Several things have come together on this visit to Estonia (and Ukraine) unlike any other trip I've taken previously. The Church has gone through slow growth in the Baltic republics with a number of disappointments. As I mentioned in my last post I was very pleased with positive series of developments. We do not want to thwart what God is doing in people's lives, but we also want to wisely use our time and resources. Things are looking very positive and we want to build from what we are seeing.

Printing literature in Estonian and Russian, especially the United Church of God Bible Study Course has brought along on a number of new people who seem genuinely interested in becoming Christians . A few have already made that commitment. Further, weekly Church services on Skype from the United States conducted mostly by Johnnie Lambert from New York have further strengthened and created a sense of community among these people. I definitely sensed a great improvement during this visit both at our church services and our social outing on Sunday.

This morning I met with Pahvo and Mare Pihlac, directors of Pere Raadio (Family Radio) in Tartu. This is a one of two Christian radio networks in Estonia. They have been operating now for ten years. They broadcast 24 hours a day in both Estonian and Russian. Their main studios are here in Tartu with satellite studios in Tallinn and some basic studio generated programs from Narva and other places.

Theirs has been a work of love and sacrifice going against great odds to be on the air. They had an AM broadcasting tower built by Towers for Jesus in Indiana for the purpos of extending their nighttime signal which will cover much of Europe during the night . One of the photos with this post shows the pattern of radio listeners responses. You see heavy responses in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. But, Russian-speaking people in other countries in Western Europe are also responding.

We have printed 3000 copies of the first lesson of the Russian Bible Study Course with printing of the next five lessons coming quickly. We will advertise these lessons on this radio station PereRaadio (Family Radio). Responses from Estonia will be serviced by our members here in Tartu. Outside of Estonia the fulfillments will be done by the Sabbath-keepers in Khust in Transcarpathia.

Paavo, his wife Mare and I had a great conversation for over two hours outside the window of the studio where Pia Paris was doing a live morning radio program with on air interviews. The issue of the day was discussion about a statue being built in the United States to Billy Graham. The uproar in Estonia, which has left over mentality from the USSR is that statues were built to top government politicians who were revered as deity . Never was a statue, interestingly, built to someone who was still living. The thought of building a statue to a living pastor was puzzling and upsetting to some. Pia, the voice of the program, was interviewing a religious studies professor at Tartu University who explained that in the United States there is another view of statues which are an expression of gratitude or appreciation to a person's work.

After the program Pia Paris came out and we talked with her for awhile. She told us that she was Lutheran and part of a woman's monastery called the "Sisters of St. Augustine." She was a pleasant 26 year old young lady with a sense of humor. She said that if her brother married Paris Hilton, her name would have to be changed to Paris Paris.

We went around the different studios of the Estonian and Russian parts of the radio station and met with Anton and Svetlana who worked in the Russian division. I gave them a CD of Christian songs in the Russian and Ukrainian . They are always looking for new music. I had known these people from former visits, but this was the most substantive discussions that we had. Some of the Russian staff were heading to Narva for a three day seminar about the Book of Revelation.

When Johnny Lambert comes here in July more specifics will be discussed about advertising our Study Course in both Russian and another new campaign to build Estonian demand for the course. I feel an excitement about a focused campaign to preach the true Gospel of Jesus Christ to people in Eastern Europe. This radio station is a portal for us to reach them. With Paavo we discussed the future of broadcasting and Internet which he is very much on top of.

I was going to take a taxi or walk back to my hotel about two and a half miles away, but he insisted on driving me back to the Tartu city center.

The three ladies I'm with on this trip, my wife Bev, Katherine and Kassy spent the morning shopping. I ran into them on the City Hall square. It's another hot day. As I walked to the hotel I was approached by a Mormon missionary with the Book of Mormon in Estonian. He looked like a policeman and I thought that I was being cited for possibly jay walking. We had a pleasant exchange as I told him I admired his church's teaching on family values.

Tomorrow we take the bus back to Tallinn in the morning and Bev and I will fly on to Kemi in northern Finland. Katherine and Kassy return to the United States via Frankfurt, Germany where they will overnight.

In Kemi our plan is to visit a family resettled from a Thai refugee camp. The gentleman is a member of the United Church of God. His wife wishes to be baptized. If all goes according to plan, we should baptize her in the northernmost point of the Baltic Sea in the Gulf of Bothnia. Checking the weather maps, our temperature there will be 20 degrees cooler than here and it will be the longest day of the year and the sun will not set. Should be interesting.

We have been blessed being here at the Pallas Hotell with a great WIFI Internet connection. In Ukraine we had all but given up where we were. Keep checking back for further new as our journey continues.......