A Change Gonna Come

One day, our blog is not gonna have a thing in it about health stuff. Today's not that day, but it's coming, promise.

We've been in Budapest for the past week getting checked out by the awesome doctors at the awesome facilities there. Turns out Josh's stomach problems have been caused by a bacteria and they're easily fixed with some medication. I also had an MRI taken of my knee, and it'll be about a week before I know definititively what's going on and what will have to be done for it. It seems likely that it's a meniscus tear and might have to be fixed surgically. So, we'll both have to get some follow-up stuff done pretty soon. The main thing is that we are incredibly thankful for the support of our organization. They're a well run machine when stuff like this comes up.

Also, being in Budapest made us feel super fluent in Estonian. You don't realize how much language you've learned until you go somewhere and don't know a word.

We're totally excited about this coming week. We're going to our regional conference, which means a chance to get back together with some friends and colleauges, speak English, be loud Americans, share our experiences from the past couple months, get new ideas, and new energy to come back out again. It's going to be a great time.

Also we're hopeful that when we get back, we'll have some new friendships develop out of acquaintences. It's going to be great to see how God moves.

The Hope Festival

A week ago, Estonia hosted Franklin Graham and a hand-full of bands from around the globe. Some of the musicians were Americans: Dennis Ajadarian (the Guinness Book of World Record's fastest guitar player), John and Anne Barbour, and Michael W. Smith; yet, there were also a variety of European based musicians (from Ukraine, Russia, Finland, and a few of Estonia's own). One Estonian artist in particular, Tõnis Mägi, is very popular, and it was really powerful to hear his songs, usually played in a secular context, reconsidered by his fans in light of the message of the cross. 

As one of the videos I posted earlier said, for many, the Hope Festival may be the only Christian based event they have ever been invited to or attended. We considered it a blessing to be there as our Estonian brothers and sisters were energized again through gathering together; moreover, to see our community of faith grow. We pray, and hope you'll join with us in praying, that a simple alter call won't be the end of the spiritual journey for those who felt compelled to go down. We pray that their experience would grow richer and more powerfully as they are drawn into relationship with the Living God. And, we pray that the festival would not be a weekend event, but a catalyst for the country of Estonia. 

Hope in Estonia