December 12, 1996

Scandinavia comprises the peninsular that is divided into Norway and Sweden, plus, historically, Denmark. Add Finland to this and you have an area of a quarter of a million square miles with a population of only 22 million. To many people Scandinavia seems "the ultimate society", something near the goal of prosperity, freedom, tranquility and civilization that the rest of us want. But, like this country, the welfare state has replaced a need for God and the Work in that part of the world has always been small.

In contrast to this you have Estonia which, linguistically and racially is linked to Finland, has been surpressed by Russian Communism since the end of the Second World War till the fall of the Berlin Wall. In Estonia one has a culterally rich and well educated people who are now trying to cope with the demands of their liberation back into the free world. A total contrast to the wealth and opulence of their Scandinavian brothers.

For a year, now, God's church has been active in trying to spiritually care for our brethren in that vast region. I was originally asked to assess the viability of holding a Feast of Tabernacles in Scandinavia. This entailed visiting and counselling interested people in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Although small and scattered it was obvious that some effort had to be made on their behalf. So, a low budget plan was approved by the then trustees to enable monthly visits to these countries in rotation. We now have brethren in Aarhus, Denmark; and Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim in Norway. As a consequence, we were able to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles at Sundvolden, Norway, which you may have read about in "New Beginnings".

One particularly encouraging mile stone during these last few months was the decsion of Diedrik Zernichow, one of the Elders in Oslo, to come with his wife Ingeborg to minister in United. Mr. Zernichow first heard Mr. Armstrong on Radio Luxembourg and, in his service to God's church, was responsible for translating much of our literature into Norwegian. Over the years he has come to symbolize the Scandinavian area to the Chruch. Now, at 83 years old, he was not prepared to compromise with the Truth of God.

At Mr. Victor Kubik's request, the British Office's service to that area of the world was extended to include Estonia. My first visit over there was just a few days after the Feast. The contrast was dramatic. Here, now, was a country struggling to cope with the demands of a free market enterprise but with a whole generation lacking experience. There is no longer the Socialist State to dictate and subsidize every facet of life. The standard of living, in contrast to their Scandinavian brothers, is very low. Many workers earning only 50 pounds per month. Food, heating and rent must be paid for and there is no sophisticated social welfare system. Unemployment pay, which is a fraction of what is needed, lasts for six months only. Eviction means eviction. On to the street.

One heart rending episode summed it up. While counselling one of the brethren a little nine year old girl called at the flat to borrow money from my hostess. As we were eating she was given warm food but the poor little girl was sobbing internally. She had crossed the city alone and was now frightened to go back in the dark by herself. Her mother had sent her to borrow 50 Krooni which is the equivalent of 2.50! It turned out that her father had been murdered by the Mafia by cutting off both his hands and his feet! We called a taxi and, together with the daughter of my hostess, got her safely home.

Very few people speak English in Estonia so all sermons and counselling have to be translated. Gratefully, we have one member who is studying in Tartu University who is able to do this for us. On my last visit a new person came to the meeting purely as a result of the good example of one of the brethren. She is young enough to have known not much more than the repression of Communism and has had no previous affiliation to any church. She had very real questions about life that needed answering. She has also graduated from University having studied English and English literature and enthusiastically translated a very long Bible Study on the subject of Baptism! When there is no minister present the little group meet on the Sabbath to listen to tapes in Russian sponsored by one of the American churches. Four articles have now been translated into Russian from the "Good News". Russian is understood by most people because of the occupation. Some of you may have met the Estonian brethren at the Feast in York together with Darlene Reddaway, their translator. Darlene has been a tireless support and encouragement to them.

Next trip in January is to Trondheim, in Norway, to hold services there and on to Bergen to conduct a Bible Study and counsel. You may wish to look up some of these places in an atlas to get some idea of how scattered our brethren are over this vast area. We already have the details for the next Feast if it is to be held in Norway again. However, we are also checking out a possible site in central Sweden that might be much easier for our Finnish and Estonian brethren to attend as well as being convenient for the Danes and Norwegians. It would also be easy for British visitors who would like to bring their car over to Gothenberg on the ferry.

This extension to the British work would be very difficult to manage without the support of the two loyal Elders in this area, Dr. Paul Roberts and Mr. Ian Martin, who share with me in ministering to the Birmingham and Gloucester congregations.

Peter Shenton