The Young Adult Summer Programme 2010 in Estonia (YASP)

Dates: From Friday the 30th of July to Sunday the 8th of August 2010.

This will be the fifth year the church will arrange a summer school in Kallaste, Estonia.

Place: The first two days will be sightseeing in the capital city, Tallinn. The rest of the time we will be in a small Estonian town of Kallaste on the shores of lake Peipsi, the fourth largest lake in Europe. The town of Kallaste has a population of 1300, which mostly consists of Russian speaking Estonians.

The purpose of the camp:

  • Be an opportunity for the WCG to serve and help a local community in Estonia by arranging a free summer school for the local youth and other activities requested by the mayor. Some of the subjects we have agreed to teach are: English, Computer, Principles of living, and American football! The local school of Kallaste anticipates about 50 pupils in the summer school and an adult class.

If we have enough staff we will also lead a community help project by cleaning up the shores of the lake in a joint effort with the youth.

  • Be an encouragement for our church members in Tartu, Estonia.
  • Be an opportunity for our young adults to get to know the Estonian culture.
  • Be an opportunity for spiritual growth through Bible studies and fellowship.
  • Be an opportunity for our young adults to bond together and experience that the WCG is truly a worldwide church. I hope young adults from different countries in Europe and the USA will participate.

Who can participate? This will be a working camp for WCG young adults primarily between the ages of 18 and 25 years. Basically for singles, but married couples may also participate. The participants must be able to speak English and follow the guidelines for the camp. The staff will be put together based on qualifications that are needed.

We need adults who like to teach and work. We will have two major activities: first to organize and run a special summer school for the youth of Kallaste and secondly clean the town, forest and shores of the lake Peipsi for litter. I hope we can activate the local youth in this activity also.

We need:

  • Three adults who have experience in teaching English and willing to do so without being able to communicate in the student’s mother tongue. We will teach English on two levels: basic and advanced high school level.
  • Several adults who can teach computer class. Advanced Window programs (WORD, EXCEL and PowerPoint) and how to make own homepage.
  • A cook, who can make the meals for us.
  • One sports instructor in American football (touch) and or basketball.
  • One person who has experience in using a video recorder to record the activities of the summer project.
  • One or two who can play a guitar or other instrument and can lead a sing-a-long
  • Teachers in other subjects that might be of interest such as art, Principles of living, music etc.

Each participant of the camp will spend time during the week talking about his or her country and answering questions from the pupils. We need people with a good sense of humour and willingness to serve others whom are less fortunate than ourselves.

Please fill out the attached application form with a list your talents, schooling and experiences that you feel might be helpful for the youth in Kallaste.

The participants of the summer programme will be chosen according to the qualifications needed for the summer school/camp.

The number of participants on our staff is restricted to a maximum of 18 adults.

The program for the camp.

The first two days we will stay in Tallinn, the capital of the country. It has an old town section from the 12th century. Tallinn has become a city of contrast since the independence of Estonia in 1990. Super modern and ancient buildings stand side by side. We will do some sightseeing, visit a few projects for street children and released criminals. We will have dinner one evening at the restaurant “Olde Hansa”, which serves food, as it was prepared in the 1600s. We will have time to get to know each other before we start the camp.

On Sunday August 2d we will drive to Kallaste, which is a 3,5 hours from Tallinn. The summer school and the cleaning of the beach will take place from Monday to Friday. Saturday will be a fun day where all of the pupils and their parents and other adults will be invited to a barbeque and maybe arrange a sports competition between our group and the youth of the town. The camp ends on Sunday August 10th when we will drive to Tallinn for departure home.

We will have a daily four-hour work session from 10:00 hours to 1400 hours in Kallaste. In the afternoons and evenings we will have daily Bible Studies, and different activities, excursions, sightseeing of Tartu etc. Two evenings we will have activities with the youth with a sing along and I have asked them to teach us Russian! There will also be time for rest and reflection.

We will arrange a public lecture in the second largest city of Estonia, Tartu, while we are there. I travel to Estonia four times a year to hold public lectures and church services for our members in Tartu. We will also have a church service with our brethren during the week. The idea of the summer camp has developed into a mission project. Mission work is helping the whole individual. We will do so by our community project, our example and a public lecture.

The guidelines for the camp:

Every participant is to work four hours a day on a given community task. This will be non-paid work and will be our contribution to the local community. In return accommodation (but not food) will be free. So everyone is benefited.

Every participant has to follow the instructions given at the camp.

During our stay in Kallaste it is requested that participants abstain from the use of alcohol.

Alcohol is a major social problem in the Eastern European countries and we want to be a good example.

The accommodations will be basic. We are offered indoor accommodation at an old school dormitory. Everyone needs to bring his or her own sleeping bag with him or her.

All participants must arrange their own travel and health insurance. The church is not responsible for personal loss or damages.

Those who are accepted for staff are strongly recommended to attend our spring festival at Easter time for the church in Scandinavia from April 9th to April 12th 2009 in Oslo, Norway. All services and activities will be in English. In this way we will get to know each other and become a team when we start the summer school project in August. Since we feel this is so important we can give financial assistance if needed.

The cost:

There are several cheap airlines that fly to Tallinn. Easy Jet and Estonian Air fly to Tallinn from several major cities in Europe. If you book ahead of time you can make some good deals. You can also get to Tallinn by boat or bus.

Your own health and travel insurance. Pocket money for souvenirs etc.

Meals in Tallinn the first two days will be your expense. Meals are cheap, but a three-course dinner with wine or beer at a nice restaurant might cost 20- 25 euros.

The remaining costs for the week: Basic accommodation in Tallinn, sightseeing in Tallinn, food during the summer school period, travel costs in Estonia, outings, excursions and activities etc will be 160 euros pr person.

The accommodation in Kallaste will be free of cost, but it will be very basic. I hope we also can arrange accommodation in Tallinn free of charge staying in a church, which has rooms for

street children.

If you would like more information please contact WCG pastor for Scandinavia and Estonia: Carl Fr. Aas telephone 00 47 64 86 93 30 or on e-mail:

Please fill out the enclosed application form and return it as soon as possible and latest before March 20th 2010 to: Carl Fredrik Aas, Vevelstadåsen 25, 1405 Langhus, Norway

Carl Fredrik Aas

January 31st 2010