Welcome to ESTONIA!
information About Estonia
Estonia, one of the northern European countries, is officially known as The Republic of Estonia. It has a great deal of water surrounding it and consists of many islands as well as the mainland. Estonia is a lowland country and is bordered by the Baltic Sea, Latvia and Russia. There are many lakes, rivers and forests throughout this country.
Beth Ann Erickson has served faithfully in Estonia for over 5 years. Beth Ann serves with an established evangelical church, Kolgata Church (Tartu, Estonia), to engage in discipling and developing the next generation of leaders in Estonia. She has begun partnering with Kolgata Church to minister full time to youth and young adults. As the youth mature, her dream is to help them plant churches all over Estonia. In addition to youth camps, her main ministry focus areas are working with multiple youth cooking groups, discipling individual youth and serving with the middle school youth group at Kolgata Church.
The following are links to learn more about Beth Ann’s ministry and Estonia the country.
Weekly BIBLE VERSE
The Bible verse shared by Beth Ann connects the great work God is doing in Estonia, but also the kind of work and ministry she is involved in there. She shared a wonderful story of how hospitality is understood differently in the country of Estonia, so when she invited some students to help her shop, cook, and then eat together it led to an amazing new opportunity— a way of connecting and sharing God’s love!
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8
Beth Ann also prepared five 5 minute daily video stories. These are a great way to learn more about Estonia and what God is doing there. You might want to have one play while you are cooking or baking or working on a sailboat. Here’s a link to all 5 of them.
Watch Daily STORY VIDEOS:
Songs
RecipeS
Vastlakukkel
A traditional sweet roll made in many Nordic Countries.
Kaerahelbeküpsised
An Estonia style oatmeal cookie! Estonia food can tend to be fairly plain. They eat a lot of porridge (cooked oatmeal) and potatoes.
Makaronid Hakklihaga
Macaroni with minced meat, often served with fresh salad and ketchup or sweet-sour sauce.
Games
Ice Slip n’ Slide
It’s very cold in Estonia, for much of the year, so children like to play and slide on the ice. For this activity, you have to use your imagination! Create your own ice slide. Get a slip n’ slide (you can also purchase 10’ wide plastic sheeting at a hardware store - like this). Make sure the water is cold! Then, add a few ice cubes (be careful, ice cubes are hard) if you want to be adventurous. Don’t forget to share a picture of all the fun you have.
Nature Hunt
Estonia is covered with many forests. Children there spend a lot time in nature, collecting, creating, adventuring. Go on a nature hunt and see what you can find.
Option one - find five things brown, five things green, five things hard, five things soft, and something you’ve never seen before!
Option two - download the printable nature scavenger hunt. Go outside, take a hike, see if you can find them all!
Take a picture of your collection and share with the rest of us.
Crafts / Art Projects
Hedgehog
Make a hedgehog. It’s up to you how you make it. You could draw one, sculpt one, make one out of pinecone you find in the woods, or out of paper like this one. The hedgehog is the national animal of Estonia. Isn’t that cool! Share pictures of your work!
Nature Sailboat
Here is one set of instructions you could try.
Beth Ann, who lives and works in Estonia, said children in Estonia love to to create things from what they find in nature and in the forest. See if you can make a sailboat that will actually float.
