Young residents of a children’s home visited by a team from the
BS of Lithuania at Easter 2006 [photo: BS Lithuania WR412/9 LIT06DJ-2]
LITHUANIA — “In post-Communist Lithuania there are many people who know nothing about the Bible and don’t attend church,” says Dr Mykolas Mikalakjunas, Executive Director of the Bible Society of Lithuania, sadly. “Since joining the European Union, Lithuania’s economic situation has worsened and families live under great economic pressure.
“They also worry about moral values in society, especially among children, but the spiritual life of the country is not the government’s priority. Our task as a Bible Society is to address the loss of moral and spiritual values and to encourage parents, in particular, to learn about the history of the Bible in a nonchurch environment so that they can involve their children in learning about life’s true values.”
Bible history
Over recent years, the Bible Society has developed a number of projects (examples of which are given below) designed to introduce young people in particular to the Bible and its history and to encourage them to see it is a source of guidance for their lives.
Jonah and the Big Fish:
This mobile exhibition about the Bible and its history has been moving from town to town since 2001. Run in collaboration with local churches and schools in each location, it attracts several thousand visitors each time, with many children participating enthusiastically in the accompanying activities, including quizzes and drawing and essay competitions. Making the necessary arrangements and moving the exhibition from place to place takes great commitment, but last year the exhibition visited five new towns. “In 10-15 years we can expect to cover the whole country!” says Dr Mikalakjunas.
Good News for Children:
There are around 190 children’s homes and other institutions in Lithuania, caring for some 11,000 children altogether. “The government works hard to meet the social and physical needs of the children,” says Dr Mikalakjunas, “but their spiritual needs are neglected. It is our responsibility to bring the Good News into the lives of these children, so that they learn about the love of Jesus and can be shown how to care for each other.” Meeting these children’s spiritual needs will be a longterm commitment for the Bible Society, which plans to run this project until 2010. And as it gains experience, the project is changing. Last year the Society ran Bible quizzes and distributed biblical literature in several institutions. “We gave different books to children of different age groups, but we realise now that we must adopt a different approach,” reports project manager Vilma Sabutiene. “All the children want to have exactly the same books!”
Bibles for School Libraries:
There are around 2,000 schools in Lithuania with around 637,000 pupils. Schools teach faith and ethics, but most school libraries do not contain a Bible and many children do not have access to a Bible at home. “We hope to supply each library with at least one Bible, but preferably three,” says Dr Mikalakjunas. “Unfortunately, progress was slow last year, as the only funds available to us were those raised locally. If we could really develop this project, the lives of many children would be changed. They would receive love from the Word of God, and they could relate what they are taught in classes to the message in the Bible and thus improve their behaviour and attitudes towards others. We will continue until we reach our goal!”
This report refers to projects 80804, 80806 and 80807. (WR 412/9 - 06.07)[3 photos]