This past September a group of 22 members of St. John’s Lutheran in Hubbard and 2 members of Trinity in Vinton went to Lithuania to work on the Church sponsored by IDE. Our Lithuanian brothers and sisters have endured much. I’ve personally seen the foundations of Churches the Soviets bulldozed in an attempt to eliminate Christianity. I’ve seen bullet holes in paintings over altars where Soviet soldiers walked into Church Sunday morning and shot at Christ’s image. The Nazis also left their mark in Lithuania. There are mass graves with thousands of Jewish bodies at the outskirts of many of their cities. The people we met, talked with, and worked to help were people who have endured the cross for Christ in ways that we Americans cannot imagine.
Scattered around the Church property in Palanga, Soviet style buildings with their cold, grey, box-like architecture are seen in various stages of decay. The Church stands out as a beacon of hope and life in the midst of these monuments of death. Our visits there have revealed that the members of this parish are a people who need more than money; they need to know that their Christian brothers and sisters elsewhere in the world love them and want them to find joy in our shared life under Christ’s grace.
This was the 3rd trip we have taken to Lithuania and each trip we come away humbled and thankful for the saving grace of Christ that upholds His people in their trials. Every trip there has brought comments from pastor Petkunis and his people saying they are amazed that we would give up our time and efforts for them. They have been pushed down for so long that acts of kindness and compassion from “outsiders” seem strange.
I write this article not so much to describe something good we did, but to tell you how important mercy is to these people. The project in Lithuania is a worthy one and the people there need our help to finish it. Consider giving a gift to help finish this project. Better yet, consider organizing a group of workers from your church or your circuit. Go into their world, sit with them, talk with them, let them see you giving your time and energy to help them. You will go away richer by far having witnessed firsthand what strength of faith God has given to His people.
Rev. Matthew Rueger
