Olga and I are now in Finland. We’re here with Olga’s mother, Tanya, our ‘sister’ Violeta from Montenegro, and our good friend Natasha from Russia. Once again we’re staying at the little cabin by the lake, which comes complete with beautiful sunsets. (Just so you know — it takes us about 5 hours to drive here from our home in St. Petersburg; it’s not too far at all.)

This is Natasha’s first time out of Russia, and it’s been great fun to see her experience a new culture for the first time. She said she never imagined how people could care for the land so much. Her understandings of stewardship, order and beauty are being broadened. It is a beautiful country, and this is a great time of year to visit.

We’ve had quite a busy summer. I’ve been in Montenegro, Estonia and Russia, and I recently returned from a very quick trip to the US. Jet lag is my familiar friend.  The ministry has been rewarding and full of life. Olga has stayed closer to home and has had good time with family. We’re both very thankful to be together and able to rest a little.

New opportunities seem to arise all the time. We look forward to telling you more about them in the coming months. It seems that Estonia continues to present itself as a land of opportunity, and we are starting on a big project in Russia.

For now, though, we are content and happy to be here at Koppero.