Here is the view looking over the Adriatic as we drove down the coast from the airport in Dubrovnik, Croatia to Zeta, Montenegro. What a wonderful world.
Olga’s brother-in-law Zhelyan and his mother, Slavitsa, met me at the airport and got me safely home. Alla (Olga’s sister) and her son Andrei were here to welcome me. It’s great to be with family.
But I’ve been awake for about 30 hours, so it’s time to hit the hay.
Here’s some news about our flat in Estonia. For a while I’d been thinking about finding a ministry flat in Johvi. Olga, Valerie and I will spend more time in Estonia over the coming year or two (as we build the center for disabled children), and I thought it would be good to have a home base in Johvi. I’ve also wanted to find a place where Christian workers in Russia can take a retreat.
I found a place earlier this year. I’ve only been inside it once. I looked at it before returning to Russia (and coming to the US) and then worked out a deal with the owner, an Estonian lady who now lives in the UK. She is willing to rent it to us for just the cost of utilities. I offered to remodel the bathroom, since it was in pretty bad shape.
Members of the church recently finished remodeling the bathroom, so it’s like new now. The flat is within walking distance from the bus station; it’s important to have easy access for people coming from Russia. It has one bedroom and a living room. The kitchen and bedroom had already been remodeled. It has a washing machine (which is nice), new windows and new heating. We just had WiFi internet installed. The living room needs some work, and so that’s next on the list of things to fix up.
A few people in Russia have already expressed interest in staying there. This is perhaps the first step toward my hope to have a Christian guest house in Estonia. I hope this flat will become a sanctuary, a place of rest and retreat.
here’s the way the bathroom looked before:
I leave for Montenegro tomorrow. I’ll be there for a week and will report on that trip when I return. It will be great to visit our friends there.
For now — here’s a picture of Valerie with her new hat and ‘baby backpack’; both were gifts from friends. Valerie is having a great visit. And she’s already speaking some English!
Here’s a bit of familiana (I don’t think that’s a word, but it’s like Americana) from a recent breakfast. Valerie thought I was going to take a picture, but she didn’t know I was making a video.
Another good one by the Isaacs.
We arrived safe and sound on Monday evening. We had some trouble with our visas and had to re-route our trip after we arrived in Munich (long story). This added a few hours to our trip, but all is well.
Valerie did great on the flight(s). We were expecting some air-sickness, but she was a trooper. She enjoyed the airports and airplanes.
In order to fulfill my role as an American, a first stop was a visit to Walmart. Actually, we needed to buy Valerie new shoes since all we had were her heavy winter boots from Russia. While there, Grandmom saw a very nice bicycle. Sherry and Lynda had suggested a small bike, and some friends let us borrow a tricycle. But when we saw the bike we knew that would be better for Valerie. It took her a little while to get the hang of it, but she’s doing great now. I really enjoy introducing Valerie to new experiences.
We ran into Alisa Howen and her children and Julie Moore at the store. It was great to see friends and introduce them to Valerie on our first day in the country. We are surrounded by love.
We are so very thankful for the family God has given us.
Here’s another great old hymn by the Isaacs:
Driving from Tallinn to Johvi, one sees this —
There are eight at this location, and I could see the bases for eight more I assume they will assemble later this year.
These huge generators are quite different from other, older windmills in Estonia:
We had our second pizza night recently. Olga did a great job making the dough, and we used home-made sauce with Estonian cheese and Russian sausage.
Some friends carried over a pizza stone from the US for us, and that made all the difference. The pizza was so good that I forgot to take pictures of it (though I do need help learning how to use a pizza peel).
Valerie made her own little pizza, which turned out pretty well.
We were joined by Natasha and Anya, two young ladies who lived with us for a while. They are like family to us, and it was great to share the evening with them.
click on the thumbnails to see the full-sized picture
For those of you who want a Valerie fix —
She likes to sit in my lap and draw while I’m working:
Mike and Olga Cantrell 