UMC Ministry in Lithuania Update

     This past summer, Jolita and Andrew visited our church to share with us about how God is at work through the United Methodist Church in Lithuania. At that time, Jolita was finishing her degree work at Asbury seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky and preparing to move back to Lithuania to be the pastor of two churches.

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     A portion of our Lent/Easter special offering goes to support the United Methodist ministry in Lithuania thanks to the partnership we have shared over the past seveal years. Here is a letter I received from Jolita and Andrew about how they are doing since their move back to Lithuania. Please keep our Lithuanian United Methodist partners in your prayers.

Erbele Updates

February 2012

           The February European deep freeze included Lithuania. For about a week the thermometer hovered around -10 F. The coldest day we experienced was -22 F. This was on the Sunday when our car died on the way to church. Thankfully, a friend answered our call and was able to give us a ride to church. Emma was at home with Grandma because we did not want her out in that kind of cold.

In our last letter we talked about our housing concerns. This month we are happy to report that the Lithuania UMC will have a parsonage in Vilkaviskis. The district has decided to purchase the apartment we are currently living in. This was made possible by a Kybartai and Pilviskiai partner church, Trinity UMC in Huntsville, Alabama. Trinity UMC took money out of their missions’ budget to pay for the parsonage. They are hoping to find a way to replenish their missions’ budgets. If you or your church would like to contribute we will be very happy to let you join in. We are so very grateful for this place called home. Now we feel like we can really settle into life and ministry in our community. Thank you.

           

Our month in ministry proved challenging because of the weather. People have not wanted to venture out and freeze in the extreme cold. While we have learned to bundle up and stay warm, it does make sense not to take any unnecessary risks. We canceled a couple of activities for the children and youth. As the weather has been warming up everything is getting back to the life we are used to.

We conducted our first funeral. A member of our church in Kybartai lost her mother. Here funerals are very important events. There are many different stages in the grieving process. Each step has special meaning attached to it. Some are similar to those in the US, yet there are the differences that stand out. The most noticeable is that everyone stands by the grave side to watch the coffin be covered. The pallbearers have the responsibility of closing the grave one shovelful of earth at a time. As each man tired, another came to take his place. This act of love helps those who grieve say goodbye in shovels full of dirt. During this Lenten season we reflect on the words spoken on Ash Wednesday: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

Another Lithuanian custom happens on Fat Tuesday. People eat pancakes, wear masks and go door-to-door asking for pancakes or candy. The belief is that we are scaring away the winter and making room for spring. Since the Pilviskiai youth group meets on Tuesdays, we made pancakes. The girls, including Jolita, had fun cooking. The guys, Andrew and the one male youth, got the privilege of washing dishes at the end. Many laughs were heard throughout the time. It was not until we were heading home that we realized youth group lasted three hours. It is a great sign of the fellowship we had. We must have done a good job of scaring away the winter because today it is above freezing and the snow is all melting.

More exciting news is that a member of the youth group joined the church in Kybartai. She has been attending for almost 12 years but never felt led to join. She graduates from high school this spring and is planning to study theology in the fall. Continue to hold her in your prayers as she grows in a greater awareness of God’s call upon her life.

           We thank you for your prayers, for your love and your support.

          You can reach us by email at: pieciaitehope@hotmail.com and follow Andrew’s blog: www.erbele.org.

Emma, Jolita and Andrew Erbele

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UMC Ministry in Lithuania Update

This past summer, Jolita and Andrew visited our church to share with us about how God is at work through the United Methodist Church in Lithuania.  At that time, Jolita was finishing her degree work at Asbury seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky and preparing to move back to Lithuania to be the pastor of two churches.

A portion of our Thanksgiving special offering goes to support the United Methodist ministry in Lithuania thanks to the partnership we have shared over the past seveal years.  Here is a letter I received from Jolita and Andrew about how they are doing since their move back to Lithuania.    Please keep our Lithuanian United Methodist partners in your prayers.

Erbele Updates

October 2011

The month of October has the leaves change here in Lithuania. The weather is turning noticeably cooler and we are waking up to frost on the ground. We are very thankful for the warmth of our apartment and we praise God for the kindness of people.

We have been calling on the youth of Kybartai at their homes after youth group in order to better understand how they live. We have learned a many things over the course of our visits. A significant number of our young people come from broken and dysfunctional homes. As we have listened to the parents tell their stories our hearts are almost in shock. We have not found a family with two parents living together. So much pain can be heard, yet they are willing to share with us just a little of their story and the cup of tea. The youth want to know us a better. Also they are showing their parents that we are treating them well and are not drawing them into a cult. This has led to interesting conversations for Jolita. We know that Christmas is coming and we hope we can prepare at least a little gift for every kid. If you would be interested in helping us with it please let us know. We need about 60 gifts total.

Andrew is not able to keep up with all the Lithuanian that is being spoken, so other little details stand out to him. One of the most striking is that every one of the people we have visited in Kybartai still uses a public outhouse. Kybartai is a town of about 5000 people. It has two medium sized grocery stories. It is up to date in many ways, yet they are the poorest of the poor who are coming to our church. With the cold weather coming, we have subtly been of looking for the heat source in these homes. All but one is using chimneys. The youth of the church often are living with three generations in a two-room apartment (two room not two bedroom).

We have noticed signs that we are reaching them. They are inviting us into their homes and their lives. Jolita receives text messages on a regular basis asking questions about life. The youth come early for youth group and stay late to talk. The most exciting thing is how the Holy Spirit is moving in their lives. This month two girls in the youth group asked to be baptized. As of this writing one has been baptized while the other hopes to be soon. We have nothing to credit for these girl’s step of faith except the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Below is a photo from the first baptism and the church of Kybartai.

This month we have also focused on settling into a pattern of life for the three of us. It is interesting to note that Jolita is doing most of the youth work while Andrew is doing most of the preaching. This is not quite how we envisioned ministry together yet it is working well for right now. Emma is doing well. As any three year old would, she is speaks an interesting mixture of Lithuanian and English. Only Jolita seems to understand a full sentence because Emma switches languages mid thought.

We would like to thank all of you for your prayers and encouragement. Knowing that you are in ministry with us means a great deal.

You can reach us by email at: pieciaitehope@hotmail.com; Andrew’s blog: www.erbele.org.

Jolita, Emma and Andrew Erbele

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Our Missionaries - A Personal Letter from the Markays'

Revs. Kristin and David Markay
Chiesa Evangelica Metodista di Milano
Via Porro Lambertenghi, 28
20159 Milano, Italy
tel. +39.02.607.2631
email: markay@fastwebnet.it
10 April 2011
Dear Friends at Lancaster First UMC,

In August of this year we will take on new responsibilities in the Sheffield-Brunswick and Hoyland circuits of the Methodist Church in Britain. As we conclude our fifteen years of service as missionaries with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, our hearts are very grateful for all you have done for us.

At the time of this writing, the GBGM has not yet appointed a missionary to serve in Italy. We hope you will consider establishing a covenant relationship with GBGM missionaries Ut To and Karen Vo-To who serve in Vietnam. The West Ohio Conference Office or GBGM Mission Support Liaison Rachael Barnett (tel. 212-870-3716; email: rbarnett@gbgm-umc.org) can provide you with more information. The missionary biography page on the GBGM’s web site (gbgm-umc.org) may also be helpful.

First UMC in Lancaster supported us when our family was preparing to leave the then Newark District to serve in Lithuania. We will always remember the groups from your church who came to serve in Lithuania, and we are thrilled that your partnership with the congregation in Panevezys continues to this day. Having taken Disciple Bible Study at your church in the early 1990’s, we have both used many of the ideas and teaching techniques we learned on East Wheeling Street in our work in Lithuania, and later Italy. In addition, Italian Methodists sing from a new multi-lingual hymnal that you, through a special gift you made, helped make possible.

Your mission giving, especially during difficult economic times, is a testimony to your commitment to spread Good News within and outside your community. Please know that the many ways you have supported us in ministry -- your financial support, prayers, letters, birthday cards, and your hospitality to our family during itineration visits, have all sustained us in ways you cannot imagine. We trust that together, we have planted seeds for the Gospel.

Peace in Christ,

The Markay Family
(Kristin, David, Hannah and Aidan)
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Latvia, Lithuania, & Stewartstown, PA?

What a weekend! My church at Lancaster First UMC just got done hosting the Latvia/Lithuania mission partnership weekend seminar sponsored by the General Board of Global Ministry of the UMC. During the weekend, we were able to hear how our mission partnership is making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Coinciding with the Latvia/Lithuania seminar, our church also hosted forty-eight members of the Company of Praise youth choir from the Stewartstown UMC in Stewartstown, PA, my home church and where my brother serves as the Director of Music. The group was able to sing for our Latvia/Lithuania guests for the closing session of the seminar on Saturday night and then again for Sunday worship which included several of our mission partnership guests.

As the two groups mingled around dinner tables Saturday evneing and then following the Sunday worship services along with members of the congregation, it was special to see the unity that we all have in Jesus Christ, regardless of our language barriers and geographical distances.

When the youth choir from PA shouted out "OH" and then had the congregation respond with "IO," during worship, I knew that only the Holy Spirit could pull off such a display of courtesy!

Latvia, Lithuania, and Stewartstown, PA all present in one place of worship singing "How Great Thou Art" - that sounds like the way church was always meant to be.

Advent/Christmas Update From Our Italy Missionaries - David & Kristin Markay

Lancaster First United Methodist Church helps to financially support our United Methodist missionaries, David & Kristin Markay who serve the Methodist Church in Milan, Italy. My previous church also supports the Markays' in their mission work so I am very familiar with the great work they do in the name of Jesus Christ. Perhaps we can send a mission team to Milan, Italy at some point and see how their ministry is transforming lives. They will be visiting the States this summer so hopefully we'll be able to host them for a meal/program event here at our church.

Below is the mission of their church and a brief update on a social/justice issue facing their city.



Mission of The Methodist Church in Milan, Italy:

The Italian Waldensian/Methodist Church has set as one of its missional goals the hospitality to the stranger. The church seeks to embody the inclusive love of Jesus by offering a spiritual home to persons from places far from their homelands. Intentionally, the Waldensians and Methodists in Italy are striving to "essere chiesa insieme" (be the church together). Therefore, persons with all faith backgrounds, cultural heritage, and church experience are seen as gifts to the community.

The Methodist Church of Milano has members from all over the world: Italy, Sierra Leone, the Philippines, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Canada, the United States, Great Britain, and elsewhere.

Article by David & Kristin Markay, Missionaries:
We’re dreaming of a multi-colored Christmas…

The police in a northern Italian town chose December as the month to crack down on illegal immigrants. Their code word for the door-to- door document checking operation: “White Christmas.” The press found out about the name and a cultural battle ensued. Some politicians defended it; others attacked it. The Catholic archbishop of Milano, who criticized the plan, was branded “an imam” by one government official. The Protestants organized an ecumenical silent vigil on a main pedestrian thoroughfare in Milano. Pastors and lay people (representing various cultures) stood with signs that read “You know the heart of an alien, for you were once aliens in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9), and “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matt. 25:35). The most creative sign had a Christmas tree, and an adaptation of Bing Crosby’s classic tune: “In our churches, we’re dreaming of a multi-colored Christmas.”
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Learning Radical Hospitality from Our Missionaries (Milan, Italy)

One of the four missionary families we support with our weekly offerings and prayers are the Markay's (Rev. David and Rev. Kristin Markay) who serve as pastors of Chiesa Evangelica Metodista in Milan, Italy.

Their unique role as missionaries in Milan, Italy is to pastor a church that offers radical hospitality to people of all nationalities.

The video is a song by their choir this past November. Just by noticing the different nationalities of the people who are singing is evidence of the radical hospitality of this church. Words of encouragement by e-mail may be sent to Rev. David & Kristin Markay at markay@fastwebnet.it

Here is a description of their church from their website:

"The Italian Waldensian/Methodist Church has set as one of its missional goals the hospitality to the stranger. The church seeks to embody the inclusive love of Jesus by offering a spiritual home to persons from places far from their homelands. Intentionally, the Waldensians and Methodists in Italy are striving to "essere chiesa insieme" (be the church together). Therefore, persons with all faith backgrounds, cultural heritage, and church experience are seen as gifts to the community.

The Methodist Church of Milano has members from all over the world: Italy, Sierra Leone, the Philippines, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Canada, the United States, Great Britain, and elsewhere."