In Estonia, Valentines Day is called: Head Sõbrapäeva! (Happy Friend's Day).  This year I made a cherry cheesecake for the Institute class.  Pie filling like we have in the U.S. is not a thing here, so I bought some bottled cherries and made my own.  Graham crackers are not a thing here also, so I found some oat cookies (which taste remarkably like graham crackers) and made my own.  The Estonian way is to make do with what you have, and they have done so for hundreds of years.

First cherry cheesecake

Tallinn Institute Class

Nothing says love like a protein bar made with crickets.  We found these bars at the food bank. As you can see, they are guaranteed to have at least 15 crickets in each bar. I'm not sure where they are made (couldn't be Estonia, the cold would have killed the crickets off long ago).  Actually, they come from Finland so they must have access to a cricket ranch.  I can just see the wranglers now as they round up these little critters

For our own Valentine celebration, we decided to visit Haku, a Japanese restaurant very close to our apartment.  Why there?  One of our adorable YSA ladies works there and we wanted to visit with her where she works.  We had roast duck (it was really good) and a Japanese hot pot (a pot with meat, broth and an assortment of vegetables and some really long noodles the thickness of a pencil.

Enjoying some time with Maria O.

We've all seen a treehouse and we've probably built one or been in one, but this one was very interesting, right in the center of town.  It was a clever design to make the steel support look like a tree.  These are just some of the interesting things we see while waiting for the tram.

Our time here is like a dream - being in another world.  We have much in common here but many things are very different, and that's what makes living here so interesting.  If you think that this might be a thing you could do in the future, plan for it.  If the future is right now, then make it happen by allowing the Lord to open doors for you.  Step one, start your application.  Since the Lord is NOT resource bound, the things that you think will hold you back will melt away.  It is a principle of faith.  Here is a link (Senior Mission Types) to whet your appetite.