Lithuania 2015

I'M IN LITHUANIA! 

Yes I have arrived! I did a road trip from Boise, Idaho to San Francisco, California. That was an all day adventure. Then I flew from San Francisco to Toronto, Canada. Then I flew across the Atlantic Ocean to Frankfurt, Germany. Then I flew to Riga, Latvia. That was a day and a 1/2 trek across almost 1/2 the globe. 

Then my friends met me at the airport and we drove from Riga, Latvia to Klaipeda, Lithuania. That was another 4 1/2 hours journey. 

And now I get the wonderful opportunity to spend a week in Klaipeda, Lithuania sharing through creativity with those whom my friends are serving and in relationship with. 

LATVIA! 

LITHUANIA! 

Sharon and Kel.  

These are my Kiwi (New Zealander) friends that I originally met in Scotland and who now live in Lithuania. They pastor Vineyard Klaipeda Church. They've dedicated their lives to sharing God's love  with people through serving and equipping people to do the same for others. 

It's been about 3 1/2 years since I was last in Klaipeda. Being an artist, one of the long lasting impressions of the city for me was the rows and rows of concrete flats. I was struck by their dull Soviet influenced conformity and I didn't know how to respond within. While I was there I discovered that many of the buildings displaying colorful street art that gave a subversive message of  life and creativity. When I returned home after that trip I began plans for a sculpture where I want to depict this juxtaposition. This trip I experienced an interesting self observation...when Kel and Sharon drove me up to their flat I must admit that I found the presence of the buildings actually quite inviting. What caused the change for me? Perhaps it's because of the people I met last time and the relationships formed that I now no longer see rows and rows of dull concrete conformity, but I really truly do see the vibrant beauty of the people that reside within their walls. And yes, I have found and still do, that Lithuanians are very beautiful people and I am honored to have been asked to come back and share with them once again. 

Tonight I had the opportunity to share with some of the people who are a part of Vineyard Klaipeda. Typically on a Wednesday evening there are 2 Kinship Groups that meet in separate venues for worship, study, and prayer. Tonight they joined together so I could have a conversation with them about Creative Ministry (sharing about God through creative ways). They are desiring to learn how to reach out to people through creativity and so I was able to talk about many ways that I personally do this and also many ways VineArts (the art ministry at the church I attend in Boise) does this. 

And it's a given that I don't speak Lithuanian. So I whenever I share and lead creative activities here I need to do so with a translator who can translate the English to the Lithuanians and the Lithuanian to me. Kel and Sharon have gained the aid of many people who are gifted in this whenever there is need. I was blessed immensely by tonights translator. He immediately set me at ease so I could share from my heart. 

One of the things I talked about tonight was the importance of learning how to listen to the Holy Spirit when any of us is desiring to share the love of God with others. Whether we're connecting with a friend or family member or with those we know at church or with those at our work place or school or with those we meet in the marketplace and whether that person is a Christ follower or not, it's important to allow ourselves to partner with God listening to His heartbeat for others (the conversation He is already having with them) and being obedient when God is prompting us to enter into that conversation (however that needs to look or sound or feel). After conversing about lots of ideas I wanted to have them experience something practically. So I took them through a simple but challenging creative activity called First Impression Art. It's all about listening and hearing from God (and perhaps receiving a picture or words or songs or Scriptures) to encourage someone and to pray for them. So I had them pair up and we did this together. 

It was a really fun night getting to experience the energy in the room when everyone began to minister to each other in a way that, at first, they may have been apprehensive to do. And I was even ministered to with a very specific word and picture from someone that was spot on (and they didn't know anything about me in regards to what they shared with me). It was a really cool evening for all of us as we all stepped out of our comfort zones to give and receive God's love. 

I was able to capture a little bit of the music time so you can hear their beautiful voices expressing worship to God in their own language of Lithuanian. On my previous trip I found my heart falling in love with the Lithuanian people...and tonight that love was rekindled. I'm looking forward to the rest of my week here! 

A DAY BY THE BALTIC SEA

 Today we took a trip to the Baltic Sea. We took a small car ferry to the specific area we were going to.

 We stopped at a small sea side restaurant to have a lunch of smoked fish (this is a typical Lithuanian way of eating fish. I enjoyed our view as we sat outside to eat. 

 We took a walk along seaside paths. 

 I climbed a rather large sand dune.

 I got to see RUSSIA from where I was (and it was much closer to me than a particular American Governor who, well...you know). *and truly yes, there actually is an area of land that borders Lithuania to the south that is part of Russia (though it is not connected to the larger land mass of Russia). 

 And then we spent some time on the beach!

 It was a wonderful time between the 3 of us as we prayed and worshipped through song and word together in such a majestic setting. 

*photo taken by K. Fowler*

I even got brave and took off my shoes and socks and rolled up my jeans and waded into the Baltic Sea. I experienced some kind of strange phenomenon while standing there facing the waves. It was an amazing experience to stand there with the frigidly fierce raging waves coming at me...and it almost seemed like it was coming from above me (not straight out from the shore, but as if it were a wall of water above me).  

It reminded me of the WAVE WALL on the water planet in the movie "Interstellar"

It was very intense! 

Here is a short video I took of the waves of the Baltic Sea in Lithuania. 

PLAYING WITH CLAY

Today I was able to visit an orphanage in Klaipeda to do art with some of the teenage boys who reside there. 

I had been to this orphanage the last time I came to Lithuania, so it was a privilege to return in order to love on the kids through the simple experience of spending some time with them doing art together.

The orphanage has a specific craft room that I was able to set up in, and a couple of the teachers joined in with us. I had a wonderful translator helping me...as I don't speak Lithuanian and most of the kids don't speak English. The fun thing is...creativity is a language we all speak. So it opens the door to be able to communicate sometimes on a level that can be deeper than spoken language. 

I gave each person a chunk of clay to play with. We worked the clay in our hands (the clay immediately colored our hands an earthen red terra-cotta color). There is something so satisfying and soothing about squeezing a chunk of clay in your hands. Over and over and over. I had us mold and fashion the clay into something that would represent how we see ourselves (what our identity would look like if it were a clay sculpture). Many of us shared from our hearts what we had created and how we might feel about ourselves. 

Specifically speaking from the Psalms, I spoke of God's love for us. How he delights in us. How he wants us to be who we are meant to be. And how he wants to engage with us in our lives. I then had everyone create a clay sculpture of how they think God would see them (when our identity is in Him). The changes we made in our clay sculptures was fascinating. I talked about the difference of how we see ourselves compared to how God sees us and prayed for us to see ourselves the way God sees us more and more. 

It was a really meaningful day. As I walked through the halls of the orphanage, I was reminded truly of how much God loves us. He loves those kids deeply...and my heart was full of love and compassion. Both times now that I've visited I have been struck by the hearts of the kids. And I'm undone. I'm there to speak love to them....but they end up speaking that love to me too. 

*some of the photos were taken by K. Fowler*

CREATIVE DISCOVERY DAY

One of the things I love to do with people (especially those I'm connecting with on my art ministry travels) is to gather people together to do collaborative art. Today was Vineyard Klaipeda's annual Creative Discovery Day (a day dedicated to do creative arts together and sharing the Gospel). I was able to facilitate the day with 2 themed collaborative projects on UNITY. 

The first was an interactive sculpture project. I used various sizes of wooden blocks that I had formed into a wall. The wall represented the various things we may allow to separate from each other, from ourselves, and from God. Those things can be hurts and pains, unforgiveness and sin, jealousies and insecurities, pride and selfishness, fear and disobedience....and all various other kinds of things. 

We talked about how those things can create walls in our hearts and minds and how we interact with each other. This is not a loving way to be. The Bible talks about the importance of us being One Body, unified, encouraging and edifying to each other. 

I had everyone take the blocks and paint them colors (using the primary and secondary colors) representing the uniqueness of each of us and the importance of us being who we were meant to be (with our gifts and talents, our perspectives and cultures, etc.) The Bible talks about each of us being given unique callings and yet we are also called to work together. 

I enjoyed watching the people paint the blocks in their unique ways. 

Even those who didn't think they could paint allowed themselves to participate and painted some beautiful things. 

When we were all finished I had everyone work together to create a circle with the colored blocks. This represented everyone coming together (you can still see their uniqueness) in unity. 

When we have walls up separating ourselves from others and God we can't see anyone and they can't see us. When we allow ourselves to be unified we can see each other and we can care for each other and work together (like in the circle). 

It was a beautiful sculpture! 

The second project I had them work on was a large paper canvas. We used various mediums (colored pencils, markers, crayons, chalks) to create one flowing painting together. 

People worked side by side in unity to spontaneously create. 

The only rule was that we couldn't destroy anyone's creation, but we could add to it (if we were inspired by it). This allowed for a flow of the image to move throughout the paper canvas. 

People moved from side to side, adding and coloring. As they created they also talked and shared with each other. This was a beautiful picture of unity. 

Once we finished I had everyone pair up to pray for each other. 

Mylekite (LOVE) ....in John 17 Jesus prays for us to love one another as He loves. 

*some of the photos were taken by K. Fowler*

THEY IN ME, AS I IN YOU

Today I had the wonderful honor of collaborating with the Holy Spirit and the members of Vineyard Klaipeda to join with them in worship. I was asked to paint and speak the message and lead everyone in creative worship and ministry. I'm very open to say that none of this is about me (I'm not special in who I am nor do I hold any special office that has authority over others-I'm not bringing anything to them that God isn't already doing amongst them already, what is the special thing is that I get the honor and opportunity to listen to the conversation He is already having with them and then enter into that conversation through who I am)...I believe we are all important and we all have the ability to speak, minister, worship, and share the Gospel and be the hands and feet of Jesus (we can all do this-we are all called)...so it truly is about collaborating. Yes I do have my unique talents and giftings...but together with everyone else's unique talents and giftings we can minister to each other and we can be effective for the Kingdom. 

We set up art tables so everyone could create during the music worship and also during the message that I would speak. I also encouraged everyone afterwards to pair up and minister to each other through creativity (asking God if He had something He wanted to say/encourage the others with and pray for them). 

I arrived with my canvas already prep with some texture. I started my painting during the music worship, adding dark colors in various areas. Then when it was time for me to speak (with the aid of a translator) I added to the painting various colors and used various techniques to emphasis a point I was making with what I was speaking about. 

This is me speaking with my translator. I really enjoy the unique ebb and flow that it takes to speak with a translator. 

Today I spoke about Christ's death. I used the imagery of the Curtain (the large one that hung in the Temple separating the people from the Holy of Holies-the most sacred place where God's Spirit dwelled). I spoke about the things in our lives that can bring about separation between us and God (sin, unforgiveness, selfishness, hate, anger, jealousy, pride, lust, greed, etc.) We would continue to be separated from God if it wasn't for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. It was the power of His death that tore the curtain in the Temple in half (from the top). He stands now as the curtain...we can freely come to God through Him. 

When finishing...

I spoke this prayer over them...it is the prayer Jesus prayed for us. 

John 17:20-26New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Prays for All Believers

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved themeven as you have loved me.

24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you[a] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

"They In Me, As I In You"

24x36 mixed media on canvas

This is the finished painting. The curtain was torn. The blood flowed. Christ is victorious. And we are free. Someone pointed out that it looked like a butterfly...and that it's through Christ that we experience a metamorphosis. 

There's more.....

After I spoke we spent some time ministering to each other through creativity...words, pictures, colors, Bible verses, songs, and prayers. 

It was really cool to watch and observe how everyone was interacting and praying and really hearing from God for each other. 

It was a beautiful picture...we are all capable and called to love and speak the Gospel. 

Then to my surprise, after I had prayed for them and "Commissioned" them to go and do the work God is calling them to do.....they gathered around me and prayed for me and "Commissioned" me! They gave me artwork and cards they had made with encouraging words and Scriptures for me. I was so touched and blessed by their generosity towards me. 

*many of the photos were taken by K. Fowler*

A DAY IN OLD KLAIPEDA TOWN

I took the bus today and went into Klaipeda Old Town to wander around and explore on my last day  in Lithuania. 

Here are some images from my explorations. 

It was relaxing to meander through the cobblestone streets, to walk along the river front, to do a little shopping in the city square, to take in some art galleries and some street art, and to sit with a coffee and do some journaling. This was a nice way to end my trip in Klaipeda. 

Aciu Lietuva. Thank you Lithuania.