It is almost 6 PM. I smile to myself as I stand dockside looking at “Merilin”. The small (by comparison) … but fast … Ferry Boat of “Linda Line” would convey me and perhaps 200 other passengers across the 40 (= 70 km) miles of the North Sea between Tallinn, Estonia, and Helsinki, Finland. “Linda” has a second child … Karolin (= Caroline). My plan is to return from Finland to Estonia Monday at 8 AM on Merilin’s sister Karolin. The purpose of this trip is to visit Klo Gay and Margaret Doh who live in Kemi, Finland. Today has been pleasantly warm with gentle breezes.
I booked “Comfort Class on Merlin (+ 15 Euros … = $17). Roomier seating with tables allows me to write to you. UCG is funding my travels into Scandinavia. I feel an obligation to spend wisely and conservatively. Comfort Class includes a glass of wine and a sandwich. The options for the sandwich are either chicken or ham and cheese. Guess which one I selected!
Merlin now moves. The sea is particularly smooth. Sundown today (Friday) will be 10 PM. Our latitude is similar to Anchorage, Alaska. Sunrise will be sometime before 5 AM. Merilin’s sprint to Helsinki should be complete at 7:40.
It has been a week of meaningful travel for Hazel and myself. Friday we drove the 9 hours from our home to Cincy. Brittney Borgna (western New York) and Chad Johnson (North Dakota) came before God to make a marriage covenant. We would not have missed that event. Both have attended ABC, though not in the same year. To us, this was a special way to celebrate our 43-year friendship with the Borgnas and Bocks. Such a celebration seemed natural and right. We became more deeply acquainted with Chad and the Johnson family. The thought continued to return to me …. A wedding (this wedding … any wedding) is not only a covenant between two people. It is rather the eternal joining of two families. Generations past and generations yet unborn are profoundly affected by the vows exchanged by these two people on May 29, 2016.
We ripped ourselves away from the wedding celebration at 8 PM (early quits) and drove all night arriving back home at 5 AM on Monday. With a 9:30 AM plane on Wednesday, I had only one day to get ready to leave for Estonia (Planes, Busses, and Airports) …. 27 hours later I arrived in Tartu, Estonia. Hazel stayed behind for one week. She should arrive on June 8. I had dinner that evening with Valdur and Maret in Tartu.
So much for those reflections about the past week.
Looking ahead, when Merilin docks in Helsinki, it is a short taxi ride to the train station. My ticket is bought. I expect to be in a sleeping compartment on the train going north for the 11-hour trip to Kemi. Kemi is on the edge of “Lapland” (land of the Lap people …. Similar to American Eskimos).
Paradoxically, Margaret and Klo Gay are refugees from the jungle lands of Burma. Kimi, Finland, is quite the contrast in climate. Yet … here they are in the north of Finland. My first visit to Kemi was in Feb. 2012; the temperature was minus 40 degrees. Nevertheless, they seem to cope quite well even though there is a “death defying” transition from the jungle lands of south Asia to the land of the Laps.
“We” expect to have two days of focused Bible Study … emphasis on the upcoming Day of Pentecost. Margaret and Klo Gay are excellent hosts. Margaret and her niece, Elsa, always prepare special Asian food for us when we visit.
Sunday I am scheduled to take the 7:30 PM overnight train back from Kemi to Helsinki. From there at 8 AM, Karoline is expecting to convey me to Tallinn. Then on to Tartu around 2 PM.
Maybe I will finally get in the sauna Monday afternoon.
We plan to share Pentecost with the Church in Smiltene, Latvia. More about that in a future posting.
So that has been our week of traveling. We hope to give you a flavor of what we are trying to do with God’s Grace in “This Work”. We thank you all for your prayers. Many tell us they are praying for “God’s Work” in this part of the world.
Well … after an hour and forty minutes, Merilin is now approaching the dock in Helsinki. May God bless all of you as you approach His Holy Day of Pentecost.
Until later.
Agape,
Johnnie