Progress Report

Tallinn, May 18, 2004

Greetings from the periphery of the European Union! Two weeks ago it felt like summer with temperatures in 80s, now the sun is still shining, but its chilly outside.

We had a big Mother’s Day party the Friday before the big day and we had invited parents to participate. We also had an exhibition for the mothers to see what the children had done over the year. The first part of the party was the concert where the children were performing songs taught by our music therapist Ellen Lindau and poems, taught by teachers Maie Mossin and Alla Gluhhova. The second part was a tea-table where we could all eat the homemade pancakes and cake. In the end the Moms got a card (made by their child) and a flower to remind them of the visit. You can see the pictures of the party on the web page.

We are also continuing with the thematic weeks. This week and the next is „the Pooh Bear week“ when we watch Pooh and Piglet movies, read the book in two languages, draw the Disney characters, make puppets of them all and learn about different character types.

The biggest news at the Lighthouse is the new director. After a long selection process we are happy to introduce Mall Tamm to you. She is a mother of two grown children and a grandmother of a 4-year old. She has been an art and handicraft teacher for 20 years. She has also studied to be an art therapist and worked with patients in the hospital. Her latest degree is an MA in social work, defended at Tallinn Pedagogical University last year. Years ago she organized and ran summer camps for children at risk. For 10 years she has led her own non-profit organization which deals with educating the workers who lead children at risk. We are very happy to welcome her in our midst ande believe she will really be a great asset for the Lighthouse.

Last Sunday we visited our church’s Children Program together with Mall and she got to know most of the children workers at our church. To my surprise I learned the Seminary has a class is Special Education in which they regularly visit similar institutions and students can opt for a internship in these places. What a wonderful way of connection that could be within the Methodist church between different ministries! Despite the changes in the staff we want to continue our link with the Methodist Church which presently will be represented by the members of the Board. Please pray for the workers to His vineyard who would bring about the Methodist connection in a more tangible way for the children!

The other news is that a VIM team from Union UMC, NC are coming to visit us the first week of June under the leadership of Jeff Tallent. They will be doing some construction work in the morning and leading the children in Bible study in the afternoon. Please pray for the weather to be nice and warm up a bit.

The other group visiting us will be Chorus Christus which is a VIM team led by Dr. Frieda Gerbert that serves with music and hands on ministry. We are looking forward to their spending an afternoon with us on June 18th.

Camp preparations are in full swing. A VIM team from Calvary and Tullahoma First led by Peter Van Eys will come the last week in June and half of the group will be leading the camp and the other half working on our building. The camp activities will be led by Jule Nyhuis and the construction team by Duddley Tipps.

Please pray for the children who are in their final weeks of classes that they might perservere in their efforts and achieve good grades.

Please pray for a family whose father forbid his needy children to come to the center. The father has been unemployed for 10 years and is abusive towards his family. He has also been verbally abusive towards our staff. The children are back now but we do not know for how long. We are setting up a meeting with CPO to try to come up with a solution. Please pray for wisdom for us and a divine interference.

Thank you all who have supported the center with your prayers and offerings. We got a substantial donation from World Evangelism last month that you all had put together. Special thanks to Dick and Sandi Averitt, Union UMC/Leasburg, NC, New Lebanon Presbyterian Church/Jasper, GA, Asbury UMC/Tulsa, OK, Holly McGinnis/Houston, TX, Sandie Draper/Nashville, TN and Jim and Helen McClure/Tullahoma, TN.

In addition, I have signed a contract with a foundation attached to the city government whereby they will be giving 100 000 to us this year in three instalments. We have already received the first instalment. This is the first donation from the city in all the 3 years of operation and we hope there will be more, especially now that we have a really qualified person on the staff.

Many people have also asked about me. I will not be leaving the Lighthouse completely. I have been asked to continue as the Chairman of the Board for the next three years. For some time, I will also continue with bookkeeping and the financial side of the operations. Yet, I will be looking forward to my 6-month away from home time and I hope to come back refreshed and renewed. One other goal after coming back is to pick up the MBA thesis again, the one I postponed this spring for too much workload. I have completed the program except for the thesis.

Thank you for your love and support to the center as well as me personally over the years. It has been a very special privilege to get to know you better and to work with the children and the staff and the volunteers (including the VIM Teams) to ease the pain of the suffering children at least to a certain extent and promote God’s Kingdom in the city of Tallinn.

God Bless you and reward you for your labor of love,
For his children,

Kersti Raudsepp
Chairman of the Board
Children Center Lighthouse