June 2022 Prayer Requests

Dear friends!

It was wonderful to see many of you at the Friends of Estonia virtual gathering in May! It was wonderful to reconnect, share news and pray together! Especially thank you to co-chairs Carl and Page Henry and Andy Morris for making it happen! We are thankful to God for this wonderful time.

Please pray for the Annual Conference of our church that will take place June 17-19 in Tallinn. Please pray that it would be an encouraging time and God would give us wisdom as we discuss the ministry in Estonia and discern the future directions and visions. Also please pray for pastors who will be having new appointments that God would bless them in the transitions.

Please continue to pray for peace in Ukraine, for this war to stop, and for us as we do our small part in helping the refugees who we are in contact with here in Estonia.

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

Spring is a stressful time in the lives of students and teachers. Let’s pray that God will give us freshness, patience, and strength to endure to the end.

Let us pray for the preparation for camps. May God lead us to form the teams and lead us discipling young people.

Summer is the time for serving young people. May God give all team members moments to rest and refresh.

Let us pray especially for Benjamin, whose basketball academy has difficult choices regarding the future.

At the end of June, we are planning a retreat for the youth team. Let it be a restart. My desire is for God to expand our land.

Right now when I write these lines (in Budapest, Hungary), I have returned from the trip to Ukraine where I have been with some UMNews and UMCOR people to learn more about the situation, meet our church and listen to the stories of refugees. This trip has included meetings in Czechia and Hungary and will continue as we learn of the ministries with Ukrainian refugees in Romania. I am deeply thankful to God that he has protected us and the whole trip (which has been pretty complicated logistically) has been a tremendous blessing.

For June my main prayer is for our Estonia Annual Conference where some very significant issues are expected to come up. Lord, give us all insight and guidance, courage and humility!

In June, I have two speaking engagements at the upcoming European Lay Seminar in Italy. One session of teaching focuses on the different contexts where we minister in Europe, the other about the future of our church in Europe. You see that these are very delicate and challenging topics to speak about for the broader European lay audience. Please pray for wisdom and understanding so that I can share what the Lord wants me to share.

Thank you for your prayers.

Pray for all our children and young people that they will finish the school year well.   Pray for seminary students as well, especially for graduating ones.

Pray for Annual Conference, pray for wisdom to make the right decisions.

Pray for peace in Ukraine and in Estonia as well.

Friends, I sincerely thank everyone and you and was glad to pray with you, share needs and joys.

We have a new wonderful youth leader in our community Oleksandr Gorodylovsky (horodylovskyi@gmail.com) and I think it would be right to give him the opportunity to maintain friendly relations with you instead of me. Oleksandr will write you a letter next month.

In the meantime, I ask you to support us in prayer once again.

On June 1, we held a meeting of the youth camp team. Please continue to pray that the Spirit of God will touch the hearts of young people in a special way.

From June 12 to June 19, the city will host a city event in which the youth will participate as a prayer team. Support in intercessory prayer, may God give the spirit of repentance to people.

On June 24, the team leaves for the camp for preparatory work and on June 27, the youth camp starts.

Once again, I sincerely thank all the friends of Estonia for your spiritual support, and simply for the unique friendship, thank you.

God bless you.

Greetings from Children Center Lighthouse!

We thank God for the success of the children in learning, despite all difficulties, and are coming to the end of their class. Let us be in prayer for the few who have struggled and continue to work hard.

Please pray for a 13-year-old girl from Ukraine, who came to Estonia from a village near Mariupol with her aunt and aunt’s daughter. A message came this week that her father and grandfather have died in Ukraine. We pray for God’s presence and comfort for this girl.

We also pray for the blessing of the summer camp and summer events and God’s protection of the children!

God bless you!