My Father's Words of Wisdom

It's funny, the things we remember , sometimes for only the vaguest of reasons, and sometimes for no reason at all. Three such memories came to me today, one for a vague reason, and I suppose the other two because of the first, or maybe for no reason at all. The memories that came flooding back today were, ha, probably still are, words of wisdom given to me by my father. My father is nearly 88 years old so has had lots of time to gain and share wisdom. However, these words were passed down to me in my youth, so it was long before he had time to acquire the wisdom he surely possesses today. Decide for yourself. They are listed her in the reverse order that I recalled them only this morning.

3. It's not how well you sing, it's how loudly you sing! (That should explain a lot Celeste)

2. What's as awful as a waffle? (Much later he did come up with an answer that I will share with you if you are truly interested)

1. If you don't get as much paint on you as on the wall you're not doing a good job.

This one, number one. numero uno, ein, un, üks if your in Estonia, came to me because we were painting today. We started painting in the classrooms this morning. As the paint went on, the old paint underneath began to blister, bubble, and peel. In those spots where there was no old paint, the new paint would blister, bubble and peel. Not only did Casi, Becca, and Callie get paint on them when painting, Wayne Gregg and Randy got paint on themselves while removing the blistering paint from the ceiling. about lunch time we determined, with the help of Rein and Javier that painting the ceiling was a hopeless cause and that we would move on to the walls. The problem here was that the very cool, humid conditions, and lack of adequate ventilation had prevented the sheetrock mud that we wrestled with yesterday(and some more today for that matter) from drying. So the decision was made to paint what could be painted. I must admit that I was disappointed. I had hoped to leave Estonia with two newly refinished rooms. Alas it was not to be. I was comforted however, by the revelation that most EstoniaVIM teams must leave before the projects on which they work are completed. The Mission does acquire the services of a very able local man, Uuno, who often completes the projects. Uuno will be left with a little mudding, a little sanding, a little electrical work, some painting, and a big decision on what to do with the ceiling. The rooms do have new electrical wiring, new sheetrock walls, and new window sills.

Some people will do anything to get out of work. Callie was so distressed over the situation with the ceiling that she brutally attacked Becca. When she jambed her thumb into Beccas thigh there was a loud noise that some have described as a POP!. Others thought it was more of a CRUNCH! Still others explained as a CRACK! All agreed that what followed was a blood curdling scream. Though not broken, Callie's thumb did swell to about the size of a Ball Park Frank. Unable to hold a paintbrush, a roller, or a putty knife, her work day was done. The moral to the story... Becca's hips sink grips!

While all of the work in the classroom, or no work as was the case with Callie, Casi, Randy and Rein headed to Rapina to put a second coat of paint on the floor. Casi is the first person I have known who wears rubber gloves; yes, on her hands, when she paints. Her gloves were coated in red paint. I'll have to ask my father if the quality of the paint job is in any way proportional to the amount of paint that may happen to get on a pair of rubber gloves. The job at Rapina went fairly quickly. Rein knew of some cherry trees behind the Rapina church so the three of us picked cherries. Paula Mac makes the world's best pies. Had she been on this trip we might have convinced her to make a cherry pie, since she is not, we settled for bowlsful of cherries on the table. There are still plenty remaining. Rapina is a very nice little town of about 3000 souls. I asked Rein if we could drive around and see some of the sites. We stopped at the Lutheran Church, the Orthodox Church, and the memorial to Estonia's independence from Russia in 1920 not to be confused with Estonia's independence from the USSR in the 1990's)
Between Rapina and Ahja we stopped at a building that had once been a Lutheran church but had been converted to a grain drying barn by the Soviets. That reminds me of an interesting factoid I learned yesterday...Etstonia's growing season is so short that most grains, such as wheat, barley, etc..do not have time to fully ripen so they are cut green and put in drying barns.

The Last Supper

No, not the last supper of Christ spent with his disciples in the Upper Room; the last supper to which I am referring is the supper we had here at the Mission in Ahja. It was our last dinner here. We will leave tomorrow for Tallin about 14:00, that's 2:00 PM in Oklanese. The time spent here in Ahja was a time of great joy, a time of sharing, a time of caring, a time of work, a time of play, a time of frustration, a time for new friendships with both Estonian and American friends but not much time for sleep. Rein told me that approximately 25% of the Estonian population claim to be Christian but ony about 8% are "practicing" Christians. It is a great mission field and I hope FUMC, and each of us on the team, will continue to take an active role.

This could very well be the last post until we return home. I will try to provide a final post, with information about the trip home after our return,

Check out the photos in the folder below labeled Friday July 18.

In Christ,

Randy Mac