I appreciate their help and counsel as we seek wisdom from God for his strategy for planting a Calvary style church here. Thank God for the Yeats.

Jet lag

Hey all,
We made it to Latvia but we are suffering from jet lag, so we are all extremely exhausted and would appreciate your prayers for rest and health. I will write more about what we are doing soon but for now the theme verse in my heart is "Seek first His kindom and all these things shall be added unto you." from Matthew 6.

Thanks so much for your prayers. - Brenten, Lena, Caleb and Lily

May Prayer Requests

We give thanks to God for our sending church CCMB and for all your prayers on our behalf.

1. Please pray for our transition to full time church planting in Latvia
   (a) that travels would be smooth and that we would quickly overcome jet lag and get settled in our new home in Ogre.
   (b) that our weekly routines would be established by God, that we would be devoted to language study (Russian and Latvian), calvary home fellowships, teaching in Russian, evangelism, and prayer


2. Please pray for good relationships with those who are helping us get started in Latvia
   (a) for a good relationship with the Baptist church and pastor Vadim that has invited us and given us a place to live in Ogre as well as offer opportunities to teach in Russian and cooperation in various outreaches
   (b) for a good relationship with Steven and Teresa Yeats and their baby, who will be helping us for 3 months. We served with them in the beginning of Calvary Chapel Nizhyn, Ukraine. Steven is now pastoring in Moldova. The Lord has led them to help us get started in Latvia since they have to be out of Moldova for the next 3 months. May they be a blessing to our family and ministry. (c) for good relationships to be formed with those God sending us to minister to, that we would be Spirit-filled witnesses as we share the gospel and make disciples.