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Klaipeda, Lithuania
How does God do that?


Jerrold and Jean Paetkau, along with their three children, Kathryn, Jonathan and Aaron, recently completed a three-year term as missionaries with MBMS International in Klaipeda, Lithuania. Jerrold offered this analysis of MBMSI’s role in that country.

I’ve missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the last six years, so it was good to catch the last two games in 2000. I can’t remember when I last saw such exciting hockey. Watching the outstanding play of the goalies, I often was left to wonder, “How do they do that?”

As I reminisced about our years in Lithuania and how they compared to the hockey playoffs, I noticed a remarkable number of similarities. Like the playoffs, our time was filled with moments of seemingly out-of-control chaos. We were busy balancing our roles with Lithuania Christian College (LCC), our responsibilities in the Klaipeda Free Christian Church, and our duties as parents – and then seeking time to enjoy neighbours, friends and each other. Somehow it all got done, and I wondered, “How does it all happen?”

Last spring, we began thinking of resettling in Canada and wondered how God would replace us. Thoughts of being indispensable soon dissolved as we witnessed God preparing the way for us to return to Canada.

Five years ago, when a group of students asked us to help them start Klaipeda Free Christian Church, we were adamant that we would not be called the pastors. They called us “Mom” and “Dad”. We loved them, but knew that over the long term, the church needed a Lithuanian pastor. However, for several years, there was no one available to pastor the church.

Last fall, God brought to our church Vytautas and Jurate, who had pastored an underground church during communism and who had recently moved to our area. Vytautas began by speaking in the church once a month. Soon it was twice a month. By Christmas, we had invited them to join our church leadership team. We prayed together, and after a few months they felt ready to accept a position as part-time pastor couple in the church. Everyone was excited about their involvement. One year ago, it seemed there was no one who could give leadership to the church. Jesus provided a godly couple who fit right in. How does He do that?

Donatas attended one of my classes at LCC and wanted to be a leader “like Jesus”. He had a practicum as part of his studies, and I wasn’t sure how it would work out. During the assignment, Donatas began to change.

He controlled his anger, completed assignments on time and became aware of those around him. After graduation, he was accepted at Princeton Theological Seminary. This fall, he will return to take over the classes I used to teach. Donatas was influenced by a large number of people, but through it all God was working to create a leader “like Jesus”. How does He do that?

When looking at MBMS International’s role in Lithuania, it is easy to become concerned by statistics. Of the original team sent out in 1994, all have returned. As of this fall, MBMS International will have only one North American mission associate at Lithuanian Christian College and a German mission associate family in the town of Siauliai. One or two positions are currently being negotiated with our partners in Lithuania. The country had seemed like such an open door when communism fell. What went wrong?

Let me return to what I witnessed from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Tension mounts during overtime. It only takes one shot to end the game – as commentators often say, “You can’t score if you don’t shoot.” We may want a certain team to win, but if they’re not shooting at the net, they’re not going to score. In mission, we sometimes believe that the team with the most ice time will win, as if just remaining in a country for a long time is good enough. But it takes more than just being there. There must be a resolve to see leadership develop in ways that replace foreign domination.

There is still a lot of work that can be done in Lithuania, and there is still a need for North American missionaries, but MBMS International has successfully completed its first stage of involvement. The original team invested their lives in leadership training. Many of those young leaders are stepping into the roles once performed by missionaries. The jobs aren’t being done the way missionaries did them, but in ways that reflect Lithuanian culture and give glory to God. We held out a lot of hope for some leaders who are no longer involved in the church, and others who we thought would never mature are giving leadership instead. How does God do that?

God is building His church in Lithuania. We’ve seen how God has transformed lives, brought people to a relationship with Himself, and replaced their anger with His love. We’ve seen churches struggle to find direction when someone they have leaned on is no longer there, and we’ve seen them turn to God. Students at LCC have given their lives to God for future service. For example, two students named Jonas and Mina led student chapels this year and hosted a house church for foreign students on campus. They plan to graduate next year and become missionaries back in their home countries.

How does God do that? In Jesus.

 – MBMS International

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Last modified January 5, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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