Estonia, Lighthouse, Monday, June 7, 2010

After arriving on Friday, we spent the rest of the evening trying to stay awake, so that we could get our days and nights switched around. I made it until about 8:00 (That’s 4:00 AM), I gave in and went to bed. Saturday was a little easier, and we spent the day with Mall, the Lighthouse Director, as she walked around Old Town in Tallin with us. We saw numerous old buildings and churches. We got ready for Sunday services. I was playing the piano for the service at Baltic Methodist Center, so I spent some time practicing. There is a piano on the lower floor of the building where we are staying.

In our little apartment, we are able to fix our own breakfast, and make coffee, etc. We have interesting experiences buying groceries at the store since everything is in either Russian or Estonian. We bought some cereal that we thought was granola, but it was cooked cereal. It really tasted funny, too. I had different grains in it, like corn, flax, and other seeds. I have to say that it did stick to my ribs, though!

On Sunday, we took a tram down to the BMC and I was asked to play extra music for the prelude. I just chose a few songs from the hymnal, and played for about 10 minutes before the service. I also played "I Sing the Mighty Power" later during the service. We were all introduced as friends of Estonia, as our church, Asbury UMC, has given a lot to help establish and build this church. It is a beautiful building and a very modern structure. It is striking to look at the city and see the very old against the very new.

This morning, on Monday, we walked the short mile to the Lighthouse. We hurried about, getting things ready, and the children arrived around 11:00. We did some craft projects with the children, and then they ate lunch. We then did music and puppets. They did very well with "William Tell Overture" and " Ode to Joy" on boomwhackers. We added the bells to "Ode to Joy" and then did "Amazing Grace" on bells. They did pretty well. We played "Alice the Camel has 10 humps" and also sang "Jumpin’ for Jesus". We were really moving fast this morning!! Jan did a puppet song that was "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" with Christian words. The kids seemed to enjoy it.

While we were doing all of this, Wayne and Dave were working on putting a toilet in a bathroom. As Wayne would have guessed, when you do plumbing, there seems to always be something needed that is missing. They went to the store with a translator, and later returned with it. They are still working as I am typing. I know that they would like to get it done, so they can get to other repairs and painting.

I should be able to update you daily this week, as I have access to a computer after the children are gone.

Thanks for your prayers.

Wayne and Judy