Progress Report

Tallinn, March 27, 2003

Greetings from the Lighthouse in Estonia! I have been asked on several occasions if we are already having spring, but alas, the past week threw us back into snowstorms and sleet. But time flies and even to our surprise we are beginning our fourth year of operations the coming holy week.

The previous week was a holiday from school and we did so many wonderful things together. In addition to competitions and singing and computers we went to a traditional outing to Keila Waterpark where 2 hours seemed but a wink of an eye. The other day we went to the zoo and yet another to the movies to see a new Estonian children movie. We were also glad that some of the children who are otherwise in a boarding school during the semester looked us up and joined us in the fun. One of them, Artur, a boy who had come to us back in 2001 as a 9-year old glue sniffer and trouble maker was proud to tell he had no failing grades on his report card. The other young man was Ljosha, of whom I have written on many occasions, he’s the one who used to live with doves on the roof top and used to have creative ideas on how to solve problems (like biting and throwing rocks). He too is happy and growing in the boarding school setting and was very glad he could still join us for the holidays. I was especially blessed to see the improved report cards by several children. Kristiina who is on a class excursion to Prague right now, the trip made possible by Tullahoma Volunteers in Mission has been an exceptionally good student and her teacher could not stop praising her when I was visiting the school the other day.

Lighthouse has undergone some changes since January. We have employed a consultant to help us with programming once a week for a whole day. Talvi Salmus is the mother of Brita Maripuu, one of my brightest students during the Seminary days. Talvi has been running a similar center in Tabasalu and has a lot of experience and is a gifted communicator. Thus, she has come with a new topic every week whereas the children have to solve the theme creatively, doing handicraft, or making plays or songs or drawing pictures. Every Tuesday there is a recognition of the best and a new theme is given which is then also the theme of the Bible study and all the other activities.

Towards the end of February after talking and praying about the issues at the Lighthouse we decided to close it for a week and the open it with a touch of a „new beginning“. Part of the problem was that the children who were coming were taking the center for granted and almost „demanded“ things for themselves and they were not too eager to give anything back, at the same time some of them were discouraging others from attending. Now that we have the „new beginning“ we have new rules that we as staff are also more committed to have the children follow. In addition, the topic for the first new week was „Navy of salvation“... there is a large board on the bulletin board with ships with the names of the children. The ships could take aboard drowning people from the waves. However, one could only put the person into your ship when you had found someone from your school or your neighborhood who was needier than you and invited him to come with you. Though this week has ended, we are still encouraging them to bring new children.

The new beginning will play out in another way as well. Back in December the vice mayor of Tallinn had promised me 100 000 kroons by January from a foundation. Weeks passed and there was no sign of anything happening. Well, by now I know the money has been allotted and the city has requested that 6 places could be „theirs“, meaning those children will come with the appointment from the city’s social workers. I am so happy about it, because now we can probably get more access to children who are in need. We are meeting with the Director of the Social Department and the CPOs the coming Tuesday to plan out the course for cooperation.

I also mentioned the plans with the Rotary Clubs. By now, an application has been submitted to Rotary International for matching funds for the grants from Shades Valley Rotary Club in Birmingham Alabama and Tallinn Rotary Club. The president of the Tallinn Club also told me that he will encourage one of their Rotarians to do lobby work on our behalf.

There is also something personal I would like to share with you. I am grateful for the privilege of being instrumental in starting something so wonderful, yet I feel my gifts are probably more of a person who starts things, and not necessarily of the one who manages things over a long period of time. Another reason for my resignation is that I am engaged to a wonderful man and hope to join him in not so distant future on his medical mission with MSF- "Doctors without Borders".

I will of course make sure that the ministry will be handed over properly and all bases will be covered. Thus, the Lighthouse Board are seeking to employ a new director. The application deadline is March 31st and we have already received over 20 applications. Please join us in praying for a person who would be able to take over the ministry and continue to develop it.

We would like to start a dialogue among the stakeholders of the center. The idea to start such a dialogue came from a Lighthouse Board member Enn Laansoo who visited the Friends of Estonia meeting this year in Birmingham AL and was very impressed by the interest that was shown to the Methodist brothers and sisters in Estonia. The financial stress we were under back in January made us look at various options. The Baptist church has a network of help organizations all around the city. The Lutheran church is doing a large part of its social work through one local church which has employed over 20 of its church members to run the "social center". The Salvation Army, not surprisingly, has shelters and day centers.

We feel we have built within the Methodist Church a wonderful structure but it will not hold without finances ($50,000) to keep it going. Fundraising has become increasingly stressful, though we have never been quite “dry”. Even two weeks ago as I was getting ready to contact World Evangelism for more money I discovered one morning a substantial contribution from First Lexington UMC on our bank account. Praise the Lord!

The ministry is viable and the structure is solid. Is God calling us to continue the work under the auspices of the Methodist church and if so, how can we make it financially viable. In order to start the discussion we have created a list. It’s a closed list in the sense that only those listed can contribute. Yet, everybody will see all the responses. I have taken the liberty to add addresses of key leaders from home and abroad who have supported the lighthouse over the years. If you’re one of them, you’ll get the “welcome to the list” letter with instructions to unsubscribe should you want to. Everybody can subscribe to the list by sending an e-mail to majordomo@lists.eenet.ee with the words in the body: subscribe lighthouse or just let me know if you want to be a part of these discussions. Lighthouse Board Member Enn Laansoo will be writing the first letter.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

In the Love of Jesus,

Kersti Raudsepp
Director
Chairman of the Board