My Readers

I'M SORRY! THIS IS A REALLY LONG POST - BUT I JUST WANTED TO INTRODUCE EVERY ONE TO ALL OF MY READERS, SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE A GLIMPSE INTO THE PEOPLE THAT I SPEND MY DAYS WITH HERE.

While it is so fun to hang out with old friends, and people from the church while we are here, the real reason we are in Estonia right now is for our readers. These are the people that we spend all our weekdays with, talking and reading and just getting to know them. I am really enjoying my readers this year. Getting to know all of them has been fun, and God has blessed me with some great conversation and times with them so far!

So, I thought that I would introduce you to all of my readers!

KERSTIN - Kerstin was at camp, although I didn't really get to know her at camp at all. She is 13 years old, and is a really sweet girl. Her English is pretty good. This is her first time reading much from the Bible, but she told me that she would really like to have her own Bible. She definitely gets the prize for being my most dedicated reader - she comes everyday!


ASJA - You've heard me mention her in the last post, as we've hung out with her quite a bit. We all really like her! :) She's from the church, although I don't remember meeting her last time - as she would say, we probably met, but we just weren't 'best friends'! She was at camp the whole week with Andrea and I, so that was where we first got to know her. She is definitely one of the funnest people I know, and we all just laugh when we are together. Her English is perfect, and she is going to ACU (Abilene) in the fall, so I don't really need to practice English with her, so we mostly just hang out together.


IGOR - Asja's little brother. I also met him for the first time at camp - and he is hilarious! We were playing a name game on the first night, and Igor was in my group. To help himself remember my name, he started calling me 'Jelly' ... so for the next couple days after, he would always call me 'Jelly' or 'Jelly Bum"! Anyways, he is a lot of fun, just like his older sister! Right now, he is in England for a couple weeks for a camp - but I am hoping he will be able to come for a few more times once he is back in Estonia. I really like my conversations with him!


I mentioned in one of my last posts that it has been somewhat of a challenge with some of my readers so far ... and these next two readers were the ones that I was referring to. Both of them, in their second reading session questioned me on "Why do you believe in God?" and "Why do you believe the Bible is true?". I had never had this with readers before, so it has stretched me in many ways. I have had some of the most meaningful conversations with them, and they are two of my favourite readers. I look forward to them coming every time, and leave each lesson with them feeling energized.

IGOR #2 - This Igor came from the newspaper advertisement, and he quickly became one of my favourite readers. He is a brilliant man, and has extensive Biblical knowledge because he has read the whole Bible through because he thinks it is an important historical text - but he doesn't believe it is true. He told me that maybe someday he could believe in God, BUT he needs proof. I can see that he is searching and has definitely thought of such things before, but having been raised in the Soviet Union, where no religion was allowed, and being a scientific mind, he is skeptical, and needs something to prove it to him.

LJUDMILA - Another lady that came from the newspaper advertisment. She is a really sweet lady, but definitely very feisty with a lot of spunk! She came ready to challenge me about why we are using the Bible for our text on her second day of reading. She is also a very smart person, having studied physics/electronics in university. She told me that she thinks the Bible is a fairy tale, and that she did not want to study it - she wants to study simple, conversational English, and felt that the Bible had too many 'religious' words and should only be studied by people who have special training. She also questioned our intention in coming to Estonia, thinking that we were maybe here just to try and convert them to Christianity. I explained that we just want to help people with their English, and develop meaningful relationships with them - not trick them into becoming Christians. She told me some of her history, and I can see why she is skeptical. She is eager to learn though, and comes to every reading session now prepared for the lesson, but also with all sorts of other questions about me, life in Canada, etc. to ask.

We have been praying for wisdom to know what words to say - and I definitely feel like I need that for reading with Igor and Ljudmila. I feel pretty inadequate sometimes, but they keep on coming back, and so I pray that I might just be the seed-planter in them.

ANJA - Another girl from camp. She is only able to come once a week, so I don't really feel like I know her that well yet - but she is really sweet!


ANNA - Also known as Anna Banana! I knew Anna from four years ago, and it was great to see her again! She was also at camp for the week. She is a lot of fun, and I'm glad to have the opportunity to get to know her better!


LARISSA - Her English is limited, so it can be difficult at times - but I really enjoy my reading sessions with her. She is an interesting person (she raises chinchillas - never thought I'd hear that when I ask someone what they do!). While her English is limited, she comes prepared for each lesson and often has several questions to ask me about the lesson.

JELENA - Another reader with limited English, but she is eager to learn. She comes very well-prepared for every lesson, making it easier to discuss with her. I love when I am trying to ask her something, and she doesn't understand, and then, all of a sudden the light will go on in her eyes, and I can see that she understands what I asked her.

ANTON - I read with Anton's mom 4 years ago, and Evan read with him. He saw the newspaper advertisement again this year, and decided to come back again! He is going into grade 12, and has near perfect English, so I am able to challenge him with tougher words and questions. He has not really read the Bible before though, and he seems to really enjoy reading and learning from it.

LJUDA - A reader of Tamara's from 4 years ago. It's crazy making all the connections between people, especially after being at camp. Ljuda's daughter, Sveta, was in Andrea's cabin at camp, as was her niece, Natasha, who also read with Tamara 4 years ago. She is only able to come once per week, so I don't know her real well yet - but she is really sweet.

ALEX (SASHA) - Another kid from camp. I'm glad I went to camp this year, so that I could get to know some of these kids beforehand! :) He is 15 years old, and used to play hockey here in Tallinn! His mom, Nadja, reads with Crystal, and she brought me a scarf from the hockey team a couple days ago as a gift. So sweet! Alex is a really nice kid, and has good English, so we can have some good lessons together.

Alex and his mom, Nadja

MIRA - My newest reader! She has yet to come for an actual reading session, but will come every night this week. Her mom is Nikolai's dentist, and she is the dental hygienist - so last week, Mira, her mom, and another dentist from their office, came to sign up for their reading sessions. We had a lot of fun with them, and I know I will enjoy reading with her. She is 27 years old, and has great English as well. She is from the Ukraine originally ... so it is fun to have that in common!

And that is it! I really enjoy all these people, and look forward to getting to know them even better over these next two weeks!