When a brown envelope arrived in the mail, my husband smiled knowingly and gave it to me to open. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined I would return to the place of my birth on a Volunteers In Mission (VIM) trip to Estonia and Latvia, especially during my birthday month of September.

"I thought you would like to see the place where you were born," Bob said with a grin. There in the brown envelope was information from the Rev. John Trundle with registration papers for the VIP trip to Tallinn, Estonia, to visit and encourage the United Methodist churches in that Baltic region.

It was the singing of the Estonians and Latvians that stirred memories of my childhood and my Estonian mother. It was the passionate and fervent prayers of the Russian-speaking congregations that reminded me of my godly Russian grandmother.

Everywhere we traveled, from Tallinn to Saaremaa, to Parnu, to Riga -- my birthplace -- I was reminded of where I came from, of what my parents had left behind when they and their young family fled from the advancing Soviet troops and finally landed in America, the land of dreams come true.

Dreams have come true for the Baltic states as well. Churches that were closed and empty for more than 50 years are now being renovated and rebuilt, an answer to the fervent prayers of Christians everywhere.

"I remember when Oma and Opa prayed every night for the word of God to be preached again in their homeland," my daughter reminded me. Even though my parents in their lifetime never experienced the answer to their prayers, they remained faithful in their intercession for those denied religious freedom.

When our VIM team entered the 500-year-old church in Umurga, Latvia, where my Baltic German ancestors had worshipped, I was in awe of God's infinite power, His majesty, His steadfastness. The clergymen in our group broke bread and shared the cup for the eight-member Friends of Estonia Team. It was an unforgettable communion experience for me.

Our journey continued on to Liepaja on the Baltic coast where we worshipped in a Latvian congregation led by the Rev. Aris Viksna, the superintendent of the United Methodist Church in Latvia. After our team was introduced to the congregation, we sang, accompanied on the guitar by one of our team members. Rev. Trundle's message was unforgettable. Using a three-legged stool, he illustrated who the Methodists are -- warm hearted for Jesus, trained and serving others.

On this trip through the Baltics, I felt we were being served. The hospitality of the congregations we visited was generous and heart-warming, and the meals were of Baltic proportions.

It was the conversation around the table in my limited Russian that opened my eyes to the suffering these Christians had endured. Two women had been deported to Siberian hard-labor camps with thousands of other innocent victims. Many never returned. On the island of Saaremaa, a memorial is dedicated to those who died in Siberia. But here around the supper table were two women who had returned home, who had become grandmothers, and who lived their faith so that others could be free. Words failed me.

When we met the Rev. Olav Parnamets, superintendent of the Estonian United Methodist Church, he was so excited about the new Baltic Mission Center in Tallinn. His face would not admit to the suffering he also experienced under communism. His steadfast faith allowed him to see the construction of the new seminary and a sanctuary, yet to be completed. The young faces of the seminary students showed the confidence and assurance that God will bring to completion the task begun in Estonia.

*Christa Eckert Blum of Lakeside, Ohio, was one of eight people from Ohio, Virginia and Tennessee who spent two weeks in Estonia and Latvia in September. She was born in Riga, Latvia, grew up in Germany and came to the United States in her early teens. She is a lecturer at Case Western Reserve University and Cuyahoga Community College, where she teaches German. She and her husband, Robert, belong to Rocky River (Ohio) United Methodist Church.

October 7, 1999

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, New York, and Washington.