Greetings from Estonia!
After a few long travel days, my team and I have made it to The Village of Hope in the city of Latise! Our travel days weren’t too bad. We got very lucky and rather than having to camp out in the Ethiopian airport overnight, our whole squad was put up in a hotel for the night in the city of Addis Ababa! We were greeted at the hotel by the nicest staff and a very large buffet of amazingly fresh, tasty food. I had a room all to myself. It was the first time on the World Race I had REALLY been alone for a long period of time. It was a little weird, but very enjoyable.
After a brief stop in Frankfurt, we had another overnight layover in Warsaw, Poland. The airport was pretty nice and I was able to pass the time by FaceTiming Adam, and talking to my Mom, Dad & Halle. It was so great getting to catch up with loved ones back home after months without much contact and really slow, frustrating African internet. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night.
After touching down in capital city of Tallin we made our way to the train station where we boarded a train bound for the city of Latise, where we will be staying for the next month. I could not stop smiling! With Africa in the rear view, I was (and still am) so excited to be in Europe, especially in a country with such history and culture. The people here are friendly but not outwardly, smiley friendly like the African people. They seem a little cold with their stern, somewhat emotionless faces, but they have such warm hearts. After a short train ride, we made it to Latise, where we were greeted by two men from the Village of Hope. We were surprised how close the Village of Hope is to the train station, it was about a 3 minute drives. If it weren’t for our heavy packs we definitely could have walked.
Okay, here is where things get really exciting! If you read my last blog, you know that I have been living in a tent for the past two months. I don’t know if you have ever tented in Africa before, but its not very pleasant. So when the men from the Village of Hope stopped the van in front of a house and told us this would be ours for the next month, I was in utter disbelief. We have a full kitchen, complete with stove, microwave, refrigerator, and big kitchen table. We have a den, with a big sectional couch, hard wood floors, and a TV with satellite cable. We have two bathrooms, both with nice showers that rain WARM water, and one with a big tub! Oh and we also have a sauna in our backyard. After looking around at this spectacular house were I will be spending the next month, I started to cry! After spending two months in very hard conditions, knowing we get to spend the next month in such a nice, comfortable place was just so overwhelming. I am so thankful to be here and feel so blessed with such nice living conditions.
Just a little bit about The Village of Hope. It is a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for men that houses about 14-16 men at a time. The treatment lasts 10-12 months and most of the men here are from Estonia and Russia. We had dinner with the staff and a few of the men last night and they were all so welcoming and happy for us to be here. Today we got to see their wood working shop. The men work in the shop and make palettes that they sell. They also have a fire truck and some of the men have been trained to act as firefighters for the nearby village. The men here are being taught to work and build a new life for themselves after they are cured of their addictions. After their treatment they are transferred to a halfway house in a near by city where they are helped to adjust to their new found sober living.
After lunch today we were taken to a room full of winter clothes, where we were told to take whatever we needed in order to stay warm! Granted they were basically all men’s clothing, but we females managed to find some smaller coats and sweaters. Coming from Africa to Eastern Europe is quite the climate change, and with our limited packing space it was very difficult to find room for warm clothes in our already heavy packs. So it was quite the blessing that they provided us with some warm clothes, because it is very cold here! (A huge thank you to my sweet boyfriend who forced me to bring long underwear!) Apparently it has been a mild winter here, which Im thankful for, because I cant imagine what a cold winter would be like here.
We find out Monday what we will be doing on a daily basis here, but Im really excited about the opportunity to work here this month and really feel like this is going to be a very rewarding ministry!
Also, Please pray for my health. I woke up today with a pretty bad cold and a headache.
Peace, Caroline
