Progress Report 1_02

Tallinn, February 14, 2002

We hope this report finds you well. Since I last wrote, I think weatherwise we have had all the four seasons here in Estonia. But its winter and snow again at present and that is only fair, since we now have a proven record of being a skiing nation—there is a lot of excitement about the two Olympic medals from Salt Lake City.

Lighthouse has gone through some changes lately. One of them is that I am no longer a volunteer, but employed as a full time staff. I had to cut my teaching hours and be very selective about the courses I take in my MBA program. I feel it is a great privilege to work at the Lighthouse and be able to influence these young lives more directly. As a student of economy I’m also trying to apply what I’m studying. On a weekly basis we have staff meetings where we do case studies, evaluate performance and study leadership principles.

There are some very special victories. The VIM team from Dunwoody, GA surely remembers two siblings who they met on their visit in June. The 8-year old sweet little girl had just been thrown out by her mother and had no place to go. With a lot of negotiating we managed to get them to camps in summer. For some months, however, we didn’t hear much about them since a social worker had mandated they went to another center. Two weeks ago the brother and the sister came to us again and we soon found out they had been living among the plastic sacks of clothes in the shed in their own yard for four nights already. “Its nice and warm, the wind doesn’t get to you,” was their optimistic outlook on life. I made some phone calls and was able to place them to a state run shelter. I’m very happy about how professionally the children have been treated and helped, and they really seem to have found a safe haven, finally. They cannot, however, stay there forever and therefore we appreciate your prayers for the future of these children.

Not every day is so victorious that you can feel you’ve made a real difference in someone’s life. Sometimes the children’s home that has been chosen doesn’t suit for the child. Yesterday we witnessed a boy throwing a fit and his sister hiding under the table when two men from the children’s home came to pick them up. Both of these children have sniffed glue though the girl is only five years old. The boy who is about 11, has a serious brain damage from sniffing. Their older sister (13) is earning her living on the streets. There are no easy answers and together with the social worker we are trying to work on the solution.

And then there is the mundane fight with lice and dirty clothes, for example; The washing machine which we bought at a great discount (a favor from a Local Whirlpool office), takes care of the latter. With the former, staff have been in the shower with the little ones to help them with the anti-lice schampoo. The picture might look too grotesque, but actually, there is a lot of joy in it all. In some cases, we are the only positive influence in a child’s life. And its a great privilege as well as a great responsibility.

Today is Valentine’s Day. In Estonia we call it a Friend’s Day. At the Lighthouse we made two teams and they each had a different cooking assignment—a cheesecake and another cake which defies translation. Parents had been invited and there was a concert for them. It was a full house with over 20 children. At the end of the program we ate the cakes together. They were wonderful. We should probably do it again some time. All through the week there had been a “friendship mail box” on the table where everybody could put their friendly messages. Today it was opened and all the letters distributed. Some children had gone into great efforts to make nice postcards, especially for their teachers. It was certainly a pleasant surprise.

Since it is the beginning of the year, I would like to share our budget with you. The budget for 2002 is 40,000 dollars, where operation expense is roughly half of it and the other half is salary fund ($15,000 for 4,5 posts and 5,000$ for social tax). You are welcome to contact me for details. I guess before I started I never quite realized the enormity of the task of finding funding. At present we have one month’s money in the bank and a lot of uncertainty about the future. We have made through the first of the year and have even earned the so called “tax favor” status, but the reality is that any enterprise will still need to pay income tax on any sum contributed since its a non-related expense as far as their own business is concerned. I am exploring new avenues but as for now, any amount is greatly appreciated. We are very grateful to Hal and Sandy Henderson from Marietta, GA, Susan and Scott Wiley from Ardmore, TN; Calvary UMC in Nashville, TN and First UMC in Pulaski, VA who have supported us again this year. We are equally grateful to our new contributors Dwight and Carolyn Yoder from Tulsa, OK, Arriel Barrera from Badhoevedorp, Netherlands and Harald Dyseland from Norway.

We are always happy to have visitors. Two women from Norway are coming to do their Diaconal Ministries Internship with us starting from February 25. A group from Chapelwood UMC, Houston TX is scheduled for July to do a two day vacation Bible school for the children. We are looking forward to these visits and are grateful that you can find time and attention for us. The invitation still stands for everybody—if you’re ever in the region, you’re most welcome to drop by.

On today’s special Friendship Day I want to thank you for being our friend. We have many friends all around the globe and without your help this center would not be in existence. Please continue to lift us up before the Lord and may you be richly rewarded for your efforts.

In the Light of the Lord,

Kersti Raudsepp
Chairman
Children Center Lighthouse Tallinn, Estonia