July 2022 Prayer Requests

Dear Friends of Estonia!

Thank you for your prayers for the Methodist church in Estonia!

We are thankful to God for the Annual Conference which took place June 17-19, where we talked a lot about the state of the church and its different ministries, had much fellowship and prayer with each other, and also celebrated the ministry of two retiring pastors Hans Lahi and Sergei Sutskov. It was a blessed time.

At the Annual Conference an important decision was made about the future of the Methodist Church in Estonia: with the majority of 96% in favor, the conference decided to begin the disaffiliation process from the United Methodist Church. This process will take about a year and will be completed at the next year’s Annual Conference. In the meantime, there are no changes in the way our church or its different ministries will function. We hope that in spite of the future changes, we will keep the friendships and connections with our dear friends in different parts of the world as we continue to fulfill the Lord’s mission in Estonia.

Please pray for different summer camps that are taking place and for the upcoming summer conference at the beginning of August.

We are thankful to each and every one of you for your prayers!
May the Lord bless you!

The Seminary is now resting. When looking back we are so grateful for God’s love and providence that carried us through the last school year. We are also very grateful to all our supporters. Praying for the new year, the new class of incoming students and for the war in Ukraine to end.

We just finished a youth camp with Russian-speaking young people. It was a very blessed time. We experienced how God served, freed, and touched young people in a special way. I see how, year after year, God strengthens our cooperation. I have been able to recover and rest a little. We are currently planning a teenage camp. The continued prayer request that God send adult co-workers. I need a week’s rest at the end of July. We pray that it will succeed!

I am grateful for many encounters this past month. I was able to accompany our new missionary Eliad from Brazil who works with the homeless in the center of Rome, Italy. I enjoyed the fellowship of many lay people from all across Europe in the European Lay Seminar in Velletri, Italy. I thank God for the inspiration and guidance I received to serve this group with several lectures about European contexts and developments.

Now I thank God for the opportunity of having a short vacation time.

Like many others I continue to pray for the refugees from Ukraine, for our beloved UMC in Ukraine who serves the suffering, and I continue to pray for peace.

The hot summer has arrived to Estonia, but also signs of openness and spiritual spring are here. June has been busy with several graduations, and finishing groups, that have worked throughout the year:

Some young adults graduated from university with BA or MA degrees. They have been working hard and longer towards it, and now the victory is great!!! Celebrate Recovery group for women who graduated at the beginning of June. Some of the women experienced very hard times, recovering from hard divorce, sicknesses, work loss, grief, etc, but the testimonies were great that the Lord built a strong foundation in their life and blessed their lives.

Praise God, after two corona years, this year’s youth ministry was able to continue through the year and bear fruit…
Some new people started to come to church regularly and the fellowship and God´s presence are becoming stronger. Healing ministry has become stronger. At the Annual Conference, it was decided that Our South-Estonian area will be a pilot project for pastoral team ministry and we are excited about it. We have done it for some time, but now is official and we can combine it with our strengths together. Thea started to study family therapy.

Prayers: After some time 1-3 July – Aldersgate Holy Spirit Seminar to Latvia (first time in Latvia)
During summer vacation and youth camps, many youths will dedicate their lives to God
Thea´s work in children-home and summer camp to Saaremaa 4-7.07
Financial difficulties of many people, because of inflation (especially gas price and electricity)
Ukrainian ministry (3 Ukrainian people started to come to Võru church and also to Ruusmäe – to find a good Russian-Estonian translator
Summer social project together with Võru city social department in our church (this year 3 days (2 for Estonians and 1 for Ukrainian children) – to share Christian message with them

Pray for our pastors and their families. We are thankful for our new part-time pastor.

Pray for our people, that they will have a great summertime and at the same time a closer and intimate relationship with God.

Pray for summer-time services, that people will come to church. Pray for our media team. We are thankful for these possibilities.

Pray for peace in Estonia!

I am thankful for the nice weather in Estonian summer. Thank God I am also off of my other work in the next two weeks. It is a good time to enjoy some vacation and reload my batteries in the nice Estonian summer.

Please pray for the upcoming VBS in Agape Church in Pärnu, July 19 to 21. Please pray for volunteers, who can join the team. Please pray for fresh energy for everyone on the team. Please pray also for more children will come to listen to Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Please pray for youth weekend on July 16 to 17. It´s been one of the biggest youth programs in Agape church for several last years. Please pray for new kids will join Agape´s youth group.

Please pray for fresh leadership skills to me. I feel I need to move on to the congregational leadership. I can´t hold on to the safe zone. I am looking for God to show His glory in Agape church in some new ways. Also, I am looking for God´s blessing in the congregation by the new people who will come to know Jesus Christ.

Blessings!

Here are Children Center Lighthouse prayer needs:

Thank you for your prayers! We had such a wonderful time at the summer camp. It was amazing to see how our children of different ages and nationalities were involved in different activities together and were taking care of each other. We are grateful to God that our dear friends from Calvary UMC, Nashville, TN was able to be with us this year, it was such a blessing for us. We’re praying that God’s word, which was sown in our children’s hearts in the camp, could grow and show great fruits in the future.

We’re praying together for one boy in the Children’s center, who is living with his Grandfather, who is really sick, that he can’t get up from bed. Children Protection (government agency) was visiting the grandfather during the camp and said that the kid either has to be taken to an orphanage or find foster care. We’re praying that we could have the best solution for the kid.

We’re also praying for the summer vacation, that God would protect us and give strength for the next season.

May God bless you!

• We will be going to Lívia’s home in Brazil for the month of July (first visit home in 7 years). Pray that we will get the thorough and enjoyable rest we need to restore our strength as well as have good conversations with family, friends, and supporters.
• Pray that God would be calling men and women to apply to the Seminary to prepare for ministry. We need a big first-year class!
• Pray for Karl who has graduated from high school and now is starting 11 months of required military service in Estonia.
• Mark’s 91-year-old mother is currently in hospital in Canada having generally simply weakened. Pray for her and especially for his sister Marcia who carries the responsibility to look after her. Mom is very much looking forward to heaven. Pray that Marcia would have the emotional strength she needs, and be able to see God’s hands around them through this time.