With planes, trains and automobiles, we finally make it to Estonia!

We left Atlanta at 4:45 on Friday afternoon and after 8+ hours on a plane to Amsterdam, another 2+ hour plan to Tallinn (the capital of Estonia), a two hour train ride to Tartu and a 15 minute taxi to the hotel - not to mention about 6 hours of layovers and waiting, we finally made it to our destination. We all made it safely, and most of us with our luggage. Sorry Jamey! When we got to the airport, we were so excited to have Kuldir from Risttee Church waiting for us to escort us on the train to Tartu.

So after many hours of travel, we arrived at our destination tired but excited. After arriving in Tartu and quickly checking into the hotel and freshening up, Kuldir led us to La Dolce Vita for a quick and excellent dinner before heading back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. Note: the Auburn and Georgia fans on the team all talked big about getting up at 12:45am and 4am on Sunday morning to catch our football games on the Internet, but we all had to confess this morning that it was easier said than done. Of course, we found out this morning that it wouldn't have been a sacrifice worth making as both teams lost. Oh well!

This morning (Sunday) we all awoke rested and ready to go. (Mind you at 9am here it is is 2am in Atlanta.) We had a nice breakfast and then took the 15 minute walk through town to Risttee Church for the service, where we had our first meeting with most of the Risttee team we will be working with this week, including Peep (the pastor), his wife Anna, and many of the college students from the church who will help with outreach on campus this week. It was such an amazing experience. And while the songs were sung in Estonian, there was a moment when I knew for sure God was not only in the building but in the hearts of these Estonians as they gave Him glory through their song and prayers. Craig, an American who has been in Estonia for seven years, is married to an Estonian girl, Reena (pr. Rayna), gave the sermon in English while Peep translated in Estonian. Very cool!

After church, we all had some lunch with a couple of our new Estonian friends, walked around a shopping mall that felt very American, and came back to the hotel for a brief rest before heading out again. Tonight was very special as Craig and Reena hosted our team and the college team from Risttee Church for dinner, planning and preparation. It was such a great time of bonding, team work and good old fashioned laughter. Courtney, Bryan and Stacey painted bear sign for this week events, while the rest of us made sandwiches and did other prep work to get ready for tomorrow, which will start with serving breakfast to students at three locations in town. I absolutely cannot wait to work with this team to help them connect with these colleges kids and to see what God has in store for all of us this week! There is so much more to tell, but it is11:14pm here and we have to be up and out by 7:15 tomorrow morning so I must go to bed now!

More stories tomorrow and photos to follow as soon as we have some time to post them. We miss everyone at home and again thanks to all of you who helped make this trip possible for us! Stay tuned for more and GOOD NIGHT!

With love and blessings from Estonia...
Shannon and the rest of the Estonia College Ministry Team