November 2021 Prayer Requests

Thank you so much for your prayers.  It is wonderful to know that there are friends in different parts of the world who pray for us.

First of all, I ask you to pray for the situation in our country.  Unfortunately, Estonia is at the top of the list in the world for Covid-19 infection rates. The measures the government has taken have not been enough and the situation is out of hand. Society, in general, is very polarized and there is a lot of frustration. Please pray that God would keep us safe, that the infection rate would go down, and that God would bring healing to our nation.

In September, we had a wonderful pastors’ gathering. It was a great time of fellowship and learning about church growth.  Please pray that all of the Methodist congregations in Estonia would grow and fulfill their mission of bringing people to know Jesus Christ.

Please pray for the new Russian-speaking Methodist congregation that is being planted – Hope Church. They started meeting in October and we are thankful for the first people who have already come to the services. Please pray that this church would grow and for the team.

We would like to ask for your prayers for the Seminary accreditation process which is coming up in November.

Continue to pray for the healing of Olav Pärnamets.

Please pray for our student body to stay healthy physically and spiritually and united in fellowship. We are sad that many have been sick, attending to the sick family members and many cannot attend in person due to restrictions. We miss being in fellowship.

We praise God that the seminary is off to a good start this year. Students are active and engaged and it is a blessing to have such a large first-year class!

Pray for the seminary particularly during November 22-24 as we will be meeting with the European accreditation committee. Pray that the interviews with faculty, staff, students, and alumni are positive fruitful as they review our school’s credentialing.

Continue to pray for Estonia and government officials as they weigh how to deal with an increased presence of the coronavirus in Estonia. Pray that they will make wise decisions that consider the physical, emotional, economic, and spiritual health of people and the nation.

UMC Youth work

Our youth board took some time off in autumn in order to map the current situation and recharge ourselves. We are thankful for Jana Tamm, who is helping to assess the process and is encouraging us. I am thankful for our team that they notice and encourage our youth! They encourage me as well!

God has given me 10 youth with mental health problems during the past month. I am praying to have a vision, how to help them on a wider level rather than just through individual counseling.

On the 21st of November, we are gonna have a gathering for youth leaders and teams in Paide. Let us pray for youth to be encouraged and lifted.

We are planning our New Year’s Eve camp as well, let us pray for God’s inspiration and anointing.

UMC Räpina

We need the fresh touch and strength of heaven to continue the work.

We are about to start with a new homegroup- may God lead and bless the new beginning.

May God bring forward the new leader of our church building project.

Our son Benjamin is going through a difficult period. He is an awesome man of Christ. Let us keep him in our prayers.

When I look back, I am particularly grateful for the opportunity to participate in the meeting of our church leaders from Central and Eastern Europe. This gave me a great time to learn and get insights into the developments in these churches.

I am also thankful for new opportunities to do some online teaching at Emory University.

Please pray for me as I am going to participate in some very difficult conversations in November for certain conflicts in my region in Europe.

We praise the Lord that the church anniversary brought together several, who had not been in a church for a while. Our city mayor and assistant city mayor were in church and thanked us for the co-work.

We had youth group again after some time away, it was a blessing! We had a chance to go to Lithuania with Aldersgate and realize that the Lord had made church stronger amidst Coronavirus. After that, the restrictions increased.

Pray for a 12 years old boy with epilepsy, he needs brain surgery. Pray, that could have a possibility for this surgery, in the time of a pandemic. And if it happens, then pray for success.

Pray for our covid-positive people, for their full recovery.

Pray that our church activities could continue. We are thankful for web possibilities but pray for real-life meetings also.

Pray for the GLS meeting, both on the web and in place, that it will be a blessed time! The GLS takes place on 12-13 of Nov.

We thank God that the children had a nice autumn school break and we were able to visit many interesting places with them. We are grateful that God has taken care of us and for the volunteers that have brought a lot of clothes and other necessary equipment to the children’s center.

The coronavirus situation has worsened in Estonia this month, leading to the closure of many schools in Tallinn and switching to distance learning. We pray for the children and young people whose mental health has suffered in the past year due to unstable situations, the fear of the future, and other worries that are troubling many young people today.

Thank you for your prayers, the teen camp in October was a success.

Please pray for the possibility of preserving the conduct of services for children and adolescents. Restrictions are getting tougher in our country.

Also, support the youth in prayer. Let us pray for the strengthening of their spirit and faith.

On November 20, we will host an AVE Tallinn worship evening at our church.

The Seminary will have an accreditation review visit on November 23 and 24^th. This is organized by the government, which means the specialists on the commission are from European university theology faculties who approach theology as a neutral academic discipline, not as spiritual preparation for Church ministry.  Pray that God would give us the wisdom to respond to their questions, pray that His will would be done and that we would come out of this (regardless of the result) better equipped to fulfill His mission.
Coronavirus numbers have hit new record highs in Estonia, hospitals are nearing the breaking point, social tension and polarization are increasing. It is a very stressful time. Pray for health, strength, peace, and patience to continue to serve in the midst of this.