Progress Report 2_02
Tallinn, April 17, 2002
As usual, let me start with the weather report. The winter has been very resistant this year. Even as I write, there was a forecast for tonight for some snow and sleet for the North-Eastern part of Estonia. All of this does not take away from the spring in the heart that is there first and foremost due to the Resurrection of Our Lord that we recently celebrated.
We have also had some other celebrations of our own. On March 17, 2002 Tanel-Mattias was born to Meelis and Kaile Priimets. The Baby and the Mother are healthy and well and even the Proud and Happy Father is beginning to cope with sleepless nights.
Our center also had a Birthday. We celebrated the first year of opening on April 5th.
The girls made cakes and decorated them with strawberries and whipped cream. Mr. And Mrs. Pärnamets also attended the festive meal. It was difficult to find a place to sit in the crowded lunch room with 21 children that day and 5 staff and volunteers.
The days and weeks at the Lighthouse have been very exciting. There is never a dull moment. The more I get involved in the personal lives of the children the more I realize what a privilege it is to have the opportunity to be with them. Their stories still break my heart. There is a second grader who the other day came beaten up at home so that even his ears were darkblue; a third grader who feels he is responsible to feed the family of Mom and Dad and three older siblings and thus, begs and even probably steals to get the loads of food he takes home every night. The other day he came with his older brother and his friend who all looked like they had spent the night in the dump. After they had taken the shower and changed clothes they didn't look much different from the other children. There is also a five year old who came the other day with symptoms of amphetamin. He reassured me (!) that it wasn't his first time with this kind of stuff. He had drunk vodka once when there was no water at home. These are some of the most extreme cases. Oftentimes such children do not want a change. They love the street and the freedom that comes with it. The least we can do is to be there for them and let them know that the help is there if they choose to reach out for it. At the same time, any opportunity we get, we try to provide them with structure and some discipline, and love them as much as we can.
I guess the highlight in the program in the mean time has been a LOCK-IN. Such a notion has been absent from the Estonian youth culture, church or non-church. I told the lady who lives downstairs at our building in Apteegi that we were having a late party and added jokingly that she had better move out that night. Great was my surprise when a week later she came and told me that someone must have stayed in the building even during the night because she had heard a noise about 3.30AM. She could hardly believe it when I said we were all there. I guess the long walk in the city and an hour in the skating rink plus two rented movies did the trick and there was no problem with insomnia. The lock-in began with making "sandwich cakes"-3 layers of 5x4 slices of bread with different spreads. Oh how they tasted good after the day outside. Many children didn't want to go home even the next day. I promised them we would have another lock-in before the summer which would be three days and end with going to the church at BMC on Sunday morning. So, we appreciate your special prayers for the staff on the first weekend of May.
A great victory has been the children's report cards. On the first day of the past semester we "declared war" to all the F-s (and there were many!) Now there were very few failing grades and we are now working towards getting rid of those as well. Some kids have been put on special spelling programs where they have to write exercises a couple of days a week. The others have been deprived of playing computer games until their grades improve. It is our firm conviction that a good education is a ticket out of their vicious circle of poverty and misery.
In conclusion, allow me to share our new Lighthouse song. It is written by a teenage girl who has been coming for quite some time and has always seemed very burdened. The other day as I was sharing with her my own struggles, which in many ways had been similar to hers, and the way how the Lord had seen me through; I mentioned I thought we could use a song of our own. The next day she came with the lyrics. Our singing teacher Kulla Siiri Kant composed the tune to it. I'm proud not only because I think it is a super song even through my inept translation, but also because I think it expresses the vision that we as the Board and staff have had for the center, which she has so beautifully managed to capture and convey.
CHILDREN CENTER SONG
It's Children Center Lighthouse--
Here teachers and directors
Oh and how could I forget
Is this now all that must be known
Many thanks to all of you who have become a part of this ministry. Filadelfia Pentecostal Church in Stockholm, Sweden sponsored Kimmo Rosenquist to come here with a van
full of clothes and toys. Estonian Committee in Norway have found a used minivan for us to fulfill our transportation needs. We also thank the Lord for the very generous contributions of
Richard and Karla Vevle from Birmingham, AL, Fred and Lynn Hanna from Marietta, GA, Fairview United Methodist Church in Maryville,
TN; United Methodist Women of Asbury UMC in Tulsa, OK, Lebanon Presbyterian Church
in Jasper, GA and Shades Valley Rotary Club in Birmingham, AL.
We are thankful for your continued prayers, support and trust in this work. You are the ones who make this ministry possible. May the Lord Richly Reward you for your Labor of Love!
In His Palm,
Kersti Raudsepp
Chairman,
Our home and school and job
Here no one's ever unhappy and
That someone would hit another-No way!
and volunteers and interns
and all who come to work and play
They all are -Hardworking!
To count the activities we do-
First we do our lessons here
Then we all can play -Our own center!
About our second home?
Oh yes, here kids are sweet and nice
And there's place for everyone-Its true!
Children Center Lighthouse