Updated November 20, 2011

The 2011 Feast of Tabernacles in 
Saaremaa, Estonia October 13-20

           Seventy brethren from Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus, Finland, Sweden, Germany, the Isle of Man and the United States gathered on the Estonian island of Saaremaa in in the Baltic Sea in unity and peace to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. The weather was perfect, although a bit cool. Twenty-five of the attendees were 21 and under. Family atmosphere has dominated the mood of the Feast as we congregated, ate and did our activities together.

The hotel we all stayed was a Scandinavian spa hotel specializing in pools, baths and massages that our attendees enjoyed.  The children really enjoyed the pools.

The messages have focused on the coming new world, family, respect for human government and the New World coming.

One evening we held a story telling night in which many of those who lived under Communism in the USSR told inspiring stories about their lives and faith in the days of the USSR.

For the third year running a group of 20 Latvians kept the Feast with us.  They have adopted our beliefs we consider them our close spiritual kin. 

At the last minute a family from Ukraine attended.  They are part of the group of hundreds of Sabbatarians we have been visiting and working with for the past 20 years.  One major difference between us has been that they had not adopted the Annual Holy Days.  However, in the past five year many have begun to keep them.  On the Feast of Trumpets this past year a 100 of them in the modest Khust, Ukraine church gathered for the Feast of Trumpets. I have previously invited these people to our Feast in Estonia.  This time one of their leading members, Ivan Yurishko called me and said he wanted to come.  At first it seemed like a long shot because it normally takes two weeks to get a visa from Ukraine to Estonia.  But, he made a 12 hour train journey to Kiev, applied at the Estonian embassy and had his application expedited and made it to Saaremaa just before sunset on opening night of the Feast. 

Ivan Yurishko has printed larger quantities of our literature in Russian and Swedish that we have sent from Estonia and Sweden.  He and his family were definitely absorbed in the activities and spirit of the Feast.  He said he wanted to see how we keep the Feast so that they can do likewise next year and already have preliminary plans for Ukrainians to go across the border to Hungary to hold the Feast in 2012.

PS:  Here is reference information about the Estonia, the work of the United Church of God in Estonia and former Feasts of Tabernacles.

 

  and the Baltics

 

The United Church of God in the Baltic Republics

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