Living Life Inspired: LST Recap

Okay, so I only have one more blog to write to finish up my wrap-ups on my time in Estonia. I've been home for about one month now ... but it seems like a whole other lifetime that I was actually there. It's hard to believe that I was there, and that this whole summer actually happened.

Doing LST this year was awesome! It was neat to return to the whole idea of LST, and reading one-on-one with people, after doing it four years ago in the same place (same city, same building, same room ... even with some of the same people!). Truthfully, I felt a whole lot better suited for it this time round. Maybe because I was 'experienced' this time, or maybe because I'm a different person now than I was four years ago ... but I just found it much easier to sit down one-on-one with people, and have meaningful conversations with them.

I read with some great people, and really enjoyed all of the time that I got to spend with each of them. Being at camp for the week before we started reading was really good, because it allowed me to start to develop relationships with lots of the kids that I read with. Even if I barely knew who they were during the week at camp (there were 180 people there), the fact the we had the common 'bond' of camp made it easy to get to know each other quickly.

Several of my readers were kids that had been at camp, but I also had several 'older' readers. Some of these older readers have read in the past, and returned to read again ... but others came from seeing the newspaper advertisement. Regardless of how they came to know of LST, or how old or young they were, it was a blessing to have these people become a part of my daily life in Estonia. We shared about ourselves, and had many conversations about life, faith, values and beliefs, and of course, I tried to help them with their English some too! :) I truly wish that I could have had more time with each of them ... several of them expressed to me that they wished I could have stayed for a longer period of time. And I wished that too! It was difficult to leave them, as I was just starting to feel like I was really getting to know them. It's always a struggle for me to leave behind the people I have come to love in a place ... I don't know why I find it so hard to trust that they will continue to be loved, taken care of, and pursued by God (whether they recognize it or not) after I am gone. I'm just human, and as much as I have come to love these people, how much more does God love them?

I've been in contact with several of my readers since returning back to Canada, so it is nice to know that although an ocean separates us, we can keep in contact easily. I do not know yet if I will have the chance to return to Estonia in the future. Being able to return this summer was a big surprise and a huge blessing, and I hope that at some point in the future, I will be able to return, and see all these wonderful people again. Until then, I pray that they may be safe and happy, and that the small seeds that I planted may continue to grow in their hearts.