Sacrifice is required in order to be a true Christian.  Choosing between friendship and truth is necessary for many.  Sacrificial choice is particularly required in most of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, where there are only a few called and chosen at this time. That was my central thought as I sat down to write this article. 

Arriving in Tartu, Estonia, on May 26, I knew there would be new challenges. There would be the usual 1,000 envelopes with booklets and Bible Study Course lessons to be mailed out to people in seven different countries. Since  my wife, Hazel, would arrive five days later, I would have plenty of good help with the mailings.  Also, senior pastor Victor Kubik  had commissioned me to travel throughout a segment of Scandinavia, visiting scattered members and interested persons. That would be the  “new challenge,” and as with all new things, there would be a learning curve.

Ever helpful, Toomas Schvak had arranged for me to see Valdur Vesingi at the Tartu Prison on May 31. Toomas completed his research and began to write his Ph.D. thesis  while we were here. Since Valdur may have only one visit per month, it was necessary to “shoehorn” the first visit into May if there would be two visits on this trip. In the 12 years Valdur has been in prison, Church members have been his only visitors. Many members have written to him also, so that is very helpful to him. Valdur chose truth; he has faithfully translated seven booklets into Estonian. Like Valdur, Toomas also spent a lot of lonely hours during the last 10 years contributing to the truth of God in Estonian, without remuneration. You will find his name (translator or editor) on every publication and Good News article that has been translated into Estonian. Sacrifice exemplified by both.

Tallinn member Artur Aleksandrov happily agreed to meet us on the Island of Saaremaa to visit Tiiu Polding, a prospective member. Artur took a day off from his job and traveled four hours each way on the bus in order to translate for us on June 6. It was not an easy day. On June 10, he came to Tartu, and the three of us went to Smiltene for the Pentecost weekend.

The church in Smiltene is the one place in this part of Eastern Europe where there is a support group. But in the three years since that church began departing from traditional Christianity, approximately half of the members have left the church. There is a support group, but sacrifice is still required there. The time spent with these Latvian Christians was pleasant, peaceful, joyful and spiritually profitable. The proper kind of sacrifice pays dividends.

Our editorial and publication group has a new volunteer, Irma Faulkner. Irma speaks Estonian. In addition to helping me with correspondence, she will do preliminary edits on new booklets. Since Imbi Kuusksalu has three booklets translated for publication, this will be very helpful. These ladies, Carolyn, Judy, Natasha and now Irma, are the horses pulling the wagon.

Natasha Weatherhead, who works at the home office in Cincinnati, has produced two new booklets in Russian, and spent a week in New York learning to use Corel Publisher, the program for publishing our literature. As with Toomas, Natasha is the keystone for the Russian work. These people produce the tangible product which makes everyone else’s efforts fruitful. Long hours into the night characterize this effort.

The new learning curve began after Hazel returned to New York on June 22. I left Tartu on a 2:50 a.m. bus for the Tallinn Airport. At 8:30 a.m., I was in Copenhagen. I visited an interesting lady there, Louise, for six hours beginning at 10 a.m. After two hours of Bible study, she took me to the center of Copenhagen for a visit to the botanical garden and the art gallery. At the botanical garden, Louise stood under a fig tree, which reminded me of Millennial prophecies.

After Copenhagen, the next stop was far to the north in Luleå, Sweden. In Luleå, at this time of the year, there is no night. I awakened at 1:30 a.m. to discover very bright daylight.

From Luleå, I went to Kemi, Finland. There, I spent a day at the apartment of Margaret and Klogay Doh, Burmese immigrants to Finland. Everyone will be happy to know we were able to work out arrangements for them to attend the Feast of Tabernacles at Saaremaa. We spent hours discussing Bible subjects. Their hospitality was excellent and really appreciated. One note: Please pray for Margaret. She has a broken arm which has not been healing. The doctors have told her that if it is not improved very soon, they must do surgery.

From Kemi, the next stop was Helsinki to visit a newly interested person, Jay Nanje and family. Due to faulty information and the non-functioning of my cell phone, we failed to connect. Since Helsinki is not too far from Estonia, we will try again in August.

That was the learning curve. Now that I have my “feet wet” we will see what God has in store for the future. I come back to the beginning and central thought, “Sacrifice is required to be a true Christian.”