July 2008

Friends,

This summer has been a busy one for us with visitors. We were glad for the company, as they encourage us in our work. Visitors also offer a mirror for us to see ourselves as others see us.

Twelve members of the First Presbyterian Church in Warren, Pennsylvania, spent 11 days with us in June. Warren is one of our supporting churches, and is the church where our faith was first nurtured. Eric was raised there, and we were members before moving to Harrisburg. Eric’s mother, age 88, is still a member. The group divided their time between teaching English classes for students from Senegal, interacting with a class of Ukrainian high school students who were visiting LCC, cataloguing books for the library, and doing maintenance projects. The group did a small work project for the homeless shelter run by the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Theresa’s order). Each morning began with devotions where members of the LCC community shared their faith stories.

The Hill of Crosses in Lithuania makes one stop and think about the power of faith. Kay Dolan of Warren, Penn., was amazed by the 55,000 crosses.

One day we made a Lithuanian pilgrimage of sorts. The first stop was Kryžių kalnas, or the Hill of Crosses. Lithuania is a flat country; any rise or hill takes on a special significance. The Hill has over 55,000 crosses and is widely known as a sacred place. Many pilgrims visit. It is believed that the first crosses were put by the relatives of the victims of the nationalist rebellion in 1831, as the tsarist government did not allow families to honor their dead properly.

Crosses became more numerous after another nationalist rebellion in 1863, and during Soviet times the Hill of Crosses assumed special importance. It was the place of anonymous but surprising resistance to the regime. The Soviet government considered the crosses and the hill a hostile and harmful symbol. In 1961 wooden crosses were broken and burnt, metal ones scrapped, and stone and concrete crosses were broken and buried. The hill itself was destroyed many times with bulldozers.

During 1973–1975, about 500 crosses used to be demolished each year, with no attempt at doing this secretly. Later, the tactics became more subtle: crosses were demolished as having no artistic value, different “epidemics” were announced that forbade people to come to the region, or roads were blocked by police. The Hill was guarded by both the Soviet army and the KGB. In 1978 and 1979 some attempts were made to flood the territory. Despite all these endeavors to stop people from visiting the Hill, crosses would reappear each night.

After the rise of the Lithuanian independence movement in 1988 the status of the Hill of Crosses changed completely; it became both a Lithuanian and a world phenomenon. It gained fame after the visit of the Pope John Paul II on September 7, 1993 (adapted from the Catholic Church in Lithuania). A visit to a Catholic pilgrimage site is perhaps outside the Reformed tradition. Yet our faith was strengthened when we recognized how simple acts of faith and witness could pose a challenge to what was thought to be a mighty regime.

The secret Soviet-era missile base in Lithuania is abandoned, but tension over missiles has renewed.

A visit to the secret Soviet missile site deep in the forest at Plokščiai near Plateliai offered a study in contrasts between the wooden crosses of Kryžių kalnas and the concrete missile silos. Most of us remember Cold War from a U.S. perspective. Now we were on the other side. The abandoned missile silos were dark, cold, and forbidding. Technology dominated; the massive scale was intimidating. We imagined the Soviet solders living below ground for days on end. It was hard to believe that such a powerful technological regime would be so fearful of a tiny hill full of hand-made crosses. But that’s the power of faith over the might of this world.

We ended the day with dinner at the seaside resort of Palanga. There is irony here. Headlines in the local Klaipeda newspaper reported that an abandoned Soviet site at Palanga is being considered for the U.S.-designed anti-missile defense (AMD) shield for Lithuania and the region. Peace in this world is more fragile and geopolitics more complex than we might imagine.

Lithuania is outspoken in promoting integration with the West. It is difficult to steer a diplomatic course. Lithuanian President Adamkus said recently, “We firmly believe that the integration of both Western Balkans and such countries like Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova into NATO and the European Union will increase security and stability in Europe.” Tensions with Russia seem to ebb and flow on a daily basis as LCC and its students seek to straddle both East and West. Living in Lithuania demands a constant engagement with history, a deep well of remembrance, and challenges for today.

The last devotions before departure focused on Paul’s missionary journeys. The visits of Paul and Barnabas strengthened and encouraged the disciples in the distant churches of Asia (modern day Turkey) (Acts 14:22; 20:2). These new churches needed to know that the folks back home cared for them. In our years here in Lithuania this message takes on a new meaning. We have come to rely on the faithful support of those who know and love us. We departed with Paul’s words to our hearts: “And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32). So the summer visitors from Warren have built us up and refreshed us for the tasks that we are sent to do through the grace of God. We hope your summer offers you this hope as well.

Peace,

Becky & Eric Hinderliter

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 158