September 2007

Friends,

Greetings from Klaipeda, Lithuania. Becky and I returned in Klaipeda in late August to start our seventh year at Lithuania Christian College. In May we both taught at the Russian-American Christian University (RACU) in Moscow. Many of our students’ first language is Russian, and Russia is such an important influence in this part of the world that we believe it is important to be more conversant with the context of our students. In June, we flew to the United States for a brief interpretation visit.

The New Wilmington Mission Conference in July renewed our spirits. Caol, Becky and Heidi discuss our mission display.

This summer gave us some time to reflect on our work here. “I wish I could say I was a missionary,” were words we heard at the New Wilmington Mission Conference. It made us feel how privileged we are to be sent to do mission. PC(USA) Moderator the Rev. Joan Grey, says that “God does not call the qualified; God qualifies the called.” Two things we have learned: the attitude of gratitude and the need to ask for help. We are ordinary people called to extraordinary tasks. Our job is to be faithful and obedient; success is up to God. This summer it has been our joy to meet the mission-minded people in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). We are grateful for the support from individuals and congregations that make it possible for us to be here.

We were guests at the First Presbyterian Church, Waterford, Pennsylvania. The covered dish dinner hosted by the mission committee was a great gift!

During this summer we were invited to meet with nine Presbyterian congregations in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Our work included sermons, minutes for mission, Sunday school programs, and meetings with mission committees. In June we were the guest missionaries at the summer meeting of the Synod of the Trinity. We were also on the staff of the 102nd New Wilmington Mission Conference in July. There was also time for individual meetings and meals with those who know and love us. Thanks. These visits are encouraging for us as we mutually share our Christian faith. We only wish we had more time to talk with all of you. We take heart that the First Presbyterian Church in Warren, Pennsylvania, our home church, is planning to send a group to visit and to work along side us.  

Here are two vignettes of our time of interpretation. At the conclusion of our presentation at the Second Presbyterian Church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, we had an engaging conversation with a woman named Rita. She is the widow of Vytautus Kavolis, a famous Lithuanian sociologist who taught for many years at Dickinson College. Kavolis’s work is widely known in Lithuania, especially his critical stance regarding the Soviet mentality. He documented the rise of Lithuania national feeling. Kavolis fled Lithuania in 1944 and became a displaced person. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, he returned to Lithuania to lecture and to help reestablish democratic universities here. He died suddenly in 1996 and is buried in the national cemetery in Vilnius, the capital. His widow believes he died under mysterious circumstances. This conversation with Rita brought home the complexity of post-Soviet societies. Painful issues from the past remain to be confronted and resolved. We have much still to learn about the realities of Lithuania as we seek to be relevant in the lives of our students.

We also had the time to visit with a few dear friends we had not seen for some time. Public radio sponsors a series called “This I Believe.” Our friend Jeff Crosby offered a piece on the importance of asking.  He said, “I believe in the importance of asking. I’ve had MS for more than 24 years. I’ve learned how important it is to ask for what I need. Important to myself to ask; important to helpers that I asked.” Jeff’s disease had advanced to the point where he needs lots of help, but his attitude of mind remains hopeful and encouraging. He can lift your spirits. Jeff reminded us of the importance of asking for what we need.

As you may know, the way the PC(USA) funds mission workers is in the process of change. The financial uncertainties for the next budget cycle (2009-2010) loom large. Without more giving to international mission work through the General Assembly, the present mission force may have to be reduced. An important way to help close the funding gap is increasing support directed toward individual mission workers through “Directed Mission Support.” So we are asking, asking for what we need, as Jeff says.

 In October 2007, our church will send out 48 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) missionaries to share their stories in every corner of the United States. Presbyteries are spearheading this effort to educate the church about how God is at work in the world and how we as a denomination participate in God’s mission. Mission Challenge ’07 is the largest event of its kind ever carried out by our Presbyterian Church. We hope you are part of this renewed focus on Presbyterian mission.

Now we are back at school busily engaged in teaching. This quarter, the PC(USA) devotional These Days has these words from William Sloane Coffin on its back cover: “Faith sets us on the road, but hope keeps us there.” We don’t know what will happen in 2008 and beyond, but our hopes are high. We live by faith; it’s God’s gift to us on our journey of faith.

Becky and  Eric Hinderliter
PC(USA) Mission co-workers, Lithuania

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 179