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So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
When the summer 1997 was coming to an end, the pastor of the congregation, Avo Üprus, proposed using the empty pastor’s apartment on the second floor of the church and to renovate some rooms there, so that we’d have a place where children could have a meal and come to warm up when the cold weather arrived.
In early September, five friends of the congregation members, along with one unemployed man who lived near the church and two men who had been released from prison and were unemployed, began renovations in the former pastor’s apartment on the second floor of the church.
At the same time, work with children in need continued on the streets. The men did good work with both their hands and hearts, and within four months, the kitchen and three rooms were thoroughly renovated, and on December 23, 1997, the Day Centre for street children opened its doors. The entire undertaking was made possible by private donations. The blessing for this initiative and what grew out of it was given by the former assessor of the EELC Consistory and later Archbishop of the EELC, Andres Põder.
We had developed a trusting relationship with more than 20 children. In 1998, the Day Center was open five days a week, providing warm meals, clean clothes, and medicine. During the day children could stay in a warm room, but for the night, volunteers went home, and the children returned to Kopli. The beginning was not easy; we were short of food, a shower room, and a washing machine. But God’s good angels sent us friends who came and asked if we needed help.
