Participants: Jeff Reich
Series Code: LM
Program Code: LM000112B
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00:39 I'm Jeff Reich and I'd like you
00:40 to come with me on a journey 00:42 as I revisit just some of the evidences 00:43 of my faith especially regarding Noah 00:46 and the flood story. 00:48 I mean, standing here you could see 00:49 like all different kinds of small seashells, 00:52 they're compressed together 00:53 and this is right at the top of the Mesa 00:55 here in the Goosenecks. 00:56 Eruption in Mt. St. Helens gave scientists 00:58 the opportunity to study what happens 01:00 when a catastrophe hits an area such as this. 01:03 When the water rushed over these falls, 01:04 it was ten times the size of Niagara 01:07 and what is known to be 01:08 the largest waterfall in existence. 01:10 All the water that came flowing down 01:12 through this area went down through the Scablands 01:14 of eastern Washington and right down 01:16 to that drainage system in the Columbia River 01:18 right out to the Pacific Ocean. 01:21 As Noah and his family came off the ark, 01:23 they stood in absolute horror as they looked around 01:25 at the devastation of the world. 01:27 Sadly, they knew this was the consequence of sin. 01:30 And I believe right here at the Grand Canyon 01:32 is probably one of the greatest testimonies 01:34 that prove the flood story. 01:44 The story of Noah and the flood 01:45 is extremely important for us today. 01:47 It points backwards to a time where God judged the world. 01:50 And it points forwards to a time 01:51 where God will judge the world again. 01:53 The evidences are all around us so much 01:55 so that all will be without excuse. 02:09 We're outside the city of Vilkaviskis. 02:11 Now, we are in Lithuania. 02:12 This time we're gonna be watching 02:14 what some of the Bible workers are doing here, 02:15 we'll be visiting with Pastor Arunas 02:17 at this little church with church group 02:19 and we'll be traveling around the country of Lithuania 02:21 showing you what Laymen Ministries 02:22 is doing here in this country. 03:08 Laymen Ministries has a long history here in Lithuania. 03:10 We actually came here in 1993, 03:12 so we've been working here for-- 03:14 oh, going on 15 years now. 03:15 A lot of people say, 03:16 well, how did you ever come to this country of Lithuania? 03:19 How did Laymen Ministries get involved? 03:21 And it's kind of an interesting story 03:23 because I remember back in the early 90s 03:25 we were working in Albania, Romania and Bulgaria, 03:28 and I was studying in one of my books-- 03:31 was sharing this idea about expanding your horizons 03:35 and I'm thinking, Lord, how should I expand 03:37 the horizons of Laymen Ministries. 03:39 And that night I went to bed and I'm not into dreams 03:43 and claiming to be a prophet or anything 03:44 but the weirdest thing happened. 03:47 I was praying, it's okay, Lord, 03:48 if you want us to expand our horizons, 03:50 we'll do that. 03:51 In the middle of the night, I woke up and I heard a voice 03:53 in my head say, go to Lithuania. 03:55 I've never heard of the country of Lithuania 03:57 in my whole life. 03:58 And so the next morning when I got up, I was curious. 04:01 I got out my Atlas and sure enough 04:03 I found up by Belarus and Poland, 04:05 up in the Baltic countries, 04:07 this little country called Lithuania. 04:08 I go wow, there is a country called Lithuania. 04:11 And two days later after that 04:13 I got this phone call by a boy 04:15 and he said, "Hello Jeff." 04:17 He said, "Have you ever thought about 04:18 coming to my country of Lithuania?" 04:20 He was a student from Weimar College. 04:22 I said, well, yeah, you know, 04:23 I've actually been thinking about going to Lithuania a lot. 04:26 And this young man connected me with a man 04:29 called Remus Sir Binschus 04:31 and in about six weeks later we had our airplane tickets 04:34 and we came to Lithuania. 04:35 And that was the beginning 04:36 of the whole Lithuanian project. 04:39 First we saw the need to publish literature 04:41 as books and tracks are amazing tools 04:42 to reach people with the truth. 04:45 We helped establish 04:46 the very first Adventist publishing house 04:48 with Remus Sir Binschus. 04:51 Soon we were publishing thousands of books and tracks, 04:54 titles such as the Desire of Ages, 04:56 The Great Controversy, Christ Object Lessons 04:58 and more with over 130,000 books and tracks 05:02 printed over the last 15 years. 05:05 We soon found we had another dilemma, 05:07 how to distribute this literature. 05:09 That's the start of Laymen Ministrie's 05:11 Youth and Missions Program. 05:13 Working together with Kevin and Kathy Paige, 05:15 we organized an effective work that was instrumental 05:18 in church growth across the country. 05:21 We sent over young people like Jonathan Peebles, 05:24 Joshua Miller, Shannon Parker and Jeremy Caulkins 05:27 who trained Lithuanian youth 05:28 how to sell books door-to-door. 05:30 The program became a great success. 05:33 They opened the doors in a country 05:34 that had been closed by communism. 05:36 These young people were the pioneers of the church, 05:39 speaking in home churches, sharing the truth 05:41 and distributing literature throughout Lithuania. 05:48 Lithuania is situated in Northern Europe 05:51 in an area called the Baltics 05:52 with Russia to the east and Poland to the south. 05:55 And it has a population of about 3.5 million people. 05:59 Lithuania has been one of the most 06:01 occupied countries in all of Europe, 06:03 yet on the other hand in the earlier centuries 06:05 when Vytautas the Great was king, 06:07 it occupied the territories of present day Belarus, Ukraine 06:11 and parts of Poland and Russia. 06:13 By the end of the 14th century, 06:15 Lithuania stretched across a substantial part of Europe 06:18 from the Baltic to the Black Sea. 06:20 It was also the only remaining Pagan country of Europe 06:23 until converted by the sword to Catholicism. 06:28 Today, while growing more and more secular 06:30 like much of Europe, the Catholic Church 06:32 is the state recognized religion. 06:37 Life in Lithuania is difficult especially 06:40 with the growing worldwide recession. 06:42 Unemployment is at all time highs. 06:44 It has some of the highest rates 06:46 in all of Europe for alcoholism, 06:48 depression, and suicide. 06:50 In the cities, people are crowded 06:52 into these small block of flats 06:53 or what we call apartment house complexes. 06:56 Life in the country is difficult. 06:58 The people survive by growing food 07:00 and keeping it in store for the long winters. 07:03 On this particular trip, 07:05 we're going to show you what the Bible workers 07:06 that are being sponsored by Laymen Ministries 07:08 are doing working on a one-to-one 07:09 with people in their homes. 07:11 Plus, we're gonna take you 07:12 to one of the poorest orphanages in Lithuania 07:14 and share with you 07:16 how we are sharing clothing and books and things 07:19 like that with the children 07:20 and also with the administrative staff. 07:46 On this trip, we flew into Vilnius, 07:48 the capital and drove straight to the city of Kaunas 07:51 to meet the Bible workers and the church leaders 07:53 to hold our annual training session. 07:57 Our Bible workers and pastors 07:58 are located in every region of this country. 08:01 Meetings like these bring new ideas 08:03 and encouragement to the workers. 08:05 The Bible workers cross various cultural boundaries 08:07 by also reaching Polish and Russian speaking people. 08:12 Pastor Arunas with his wife Neringa helped coordinate 08:15 Laymen Ministries work across Lithuania. 08:17 They live in the small city of Vilkaviskis. 08:20 Besides being a fulltime pastor, 08:21 Arunas holds training seminars for the Bible workers 08:24 and keeps in contact with them 08:25 to provide encouragement and counsel. 08:28 They also organize summer youth meetings 08:29 and oversee the work in many of the orphanages. 08:32 Arunas also helped start this small church in the city 08:35 where there had been no previous Adventist presence. 08:38 We bought it several years ago 08:40 and we're remodeling every year 08:42 and last year we were working 08:44 again outside the church building 08:46 and we just painted it and the roof has changed 08:49 and the windows and this year 08:52 we are working inside the building. 08:54 The work is difficult as people 08:56 are not very often open to new ideas, 08:58 especially outside of catholic tradition. 09:02 After resting up, we drove all the way up 09:04 by the Lithuanian border 09:05 to the small village of Daunorai 09:07 to meet with two of our Bible workers named Julius and Roma. 09:10 They live on a small farm 09:12 which they use as their outpost to reach the nearby cities. 09:15 They also use their farm as a quiet country retreat, 09:18 holding summer and winter programs 09:20 for some of the children from the nearby orphanage. 09:22 This is Julius, he would say Lulius, right? 09:26 Lulius in Lithuanian and Roma, 09:28 they have been Bible workers 09:29 for Laymen Ministries for eight years. 09:45 Roma has Bible studies with some of the neighbors, 09:47 such as this lady. 09:48 They also hold group Bible studies at their home 09:51 as well as in the nearby city of Birzai. 09:57 Roma shares with her neighbor friend 09:58 every week in a personal one-on-one Bible study. 10:01 The test of time has proven 10:03 as to be one of the most effective ways 10:04 of leading a person to Christ 10:06 and making solid church members. 10:12 Our next stop is to visit another Bible worker 10:14 by the name of Daiva. 10:16 Just got to Silale, we're at Daiva's house 10:19 and Daiva's been a Bible worker with us for-- 10:22 how many years now? 10:27 Many years. 10:28 Many years, she says. 10:30 We're gonna see what she's doing here 10:32 while we're in Silale 10:33 and then we'll be going to church here tomorrow morning. 10:55 Bible studies like these are happening 10:57 with Laymen Ministries Bible workers 10:58 all across Lithuania. 11:00 These Bible studies have brought about 11:02 hundreds of baptisms over the last 15 years 11:05 and have been one of the most effective 11:06 outreach methods in this country. 11:09 You know, they are just finishing up 11:11 their Bible study here 11:12 and this is what it's all about. 11:14 It's the Bible workers coming into people's homes 11:16 and making friends with people and sharing the word of God, 11:19 they just got done-- having a Bible study 11:22 about the meaning of life 11:23 and the importance of the Christian experience 11:26 and having relationship with Christ 11:28 and how it can give you life and it's really-- 11:32 this is really what it's all about, 11:34 coming here and making friends 11:35 and sharing the Bible with people. 12:03 Pastor Arunas, who is the Director 12:05 for Laymen Ministries here in Lithuania 12:07 had a unique experience 12:08 with this brother by the name Arunas, 12:10 so both of their names are Arunas. 12:13 But Arunas, when he was a young boy, 12:15 this Arunas, when he was a young boy, 12:16 he was an altar boy for the Catholic Church, 12:19 when he grew up, like many Lithuanian people, 12:21 he fell away from his faith 12:22 and stopped practicing Catholicism. 12:25 He became a building contractor and he became married, 12:28 he started traveling back and forth 12:30 to Norway working over there 12:31 and he wasn't happy with his life 12:33 because they were drinking and partying 12:34 quite a bit and he finally decided, 12:36 he wanted to make some changes 12:37 so he stopped drinking alcohol 12:39 and his wife wasn't very happy with that 12:42 and so she started living a party lifestyle 12:45 and he started going away from that 12:47 and she finally left him 12:48 and they went through a divorce. 12:49 He came back to Lithuania, shattered, 12:52 looking for work as a building contractor. 12:54 It turned out the Lord led him to a situation 12:57 where he was helping to remodel 12:58 a Seventh-day Adventist Church member's home 13:01 and one day he heard them over talking 13:03 about religious things and he started asking questions 13:05 and this led of course to these church members 13:07 giving him several books. 13:09 One book they gave to him was the book Great Controversy 13:12 and he read this book and he read several other books 13:15 and he started having questions, 13:16 so he called Pastor Arunas on the telephone 13:18 and very soon they started 13:20 having Bible studies just like this. 13:22 Just last year in September 13:25 when water was freezing cold, 13:27 he was baptized into Christ and then after that, 13:31 he started dedicating himself to helping Pastor Arunas 13:34 remodel the old church here in Vilkaviskis. 13:37 And this is what it's all about. 13:40 People leading people to Christ, 13:42 teaching to teach, 13:43 so that other people too will in turn, 13:46 turn around and be able to share 13:47 what they've learned about Christ with somebody else. 13:53 After we left Daunorai, 13:54 we headed towards the city of Siauliai. 13:57 Along the way, we visited the historic Hill of Crosses. 14:00 The history behind the spot dates back to the 18th century 14:04 when people started placing crosses here 14:06 for those who were killed in the uprisings 14:08 against the Russians. 14:09 This hill took on more significance after World War II 14:12 when the occupying Russians 14:14 tried to bulldoze the hill at least three times. 14:17 The defiant Lithuanians used it 14:18 to demonstrate their allegiance to their original identity, 14:21 religion, and heritage. 14:23 Today the number of crosses is unknown 14:25 but estimations put it at over 50,000. 14:54 Our ministry has a long history 14:55 with this church in Siauliai as our workers, 14:58 both national and from America 15:00 have had a big part in helping this church become established. 15:03 We're in the city of Siauliai 15:05 and we're gonna go to church here this morning. 15:07 Siauliai church has had this house 15:09 that was renovated into a church 15:10 for quite a number of years now. 15:12 This morning, the emphasis is going to be on the harvest, 15:15 yeah, because it's cold and it's October 15:17 and it's harvest time, and one thing you'll notice 15:21 is that a lot of the people here dress really warm, 15:24 the church isn't heated very well. 15:26 Some of the places are heated pretty good 15:27 but there has been some places 15:29 where we go to church on Sabbath here where-it's, 15:31 you can see your breath inside the building 15:34 but they have a really active church here in Siauliai. 15:37 I'm looking forward to speaking to the people here today. 15:42 At first, it was in the living room 15:43 of the church member's house. 15:45 Later, the house was purchased, 15:47 remodeled and now is packed every Sabbath. 15:49 So when Christ comes for the great harvest, 15:52 what is He coming for? 15:53 People? Yes. 15:55 So, all the people are gonna be harvesting. 15:58 This particular Sabbath day, 15:59 we're having a harvest celebration. 16:01 I spoke on the last great harvest 16:03 and how Christ works in our hearts 16:05 to have our characters come to fruition. 16:07 In preparation for that last great harvest, 16:10 it was great to reconnect with many old friends again. 16:20 What they are doing here is something very unusual, 16:22 after the church service, since this is the harvest time 16:24 they are giving food to all the church members. 16:27 We have a nice arrangement here 16:28 with different kinds of breads 16:30 and some soy patties and tomatoes. 16:34 It's kind of different to be honest with you. 16:38 It's been five years since I was in Lithuania, 16:41 I missed a lot of things from here 16:43 but one of the things that I missed 16:44 the most is the food and the drink. 16:51 In all the countries we always traveled to, 16:52 we like to show you the different types 16:54 of cultural foods that they prepare. 16:55 In Lithuania, one of the most famous foods 16:59 is the potato and in fact it's very dear to my heart 17:02 because I'm from the state of Idaho 17:05 in the good old USA and everybody knows that-- 17:07 lives to close to Idaho 17:08 that Idaho is famous for famous potatoes. 17:12 And in Lithuania, 17:13 they cook a zillion different types of potato dishes 17:16 but she's gonna be preparing today 17:19 a dish called cepelinai. 17:22 Now, I think that it really should be called zeppelini. 17:25 For years I always pronounced it that 17:27 because I thought that the finished product 17:29 kind of looked like a zeppelin, 17:30 now you've probably seen those big German balloons 17:32 you know, they were called zeppelins. 17:34 Well, the finished product is similar to that 17:36 and it's quite a, an elaborate process. 17:44 One of the first things that they do apparently 17:47 is they peel potatoes 17:49 and she soaks them in some water. 17:54 It's a unique combination 17:56 because she's gonna mix together 17:58 raw potatoes and boiled potatoes, 18:01 they're like mashed potatoes, you'll see there. 18:03 Here you have some soft cheese. 18:05 This cheese is a, yeah it's-- 18:07 what they call fresh cheese? 18:09 It's next step up from cottage cheese. 18:12 It's kind of a firm, soft cheese, 18:13 kind of like feta cheese but with no seasoning in it. 18:16 This is gonna go inside the zeppelini. 18:19 So you'll see that she is doing this, 18:21 she's gonna mix this cooked mashed potatoes together 18:24 with raw grated potatoes and a potato puree 18:27 which she'll be using a machine for it a little bit. 18:31 So you can see it's just raw potatoes 18:33 that are just whizzed up kind of almost like 18:35 what we'd use in a champion juicer in the States. 18:40 Interesting. 18:41 The next step Neringa is using here as she's taking that, 18:45 the raw potatoes that was made into a puree 18:48 and she's putting it to like, piece of cheese cloth 18:51 and straining all the liquid out of it 18:53 so she's ending up with kind of like a starchy 18:56 looking material here. 18:57 It's just raw potato starch. 18:59 So this is potato juices in here 19:02 and I'm gonna have John, our cameraman, 19:06 demonstrate drinking this stuff. 19:09 I'm not gonna do it. 19:10 Okay, here it goes. 19:22 This is raw potato juice. 19:26 It's got to be at least 37 different nutrients. 19:30 What do you think? 19:32 It's good. 19:33 Are you serious? 19:35 Might need a little salt 19:36 but other than that, it's good. 19:39 It's good. 19:41 Now after these things are all rolled together 19:44 with the stuffing inside, 19:46 she carefully places them in boiling water, 19:48 so in a sense what they are is a potato dumpling. 19:52 But it's the most unique potato dumpling 19:53 I've ever seen in my life. 19:56 She's mixing up a special sauce 19:58 and has like some butter and some salt, 20:00 some different things and uses 20:02 sparingly on top of your potato zeppelini 20:05 and put it on that plate. 20:11 Some people like just I've mentioned to you, 20:13 they take oil and they just dump a ton of oil on it. 20:16 She's using a little bit of butter sparingly 20:18 with some salt and little bit of sour cream 20:20 and that will make a nice flavored sauce 20:23 for the top of it. 20:24 This is the finished product. 20:26 This is the zeppelini. 20:27 Cepelinai, they call it. 20:32 It's delicious. 20:34 Really good. 20:35 Now, I tell you what, 20:36 two of these will stick to your ribs. 20:41 Today, we're gonna go over 20:43 and meet with the director from one of the orphanages. 20:45 We're loading up all the stuff 20:47 to take over to the orphanages today 20:48 and when we meet the director, 20:50 we're gonna over to that market place 20:52 and buy some clothes and things. 20:53 The next morning, we headed south about 40 miles 20:56 to the small city of Siminus 20:57 where we met with some of the ladies 20:59 who work at the local orphanage. 21:03 In the larger cities, the orphanages usually 21:05 receive some kind of help from other European countries 21:08 while the smaller orphanages out in the country 21:11 are in a desperate situation. 21:16 After meeting with the director and the administrative staff, 21:19 it was decided these kids needed warm winter clothing, 21:22 shoes, and other basic clothes. 21:24 Together, we went with some of the workers 21:26 on a shopping spree to get what they needed. 21:46 These ladies are really into this orphanage, 21:48 if you watch the expression on them 21:49 as they are purchasing things, 21:51 one girl is going, oh, very good, 21:53 it's great, it's good, you know, 21:54 because she's actually able to get some clothing for the kids. 21:57 They have been having a real problem 21:59 with being able to have quality clothing 22:01 and to be able to have just socks 22:03 and underwear and things like that, 22:04 so it's nice to see that the administrative staff 22:09 are really into the children 22:11 and they are not doing this just as a job 22:12 but they are doing 'cause their hearts are into it. 22:37 It's interesting 'cause this lady 22:38 who is actually giving us about five coats for free 22:42 and she's crying, I don't know 22:43 if you're noticing this or not, 22:44 but she's actually got tears in her eyes 22:46 saying that she wants to help out. 22:52 Apparently her son was recently 22:54 killed with some kind of incident 22:56 and she's got some problems at home 22:57 and apparently she just got a real sensitive 22:59 and kinder heart and she wants to help out 23:01 so she's donating a lot of these coats 23:04 and then we're gonna buy something or two. 23:10 Basically he's gonna come back to visit this lady again 23:13 to give some literature to her. 23:15 Okay, what's next on the list? 23:27 You get this, 23:28 we're not only just buying clothes for orphans 23:30 but we're giving them spiritual literature 23:32 and this is a real open door 23:34 for being able to share Christ in the orphanages 23:37 with the administrative people and the kids there. 23:40 In this particular orphanage, 23:41 they have children who are all the way up 23:43 to the age of 21 years of age 23:45 between the full ages of four, six, 23:47 all the way to 21 years of age. 23:56 Wow! 23:58 Look at the stuff. 24:00 I'm happy. I'm happy. 24:02 Good. 24:09 Back in 1995, two missionaries 24:11 who worked with Laymen Ministries, 24:13 Joshua Miller and Jonathan Peeble 24:15 saw how destitute things 24:16 were in the orphanage by where they lived. 24:18 They soon started searching out 24:20 other poor orphanages around the country. 24:27 Laymen Ministries made this an extension of our project, 24:30 providing clothing, shoes, 24:31 and spiritual food for their souls, as well. 24:37 To this day, we've continued to be involved 24:39 with the ministry to these poor orphanages. 24:47 Small orphanages located in the more rural areas 24:49 such as this one struggle 24:51 just to keep the heat turned on. 24:53 The director told me they would literally not turn the heat on 24:56 until the 1st of November. 24:58 While we were there in October, 24:59 the building was a chilly 55 degrees inside. 25:05 The children lacked basic warm clothing, 25:07 under garments, and food was limited as well. 25:16 Children and staff also received from us Bibles, books, 25:19 and Bible study materials. 25:24 The kids at this orphanage are the outcasts of society. 25:27 Most here are handicapped, born with birth defects, 25:30 or have some emotional issues from poor 25:32 and even abusive parenting. 25:35 Many orphans are here because of their parents 25:37 who are alcoholic or simply have abandoned them. 25:43 The director Mrs. Elena Downiski 25:46 showed us the giving tree 25:47 of people who have donated before. 25:49 On the wall was Joshua and Inga Miller's name 25:51 and Pastor Arunas as well, all Laymen Ministries workers. 25:58 As we walked around the facility, 25:59 I was impressed that while they were poor, 26:02 the building was kept clean and orderly. 26:04 They had classrooms where they engaged 26:06 in special activities for the children. 26:10 All the children were very happy that we came 26:12 and all showed a great enthusiasm. 26:17 When it came time to distribute some of the items, 26:19 the kids became very excited. 26:22 Other items were distributed in a more discretionary manner. 26:37 Today, Laymen Ministries continues 26:39 to support Bible workers and pastors, 26:42 publishing literature, and orphanage outreach. 26:45 We have a vision of expanding 26:46 into radio and television broadcast 26:48 as well as seminars held across the country. 26:52 Please pray with us for this little country of Lithuania. |
Revised 2015-03-19