Village of Hope, Kibuna, Estonia: A rehabilitation center for men located 45 minutes south of Tallinn. Men come of their own free will, seeking relief from all kinds of addictions, and here, they find that relief in what I would call the best example that I've ever seen of how God intended a real church to look like. Village of Hope isn't "advertised" or described as a church, but after spending 2 weeks here, that's exactly what I see.
The Village is a self-contained area of about 20 acres of forest land. The men in the program cut the trees down and the wood is used to heat the homes and the rest is made into pallets. The pallets are sold only to recoup operating costs (it's a non-profit). Days are tightly scheduled, including lessons in the morning to help with conquering addictions, eating meals, working 6-7 hours a day, chores, homework, reading, studying, etc. The men don't have much free time to let their minds wonder. Some of the men have done jail time in some of Estonia's roughest prisons. One of the men, Arre, is thicker than most of the trees here, hard as granite, prison tattoos showing on his hands and arms. He looks like he could pull your head right off your shoulders if he wanted, but then you see his smile and how he likes to joke and laugh with us in the little English he knows. All of a sudden, his past isn't that important, at least compared to what God is doing in his life right here and now.
On Wednesday nights, the men come together for prayer and worship. It's beautiful worship as the guys sing altogether, off-key in Estonian and Russian. After worship, the men sit together, ask for prayer requests, share struggles and things they are going through, and prayer for each other. It's stunning display of vulnerability that I didn't expect to see. I thought we'd be sitting in silence most of time, like trying to pull teeth. But the men are so willing to share their stories, so willing to talk about it. At the same time, they are so willing to know our stories too. My teammate Derek and I have a unique opportunity this month to do ministry with the guys in the program (no girls allowed!). We had an awesome time hanging out this past Thursday sharing stories.
During work days, the men circle together before shifts start to share struggles, prayer requests, and pray for the day. Everything they do is surrounded and filled with God. Some of the men grew up in Christian homes and simply went astray (which I can relate to). Some of the guys find God here. No matter the story, the dynamics are incredible. Brokenness mended by the grace of God. These guys come here by choice, overcome with addiction. You'd think this kind of rough and tumble crew wouldn't want to talk about anything. But they open up and spill everything. They are joyful with the change in their lives and they are thankful to God.
This is exactly what God wanted his church to look like. Broken people, coming together, being vulnerable, sharing the burden of their sins, sharpening each other, praying together, worshiping together, breaking bread together, working side by side. When a new man comes, he is instantly welcomed. If one quits the program, there is no condemnation, only prayer for the brother. When one graduates the program, there is celebration. Real(i) community. And it's not perfect. Sometimes, the men don't like the jobs they are doing. Sometimes, they struggle with leaving the program, they are tempted. Sometimes, they leave the program, but return when they realized they made a mistake. It's a mess, but it's a beautiful mess. And that's what God intended.
