West End Lithuania Mission Team

Top Row: Zach Laylor, Mark Allen
Middle Row:Allison Key, Dare Oseas, Claudia Nygaard
Bottom Row: Diane Lancaster, Martha Harbuck

A MISSION TRIP TO LITHUANIA

I was asked by my church last summer to be the team leader on a trip to visit our sister church in Vilinius, the capital of Lithuania. As with all mission trips, you go there expecting to give, and end up getting so much. I can't pretend to understand the workings of God, but from personal experience I would have to say that when you work for Him, it is always a win-win situation. Sometimes what I get out of it is a lesson I wouldn't wish for, but it's always a lesson I NEED. Like a good parent, God doesn't seem nearly as concerned with my comfort as he is with helping me grow, so now when I go on a mission trip I say "okay, what do You want me to learn now?" And He tells me.

LITHUANIA

Like Honduras, the constant governmental upheaval has taken its toll on this country. I came home from this trip wondering what America would be like if instead of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, we had aggressive neighboring countries who wanted what we have. Lithuania has been tossed around like a foster child between Poland, Germany, Russia and many internal governments. Her relatively new government is still fragile, and though the economy is growing rapidly, she has a long way to go to be a leader in commerce. She also has many social problems. Lithuania has the highest rate of Alcoholism in Europe. (Under Soviet rule workers were frequently paid off in Vodka). Also, even though they are free, many people still live in fear that they will be sent to Siberia if they break the old rules... like going to church. Additionally, Lithuanians have a big problem with anti-Semitism. Just prior to Word War II, in the town of Kaunas, over 10,000 Jews were killed in one day. My understanding is that a great deal of the killing was done not by German Nazis, but by fellow Lithuanians. Reparations for the injustices done to the Jews have not been satisfactorily made by the Lithuanian government, so there has been little healing.

OLD VILNIUS

 


NEW VILNIUS

THE VILNIUS METHODIST CHURCH...

Our sister church faces many challenges. While other cities in Lithuania had some Methodist roots established prior to World War II, in Vilnius, Methodism is seen as something of a cult. The majority of the population is Catholic. The Church is on the top floor of a building that houses an auto repair shop on one end, and a restaurant on the other. Crime is a problem in the neighborhood, and the front door has a steel locked cage to keep out thieves. One night when we returned late from a bus trip, the parking lot was filled with 20-something males who were all drinking and standing around by their cars. It had the appearance of being a place where they frequently "hang", and I felt somewhat intimidated by them. With so many stunning cathedrals throughout the city, this church has a lot of competition as an inspirational setting in which to worship.

Sunday Church Service

THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The younger girls who attend the Vilnius church regularly, live within walking distance of it. They live in what is called the Polish ghetto, with no running water or sewage disposal. Waste is brought to the street in a bucket and dumped there. As you can see, the roads are not paved either, and the buildings are in disrepair.

The government plans to level the neighborhood over the next three years. The families living there will be moved to other areas of the city, probably to apartments built during the Soviet occupation. The houses you see here will be replaced by commercial real estate. It is unlikely that the little girls will have bus fare to come to the church from their new residences, and since there are few residential areas within walking distance of the church it is unlikely that the congregation will be able to grow at it's current location. The congregation is searching for a new location.

THE CONGREGATION
Jeff's church is made of of about ten adults and about twenty kids. The youth are predominantly girls and are quite pretty and have charming personalities. We adored them and I think it was mutual.

Lina, Diana, Karina, Migle, Pastor Jeff Hassell, Lara, & Dovile


Amelia, Dare, & Yurga


Sasha, Karina, Mark, Julija, & Diana


Mark & Marius


ZACH HOLDING ALBINAS

OUR INTERPRETERS
(ALSO CHURCH MEMBERS)

Because of their ability to speak English, we bonded the best with our interpreters. They are absolutely wonderful people that have the openness and innocence of youth without the jaded sense of entitlement so often found in the youth of more affluent cultures.


ZACH, JULJIA, MARK, & ASTA


West Enders and Vilnius Church on the last day of Camp

We spent three days camping with the Lithuanians... swimming in the lake, doing bead crafts, playing games, & playing music. We had a great time, and given the lack of a common language we communicated pretty well. We then returned to Vilnius, and put together a small tour, performing for other churches. We sang at the churches in Pilviskai, Kaunas, and Siauliai.


The World Communion Sunday Altar Cloth

TOURING LITHUANIA - THE 9TH FORT AND THE HILL OF CROSSES

The day we performed in Kaunas, we visited the concentration camp "The 9th Fort". Many people were brought to the fort in freight train cars from other countries. Held as prisoners, they were forced to dig trenches. Later they were stripped naked, and their possessions including clothing were given to rag pickers who resold them outside the prison. The captives were then marched naked into the trenches, men, women, and children, and shot. While the bodies were still writhing, the next group was brought in and forced to kneel down on those dying, and then they were shot. This continued until 10,000 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN ONE DAY! It is said that the ground continued to move for three days after the bodies were covered over. If reading this upsets you... good! Because if you think this can't happen again, you need to find out what is going on in the Sudan right now. The people in Darfour are suffering the same genocide, and we can no longer look the other way. When I first joined West End Methodist Church, we had a pastor by the name of Russ Monfort. In a sermon one time, he said "I don't believe the opposite of love is hate, I believe it is fear". I think he is right. It was fear that killed those Jews. Fear of the Germans who were marching in and what they would do to Jewish sympathizers, and fear of the Jews themselves because they were different. It was similar to the fear now being felt about Muslims. I don't have the answers, but I don't see how killing anyone is going to solve anything.

BEDS AT THE NINTH FORT

It was August when we visited, and the cells were cold and damp. I can't imagine what winter would have been like there. Men were held in this room, while women were held in A room on the floor above.


A MEMORIAL TO THE VICTIMS

EVEN BABIES AND SMALL CHILDREN WERE EXECUTED

 

THE HILL OF CROSSES

The next day we performed at a church in Siauliai. On our way back we stopped at a place called the "Hill Of Crosses". When the Soviets occupied Lithuania, the official religion of the Communist party was Atheism. As a result, they bulldozed the Hill of Crosses. The next day the crosses were back. The Soviets bulldozed them again. The next day they were back. The Soviets continued to bulldoze them and the people nearby continued to replace them. Finally the Soviets gave up. There must have been 100,000 crosses on this hill. For every large cross you see in the pictures, there were fifty small necklace sized crosses hanging on it.

When I think about what we are capable of on both ends of the human spectrum, our very worst and our very best, I am amazed at what an incredible gift it is that our Creator has given us freedom of will.

THE HILL OF CROSSES - HEADING UP THE HILL

 

HEADING DOWN THE HILL ON THE OTHER SIDE