08. Estonia: Fellowship of the White Rose
By Hanna-Kerli Metsala
“Where the only publicly accepted religion is Atheism, we are not allowed to share our faith unless the students ask a specific question concerning our beliefs”
In Estonia, a white rose symbolizes both purity and masculinity
The bell rings. Hundreds of students run down the hallway, each trying to find their classroom. ‘Here we go, Lord,’ she says to herself, clenching her arms around her notes. She gives a nod to the other volunteer as they slowly walk towards the classroom, knees shaking, heads spinning. They can hear the students yelling and moving their chairs. The teacher stands at the door, waiting for them. When she finally spots the young volunteers, she smiles and wishes them good luck. The girls, only 16 and 17 years old, boldly step in front of the class. This is their first time visiting a school – their first class. They have approximately 45 minutes to get the message across to these young people. With all eyes on them, they give their hearts to these kids, hoping that, regardless of their broken backgrounds, they will leave that day knowing a little bit more about their value.
Photo: Hanna and the WRF team with a high school class
Imagine doing something you have never done before. Imagine embracing something you have been afraid of. It demands a great deal of courage, commitment and sometimes even blind trust that God is bigger than our abilities or talents to fully follow His calling. It is a challenge.
Challenge! I cannot think of a better word to describe the work of the Fellowship of the White Rose – a youth movement for those who wish to lead their life differently, led by young Christians who contact young people by facilitating a value-based HIV / AIDS prevention program in schools. Since the beginning of FWR in 2005, the volunteers have faced great tension when visiting schools. Most of them (about 10 people) started with no previous experience, just a burning heart for God and the youth of this country.
In Estonia, where the only publicly accepted religion is Atheism, we are not allowed to share our faith unless the students ask a specific question concerning our beliefs. Schools are very careful and sceptical about the people allowed into their classrooms. But, odd as it sounds, God has been in every lesson we have given. Despite not being able to mention his name, we have seen students embrace God’s view about life as they learn about self-respect, relationships, love, sex and forgiveness.
Some time ago I was invited to speak at a school in Northern Estonia on the topic ‘Sex and Relationships’. I always look forward to these visits, excited about what God can do. Usually the FWR sends volunteers in pairs, but this morning my partner fell ill and, for the first time, I had to face the noisy 7th graders by myself.
When I entered the classroom, the teacher had already left and I immediately caught the attention (and cheers) of a group of boys sitting in the front rows. I was nervous. It took me a moment to gather my strength, but I decided that, even if I failed to get across to these young people, I would enjoy every minute I spent with them.
We started discussing various issues related to the topic. I didn’t realise how quickly the time was passing. The bell suddenly rang and ended the class. Out of 30 students, only 10 left. The rest remained seated, flooding me with personal questions about sex, love, self-esteem and relationships. An intense silence filled the room every time I opened my mouth, giving them the answers God had given me. The teacher had to come back and end our lesson, because the students were late to their next classes. I have never witnessed such spiritual hunger.
Because of our history, most Estonians respond negatively when people start sharing their faith. They think they know what the church stands for and regard it as irrelevant. It takes time to breach these walls and, in this context, it is naïve to expect quick results. It is amazing however to see how God can efficiently use the FWR to show that He has something to say on issues relevant to the lives of young people.
We have been sowing seeds and the project has grown in the past two years. We already have more invitations from schools than we can handle. Also, God has blessed us with great cooperation from churches and local Christian organisations. Often the FWR has been introduced to the school by local church youth groups. These connections are of vital importance in getting more youth involved in youth groups and introducing them to Jesus. Our aim is to continually develop the program and increase the number of facilitators to the point where it will be accepted and recommended as an effective tool by the education authorities – the point where we have enough resources to send out regular teams to as many schools as possible, including teachers in the process. We aim to influence the choices of this present generation of young people on the widest possible scale.
In a country that is facing a national health crisis (the HIV epidemic in Estonia, the increasing rate of alcoholism, suicides and abortions), there is a real temptation to close our eyes and hearts to the situation. The issues are too much to handle. But no matter how great the desperation, God’s love, his grace and his life-changing power are very present, both in the lives of the leaders and the volunteers. We believe that, as we continue doing small things with great love, we will see great changes in the future.
NOTE: most of our pictures are up on our website: www.valgeroos.com and take link “Galerii”- hope you can take something from there. We have truly few pictures….sorry!!
