Great Mens Retreat and other fun stuff

This past weekend the men of Risttee gathered for our first retreat. We had some friends from Soma Communities in Tacoma teach us on biblical manhood. The whole weekend really built upon the requirements of an elder in the church and how all the men of the church should aspire to this and pursue this as the standard for their life. It was a very convicting retreat, but one where this brought a great sense of community for the men there. We were able to get real with ourselves and this lead to it happening with each other. At one point we were given a 3 page questionaire about the requirements of an elder that we could use to measure ourselves. I wrote and wrote and wrote and God pointed out some things I really need to change in my life and surrender to him, also some sins to repent of and some people that I need to talk to and make ammends. The best part of the week was taking communion with Meelis, Daniel, Chris and Rauno. Rauno just accepted Christ after English Camp and so it was his first time. After we took it together we started to pray for each other. Tears flowed and we repented and prayed for each other. It was a really special moment when you could physically experience God moving and it really rocked my world. I love all those guys. Another highlight was spending time with Miguel Zayas. He is another American missionary who has planted a church in Tallinn. He is married to an Estonian and I really find a connection with him. He is a great guy who is funny and loves to laugh, but there seems to be something that makes me believe we can understand each other cause of our similar paths. In the future, I hope we can work more together helping guys plant churches and see the kingdom expand in Estonia.

After the retreat we returned for Tartu and celebrated Easter as a church family. We didn't have a sermon on Easter, rather we let the people who have been changed by and arisen Christ share how he is still alive in their lives 2000 years later. We had a big crowd and many guests and it was a major highlight for our people.

This weekend we launch a new service on Saturday night. This is to help target those who are unable to attend on Sundays or just don't want to get out of bed on Sundays. We have heard this from many people, so we figured to really test this by putting the Saturday night together and see what happens over the next 8 weeks. We are starting a new series called, Truth sets you free, which will talk about who is God and when we understand him then we are truly free. I am not sure what will happen, but I believe that God is great and so what happens happens, but I hope it works and we see more people come to know Christ because of this.