Estonia to Riga, Latvia

June 30: Wednesday
Again the day is raining. We had a great breakfast of pancakes and coffee made by Dawn. We played with Gabriel and spent the day inside. Around 2pm we packed up and left for the bus station. We bought our tickets for Riga, Latvia. Before getting on the bus I walked up to a girl and gave her my last 5 kroons/.50 cents, told her Jesus loves her, and got on the bus. I listened to David Hogan most of the way. The trip took about 6 hours. In Riga this guy comes up to us thinking were from Canada because of the flags on our backpacks. He’s from Canada and we had a good conversation. Before he leaves he gives us all his Latvian money (about $10) and lets us use his cell phone to call the pastor here. Praise God, what a blessing, and a quick return on the 50 cents I sowed in Estonia. Pastor Andre picked us up and had Joel Renor with him. He let us stay at his new house that night. At the house we met Wilma the house keeper and Philip Renor, Rick Renor’s kids. They are missionaries in Moscow. They served us boiled perogies. They were so good!

Finland to Estonia

June 12:
Today was our last day in Helsinki. Things didn’t work out to go to Poorvo. We checked out of the hostel around noon and bought ferry tickets to Estonia. We walked across town to the ferry. Lots of people were out walking around and seeing the sights. The Navy and Army had some military things set up at the docks for people to see. It was pretty cool. We made our way to the dock, they stamped our visas, and we borded the boat. The trip took about 2 hours to cross the Baltic Sea to Estonia. In Estonia waiting in the customs line we made friends with some Finns who were there to buy their limit of cheap alcohol and go back to Finland. They took us in their cab to the city and dropped us off. We made our way into “old town” and found ourselves in an ancient city square. A girl named Siria led us to the hostel we were looking for. It happened to be right below a strip joint. We moved in and went out to explore the old city. The old city of Tallinn is amazing. Over 700 years old with real castle walls, moats, and gates. The streets still have cobblestones and are narrow.

June 13: Sunday
Today we got up and caught a taxi to what we thought was Pastor Barry’s church. After 3 hours of sitting in church with no translater we realized that we weren’t in Pastor Barry’s church at all. Loora said his church was on the other side of the river and she took us there to see it. We then caught the bus back into old town. While there we cooked lunch and did some paper work. Loora and her daughter Marya showed up and gave us the grand tour of the city. It was great and they showed us some places we hadn’t seen yet. That night we had a great discussion with Mike the black guy from Georgia, Eve the icon buyer from France, the firefighter from Florida, and the Christian guy from England. Mike from Switzerland was there also.

Helsinki, Finland

June 9:
In the morning we had breakfast, checked out of the Turku Hostel, and walked for the train. As we walk to the train we had a good time of prayer. As we walked by the library they were just opening the doors. We went in and sent some emails. I did my first mass emailing. The train ride to Helsinki, Finland was so smooth. You could barely feel the train begin to take off. It took about 2 hours. Once in Helsinki we decided on a hostel and made our way there. On the way we must have been looking lost because a local girl named Niina Peterson asked if we needed help. We had a great conversation right there on the street corner. She offered to take us to her families home to show us what the Finns live like out in the country. Hopefully it all works out. She’s 22 and the guy she lives with is 27. They’ve been together for 6 years. She wants to marry but he doesn’t. I was thinking, “Why buy the cow if the milk is for free?” She doesn’t understand and wants to start having kids. Marriage has been attacked here and most people just live together unfortunatly.

Once at the hostel we locked up our packs and took off the go get some food. We walked straight up to a window and on it, it advertised a bible study going on. We went in and listened. It was an American missionary teaching on different covenants. It was a little dry and boring. I think they really need a dose of the Holy Ghost. He makes all the difference. Afterward they broke into smaller groups to pray but our group had nothing to pray about so I prayed. Prayer is more caught than taught, I hope they caught some of the spirit of prayer. Afterward a woman gave us some contacts in the Baltic area and showed us to the grocery store. Back at the hostel we met Dan, from Chicago. He’s been traveling around the world with the money he’d saved for graduate school. He had actually grown up in Broken Arrow, OK of all places. Talk about a small world. He shared how Scandinavia used to be such a clean place. Since all the immigrants started coming from Africa and the Middle East graffiti and vandalism are now an ugly problem.

June 10:
Today we had breakfast with some old man who had fought in the Korean War. Now he travels looking for a place where he can live well on the pension he draws. He told me not to go to Iraq. We then walked all over the city. We led 3 Finnish boys around 15 years old to the Lord. It was quite easy. We then tried to witness to 4 young Nigerians but they already knew the Lord. We built them up and encouraged them in the Lord. They believe they have a chance at a future here. Back at the Hostel I tried out the famous Finnish Sauna. It was HOT and it really seemed more stressful than relaxing. I kept thinking of persecuted Christians and the tortures they experience. Then the thought came of GRACE. Thank God for Grace to do and go through anything with joy.

June 11:Friday
Today we found a place that had free internet but you could only use it for 15 minutes at a time. I met a guy named Nathan there from L.A.. He’s been doing missions work in Russia and had to leave for 3 days to get a new visa. His other 6 week visa had run out. We prayed together there in the store and said good bye. He showed us were the Russian Consulate is on a map so we could go apply for visas. We then went to the grocery store and got food for dinner. Sandwiches, fruit, and yogurt again. It seems to be a common meal for us on the road. Its kinda hard shopping in stores where everything is written in foreign languages.

This afternoon at the hostel we had a good discussion with Alex from Germany and Mejia (Maria with a rolled R). She was very open and said her sister had been born again. She wasn’t ready now but I pray she won’t wait too long. She’s 23.
I've had thoughts of marriage again lately. It seems that I have such an unusual life that it will take a special women to hook up with me. If I was normal I would have a normal job and probably a normal wife, if there is such a thing. As a normal guy with roots you could persue any beautiful woman. But, my roots are in the Lord and I seem to keep moving as he directs. Perhaps it's a season that will also come to an end or God will give her grace as well to go with me. Maybe I could put down some roots in the Middle East.

Turku, Finland

June 7: Finland
On the 7th we landed in Turku, Finland. We got directions to the hostel and began walking towards town. We met a nice lady near the castle who gave us some good directions to town and a warm welcome. We saw her 3 more times on our walk into town. Everytime we turned around there she was with some more helpful tips and advice. It was funny. We eventually found the hostel and checked in and took a nice 3 hour nap. We found one guy in the room who was a little different but was very intrested in us. He was here for a college entrance exam. We witnessed to him and he got saved. We then got up and toured the city. One church was very old and had lots of dead people buried in the floors along with kings and queens of days gone bye. We had lunch in the park met some nice girls that helped us with our Fin language skills. They don’t really know where the language originated from, possibly Hungarian, its not like any other language in the area. On the way back we encountered some drunk guys and got to witness to them. They both prayed with us to receive the Lord. That night we had a good conversation and witnessed to some other travelers in the hostel. One guy, Andrew, has been all over the world traveling. He was from Canada.
June 8:
Today we had a good breadfast and spent some time in the word. A good conversation started with one of our roommates, Adam. He’s spent a year in France teaching English and working on his French skills. He drew on us all morning and we shared so much with him. He really liked us and said we were like a breath of fresh air, refreshing. We had lunch together and said goodbye to walk the city. We toured the city again and sent out some emails from the library. Once back at the hostel I met another girl here for a week of art exams. Her name was Anna. Tomorrow well probably take a trip to Helsinki. Later that night we went out to find some food. We found a Hesburger stand selling late night burgers. Even though it was 11pm it was still light out, very strange. We then went down to the canal to a kiosk and got some coffee and a chocolate bar. Back at the hostel we met Felix and Christiana from Germany and had a great conversation.

Sweden to Finland

June 5:
We locked up our bags and walked all over the city of Stockholm. It was awesome and very old. Later on we caught another bus to Uppsala, about 1.5 hours away. We walked all over the city looking for a place to stay. We finally found a hotel in town. It was a nice room and we got a good nights sleep. Nathan slept over 12 hours.

June 6: SUNDAY
On Sunday we got a late start, had a great breakfast, and missed everybuss to church. So we walked, not knowing were the church was but eventually found it. We made it for the last half hour. We met 2 ladies that bought us lunch that were really intrested in missions. One was RoseMary and the other I can't remember. We got to meet the assistant pastor also. After lunch with the ladies we took the bus back to the hotel and checked out. We caught the train back to Stockholm.

In Stockholm we baught tickets on an all night boat ride to Turku, Finland. Instead of taking the bus to the ship we walked. On the way we noticed some men on horses near the parliment building. We went to check it out and found a whole bunch of people waiting around anticipating something. Finally, a horn blew and the horses all got excited and acted like they would jump if they had to stay in one place any longer. The next thing we know the KING of Sweden and wife and kids are being escorted away in horse drawn carriages! It was awesome to see and one of his daughters was really beautiful and around my age. After they all passed we walked through the old town of Stockholm where the streets are really narrow and old looking. Many buildings dated back to the 1600’s.

We finally came to the ship and waded throught all the cars waiting to drive on. We finally boarded and made our way to the top deck of the ship. The view was great. At 8pm we started to move. The ride and views were awesome. There were so many islands. It was like the land had shattered like glass and water filled the spaces between. It was like that all the way to Finland. Every island had a small cottage on it and many mansions lined the banks. I stayed up on the deck as long as I could. It eventually got really cold and I went inside to find Nathan. There were some gippsies on board and they were quite a sight. They had some pretty funky clothes on and really stood out. Once inside we had a great dinner and tried to go to sleep. It was so uncomfortable and sleep was next to impossible.

Paris to Norway

June 1:
On June 1 I landed in Paris and then on to Oslo, Norway. From the airport to Olso I rode the train into town and met my first Norwegian friend. We spoke briefly and said goodbye. I couldn’t find Nathan that day so I went straight to the Hostel and got a room. I walked the city that night exploring the town. I found heroine addicts in the city park, prostitutes on certain streets, tourists, and locals having a good time. This time of year the day never completely leaves. It doesn’t get completely dark even late at night.
June 2:
Today I got up and went to the train station to look for Nathan. I couldn’t find him so I checked my email and found a note from him saying he was at the hostel I stayed at waiting on me. I emailed my contact in Norway, Michael. He was happy to hear from us and offered to take us out. I found Nathan at the hostel and we had a good nap. We later walked around town again that night and prayed for some really messed up people on heroin in the city square. I met my first Kurd and a long haired Mexican backpacker.
June 3:
Met Michael and checked out of the Hostel. We had a great dinner with him and took the bus out to his place. I was tired but he took us on a great bike ride to a fjord near his house. It was amazing and beautiful. Little cottages lined the rocky banks.
June 4:
We rode the early bus back into town with Michael and he showed us where the bus station was that we would need later. He gave us 77$ and said good bye. That was a great blessing. We went into town to do some filming and got into a heated discussion with a Palestinian man. He hated America, Christians, and Jews. However he loved Hitler. We then caught a bus to Oslo Christian Center. We met some people there and had a good time of fellowship. We then came back to Oslo and bought tickets on an all night bus ride to Stockholm, Sweden. It was kind of a miserable ride and didn’t get much sleep if any. The scenery was beautiful though.

Backpacking All of Europe to the Middle East

May 31:
On May 31 I said good bye to family and started flying for Europe. I flew from Colorado Springs to Atlanta. In Atlanta I caught an Air France flight to Paris. It was about an 10 hour flight. I sat next to a nice Italian woman named Paula that liked her wine. Once in France I got bumped one flight and had to wait about 3 hours for the next one. They were going to let me sit in the cockpit, that would have been so cool. Once on the plane they found a seat for me and we went to Norway.