Tag Archives: Lithuania

Vision of Visions – Debrief

Posted by Bill on November 16, 2011

Dear Friends,

It has taken seven days for Beryl and me to feel revived and refreshed from our wonder-filled assignments in Europe. Our seven-weeks stint in the harvest fields of Poland and Lithuania is by far the greatest investment we have made so far in empowering the Lord’s people in the work of expanding His Kingdom.

Although this 7-weeks assignment demanded more from us than any other previous assignment, it bore more fruit than we could imagine. In true fashion, the Lord lead us along new paths, transformed the darkness into light before us, and made the rough places smooth … He did not forsake us! (Isaiah 42:16.)

We returned to Australia “looking” the same, but we’ve been stretched a lot more! We are more excited, and more willing, than ever to say “yes” up-front to the Lord, long before He reveals to us the next assignment He has in store for us. Without hesitation, we are willing to sacrifice and invest everything within our control to go out further on the limb of faith with Him.

Our Vision of Visions is expanding into new frontiers. The churches we visited in Gdynia in Poland, and Mazeikiai in Lithuania, have asked us/me to return in the Spring of 2012 to help in strengthening their efforts to establish networks of healthy small groups in their churches. Pastor Adam of the Gdynia church also informed me that the leadership of the local Catholic church has expressed interest to learn more of our small groups church plan. The Lord has also placed Helsinki (Finland) in my mind. Monica, a former teammate of our Cairo years has been promoting small groups there with encouraging results. I believe it would be a great opportunity to cross the Baltic Sea, from Lithuania, to connect the small groups work at Helsinki with the network in Poland and Lithuania.

One important matter that needs our attention at this time is to express our heartfelt “thanks” to the Lord, and to you. What took place in the past seven-weeks was made possible through our partnership with you and the Lord. With partners like you, our Vision of Visions can continue to expand throughout the many countries of Europe.

Bill and Beryl

Finding Mazeikiai’s “Timothy”

Posted by Nick on November 6, 2011

Beryl and I had hoped for an easier time with our last assignment at Mazeikiai. But that wasn’t to be. As we landed at Riga Airport, I sensed pain in my left foot. When we arrived at the home of our host family I removed my shoe to discover that the reason for this pain was gout. My foot was swollen and it was painful to walk. The gout attack was not new to this old veteran – I’ve learnt much from the numerous gout attacks I’ve experienced over the past 10 years.

Vaclovas and Marija, and Beryl and I, worked our tails off to prepare well for the commencement of the small groups conference on Friday night, and we were careful in bathe our efforts with prayer. Let me set the stage for you for what happened: Beryl came down with a head cold and her constant sneezing forced her to stay at the apartment. The outside temperature was 5 degrees. The heating system in the church had not been repaired in time (repair men were still on the job). Power disruptions left us in the dark on four occasions . A hammer drill was used several times on the outside of the conference room wall. Three times, mobile phones rang. A constant flow of people streamed in and out of the room during the three hours of the Friday sessions (the entry door was one metre, adjacent to my shoulder). Several young children were allowed to free-range within the room, and a water pipe burst open in the upstairs room where we were enjoying a snack break.

Unusual for me, I remained calm … I battened down the hatches and hung-in until the storm was over. Even though the disruptions continued throughout Saturday, the conference was a huge success. I thanked the Lord for saving me from losing the plot. Throughout the nine hours we were together, everyone remained riveted to what they were hearing. For twenty years, the church had waited to hear truth that would “set them free” to go and grow. They had the heart, but not the know-how.

The “reading between the lines” comment I made in my previous news update did not come from an unsound mind. Are you ready for some amazing news?  It became increasingly evident to Beryl and me that Vaclovas would make a great “Mazeikiai-Timothy” that the church so desperately needed. The church is led by only one person, Marija’s father. Her “motor mechanic” dad became the pastor of the church by default when the former pastor of the church decided suddenly to return to Germany (20 yrs ago). Marija’s dad is an amazing man – he has done his best. But he has done it alone! Vaclovas has a humble and tender pastor’s heart … an ideal “Timothy” candidate who is ready to rise up  to the challenge.

It is now 6:30, Sunday night. Beryl and I have just returned from a last meeting with Marija’s dad, Antonas, and her mother, Dana. We thanked this wonderful “man and woman of God” and shared with Antonas our thoughts and observations concerning his church, including our recommendation that Vaslovas be considered to direct the development of small groups in his church. We thanked Antonas and prayed for him.

Beryl has just finished packing our bags. We leave for Riga Airport at 9:30 am tomorrow (Monday), bound for Frankfurt – Singapore – Brisbane (arriving 7am, Wednesday). My foot has almost recovered, Beryl’s health has improved, and we have completed our assignment at Lithuania … “Mazeikiai-Timothy” has been found!

“Thank You, Jesus” … thank you, dear friends for your kind support.

Bill and Beryl J

Apologies for the delay in posting this update – due to technical difficulties.  Nick

All set to go in Mazeikiai, Lithuania

Posted by Bill on November 2, 2011

Another country, another language, another culture … and another great place in which to invest.

Our flight from Gdansk – Warsaw – Riga went according to schedule. Our host family, Vaclovas and Marija Paulauskiene, were waiting to greet us at Riga Airport (Latvia) with a warm Lithuanian welcome. We travelled 3 hrs by car with them to their home town, Mazeikiai, in Lithuania.  Marija teaches English in town, and Vaclovas works for Polish owned, Orlen Oil Company. They live on the 8th floor of their apartment building, with their three children (Gabrielius 9, Salomeja 5, and Evelina 1½).

After our evening meal, I spent some time with Marija, helping her to understand some of the Western terminology that is expressed in our Small Groups Development training manual. Several months ago she began the work of translating our manual into the Lithuanian language. She will have a draft copy ready to go for the commencement of the small groups conference on Friday night. Once the Lithuanian version of the SGD manual has been road tested it will be offered as a “free” download on our website. The program will run for 3 hrs on Friday night, followed by 7 hours on Saturday. I will also be preaching in their church, Evangeliku Krikscioniu Baptistu Bendruomene (Evangelical Christian Baptist Community) on Sunday.

The above is what we knew we’d be doing before we arrived, but Beryl and I suspect the Lord brought us here for other reasons – we are reading exciting things between the lines.

Please pray with us, asking the Lord to do everything He has determined to do for His faithful people at Mazeikiai.

Bill and Beryl

Apologies for the delay in posting this update from B&B due to technical difficulties – Nick.

We’re off to Europe soon!

Posted by Bill on September 14, 2011

Final preparations are underway for our departure next Wednesday to Poland and Lithuania. Here is the itinerary, and if you click on the words ‘View larger map‘ above we have made a Google Map showing where we are going to be and some comments, notes and links to where we will be visiting.

21 September: Travel by air from Brisbane to Warsaw, Poland

22 September to 25 October: Ministry with Christian Fellowship North (mother church), and Christian Fellowship South (daughter church) in Warsaw. (Other churches are expected to express interest in receiving our ministry).

26 to 31 October: Travel by train from Warsaw to Gydnia, Poland. Ministry with Centrum Chrześcijańskie Church.

1 to 6 November: Travel by air from Gdansk (near Gydnia) to Riga, Latvia, for ministry with a small church at Mazeikiai, Lithuania.

7 to 8 November: Travel by air from Riga to Brisbane.

Our “small groups development” ministry will vary to suit the churches we work with, and will include: facilitating conferences; small groups training; visit operational small groups; coach leaders; and preach.

To make life a little easier for you, if you would like to pray for us, you might like to use the following prayer:

“Lord, prepare Bill and Beryl for what You have planned for them in Poland and Lithuania. Keep them close to You and sensitive to Your voice. Do whatever accords with Your will for the churches they minister to. Please season their efforts with Your strength and grace. Work signs and wonders that will strengthen and inspire Your servants in these churches. May Bill and Beryl’s service greatly strengthen Your Kingdom expansion efforts on earth. Amen.”

Lastly, sincere thanks for the kind and generous support from everyone, which has made it possible for us to undertake this great ministry opportunity.

We will do our best to post updates on the blog and on facebook whenever we get the opportunity – we are confident that the Lord will do some amazing things with, in and through every ministry opportunity that He presents us with!  May the Lord bless mightily our partnership in this exciting ministry.

Bill & Beryl

Connecting with Lithuania

Posted by Bill on June 8, 2011

Two months ago I received an email enquiry through our website from Marija Paulauskienė in Lithuania. She enquired on behalf of her church, wanting to know more about small groups development. I quickly responded, expressing our desire and willingness to help her.

The following is a record of our correspondence after her initial enquiry:

On May 4, I wrote to Marija:

You and your church are no less worthy of the goodness of the Lord than any other person and church. If the Lord provides me with the ability to travel to you then my heart says “yes” to coming to Lithuania to invest in your church all He has entrusted into our care. Let’s keep this matter before the Lord in our prayers. In the mean time, please answer for me these questions:

  • What do you hope our small groups information will do for your church?
  • What would you like to see the Lord do?

I pray the Lord will guide and direct us in knowing and obeying His will in this matter.

On May 14, Marija wrote to me:

More than twenty years ago we were a small group of believers without a pastor and building. We gathered in the flat of one precious lady (she passed away 10 years ago) – she was a great servant of God (almost everyone in group of believers met Christ through her).

We wanted to have a pastor, and in about two years a man from Germany came and he became our pastor. While he was with us the church grew, and we got the building for our church from the government. When he left, the responsibility passed on to my father.

My dad was a simple man, without any theological education. Our church split through one strong leader taking a big part of the church with him. He established a Pentacostal church – while we remained … just a few Baptists, with pain and hurt.

But God does interesting things. In about 7 years, when I was 22, I met my husband and he was from that Pentacostal church (he didn’t know much about the church-split because he came to that church when it was already established). It was very difficult for us to date because my parents saw him as someone from the enemy’s church. Slowly, step by step, my father and the pastor of that Pentacostal church were able to talk with each other again.

At the very beginning I used to go to my church, and to my husband’s. I started going to his church only because I wanted us to be together. However, now, for more than 4years we are both members of the Baptist church. This was my husband suggestion!

The main reason for us knowing more about small groups is for the building-up of our church. We want our groups to minister to a diversity of people. In our church there are some Russian speaking people, some older people, and some young mothers. We would like to understand the purpose of small groups for the church and for the members. We would like to see the members gather together, sharing life outside of the church service. We want to know how to begin right and we appreciate it when someone who has already gone ahead can share the experience with us.

I’m very glad that we now have your material in the Russian language. We are going to get into your material deeply, learning useful things. Hopefully we will meet some day.

And the same day I replied to Marija:

Thank you for your care and patience in writing a summary of your church and stating your reason for wanting to know more about small groups. More than ever I am open to the Lord showing us a way to minister to you and your church. Please continue to pray for us that we might know the Lord’s will in this matter. I am glad to know you, and will continue to pray for you.

Best wishes to you and your church family. May we publish your story on our website? We will be careful to edit it so as not to spoil your story.

Friends, this wonderful testimony is a witness to the many small churches around the world who have the passion to reach out into their own communities and to see God’s church growing just as he wants it to. Some how, some time in the coming 12 months I am confident that I will be meeting Marija and her pastor and other members of their congregation, and be able to post an article about how God has used them and CCI in amazing ways.

Please raise up Marija and her church family in prayer as they begin to discover how the Small Groups church model can transform the lives of their members, their church and their community.

 

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