Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings from Estonia! We have fully enjoyed our beautiful summer weather. This has been the first real hot summer in years. We trust that you have been enjoying your summer to take time to relax, reflect and to get away from the daily pressures of life. We wanted to send you a very brief update on the happenings here in Estonia and our work with NLI.
Bulgaira YLTC
In June I (Rod) was in Bulgaria for the planning of our last YLTC (Youth Leaders Training Conference) which will take place in November. The results of the conference have been good as many young leaders have taken on leadership roles in established youth ministries and in planting new ministries. While meeting with Traycho and Ina (Bulgarian nation youth directors for the Pentecostal Union) in June they shared with me some of the leadership transitions that are happening in the Pentecostal Union. Traycho and Ina are hoping that at the YLTC in November they will be able to arrange a meeting with the new leader of the Union. This would be a chance to partner with the Pentecostal Union with the challenges that they face.
Serbia
In October I (Rod) will be going back to Serbia to meet with one of our NLI partners in Serbia. Two years ago we were together for training the emerging leaders in the Pentecostal church. Our meeting in October will be about further partnership and projects in Serbia as we discuss the needs and challenges in Serbia. One of the major challenges that the Serbian Pentecostals face is public alienation, as the Pentecostals are considered a cult by the general public. This has made it very challenging for the church to meet in public and to own property. By partnering with the Serbians we want to bring encouragement, resources and the power of developing collective solutions to the problems.
Personal
As mentioned before this has been a beautiful summer in terms of the weather. We have fully enjoyed most of the benefits of the summer weather. This summer though our personal focal point has been fixing the house. We hope to have the 1st floor somewhat ready by the end of September, this will give us an additional 700 square feet, which will be great even if all of it is not ready. It will be nice for the 4 of us to not be squished in 500 square feet. We are very excited for this development.
Emily and Mattias are enjoying the summer as well, both of the kids love to be outside. This year Emily is riding her bike up and down the street and begging Kaja and I on a regular basis to take her out on the bike or to the park so she can go on the swings.
We hope that you enjoy the rest of the summer, we greatly appreciate your prayers and support.
Out of the Boat
Rod, Kaja, Emily & Mattias
Prayer Requests
1. Bulgaria YLTC: most of the key details are finished, but I am in need of recruiting a another trainer
2. Serbia meetings: That Jesus would give us wisdom on how to partner further in the nation of Serbia
3. Kivisilla church: for the people that we are working with to come to faith in Jesus
Travel Schedule
1. September 12-18 UK (Next Level International meetings)
2. October 8-11 (Serbia)
3. October 24-29 (Israel: PAOC missionaries retreat)
