News from Palanga Lithuania:
Thank You for your wonderful response to the Palanga Project. A few weeks ago we sent a packet of bulletin inserts to each congregation along with a letter saying this would be our final financial appeal for the Palanga Project. April 27th I received a letter from Pastor Petkunas which included the following paragraph:
We are very pleased with the progress of the work. It is a good thing that we began work when we did, because today the project would cost half again as much. Labor costs for the building trade have risen twice in this year and material costs have also risen from 10 to 20 percent. Buildings are springing up everywhere in the Klaipeda and Palanga region. When you come this year you will see a very changed landscape from last year. With our free market economy the demand for materials has meant that now prices are much higher even among firms which have tried to keep their prices low. The companies that provide concrete forms for construction projects now for the first time have waiting lines. As in the U.S., fuel prices here have risen dramatically. Diesel fuel has gone in the last year from 82 cents to $1.10 per liter [near $4.00 per gallon]. The prediction is as the weather improves more building projects will begin, and this bring even bigger prices in the labor and building supply markets. The biggest increases have come in the building trades. The increase here has been over a 100 percent in the last year. The problem here has been that so many competent labors have been lured to western Europe and United Kingdom where the wages are so much higher than here. As I experienced few months ago airplanes from Lithuania going west are full, but coming back they are one-third empty. There are fewer competent workers, and they can now demand higher pay. The building contractors have now told us that the building is going to cost 20 percent more than the original amount.
I responded to Pastor Petkunas with the assurance that I would call your attention to the situation. And so I am! On behalf of your Lutheran brothers and sisters in Palanga, I ask you to respond to this final appeal with a generous gift. Marjorie and I are going to do so.
The date for the dedication of the building will be set soon. I’ll publish the date as soon as it is firm so you can make your plans to attend! Lord willing, Marjorie and I will be attending.
