It was a Home Cafe Day in Tallinn yesterday. The idea is very simple - people are given an opportunity to open a cafe in their garden for a couple of hours. This concept has become really popular in Estonia and many towns have their own Cafe Day. So does Tallinn. People enjoy it very much as it gives a chance to get to know their own communities better. And as we were looking for a project with our church planting group anyway, we decided we'd open a cafe. R. and V. offered their back yard for the venue.

We did some serious planning, sitting around H. and V.'s kitchen table but when the cafe really opened yesterday at noon, we were far from being ready. Or at least we were far from being ready to see such a big crowd. The first half an hour was chaos and mayhem. We didn't know exactly how the orders were meant to be dealt with and how the information was supposed to be passed from the counter to the kitchen and then to the table. So at first everyone was running around and shouting orders and there was neither law nor order. But law and order have the incredible ability to manifest themselves in situations like this so after the first shock everyone in the team found their place and purpose. Burgers were being flipped on the grill, smoothies were being blendered, everyone finally learnt what this or that cake looked like, the waiters and waitresses came and went with a lot more efficiency and a lot less shouting. And suddenly everyone was having loads of fun.

We had such a warm and sunny weather yesterday, which was a real surprise since the autumn had decided to decend on Estonia last week and we all thought it was here to stay. But the summer still had the upper hand yesterday so people were chilling all over the back yard and we needed to get some extra tables and chairs because many customers were just standing for there weren't enough seats. People who came were extremely friendly and relaxed and our initial nervousness disappeared. We were supposed to close our cafe at 4 p.m. but as people refused to leave and we still had a mountain of pies and muffins in the kitchen we kept the cafe opened. It might have been around half past five that the last customers left and we finally had a chance to grill some burgers to ourselves. There was a lot of high-fiving after that.

What I liked about yesterday the most was the cooperation. We have been meeting with this church planting group for a long time, but there is a big difference between sitting around a table, sipping tea and trying to come up with our core values, and running around customers and having to make everything run smoothly under pressure. And still stick to the values we decided upon, not killing each other. It made me happy yesterday to see how we manage to cooperate and get things done. It is something that gives me assurance and confidence as we move towards opening the new church. It's a privilege to be a part of such a great bunch of people.

I grabbed my camera as I was hurrying to our cafe prep yesterday morning. It's been a long time since I last held the camera in my hand, and it felt good.

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There aren't many news otherwise. Still no books, and I'm growing very impatient. I'm planning to hit the gym again this week as I'm starting to feel a lot like a jar of jelly. But music wise I've turned back to my old love, Bobby McFerrin. There was one day last week that I wished I could have skipped altogether but I kept listening to McFerrin's Hold On that morning and it made it all a whole lot better. And then on Saturday night, after I had come home from my preaching trip and put my feet up, I made a mistake of clicking on one of his videos. And once you do that, there's no end to it. I can watch one video after another, go on for a long time and laugh like a kid while watching. I think this one is my favourite right now. That man is made of music, I say.