Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

In the Shakespeare play Romeo And Juliet Act 2, scene 2 Juliet bids Romeo farewell with the words "...good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow..." This statement might very well be representative of the VIM team members on Saturday as we prepared to leave the Mission and Ahja for home. The week in Ahja was full of new sites, new sounds, new friends, and new opportunities to share the love Christ with both our Christian brethern (and sistern) in Estonia and those who do not yet know Christ. However, and I certainly can not speak for the others, I was homesick and ready to sleep in my own bed without the serenade of my least favorite musical group "SNORE." Since there are several days to cover in this final post I will break it down into days or maybe even into events. I'll just start and we'll see where it takes us. Who knows, maybe I can drag this out for another week.

Forget me nots:

Perhaps the most touching activity during my stay at Ahja occurred on Saturday morning. Rein had asked that a small group of us go to the nearby nursing home and sing to the residents there. Becca, Callie, Javier, and I formed a quartet to sing hymns to the residents in the nursing home. Greg and Rein accompanied us to provide moral support and visit with the residents. As you might expect in a village of only 600 the nursing home was small. I think all-in-all we saw fewer that 20 residents. As you know many nursing homes appear dirty and often smell. This was not the case here. The home appeared clean and did not have an unpleasant odor. We sang in the hall with only three residents in visible attendance. Rein said the others would listen from their rooms. We sang several hymns and Becca and Callie sang a couple of duets. Though they did not understand our words it was obvious that the residents recognized the songs are were touched. After singing we went into the rooms for a short visit with the residents. Like many nursing home patients in our country, the people here were ill and and lonely. Many relished the opportunity to visit with us even though the language barrier prevented much coherent conversation. As we were leaving one man asked us into his room where he gave the girls fresh flowers that he had picked and shared fresh fruit with the rest of us. All at the same time this visit was uplifting and depressing. Uplifting in that it was obvious that at least some of these people were Christians who were touched by the Word shared with them through familiar song. Depressing because like here in the States, many of these people are either without family or are not visited by their families.


What a Reception:


At noon on Saturday Rein, Jana, Tairi, Pilve, and Merrilee hosted a going away reception for us. Members from both the church at Karsa and the church at Rapina as well as Kairi the librarian and other folks from the community came to bid us a fond farewell. We were presented individual gifts by Rein and Jana and by Kairi. We were also presented a gift for the church by Rein and another by Jahn. These will be on display in the church library. Tairi, Pilve, and Merrilee prepared cake and punch. It was especially rewarding to see several children in attendance who had attended children's day. I was especially surprised and pleased to see a couple of teenage boys, who, in my observation seem to be the hardest to reach. At about 2:00 we piled in the van and headed north toward Tallinn.


Moose or elk, you decide:


As we were driving from Tallinn to Ahja 10 days earlier we noticed many moose crossing signs. Maybe I have just lived a sheltered life but I do not recall ever having seen a moose crossing sign. I WANTED A PICTURE! On the way in I did not have the opportunity to get one. On the return trip I made a point of informing our driver, Ivo, that I would like to get a photo of a moose crossing sign. Now you must understand that Ivo did not understand English so I was forced to use the international sign language for MOOSE.





However, Ivo obviously confused this most obvious of signs for ELK. Instead of pulling up to a Moose crossing sign he pulled up to an Elk crossing sign. To be polite I hopped out and snapped a photo of the Elk Crossing sign but climbing back into the van I was determined to bag a moose. If you remember the post from our Tallinn to Ahja drive we participated in drive by shootings. I knew this was my only hope to capture a moose crossing sign. As we zipped by sign after sign, time after time I shot and time after time I missed but with each shot I learned. Finally it happened. My aim was true and my finger was quick. From this point forward road signs everywhere will tremble at the mention of my name.

Obviously, one success does not necessarily lead to another. I successfully captured a moose crossing sign on film, well not on film exactly, how about on electronic media? However, I did not successfully get everything into this post in the allotted time. So I'll quit for now but stay tuned for our time in Tallinn and the trip home.

Remember, Jesus loves you.

Randy Mac