Since last year this church has gone through many changes. Part of the change is the problem that many of our churches have when we rent space for worship and Bible study. And this was the case for Vilnius church. The property went up for sale and we were forced to move. This is challenging in the capital city of Vilnius where prices are rapidly rising. But we found a much larger place in another community and there were high hopes. Actually many good things happened there. First of all we made the large L-shaped room into four smaller gathering areas … one for little kids, one for youth, one for Bible study and one for worship. It was impossible as just one large room because of the echo of voices and the kids kind of went wild running back and forth.
Teenagers started dropping in. More and more of them began arriving as the word got around the community that we were there. This was when we took on a staff person to direct and after-school program, Monday through Friday. This was extremely successful and sometimes drew 40 plus youth from the neighborhood. They began to tell their stories as trust was established and we realized that these were kids from high-risk situations. Many of them were already smoking … actually the majority. And many of them already had drug problems … especially glue sniffing and alcohol. We had our work cut out for us. We provided a place for them to hear Bible stories, learn about respect for themselves and property, how to make wise choices and just a safe place for them to gather.
The downside of all this was open hostility from the adults in the community. None of them would join our Sunday worship and Bible study in spite of our efforts to circulate brochures and put signs around the neighborhood. Graffiti was often scrolled across our front door and many things were stolen also. To add to this … our rent was entirely too high and we had to borrow funds from the district. We put our heads together, prayed about it and decided to move again. This is where another gift from God occurred. The building that we had previously rented did not sell as the owners had hoped and they welcomed us back and even reduced the rent for us. We were euphoric and grateful. All that was needed was a fresh coat of paint and some insulation.
The other gift from God I believe is that we have been able to continue the after-school program which now is growing and growing again. The director is very musical and she has had the kids try out their voices individually … amid many giggles … to form a youth choir. They are so excited about this that they often say, “Can we sing for you? Can we please?” They have already learned some songs and have written a new song of their own.
Recently we had a lovely Valentines party to which parents were invited. We also gave out gifts from Operation Christmas Child. This was a very happy moment … watching them open up their shoeboxes and exclaim with glee, “Look what I got!”
As far as outreach, we are also providing food packets and the after-school program reaches far into our new-old community. The van was used to transport kids and adults to Ukmergė to see String Man and they had a lovely Valentine‘s party where the kids practiced public speaking. I am very excited about the new folks who are coming now and that we can minister to children and youth.
Pastor Giedrius