Basking in the Baltics, Part II: Yes, it's a long way, but it sure is worth it.

We've made this long trip 4 times before. We know what to expect; sitting in a small seat for hours on end. As we board the plane for our first leg, we were greeted with this:

I can't think of a better way to start off a long trek to Europe than with a stroopwafel. Although it is not a staple of Estonia, it is in a neighboring country, so it's like a family reunion where all your cousins are there.

Our first stop was at Dulles IAP in Washington D.C.. Here we enjoyed? our longest layover and bid farewell to America and to our phone numbers. The trip across the Atlantic was quite bumpy, in fact, during the food service, the crew were ordered to their seats at one point, to keep them safe as well as the passengers. We were not worried, for we knew we were in good hands - His Hands.

We arrived in Brussels, Belgium, around 7:00 am. It is a beautiful airport which is more like a shopping mall with airplanes around it. When you exit immigration, the information signs seem to direct you right through the shopping areas.

Many of the airports in Europe are full of eye-candy with lots of name brand goods to buy. The duty may be free, but the prices will leave you breathless and your wallet will be much lighter.

On our final leg to Tallinn, we boarded a much smaller craft with two seats on either side. We flew above the clouds and so we enjoyed the sunshine while we could. The flight was relatively short (2+ hours) and we landed in a snowy wonderland at Tallinn airport (lennujaama)

There was no gateway service for our flight, so we climbed down stairs from the plane, walked outside to an enclosed staircase and then finally inside the airport. I happened to cut my finger climbing out the plane, so we had to stop a minute to patch me up (so embarrassing).

We found our luggage and made our way to the waiting area and there was our ride, just walking in the door, our dear friend Erki K.. He drove us to our apartment (same as before) and we found another dear YSA friend Maria O. waiting for us. Some others had come earlier and cleaned and left food for us. It was a wonderful welcome home for us. We truly felt like we were home and had only been away on a long vacation.

The rest of the week was filled with learning to navigate the bus system - something we never learned last time as we had a car to drive. Yes, we did a lot of walking in the snow (it's everywhere) to find our bus stops and learn where and when to get off the bus/tram/trolley.

We took a quick 2.5 hour trip to Tartu on Thursday for our immigration appointment only to learn that the time given us by the office was incorrect, so we had dinner with some missionaries and rode the bus back. We will have to try it again another day.

Saturday was a busy day preparing for the baptism of Ivar J.. With the church being renovated, there was no font so they used a heated outdoor pool on Pirita Beach where we had a short, but not uneventful, service. While in the middle of the talks, a family came to enter the pool. We told them we had it rented. They said they came to christen (baptize) a baby and that they would only be 1 minute. So while we finished the talks, this family disrobes in front of us (bikinis and all) and proceed to jump in the pool, get a little wet, then left as quickly as they came (they were Russian Orthodox). I can safely say that I have never been to such an extraordinary baptism in all my life. It was a teaching moment as Ivar mentioned that he had been baptized into that church as a child but was now having it done with the proper authority. This night will never be forgotten.

Afterwards, everyone came to our apartment where we had a talk, a musical selection and a welcome from Siim S., a member of the branch presidency. Then we had refreshments. A good time was had by all.