May 2007
Greetings from Klaipeda!
Viktorija, a business major, on graduation day at Lithuania Christian College. This is graduation time. Lithuania Christian College (LCC) held
its twelfth graduation at the end of April. Some 93 students participated
in the ceremony. Graduation has also become a time when we hear
from recent graduates. A recent grad writes that she now works
as a legislative assistant for a Lithuanian member of the European
Parliament in Brussels and is a newly elected city council member—the
youngest ever. She has found her vocation. In her words, “The
Lord has showed me my music and has led me to where I lose myself.
And I am thankful and excited to actually feel in the right shoes,
where I belong. The thought that makes me ashamed is that God
keeps helping and answering my prayers even if He has become not
the first item in my life. For which I regret and wish to change.”
A self-portrait of another of the Hinderliters' students in the prison at Pravieniskis.
We had another graduation of sorts at the prison where we teach.
Sixteen students in Eric’s English class received certificates
in an impromptu ceremony. The student Becky has been tutoring
in accounting has now been readmitted to LCC and is enrolled for
distance classes for the fall. These students too have dreams.
For the final exam, students had to write a letter. One older
student said, “I want to know the English language well
till I can read the book of William Sheakspir [sic]. Also I would
like to travel in England in the country side to see how the English
people live and to talk in English with them.” We are wondering
how we can continue our work there. The prison is three hours
away; we’ll need a car to make regular visits to the prisoners
now, so look forward to hearing from us. We’d rather not
go, but it’s not our choice.
LCC has begun the search for a new president. The school’s
president since 1995, Jim Mininger, retires in July 2008. Jim
will leave a good legacy: a new campus, the construction of two
new buildings, the initial recognition and accreditation of the
academic program, a fivefold increase in enrolled students, and
stable finances. There were many attempts to establish progressive
Christian colleges after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Despite good intentions, many schools failed. The post-Soviet
environment proved very difficult. LCC is among the most successful
of the new ventures in the East. This achievement is due in large
part to Jim’s leadership.
We now look forward to a new era at LCC. The challenges for LCC
are daunting. Birthrates fell dramatically here 20 years ago,
so today there are about 35 percent fewer 19 year olds, and this
has led to intense competition for students. European Union membership
in 2004 for Lithuania makes LCC highly attractive as a university
in the European Union for students from Belarus and Ukraine. At
the same time, it makes students from Lithuania more mobile, as
they have opportunities to study in the United Kingdom, Ireland,
or Germany. The pressure to provide quality education is intense;
international standards for accreditation are universally applied.
Significant resources and qualified faculty are required. Yet
LCC has good potential. The ad for the new president gives our
aspirations: “LCC is poised to become the premier Christian
residential university in Eastern Europe offering a range of undergraduate,
pre-professional and selected graduate degrees as well as an internationally
recognized center for Christian scholarship and research.”
LCC should be in all our prayers.
In May we head to Moscow to teach at the Russian-American Christian
University. We go to Moscow to gain perspective on our teaching.
Being part of another academic system gives us more clarity about
our task here at LCC. LCC’s student mix is changing: more
than half the students speak Russian as their first language.
Experience in Moscow helps with these students in the classroom
because we have at least an inkling of what their context might
be like.
In June we head to the United States for a short mission interpretation
stint. We’ll mostly be in Pennsylvania. We’ve been
invited to speak at the Synod of the Trinity meeting in mid-June,
and we’ll be on the staff at the New Wilmington Mission
Conference at the end of July. We’ll offer the sermon at
the Lewistown Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church,
Warren. We’re open to more visits before we return to Lithuania
on August 22. Just contact us by email. We are most effective
with mission committees, Sunday school classes, and women’s
groups. “We love to tell the story of Jesus and his love,”
says the old hymn.
Here’s a final thought. Both of us are well into our fifties
now. Eric is anxiously enjoying his last year in this age range!
In his journal, The Road to Daybreak, Henri Nouwen describes
his difficult struggle in his fifties to accept a call to be the
chaplain at a home for people with mental disabilities. At the
time he was a well-known author and professor at Harvard. He was
called to become downwardly mobile, to accept a task he would
not have chosen. Nouwen interprets his spiritual struggle with
a reflection on the resurrection encounter between Peter and Jesus.
For Nouwen, “follow me” means faithful obedience.
Often what is set before us is unwelcome. “But when you
grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will
fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not want to
go” (John 21:18). We wonder what will happen to us as we
grow older. But we know we are called “to choose again and
again to follow Jesus and him alone.” Faithful obedience
is a joy. He will sustain us on our journey.
Grace and peace to you!
Becky & Eric Hinderliter
PC(USA) Mission co-workers, Lithuania
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
179 |
