Lithuania - Day 2 -

Day two of our basketball camp in Lithuania was a little down in numbers, but it was Saturday and there were several conflicting things that we had to deal with.  The kids that were there enjoyed the camp and we got to give them the next portion of the Gospel, moving them toward a decision on Monday.  The excitement today came when the camp was over.  We quickly ate a couple of Hessburgers that our hosts brought to us at the gym and we loaded into the vans and headed to the Juvenile Prison on the other side of town.  This facility is a medium security style facility housing about 300 prisoners from 13 -18 years of age.  Their crimes range from car theft to murder and so we were aware that this was a little different than anything we had done up to this point. 
We arrived and they had us put our valuables, cell phones, and wallets in a locker, they took our passports and they let us through the gate, three at a time.  When we were all inside, it was a little ominous to hear that heavy door close behond us.  Hmmmm, I don't think I told anyone where I would be.  What if they won't let me out?
When we were in and had our balls and snacks ready, they let the first 49 kids into the gym.  Later we would have another group of almost 60.  They lined up against the wall and we introduced ourselves and played a couple of Minute2Winit games with them.

We then divided them into four groups and started our drills and teaching stations.  Three groups worked with the coaches on basketball skills while the other group came upstairs in the un-airconditioned gym so that Joel and I, with the help of our translator, Yurij, could share the Gospel with them.  We had just 12 minutes to tell them that there is a God who loves them and has a plan for their life, but unfortunately, our sin has created a barrier between us and God.  They were somewhat flippant about things until I said, "You are in this place because you have done wrong.  The wall outside is a barrier between you and the outside, just as sin is a barrier between you and God.  But because you are in here, you can understand what I am talking about much better than many who are on the outside.  They dare to say, 'I'm a pretty good person.'  But the Bible says that there are none righteous.  We are all sinners and there is a price for that sin."  When I got to this part of the story, each and every group quieted down and became very somber.  They listened attentively from that point on as I told them that Jesus had come as their substitute to take their punishment for them and if they would simply believe that He is who the Bible says that He is and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the grave like the Bible says He did, then they could pray and ask Him to forgive their sins, come into their heart, and be their Savior.

When we prayed with them, they were absolutely silent, and when we asked them to keep their heads bowed and to raise their hands if they had prayed and asked Jesus to save them, 51 of the over 100 inmates that we witnessed to raised their hand. 

As the last group of 9 was entering our area and taking their seats, the chaplain's wife took me aside and said, "In this group is their leader.  We must pray that God reaches him."  I asked her not to tell me which one he was until after we gave them the Gospel.  When we had finished sharing the Good News with them 5 of the 9 raised their hands that they had received Christ.  As we dismissed them to join the others, the chaplain's wife was bouncing off the walls with joy, muttering in Lithuanian and English, "Praise God! Praise God! Oh, Thank You, Lord!!!"  The young man recognized by all of the inmates as their leader had been the first in the group to raise his hand.  The others had their eyes closed so he did not influence them, but it was such an answer to prayer to see this young man come to Christ.  Later, as we prepared to leave, he presented Joel with a gift that the boys had made.  It was an amazing "God moment."



Our team with a few of the boys and the chaplain and his wife.

 We left the Prison knowing that almost half of the young men we dealt with today were set free from chains that bind them stronger than any prison cell ever could.

When we got back to the hotel, the Hill family and I decided to walk down to the Old Town area of Kaunas and get some supper.  We had some great pizza and then continued down the pedestrian mall among shops and restaurants.

It had a beautiful, European feel.  After spending the afternoon in the sweltering upstairs room engaged in spiritual warfare for the souls of those young men, it was refreshing to walk out in the open air and feel the freedom that God has given us.

Before we made it back to the hotel, it began to rain.  It was a slow, warm summer rain.  I found it to be rather romantic.  Unfortunately, the one that I would have liked to be walking with was 7,000 miles away.

Our trip is almost over.  It is hard to believe that we will only be here in Kaunas two more days.  I will be preaching tomorrow at the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church, then we will hurry to the gym for our camp.  On Monday, we will load everything up and check out of the hotel before the camp and then head out for Riga as soon as we are finished.  We will spend the night there and then board our plane on Tuesday morning for the journey home. Joel Hill and his son, Jordan, along with our media mogul, Justin, will make their way to Austria and Poland for two American Football camps in the next week or so.
Please pray earnestly for several things. First, for the young men that received Christ today.  They have a difficult road ahead of them.  Pray that the chaplain will minister to them effectively and they will grow in their walk with the Lord.  Second, pray for our campers, especially on Monday morning from 9 to Noon Lithuania time.  That is 1 to 4 AM in the states so I'm sure that God would answer your prayers if you prayed early. :0)  Pray that they will understand the Gospel and call on the Lord as well.  We hope to see one more great harvest of souls before we go home. Third, pray for us as we travel home and for the teams that will be going to Austria and Poland.  God is moving in a wonderful way.  Please keep praying.

Lithuania - Day 1 - Perspective

Isn't it amazing how quickly our perspective can change? If you had told me yesterday afternoon on our way here that we would have 41 campers for our first day of camp, I would have been very excited.  At that point, I had no point of reference for my expectations and we had even talked about the possibility that we could have 5 kids or 200.  If you had told me when I went to bed last night that we would have 41 kids in camp today, I think I would have been very disappointed, because we had heard of all the hard work that the church here had done in preparation and we were daring to expect 80 to 200 kids and talking about how to deal with that many kids effectively.

As I write to you this afternoon, we have finished our first day of camp with 41 campers and I am just marveling at the sovereign nature of the God that we serve.  We had exactly what we could handle today.  The gym here is 1/3 the size of the gym we used in Latvia.  It has outdoor courts that we planned to use as well, but it rained much of the morning so they were not always available to us.  And the language barrier seems to be a little harder to overcome here than it was in Latvia, but once again, God knows all that and He knows how to make it all worthwhile. 
Among the 41 campers were a group of about 7 kids from an orphanage here in Kaunas.  They made it clear as soon as they came through the door that they didn't want to be split up.  They wanted to stay together.  They were a challenge to work with.  They were difficult and disruptive, but it soon became clear to us that what they needed more than anything else was a little bit of genuine love.  One boy, Gadas, was expecially expressive during our presentation of the Gospel today.  Today's portion introduced God.  When we asked "Who is God?"  Gadas answered, "Me!" 

Please pray for this young man.  While he is going to be a difficult case, if he receives Christ, he has the potential to have a great impact for Him among the orphans.
We also had four young men from the Juvenile Prison that were allowed to come to our camp today.  They were all about 17 years old.  Coach Joshua Laney noticed how buff one young man was and told him, "You'd better quit lifting those weights, you are going to hurt yourself."  The boy said, "It's just survival."  He later told Coach Laney that he had been in the prison for four years and had four more years to serve.  This was the first time he had been able to go outside of the prison for an event.
Since today was the only day that these four boys would be at the camp, we took them back to the classroom when camp was over and shared the rest of the Gospel presentation with them.  With most of these kids, we will take it very slow and present the Gospel over the entire four day camp, but since we don't have that luxury with these boys, we took extra time today. When we had finished, each of them bowed their heads and prayed with us.  We don't know how many of them asked Christ to save them, but we do know that they received a detailed, step by step explanation of the Gospel and were asked to make a decision.  In my heart, I believe that God did a work in their lives today.



Our team with the four boys from the Youth Prison

 After the camp was over, the chaplains of the prison invited us to come tomorrow evening and do a two hour camp with 120 of the inmates inside the prison.  We will have the opportunity to clearly present the Gospel to all of them, so I believe that God answered our prayers today.  He gave us all of the kids we could handle and he opened a door to three times as many more for tomorrow afternoon.  We serve an amazing God!

Latvia/Lithuania Day 6 - Travel Day



Our sleeping quarters in Talsi
My bed is the one that is made up on the right.

We got up this morning, loaded the vans, ate breakfast, said our goodbyes, and we were ob the road before 8 AM. The trip to Kaunas, Lithuania would normally be about 4 1/2 hours if we were in a hurry, but we didn't have anything pressing in Kaunas until 6PM so we took a nice leisurely drive through the countryside, stopping to take pictures of interesting sites and eating at the McDonald's at the Acropolis Mall in Siauliai.

We learned that although Talsi is a quaint little village, it's standard of living is better than that of the people in the surrounding countryside between Talsi and the Lithuanian border. Lithuania's standard of living,however, seems to be much better. As we've travelled, we have seen several very interesting sites. Before we got out of Latvia, we saw a family of seven wild hogs cross the road in front of us. I wasn't able ask them if they were coming from Arkansas or headed back there. :0) We stopped and took pictures of several beautiful old churches, each one more elaborate than the last.

We also stopped at a shrine known as the hill of crosses. Historically it is a symbol of the resilient nature of the Christians in Lithuania. During the Soviet Era, the people would erect crosses on the hill and the Soviets would come and knock them down. Before long the people would set them up again. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, over 200,000 crosses have been brought to this remote hillside north of Siauliai. Two popes have visited the site and there is now a Fransciscan Monestary at the site.

Personally, I found the place rather sad. Like so many things that man creates for worship, at some point we begin to miss the point and before long it becomes an idolatrous spectacle. But it did show us one thing, the people of Lithuania are hungry for a relationship with God. We pray that we can lead them away from dead ritual to a relationship with a living Savior.

We arrived at our hotel in Kaunas at about 4PM. It is a very nice place, The Park Inn by Raddison. The beds are no larger than the were at Talsi, but they are up off the floor.



L to R (Interpreters Uri and Aukse and Pastorus Vladymir

 We met our host, Pastor Vladymir of Kaunas Evangelical Christian Baptist Church and our interpreter, Aukse.  Pastor Vladymir speaks very little English and comes off pretty serious but I rode with him and Aukse to the school and tried to break the ice a little bit.  The church was started in 1875 and PastorVladymir has been there for 30 years.  They endured some pretty heavy persecution under the Soviets, and their church building was used for everything from a barracks to a night club to a warehouse for salt.  Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, they have been a shining light in their neighborhood, which once was one of the most violent in the country but now is recognized as peaceful and safe.

 
When we arrived at the school we were pleasantly surprised by what we found.  The school had repainted the gym floor and added several side goals since Joel had visited in the spring.  It is nowhere near the facility that we enjoyed in Latvia, but it is much better than we expected.
We then went o the church for a snack and a planning meeting with the Pastor and our interpreters.  They told us that they had given 200 flyers to the PE teachers at the area schools and that they had handed out around 700 flyers in the neighborhoods. The announcement had been made on the radio and in the newspapers as well. So, tomorrow we may have 50 and we may have 200.  It's all in God's hands.
We were speaking about the services at the church on Sunday and Aukse began talking about her love of praising God.  She said, "I have found something on the internet that I love.  Have you heard of K-love?  Positive and encouraging, yes?"

We also saw that Pastor Vladymir had several Gideon New Testaments in the Lithuanian language that he had been given for his people.  I told him that there were several Gideons who had been instrumental in our being able to come on this trip. We left our meeting tonight expecting God to do something so big that no one would mistake it for anything that we could have accomplished on our own.
When I got back to the hotel, I stopped at the display case for the restaurant in the lobby.  What I saw was an array of wonderful looking desserts.  There in the middle was a teacup filled with Creme brûlée.  I bought it and it was the second best that I have ever tasted(surpassed only by that prepared by Brenda Nowlin).
I thought it would be hard for God to outdo what He did last week, but I am beginning to believe that this week is going to be more memorable yet.

Latvia (Day 6) Part 2 - Day Trip to the Baltic Sea

After lunch today, a few of us hopped in the van and headed north to Kolka, a small village located at the convergence of the Bay of Riga and the Baltic Sea.  Along the way we saw some amazing old churches and beautiful countryside.  As we approached the Baltic, we wound our way through forests of cedar and birch trees and through great fields of wheat and hay.  At one point, we watched the farmers mowing and baling hay.  Walking through the fields behind the machinery were storks looking for lunch. 

As we passed through Valdemarpils, we saw a couple of the older girls who had attended our camp walking along the road.  We stopped and asked if they needed a ride and they got in.  They were hitch-hiking to Rojas (pronounced like my dad pronounces Hawaii, except with an 'R') to go to the beach for the afternoon.  The people here walk almost everywhere they go and they have no fear of hitch-hiking.  The American in us made us very concerned for their safety, so we dropped them in Rojas on our way to Kolka.

When we got to the Baltic, we walked about a half mile out to the point, where the Gulf of Riga and the Baltic Sea meet.  The waves in the picture below are where the waters of the two come together. 

The beach was pretty clear and the water was not terribly cold, so we waded out and got pictures in the Baltic Sea and the Bay of Riga.

Here is a short video to show you how far we had to walk to get from the Baltic Sea to the Bay of Riga.

When we got back to Talsi, we took a walk through the town and saw a few of the sights.  The Lutheran church here in Talsi was built in 1567, just 50 years after Luther hung his 95 Theses on the door of the Church in Wittenburg. 

The school is teaming with kids tonight as they are saying their goodbyes to the kids that we brought with us.  Tomorrow morning at 7 AM, we head for Lithuania.  Pray for that God prepares the way for us as we go.

Latvia (Day 6) - Tears on Earth, Rejoicing in Heaven

Okay, so the kids probably didn't understand why I was crying.  I was standing in the gym watching them go from coach to coach and asking for our autographs on the balls and t-shirts that we had given them, and it was all I could do to keep the tears from rolling down my face.  What I had witnessed in the previous hour and a half is still causing goose-bumps as I sit here seven hours later writing this post.  Today was the last day of our camp here in Talsi. Each day, we have shared a small portion of the Gospel and explained it as best we can to each group of kids who either weren't in the camp last summer or just didn't make a decision for Christ.  The first couple of days, we spoke of God's game plan for their life and the problem of sin.  It was evident that some were grasping what we were saying, because yesterday one of the boys, said, "Is today when we hear the good news?"  Well, this morning we brought each group into one of the locker rooms so that we could have a little privacy.

The first group was made up of 6 middle school boys.  When Joel asked them if they would like to ask Christ into their heart, all six raised their hands, all six prayed to receive Jesus, and all six became our brothers in Christ.  I left the room with the feeling  that this day was going to be very special.  So that every coach would have the opportunity to witness the impact of our work here this week, we rotated with each group so that each coach had a chance to sit in while the invitation was given to a small group of campers.  By the end of the day thirty-five campers prayed to ask Jesus to forgive their sins and be their Saviour.
When I heard the final results, I just couldn't hold back the tears.  5000 miles, thousands of dollars in travel expenses, time away from family and church responsibilities, all for a little basketball coaching???? Nice vacation, Pastor, have fun on your little basketball trip.  Well, today is what it is all about.  This is why we came.  There may be tears here in Talsi, but they are tears of joy, and they are nothing compared to the rejoicing that is going on in heaven right now.

Latvia (Day 5) Basketball, Bees, and Shish-kabob

It's been another beautiful day here in Talsi, Latvia.  We had 54 kids at camp this morning and things went very well.  I introduced Justin Hull to the kids that I am discipling.  Justin is our outstanding video guy who, when our portion of the trip is over will be returning to Talsi to continue the ministry to these young people long-term. Justin is a great young man and I am excited to see what God is going to do through him here in Talsi.

Today is the first day that every minute hasn't been scheduled, so after lunch, I came back to the school and took an hour long nap.  I have been staying up till 1AM every night getting my blog posted and my pictures up, etc. So the nap was a wonderful thing.  When I got up, our hostess, Inguna, took our team and the VBS team that is here from Texas out to a campground for a little getaway.

The place was beautiful, but then again, I've been using that word alot this week.  It was located in a birch and pine forest and had several small lakes with several nice cabins scattered around.  The cabins each had a large sauna and the plan was for Inguna to fix shish-kabobs for everyone and then we could use the sauna.  While the shishkabobs were grilling, we went on a little tour through the park that was focused on the life of bees.  We even got dressed up in a beekeeper's "costume" and the keeper showed us the hives and the whole process of honey production. 

It was interesting. It would have been nice if they had given us the costumes earlier, because the mosquitoes were terrible.  They even carried off a few of the young children. :0)  

The meal was amazing.  The meat was wonderfully seasoned, and the bread was excellent, and there was smoked chicken and these little bread twists that were slightly sweet and it was all fantastic. One of the ladies in the other group asked me to pass the smoked chicken and I said, "You know that it's not chicken, it's stork."  One of the other ladies eyes got as big as hubcaps.  She had eaten about four bites of the chicken and was convinced that I was telling the truth.  It was hilarious.

After dinner, the youngsters in both groups put on their swimsuits and got in the sauna.  I refrained, because I was sure that there was no one that wanted to see me in a swimsuit.  The sauna is a part of Latvian culture.  They sit in the dry sauna with the temperature at about 180 degrees, then they run outside and jump in the cold water of the pond.  They say that the sudden change in temperature is exhilerating, but I just took their word for it.  Besides, the little pond that they were jumping into was very small and kind of marshy.

I had the chance to sit down with Inguna for a little while and hear her testimony and the story of how she came to start a Christian school and how it is supported, etc.  She and her husband Maris are amazing people that God is using to do a tremendous work.  I have invited them to come speak at our church in November.

Tomorrow is our big day.  We will be giving the invitation to follow Christ to the 40 or so campers who have not accepted Him. Please pray that God will move in a mighty way.  It will all be happening between 1AM and 4AM Grove time, Wednesday morning, so I'm sure that you will all set your alarms and spend that three hours in prayer. :0) Ummmmm, or at least pray for us before you go to bed tonight that we can see a great harvest of souls here.

I have fallen in love with the people of my team.  I only barely knew any of them when we started on this journey together, but I have seen their hearts this week and I am glad that god allowed me to be a part  of all this.  And after tomorrow, we will only be half way finished.  Thursday morning it's on to Lithuania!

Latvia (Day 4) Riga 500

Today was an exciting day at camp.  I taught a lesson on feeding on the Word of God and the kids really  responded well.  We gave Bibles to all of the kids who made decisions to follow Christ at last year's camp.  The groups were arranged a little differently today which allowed me a couple of free segments to do some coaching.  I really enjoyed that and I think the campers did too. 

After lunch we loaded up the vans and headed to Riga, Latvia's capital and site of their airport.  The last member of our team arrived this afternoon, so we took it as an excuse to visit this wonderful old-world city.  Located on the banks of the beautiful Daugava River, Riga's central district holds all of the classic charm that you can imagine.  The 13th Century Riga Cathedral is a wonder of medieval architecture and it contains the second largest pipe organ in Latvia.

The Cathedral is set in the middle of a gorgeous piazza filled with shops and restaurants, with a soundtrack provided by street musicians of every variety, a talented young woman on a violin, playing a classical piece, a young girl in the market deftly playing a dulcimer, three teenage girls singing their version of a modern pop song as one of them strummed her guitar, and an old bearded man producing a hauntingly beautiful sound that flowed from his saxophone and echoed from the brightly colored walls of the courtyard.  Against the backdrop of an azure sky and snow white clouds, it gave you the feeling of an old romantic movie scene.

After our visit to Old Town Riga, we made our way to the airport to pick up Gary.  We dropped three of our team off at the terminal just a few minutes after his scheduled arrival time with the intention of making the circle a couple of times and saving the 2 Lat parking fee.  This is where our story enters the "Sounded like a good idea at the time" Zone.  Apparently Gary purchased the ticket that allows your luggage to visit all of the historic European capitals and Riga was well down on the list, so while we waited for him to find out that his socks and underwear may just get to see Springtime in Paris, we made enough left turns to qualify us for the next race on the NASCAR circuit.

We had dinner at a great restaurant in Riga and then made our way back here.  We are finding that this country is a study in contradictions; tremendous natural beauty, wonderful people who have endured great oppression and come out on the other side as survivors, and yet they are groping in spiritual darkness.  Please pray for us as we share the gospel these next couple of days.  We have almost 40 unsaved kids coming to camp everyday.  They are hearing a simple presentation of the Gospel that is progressing each day.  On Wednesday, we will bring them to the place of decision and we would ask that you pray very vigorously that they respond.  The basketball is fun, the sightseeing is awesome, but the reason we are here is to see kids saved.  Let's bombard the throne of God over the next 48 hours.

We have a great video guy with us on this trip. Justin has put together a short video with pictures from each day of the camp.  You can find them on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/thewaysports#p/a/u/0/YwNK6Ob1_1c