23. Jun 2025

Pärnu-Jaagupi - Pärnu Kesklinn

Photo 1: This is Estonia... flat, green, and so far mostly cloudy skies.

Photo 2: Just because the path does not have much of a climb and may not be along a busy street, does not mean that the walking will be easy. Today I had to manage my way through a real swampy area and some high grass that was up to my chest. Because of the recent rain, water levels on the ground were also high. At one point I had to cross a waterway without a footbridge. There were some branches that had collected together in a bend, so I endeavored to cross there. My left foot fell through into the water. It went up almost to my knee. I could feel the water rushing into my shoe. This was, by the way, the official St. James Way. In the thick of it all I could hear a cuckoo bird singing out its song: "Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo!" It seemed to fit the situation. It is kind of like when you take a wrong turn in a coastal town and a seagull perched up on a high wall looks down at you and does his bird "laugh". This is the humor of God reflected in his creation. I love it!

Photo 3: Today was the day to hang out the Estonian flag. It was a national holiday, Victory Day. This date signifies the day that Estonia and its allies were victorious in the Battle of Cēsis against the Baltische Landeswehr (Baltic-German forces) on June 23, 1919. This national holiday was celebrated from 1934 until 1940 when Russian forces invaded Estonia and took control of the country. Estonia regained its independence from Russia again in 1991. After this time, Victory Day was re-established as a national holiday. As I approached the coastal city of Pärnu, fighter jets from Turkey flew over me. They were part of a Nato military parade that had taken place there.

Photo 4: An Estonian woman crossing the bridge to Pärnu with an Estonian flag in her hand. On the other side of the bridge an older couple from Holland saw me and recognized the Way of St. James logo on my hat. We started talking about current events. I told them what Jesus said, that wars and conflicts between nations and people groups would take place until the end of history as we know it. Jesus compared the pains of human history to those of child birth: They come and go, always quicker the intervals and stronger the pain until there is the birth of the child. This is our hope. The best is still to come.. eternal God's kingdom of peace and righteousness! This gives me confidence in the here and now.

Photo 5: I stayed at a hostel in Pärnu. There I met Nate from Pennsylvania in the USA. He is also a long dustance hiker, but was going the other direction. Nate actually carries a small guitar with him and likes to sing wherever he goes, so far in over 90 places around the world. I asked him to sing me a song. He did. It was great... a hiker's perspective of the world in which we live. I shared with him my story and God's story from Adam to the amazing grace in Jesus Christ... and prayed a blessing for Nate's journey through life. He is still searching. Not every God-talk or prayer brings a turn or a tear. Still it is a knock from heaven on the door to a person's heart.