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	A letter from Eric and Becky Hinderliter in Lithuania

	June 2005 Klaipeda, Lithuania Dear Friends, After four years in Lithuania, in a few days Becky and I will be flying back to the United States for six months of mission interpretation. Much of our preparation is mundane—arranging airline reservations, storing our belongings, and arranging an itineration schedule. We are looking forward to reconnecting with you and to enjoying things that we remember as familiar, comfortable, and understandable. Time at “home” will be a welcome break. We are thinking about stories that will explain what has happened since 2001. We are different as the consequence of this mission experience; we have been told to expect “reverse culture shock” on our return. The Scripture has taken on new meaning as we prepare to return. Think of Paul’s preparations for his mission assignment in Rome: “For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—or rather that we may be mutually encouraged by each others faith, yours and mine” (Romans 1:11-12). Paul is writing to people he has never met—but he does know something important about them. Faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior bound them together; in Christ even people who have never met are not strangers. Like Paul, we are both seeking to share something of our experience with you—but we also desire to be mutually encouraged. We want to listen to your stories as we tell ours.

	Becky and Eric at First Presbyterian Church in Warren, Pennsylvania, last year.				We are reflecting on the meaning of our time here. This spring marked the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Klaipeda was part of Germany until January 1945 and was the scene of much fighting. From a Lithuanian perspective, the end of the war replaced the German occupation with the Soviet occupation. There is a large German military cemetery in the city and also a large Soviet victory monument. In May, flowers were laid at both memorials.

	On June 14, 1941, the Soviets began to deport Lithuanians to Siberia. A few days later, on June 22, 1941, the German invasion began. On the very next day Jews throughout Lithuania began to be rounded up and shot, the beginnings of the Holocaust. The Jewish cemetery in Klaipeda is badly deteriorated and overgrown. There are no flowers on these graves.

	Becky and I encounter this Soviet past in many ways and see the impact it has had on people we know. The Lutheran church we attend is seeking to rebuild in Klaipeda on a vacant lot, the site of the church building bombed during the war and then demolished in Soviet times. Post-Soviet nostalgia—a longing for the Soviet past—is still a common way to evaluate change. When asked in economics class what the main goal of a business should be, students usually response “to create working places.” The market economy, however, says the answer is to make a profit. The local newspaper has been running a series of reflections on Soviet times—people send their stories to the newspaper to debate whether they were better off in Soviet times. The economic security of Soviet times is often mentioned. This spring, revelations of the large number of Lithuanians who were KGB “reserve officers” became a public issue. I asked one of my students what this meant for her. It was painful, she said, because her father had been named as a former KGB agent. We wonder about the decisions people had to make—as if they had any choice at all.				The monument in Klaipeda to those “sent away” to prison camps in Siberia between 1940 and 1990. The inscription reads, “Remember the sufferings of the people.”

	Alice Winters, a Presbyterian missionary, has a Bible study for mission today published in the pamphlet, “When God’s People Travel Together.” She describes both personal and communal implications of mission. So what is the communal implication of mission for Presbyterians today? In many ways, Paul’s letter to the Romans is about the communal meaning and consequences of the church’s mission in the world. We are thinking about this question in the context of our reappointment as PC(USA) mission co-workers in Lithuania. We are not here alone. You are part of the story we tell. On Sunday evening July 24 we expect to be commissioned by the PC(USA) to these tasks at the New Wilmington Missionary Conference in Pennsylvania. This joyous event will have implications for you as well as us. As missionaries, Lithuanians ask us lots of questions. The first question is “How long will you be here?” This is a question that really asks, “Are you with us? Is this the place you would really rather be?” We are glad that we can answer, “yes, we want to be here with you.” And our “yes” is possible because of our connection with you back home, because of the “communal implications” of mission. We hope our ministry here will be acceptable. The apostle Paul writes in expectation of journey to Rome, “that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company” (Romans 15:32). In the coming months Becky and I very much seek to be refreshed by your company. We leave Lithuania on July 3. The best way to reach us will be through the Lewistown Presbyterian Church, 17 East Third St., Lewistown, PA 17044, Telephone (717) 248-4561, email: lewispres@acsworld.com. We will be keeping the same personal email addresses we use now. We are always grateful when we hear from you. The God of peace be with all of you. Eric and Becky Hinderliter The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 179

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