Estonia Mission
October 03, 2011 at 2:55 PM
This August I went to Estonia with a group of doctors and medical students to a Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF) summer camp. This is not the first time I have been on such a camp, but it was the first time I had visited Estonia and the first time that I was to be part of the ‘Baltic Christian Medical Fellowship Summer Camp’.
Every year CMF sends teams to various European and Asian countries to encourage and teach local students and doctors. The process also is a great opportunity for the UK team to learn and share with another culture, imparting ideas and supporting each other. Some camps are more about discipleship, whereas some are more evangelical. There is normally a mixture of Christian medics and non-Christian medics who attend the camp.
The summer camp in the ‘Baltic region’ has been running for the past 7 years and it rotates between Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. In attendance this year was a local missionary couple from Latvia. They had both moved out there 9 years ago, when they felt God calling them to the Baltic state. The theme of the conference was ‘Following Jesus, the Great Physician’ with talks and teaching based around this topic.
Five of us travelled from the UK and met in Tallinn (the capital of Estonia) on the Tuesday before the camp, spending the day sightseeing and relaxing. Tallinn is an amazingly old medieval city which boasts beautiful buildings and great museums. The next day we went one hour south to the small village of Poltsamaa where the camp was being held. When we arrived we met a great mix of people, including medical students from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Norway and Finland. There were also doctors from UK, Norway and Estonia. This gave us the opportunity to share stories from different cultures, as well as sharing with the Norwegians about the recent terrorism problems they had faced.
During the conference I had the opportunity to lead a small group, where we discussed the talk of the day and the topic of ‘following Jesus’. The small groups allowed opportunities to discuss and share struggles that we all come into contact with as Christian doctors and medical students. We were also able to discuss some of the ethical dilemmas that are faced in practice. The small groups allowed accountability to flourish and gave us chances to pray together. The UK team delivered lectures on topics such as alternative medicine and miracles. We also led practical sessions on topics such as how to put a drip in, and how to examine the heart. This allowed the students to get good, relevant practical teaching.
There were many opportunities to develop friendships and spend time learning from each other, while having a lot of fun. People came to a stronger understanding of their faith and were challenged with topics that are vital to Christian doctors. The trip was an amazing time of fellowship, worship, rest and building relationships that will last well beyond the camp. We encountered God afresh, knowing God was dwelling amongst us and renewing us.
If you want more information on the work of Christian Medical Fellowship or want to hear more about the summer trips that we plan, please email info@clmchurch.co.uk
Matt
