“Forgive me.”
These were words Maina never expected to hear. As leader of the Udmurt ensemble, Kõldõšin, she was in Tallinn for the conference Gather the Fire: A Time for Kindred Nations. Sunday morning Kyldyshin danced and sang, climaxing with a musical rendition of the Lord’s Prayer in the Udmurt language. Their love of God and their Udmurt culture and language had shone in equal measure. When the service ended a Russian speaking lady came up to Maina, saying, “I was born in Udmurtia, and all my life I despised you Udmurts.” Then with tears coming to her eyes, she added, “Can you forgive me?” When our kindred nations inside of Russia begin to reflect the face of Jesus Christ, they not only fill their own lives with new love and peace, but they also are capable of improving the way in which others look at them. Imagine a world in which the Finno-Ugric peoples live at peace with themselves, secure and confident in their identity, culture and language. Imagine a world in which these small nations are treated with respect as something beautiful and precious. It is possible, through Jesus.
A Time for Kindred Nations is a joint project of the Estonian Bible Society, the Estonian Evangelical Alliance Evangelism and Missions Workgroup, the Missions Centre of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Ljus i Öster (Sweden) with a goal of encouraging all Estonian Christians of all denominations to come together in bringing Christ to the Finno-Ugric peoples. We believe that every nation, culture and language is the precious creation of God that must be cherished. But we also believe that sin has destroyed our own relationships and sense of self-worth, as well as the relationships between nations, large and small. Through Jesus Christ and by working together, this negative reality can be reversed and a new start found for our kindred Finno-Ugric nations. Will you join us?
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Hõimurahvaste Aeg 
