Thursday, April 7, 2016

April Update - A2 Kogudus

In March, we launched our first Elu Grupp (Life Group) in our new church plant. We are calling the church A2 Kogudus or A2 Church. The meaning of the name comes from Acts chapter 2 where the early church met together in homes, broke bread together, learned from the apostles, and grew in number. Our first Elu Grupp began at the end of March and we meet every week. We are excited to begin this group as the first of many!

We took a day trip to Finland for my and Crystal’s 15th anniversary. It is a short 2-hr ferry ride from Tallinn to Helsinki. The boat we were on had a Burger King and the girls posed for a photo.
We were greeted on the first day of spring with snow. Fortunately it didn’t last too long. It melted two days later and now all of it has melted. Spring is here!
In order to arouse interest in the church in the area that we are planting, we are planning a family day at the end of May to which families can bring their kids. It will be similar to a carnival with various games, snacks, face painting, balloon animals, and prizes for when they leave. We are hoping that God brings many families to this free event where we can get to know them and be able to personally invite them to our Elu Grupp as well as to our children’s group that we will begin in the fall when school begins again.

We had a great day worshipping at Kalju on Easter. Some of the songs have been translated from modern worship songs into Estonian. It was awesome to praise the Lord on Easter. Ta on ülestõusnud! 
Here are the kids with their Easter candy from one of their grandparents in the States. They enjoyed it very much!
Language school has been going well. We asked our instructor to help us better prepare for the Estonian national tests for the A2 and B1 language levels. We now have much more homework, but it is good because it is getting us ready for those tests. In order to get a five-year living permit, we have to pass at least the B1 language level test. I am going to sit for the B1 test in May and Crystal will sit for the A2 test also in May. She will then sit for her B1 test in September.

We are excited for what is happening and can’t wait to see what God will do!

Please pray for the following:
  • Pray for continued partnership development and relationship building.
  • Pray for our new church plant to grow and to be a light to the community.
  • Pray for our upcoming family day that God would bring many people.
  • Pray for the people taking part in the Alfa course ending in April that God would soften their hearts and they would come to know Jesus as Savior.
  • Pray that God would help us to use the Estonian language more fluently.
If you or someone you know would like to support the mission and vision that God has given us for Estonia, then send your checks payable to BMAA Missions with “Mission:Estonia Work” in the memo line.  Mail them to the BMAA Missions Office at:

BMAA Missions
P.O. Box 878
Conway, AR 72033

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1 comment:

Coleen said...

Justin, Crystal,

Good to catch up with you guys. It's been a long time. May the Lord bless all you are doing. Following on Twitter now.

Love,

Coleen