Herman Jürgens was annoyed by the slow traffic at a certain corner in Tartu. Finally the blond young Estonian sent a letter to the Tartu town council explaining how to reorganise traffic so it would flow more efficiently. Two years later they took his advice.
"What surprised me was that they took so long to do it," says Herman. "I expected they would take my advice, for of course it was logical."
Herman's advice usually is logical. "When Herman does something," says Mike Schatzman, outgoing national director in Estonia, "he knows the purpose of his actions, the reasons behind them, and what to do. He takes God seriously and has a solid character."
This character was forged while Herman was yet a lad, growing up in a land dominated by the Soviet Union. The town he lived in—a centre of Communism—had two statues of Lenin but no churches. But his parents followed Jesus Christ and taught their children that it is God who loves people, not Lenin. So in first grade, Herman refused to sing songs praising Lenin. The teacher scolded him, of course, and the next day in class mocked the little lad for his beliefs.
But Herman held firm to his faith. Until university, that is. "If there is no God," he began to reason, "would life be better?" After a short time of straying, Herman found out such a life was not better—it was worse. "God cared for me during that time and kept me safe," he says.
After returning to God, Herman got involved with Agape Estonia, because he liked their approach of taking every possible way to get the Good News to people. When someone asked Herman to join the ministry, though, the answer was obvious: No. He had arranged a job in Finland, where he planned to make a lot of money, then after that start his own business in Estonia. "Would you pray about it?" asked the staff person.
So Herman prayed. Romans 10:14 came to mind: "How will they believe if they haven't heard?"
"My father always said I would be a pastor some day," says Herman, "but I always said, 'This is your dream, not mine.' But now it began to make sense." Meanwhile, God was speaking to Herman's girlfriend, Kristel, through the same passage. Her family was not Christian, and she knew the only reason she had come to Christ was because a stranger cared enough to tell her. So the two decided to marry and join the ministry.
They took over leadership of the university ministry and became the first Estonians to raise their own support. "Support raising in Estonia is difficult," says Herman. "There are 1.4 million people in the country, and only 3 percent Christians. People don't know they should give to God. But God provides."
Now, as Herman steps into the position of national director, he wants to see God provide in bigger ways, and to see the entire country turn to God and be changed. "Today people are quite far from God," he says. "It's all about getting jobs. By God's grace we have freedom, which I do not take for granted. If people don't turn back to God, I don't know how free we can be." 
