Photo: New Executive Director-David Pierson & wife Nanette

AD (Alongside Discovery) 2010 represented a multi-cultural and multilingual team of 25 young adults and leaders from France, Estonia, Russia and North America who joined together in community for worship, study, and hands-on mission work in France, Estonia and Berlin, Germany during three-weeks this summer (July 18-Aug. 6)

During the first two weeks (July 18-31), the AD 2010 participants served in two European locations –- Tallinn, Estonia and Waldersbach, France.

AD (Alongside Discovery) 2010 in Estonia –

√ Week #1 (July 19-23)
• Under the direction of Alongsider Matt Edminster, half of the AD 2010 Team served in Avispea, a southern farming town. The Team used the cooler morning temperatures to cut, split and stack 50 cubic meters of wood. During this winter's frigid temperatures, the wood will heat the church building and the home of the pastor, Eerek Preisfreund, his wife, Pilvi and four boys, ages 3-14.
(Photo: "Woodstack" Avispea, Estonia)

After four hours of woodcutting each day, the Team enjoyed a refreshing swim in a nearby lake followed by lunch, prayer and engagement with the background and application topics in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, interaction with cross-cultural ministry texts like Ministering Cross-Culturally plus discovering how to build trust for strong leadership teams

√ Week #2 (July 23-27)
• The AD 2010 Estonia Team served in Tallinn, Estonia's capital city.

The focus was "mission mapping" as the Team was trained to "wear a new set of eye glasses" to see and record surrounding social, spiritual and physical needs as they walked through neighborhoods of participating local churches. We even discovered that the sign for our host church was pointed the WRONG WAY – our AD Team offered support as Matt Edminster climbed the pole and properly turned the sign).
(Photo: Matt Edminster easily climbs a pole)

• As conversation starters, the AD Teams often asked passer-bys, "We are new in the area. Could you tell us where to find a church?" This provided feedback to local churches about their "visibility" in the neighborhood.

• The Team also served in Tallinn neighborhoods by picking up garbage. Often they were asked, "Some of you are Americans. Why are you here picking up garbage here?" This provoked important conversations.

• The Team served alongside the Salvation Army in Tallinn by leading chapel services, assisting with food distribution and minor building refurbishment.

The portion of the AD 2010 Team that served in Estonia included…
Matt and Lea Edminster (Alongsiders in Estonia); Justin Beatty, Renee Ward, George Gilchrist, Erin Schulz (USA); Asti Raja, Laura Maasalu, Madis Raspel (Estonia); Kirill Burunov (Russia).

AD (Alongside Discovery) 2010 in France –

Another portion of the AD (Alongside Discovery) 2010 Team served two parishes in Waldersbach, in Alsace where Alongsider, Rev. James Cloyd, is their pastor. The Team…
• Experienced a traditional French, Protestant parish,
• Cleaned church buildings,
• Helped French leadership with a first-ever Vacation Bible school with 18 children, more than expected,
• Assisted in leading various worship services, including a retirement centre,
• Played lots of soccer with local kids and enjoyed meals in French homes.

The two weeks in Waldersbach, France was a time of learning via…

• A visit to Struthof, a nearby Nazi concentration camp,
• Wrestling with the difficulty modern Europeans have in believing the Gospel,
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer' Letters from Prison,
• Gaining a greater appreciation for the complexities and challenges facing the church in France.

The AD 2010 Team that served in France included…
Nick Bilotto, David Ceron, Morgan Gilbert, Margie Gilchrist, Dave and Nanette Pierson (US); Gilles Depuydt, Jérémie Mouchon, Phillipe Murfitt, Ian and Teri Rutter, Caroline Schrumpf, James and Cheryl Cloyd (France); Richard Peters (Canada); Kadri Maljuskina (Estonia).

Transition weekend (July 30-31)

The Estonian and French AD 2010 Teams traveled to Karow, a charming, middle-class town in the former East Berlin, eight miles from downtown Berlin.

√ Week #3 (August 1-6)

• After Sunday worship, Gerhard Witte, the church's pastor, described how he and others planted a church in Karow in l996 to reach those with little or no contact with the Gospel.
(Photo: Gerhard Witte and George Gilchrist, an AD 2010 leader)

• Their church building is "seeker friendly" with a large, inviting courtyard and beautifully renovated farm buildings that provide an inviting space for their Flea Market, Pre-School, worship and fellowship.
(Photo: Church Patio)

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Each day, AD 2010 participants learned about the Gospel in relation to German history from Alongsider Micah Young and Pastor Gerhardt Witte as they encountered the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, various museums.
(Photo: Cross Berlin Wall)

• Mornings in Karow included devotions and engagement with Paul's letter to the Ephesians as well as important hours of debriefing their AD 2010 experience while afternoon were a chance to encounter modern Berlin.
(Photo: Le Riviere Berlin)

The third portion of the AD 2010 Team serving in Berlin included…
Alongsider Micah Young, Gerhardt Witte; Ralf, Karin, Daniel, Lisa Zeigenberg (Superb chefs from Austria)