"Tere" (Hello)
The Republic of Estonia is tucked away on the eastern coast of the Baltic
Sea. It lies on the south side of the Gulf of Finland, north of Latvia and to
the west of Russia. The border (disputed) with Russia is mainly taken up by
Europe’s fourth largest inland water, Lake Peipsi, which spreads placidly along
more than half of the divide between Estonia and its mighty neighbour. Estonia
also has many islands in and around its waters. The largest of these, Saaremaa,
at over one thousand square miles, is four times larger than Britain’s Isle of
Man.
A large proportion of the 1.4 million inhabitants live in the capital,
Tallinn, and the other major towns: Tartu, Narva, Pärnu and Kohtla-Järve. About
25% of the population are ethnic Russians, a legacy of the Soviet empire. About
80% of the religious population are Lutheran; the remainder are Orthodox,
Catholic or Non-conformist. Russian, very different from Estonian, is still the
main language. The dual-language aspect of Estonian life impacts our work as we
need two interpreters at most of our meetings.
Our members
There are only a few baptised members: Tallinn has 5; Tartu, 4; Pärnu, 2 and
Valga just 1. Travel by bus is frequent and reliable, so we are able to visit
most of them during a one-week visit. We also see a large number of contacts,
mostly at Tallinn.
Typical visits begin with a study day in Tallinn, followed by a tour of the
other towns where brethren, sisters and other friends are to be found. The four
or five visits made each year are usually for a week or ten days; in recent
years one of the visits has taken the form of a Bible weekend, giving greater
opportunity for fellowship and discussion. On these occasions, we provide
accommodation to those travelling from a distance. Since Estonia’s accession to
the European Union in 2004, a visitor will not fail to be impressed by the
extensive building and construction work that is taking place, particularly in
Tallinn and Tartu. Indeed, a recent visitor to Estonia after a lapse of thirteen
years reported what she described as a ‘vast difference’ in the country, where
living conditions were greatly improved and the people were obviously more
prosperous.
Our preaching to Estonian friends consistently teaches the nearness of the
Lord’s return but one wonders at times how much of the urgency is lost in
translation. Similarly, our ability to know a person well depends almost
entirely upon conversation: it is often the small talk about superficial matters
reveals the person but it is difficult to gain that insight when you can’t speak
the language but are obliged to converse through an interpreter.
2011 has been a good year. The topics have been well received, the sessions
have been generally well attended, and we have been pleased to meet new
contacts. What must also be said is that Estonia is a pleasant country to visit.
It’s a well-watered land of forests, farms and friendly people. We in the
Estonia team look forward to 2012 and the stirrings, God willing, of some of our
friends towards baptism.
"Nagemiseni" (Goodbye)
Peter Craddock in The Bible Missionary no.203 January 2012
Town
Square, Tallinn