October 25, 2008

Greetings from Klaipeda!

Lithuanian sits between east and west. The geo-political forces are palpable here; sorting things out with our colleagues and our students is a complex task. The country is aligned with the West, a new member of the European Union and NATO. Lithuania’s president Valdus Adamkus spent most of his life in Chicago. He left Lithuania in 1944 and returned to Lithuania only in the early 1990s. His speeches espouse democratic values and free market principles. This winter, Adamkus asked the rhetorical question of whether events in Russia portended a “return to the Cold War.” In August, Adamkus visited Tbilisi, Georgia, at the height of the Russian invasion to declare Lithuanian’s solidarity. This spring, Lithuania threatened to derail European-Russia partnership talks. The United States has been critical of what it calls his too-harsh stance on Russia. Indeed, many Lithuanian politicians favor a rapprochement with Russia. This month’s Lithuanian parliamentary elections featured two party leaders with strong ties to Russia. Algirdis Brazauskas, the former prime minister and president, said recently that current diplomatic relations with Russia were not good and they can be fundamentally improved. He called this strategy the key to Lithuania's well-being.

The legacy of Soviet times continues to cast a long shadow over Lithuania. The country is dependent on energy supplies from Russia, as all oil and gas comes from Russia. Next year Lithuania is required by the EU to close its main source of electricity, Ignalina, a Chernobyl-style nuclear power plant. The closure will make Lithuanian almost entirely dependent on Russia for electricity for at least 10 years. Utility prices are skyrocketing—up some 70 percent this year alone. In 2009, rates will escalate 10-20 percent and another 80-90 percent after Ignalina is decommissioned.

This year is the anniversary of an important step in the restoration of Lithuanian independence. In 1988, a group of writers and intellectuals set up the Lithuanian Movement for Reconstruction (“Sąjūdis” in Lithuanian). Its leaders declared at a mass rally in the capital, Vilnius, that the USSR had occupied Lithuania illegally. In 1990, Sąjūdis won the majority of seats in parliamentary elections. Its leader was elected chairman of parliament, which restored independence in 1990. The Soviet Union failed to halt moves to independence.

Our context at LCC is international. One of the things Becky and I long for most are colleagues in teaching. This year we were pleased that two of our former students came back to teach in the business department. Lorna Qesteri is Albanian. She graduated from LCC in 2005 and then earned a master’s degree from Eastern College in the same program Eric attended. Lorna teaches the principles of economics courses Eric used to teach. The other day she reminded us of what she gained from a course on faith and economics she took from Eric.

Dmitrij Katkov, class of 2007 at LCC, now shares responsibility for teaching accounting classes with Becky. Dmitrij will receive his masters degree in December.

Dmitrij Katkov is a Lithuanian of Russian heritage. His family lives in Klaipeda. Dmitrij is a 2007 LCC grad; he has just finished his master’s at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom. Dmitrij now teaches basic accounting courses and is trying his hand at business finance. Both Dmitrij and Lorna are on their way to becoming successful teachers and good role models. It is a joy to have these two young people as colleagues.

LCC struggles to find, develop, and keep teachers. At LCC, the classroom can be tough. Energy is required; quality is demanded. The students want the best from their teachers. Good intentions are not enough. Competence in the disciple is essential. LCC used to think that teachers could be imported. Today it is evident that we must “grow our own.” North American ex-patriots were once thought to be the principal source of teachers, but these teachers are now seldom available for long-term teaching. Most now stay only a few weeks! Faculty supported by mission agencies has dwindled; today only five teachers are under mission board appointment. But this change has a silver-lining. The bulk of the teaching is now done by former LCC students who have returned after graduate study as teachers.

Lorna Qesteri from LCC's class of 2005 now teaches economics. Here she talks with Eric over coffee.

In the business department, for example, of the 12 teachers on campus this fall, seven are LCC graduates. Our Reformed tradition would hope that the transition to a more national faculty would be an important goal of mission. The change is gratifying to us as we see what happens to our students. Our role as teachers is evolving as well. Now we are called to be colleagues and mentors of young faculty.

Friends, God gave the increase. St. Paul believed that it was like gardening or farming (I Corinthians 3:6). The grower sows small seeds into the ground, but the payback is the bountiful harvest which comes later. The fruits of our labors come from your stewardship—your faithful giving that enables and empowers bright young people like Lorna and Dmitrij to grow into the kind of teacher we want to set before our students. “Give,” said Jesus, “and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap” (Luke 6:38).

Becky and I are now on fall break, catching our breath after eight weeks of class. Shortly we’ll be back at it, with lectures, examinations, and papers. God has gifted us—and Dmitrij and Lorna—with the gifts to be teachers. We are learning together, “The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word” (Isaiah 50:4).

Becky & Eric Hinderliter

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 158