As we walked through the streets of Vilnius, I found myself standing in front of a Holiday Inn. For anyone passing by, nothing seemed special or surreal about that moment. But for me, everything came full circle.
Exactly two weeks ago, my team waited outside this Holiday Inn as I went inside and inquired about available rooms.
“We have nothing available.”
For one, World Race teams NEVER stay at places like Holiday Inn. The mere fact that I was inquiring at this location should tell you something.
There was no room…anywhere.
I called over 25 hostels. No room. No room. No room. Many times the attendant responding started to laugh before I could even finish the question. Especially when I told them I was looking for not one but EIGHT beds. We had no idea that we were traveling during a Russian/Polish holiday that sent many tourists to Vilnius every year! My team and I sat in a pizza restaurant for over 4 hours. After making phone call after phone call, I watched as the sun began to set outside. I literally had no clue what we were going to do. I secluded myself at a coffee shop close to the pizza place, hoping a caffeinated latte would cure my headache and calm my frustrations.
“God, what are we going to do? Literally we are about to get kicked out of this mall and have nowhere to stay.”
An hour or so later, my team hopped off the bus in Vilnius suburbia, packs and all, looking for house number 22. A Korean Pastor had agreed to let us stay for the night after hearing about our situation at 8:30pm. We had no idea what to expect, but when we walked to the top floor of a three-story house and saw a wood-stove, indoor bathroom, and carpeted floor to sleep on, we were pretty happy!
The next day, we were eating lunch all together when the Pastor’s wife, Maria, leans over and with a smile asks, “Why are you in my house?”
Hahaha. That is a great question, Maria. Thankfully with the help of her English-speaking son who arrived that morning, we were able to explain God calling us to Lithuania and our deep gratitude for her hospitality when we had nowhere else to stay!
Needless to say, that one night stay at Pastor Stephen's house has turned into a “14-night stay”! Wouldn’t you know that the first floor of their house is made up of three bedrooms with eight beds (the exact number of people on our team), two bathrooms, and a full kitchen? They usually rent out this area to Korean tourists when they visit Vilnius, but it just so happened to be free for the month 🙂
God had this all planned out! Even to the exact number of beds we needed! It has been so sweet to partner with Stephen and Maria as we pray for Vilnius, worship together, and enjoy each other’s company, making sushi or playing ping-pong (pretty stereotypical, I know). They are so generous, kind, and hospitable. They have tremendously blessed us!
What I’m about to say is nothing I anticipated, but Lithuania might be my favorite country on the Race. This place has my heart. I knew we were supposed to come here; I had a peace about Lithuania in Riga and most days that peace is confirmed. We have been so blessed by the community here. They love Jesus and labor endlessly for others to know Him. Most of Europe falls under the “post-modern” category when it come to religion, leaving God for science. And while that is true for Lithuania, this country also has some monumental historical and spiritual differences that set it apart from the rest.
Historically, Lithuania was the last European country to accept the gospel. Throughout the month, we have worshipped at a monument called “The Three Crosses”, where three Christian missionaries were martyred hundreds of years ago. These crosses overlook the city and, for me, seem to symbolize the past and present rejection of Jesus’ message. But the crosses also bring to mind, Jesus’ heart for these people; His love and sacrifice regardless of their unbelief. When the first Lithuanian king was baptized into the Christian faith, it was done merely as a political ploy for more power and property. Lithuania is still praised for their pagan worship and is often regarded as the one place that still holds onto their pagan roots. Local coffee shops even sell wooden sculptures of pagan gods. It’s normal. The other day, I was talking with a college student about the religious culture in Vilnius and he said that being an atheist has become the latest trend in Lithuania.
“For our parent’s generation, the trend was to be a Catholic, but now you are cool if you reject religion, reject the idea of a God, and get back to your [pagan] roots”.
This month, we have gone to the streets several times approaching locals with a “spiritual survey” to gage where they are individually and also where Lithuania is as a whole. I hope to make a short video compilation soon to share their responses, because it has been quite interesting. When we ask non-Christians what they think about Christians we’ve heard everything from “brainwashed” to “strong and courageous, because they are going against the tide”. Most of the “Christians” here are Catholic or Russian Orthodox; so many times Protestants are even categorized as a “cult”. One of my Christian friends here said that her mom warned her before she went to her first protestant church, claiming the people were “crazy”.
All this to say, while Lithuania may be more developed than the other countries, the people’s hearts seem to be harder; they don’t see their need for something greater than themselves. Even if their families have been “religious” in the past (whatever that means), they are choosing to leave God. Many regard it as crazy to even conceive of something beyond the natural. Because it is “trendy” to be an atheist, many people don’t bring up spiritual things. Out of fear of what other people will think, they suppress thoughts of an eternal purpose or the possible existence of God. Something I have learned is that each country, each location, has it’s own spiritual atmosphere. Here in Lithuania there are spirits of pride, depression, silence, and independence. I don’t know if I have been in a place with a spirit of silence before. There are just certain things you don’t talk about. But when truth isn’t spoken, hearts are hardened. I compare it to land that hasn’t been touched in years; not by rain, not by a plow, not by fertilizer, or the nutrients the ground needs.
Hard, dry ground.
So what are we doing?
In order to get the field ready for seeds, ready for a harvest, the ground must be worked. A tool will have to break the ground, water needs to soften the clay, and oxygen needs to sink down into the soil, so it can breathe again. All these things have to happen before anything else can take place. Now take this analogy and adopt it to Lithuania. This place has been hardened for years by unbelief, pride, idolatry, genocide, and fear. Truth has come to this country, and it has taken root in the lives of some (in VERY beautiful way), but many times it has fallen on hard soil.
So this month my team has joined the laborers that are here long-term and have taken sledgehammers to the hard ground. We are trusting that as we pray for softened hearts, declare truth over the city, love on the people, and initiate conversations, God’s spirit will break the silence and apathy over this city. We are praying for an awakening. We want to create avenues for the Spirit to prod at hearts and minds that have grown calloused. We want people to see that in Jesus, there is secure hope for the future and that in Jesus, there is deep joy for the present.
During our three weeks here, we have done a wide variety of things. Several times throughout the month we have prayed and worshipped with local believers, interceding for the city of Vilnius. We have done this twice from a hill overlooking the city; that has been one of my favorite things! As I mentioned previously, we have also gone to the streets with some local believers and “interviewed” Lithuanians. Our hope is that this will get them thinking about spiritual things again and maybe even start up a conversation where we can share some truth. That has been another favorite of mine. Today, we actually went a women’s prison almost two hours away, where we played music, performed a skit, and shared the message of Jesus with the women there. I loved it! I have considered chaplaincy ministry before, so I really enjoyed seeing what this was like and speaking with the women! Some other random ministries include working at church, helping Pastor Stephen and Maria around the house, and speaking at a local Christian school.
I’ll end with this. We have only been here three weeks and I can see how it is easy to get discouraged. As we prayed for the country with the church on Sunday, believers were weeping because at times it seems like nothing is going to change. It can feel hopeless. But we cling to this promise in Isaiah 25:3 “strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you”. Vilnius doesn’t want God; they despise the name of Jesus. But we trust the Spirit to stir things up; to break the curses of pagan worship, to break the spirit of depression and apathy; and to bring hope, abundant life, full joy, and eternal purpose to these dry bones.
