Encircled

Round shapes often represent eternity. 

Halos, crowns and even wedding rings, are shaped like circles and are symbolic of never ending love. While in Vilnius, Elder & Sister Davis learned about several "round" objects that now represent things "eternal" but have sad histories.  Let us explain....

The first round shape we visited was the Vilnius TV tower, rising 1,070 feet into the sky.  This is a symbol of freedom for many Lithuanians.  How does a giant antenna become a symbol of freedom?  Because of what happened there....

On the cold night of January 13, 1991,  a crowd of thousands of unarmed Lithuanians came out to protect their TV tower from a Russian takeover. A Lithuanian television station  had been broadcasting to the world, some of the the illegal and brutal things that the Soviets had done. People knew that if the Russians took control of the television stations, they could control what was being said on the airways. Russian tanks were sent up the hill to surround the tower and occupy it.   

What happened that night will never be forgotten by the Lithuanian people. The crowd was so thick that 3 people were literally crushed under the tank tracks. The rest of the victims were shot by Russian soldiers....14 unarmed civilians lost their lives  and 700 more were injured.  The people were horrified at what had happened. It strengthened their resolve for an independent Lithuania even more.

  A small., but very moving museum on the ground floor of the tower, gives details of the event.

The portrait on the wall on the left is Loreta Asanavičiūtė. This 24-year-old seamstress was the only female victim, and became the most famous. She was run over by a Soviet tank and later died in a hospital. 

This event made worldwide news and a Time Magazine article is located in the display in English. The streets around the TV tower have been named after the victims and the main street is now named January 13th Street.

"Our task must be to free ourselves...by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and it's beauty."  Albert Einstein

The top of the TV tower has a revolving restaurant that is a major tourist destination.

And close to the parking lot are more memorials...

 Those who lost their lives here have already been memorialized for eternity by the Lithuanian people.

Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday, and forever. D&C 35:1 

After that very informative museum experience, we headed out of Vilnius a bit....
to a place where more "sad circles" were located.

Paneriai Holocaust Memorial was our destination. About 70,000 Jewish men, women and children were slaughtered in the forests of Paneriai between July 1941 and August 1944.

As with most of the Holocaust sites, they are close to railroad tracks. The Nazi actually discovered this forest on their way to invading Vilnius...

This memorial is for the thousands of  Polish people who were also murdered here.

About 500 Catholic priests were also killed...some for refusing to turn against the Jews.

The Star of David is always a giveaway on the Jewish memorial sites.

When the Nazi first came through this forest they noticed that the Soviets had been building a fuel tank depot here and had excavated many round holes for the tanks to sit flat in.  When the Soviets retreated, the holes became ideal places for the Nazi to bury bodies in their quest for a pure race of people. 

Scattered around this now peaceful forest are about 7 of these massive perfectly round pits where people were shot  and buried.  People who lived in the nearby town would hear the sobbing and cries of those unfortunate victims and often told others what they heard, but were powerless to stop.

The circumference of the actual pit is where the tree line is.  The cement edging is just a memorial at the bottom of each pit.

“Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace.”       Albert Schweitzer

This large pit below, with the stone walls was where the Nazi tried to hide what they did at the end of the war.  The bodies in the pits were exhumed and put in this large pit where acid was poured on them before throwing them in a bonfire. It never ceases to amaze us how wicked people always try to "hide" their crimes.  It's not like the people around there didn't know what was going on.

The ramp in the middle of the pit was used to push bodies into the fire with.

But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love. Nephi 1:15

Sister Davis & Elder & Sister Flake trying to take in the enormity of the event.  How can one fathom the hatred that would allow men to do this? As usual we left this historical Holocaust site melancholy.

“He drew a circle that shut me out-
Heretic , rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him In !

                    Edward Markham

The next day we tried to find the Jewish museum to learn more about the Holocaust in Lithuania. As usual, it wasn't easy to find. Most of the Jewish places are not well advertised and without our trusty guidebook we would never find these sites. Notice below....the teeny, tiny sign above the loud graffiti on the wall.  There is a blue arrow with hard to see white writing that points the way up a driveway between two buildings...State Jewish Museum.

And behind the big buildings is this green house...again no signs on it. But inside this nondescript house is a wealth of Lithuanian Jewish history. We watched three movies inside and wandered through their impressive displays.

We love the history we are learning over here, sad though it is. We know that wickedness never was happiness and that there is justice and mercy in  the life to come.

 For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round. Nephi 10:19

Splish, Splash'n in Vilnius

Elder & Sister Davis realize we have been called as Baltic States Missionaries and we have been so busy lately in Riga, Latvia, we thought to ourselves, we aren't doing our job!  We need to visit those YSA's in Lithuania and Estonia and make sure they are having as much fun as we are.

So our first trip was to the south, the city of Vilnius, capital of Lithuania; home to Elder & Sister Flake.

We checked into the Congress Hotel....near Old Town.

And Sister Davis was so very happy....

Not because the bed was soft,  (it wasn't)...



Not because there was free WiFi (she just takes that for granted).... 

 Not because of the hot breakfast included in the price.....

none of those things had the impact of seeing..... 

drumroll, please....

that our room had a BATHTUB!

 

Hallelujah!  It has been nearly a year since Sister Davis got a bath. Our apartment in Riga does not have a bathtub and she is tired of taking only showers. There is nothing quite so relaxing as soaking in a warm, bubble bath.  While in Vilnius for 4 days, Sister Davis took 3 bubble-baths, but that doesn't beat Elder Davis's record. He actually took 2 bubble-baths in one day in that tub. Ahhhh!

True luxury.

Splish, splash, I was takin' a bath
Long about a Monday night,

A rub dub, just relaxin' in the tub
Thinkin' everythin' was alright!

It  was raining when we started walking to the "teaching center" in downtown Vilnus.  So we were splish'n and a splash'n through the puddles on the way to FHE.

Anton ( a recent convert) and Brigita ready to start FHE with Sister Flake. Elder & Sister Davis provided the pizza but where are the other YSA's?

They must have been a-splishin' and a-splashin'
Reelin' with the feelin'
Movin' and a-groovin'
Rockin' and a-rollin'...

because by the end of the evening,  we ended up with 7 YSA's, and 6 missionaries at FHE.

Anton.....

And then we played a new game:  Phase 10....

The next day, we picked up Elder & Sister Flake and did a little sight-seeing.

A- well-a, splish, splash, I forgot about the bath
I went and put my walking boots on...

First Stop:  Cathedral Square. It's the main square of  downtown Vilnius and is a very popular attraction in Lithuania.  In the square, is the Vilnius Cathedral built in 1251. Most of the current church is from the late 1700's and looks like a Greek Temple. It was closed by the Soviets in 1950 and used as a picture gallery until given back to the Catholic Church in 1989.

google image

You can see how massive this place is by how tiny the people look in the front of the Cathedral.

 

Bing, bang, the church bells rang
walking down an Old Town street

Flip, flop, I didn't want to stop
All the sight-seeing was such a treat.

 Vilnius Cathedral Belfry

And this is the founder of Vilnius,  Grand Duke Gediminas and his horse. Gediminas had a dream and was told to build a castle near the River Vilnia.  A town was built around the castle and Gediminas announced Vilnius as the nations capital in 1323.

  

In the center of Cathedral Square is this unique tile.

Stebuklas is the  Lithuanian word for miracle. 

This tile is said to be the exact place where the "Baltic Way" started in Lithuania. 

What is the Baltic Way, you ask?

In August 1939,  foreign ministers Vyacheslav Molotov,  from the USSR, and Joachim von Ribbentrop, representing Germany, acting for Stalin and Hitler, signed a treaty which affected the fate of Europe. This pact, and it's secret clauses, divided up countries to either the USSR or Germany and led to World War II, and to the occupation of the three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 50 years later, on 23 August 1989, the three nations living by the Baltic Sea surprised the world by taking hold of each other's hands and jointly demanding recognition of the secret clauses in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and the re-establishment of the independence of the Baltic States. More than a million people joined hands to create a 600 km long human chain from the foot of Toompea in Tallinn to the foot of the Gediminas Tower in Vilnius, crossing Riga and the River Daugava on its way, creating a synergy in the drive for freedom that united the three countries. The Baltic Way  showed how three small countries - the Baltic States, regardless of their unique, individual national characteristics, had a common goal - to overcome the consequences of World War II and to destroy the totalitarian regimes.   The Baltic were united together in peace. Second Stop on our sight-seeing tour:  The Upper Castle Tower which is located up a steep hill. It was a bit chilly out so Elder & Sister Flake suggested a quicker route: the funicular! View from the bottom I was a-rollin' and a-strollin' Reelin' with the feelin'

                                       

                            View from the top:

Movin' and a-groovin'

Splishin' and a-splashin', yeah

 At the top of the hill was another short climb to the tower.

Good view of Vilnius

 

This is the place, where in 1993,
Elder M. Russell Ballard dedicated the country of Lithuania for missionary work.

 This photo is important because of the smokestack in the middle of the picture.

The smokestack has smoke coming out of it...which is good news. The heating system in Lithuania is communal. All the heat comes into homes from hot water brought under the streets to radiators in homes.  That smoke means heat to homes...and Elder & Sister Flake had been waiting for their heat to be turned on for several weeks because it's getting cold.

Vilnius is a curious mixture of new and old...

We were curious about this group of workers installing a sod lawn on this very steep hill. The sod was slid down a metal chute to where the men stood on the hill wearing spiked shoes putting each piece neatly into place.

Medieval Missionaries....

The beautiful fall leaves still on the trees...

Pilies Street....one of the busiest streets in Old Town.

Lunch was in a basement under an old building...

Brigita told us where to find the BEST ice cream in Vilnius....Dione's.

 

It is all hand made and wonderfully delicious...

"Well,  how was I to know there was a party going on..."

I was a rollin' and a strollin', reelin' with the feelin',
Movin and a groovin', splishin' and a splashin, yeah!

with gratitude for Bobby Darin and his song "Splish Splash"



Making New Friends

  

 We start this blog post with some "new" friends Elder and Sister Davis have met.  This young man with the glasses is Alexejs.  He is Russian speaking and formerly from the city of Daugavpils but is attending school in Riga.  He was recently baptized and has been attending FHE ever since. 

But without our "old" friends like Dimitrijs who speaks fluent Russian, we might never have known it was Alexejs birthday on that specific FHE night.  Old AND new friends are important to us.

 What to do?  Well, that same night we met another new friend named Esau.  He was visiting Latvia from another country and had brought a cake to FHE.  Sister Davis asked if she could use it as a birthday cake for Alexejs and he said, "Great idea!"

So with two over sized candles on top of the cake, everyone sang, "Happy Birthday" to Alexejs.  Elder Davis, doing what he does best, making sure everyone feels a part of the group.  Alexejs seemed pretty pleased about the birthday wishes.

Left to Right:  Romans, Svetlana, Rudolfs, Viktors, Aivars, Iveta, Denis, Alexejs, Rihard, Olga,  Elina, Esau, Zane, Renars, Elder Davis, Sister Davis, Zane, Marta

We have made many new friends lately because we have had many YSA's returning home to Latvia from their own missions.  Olga was in Russia (Moscow) and is now our Institute Student Council President. 

Dimitri's also served in Russia (hey, its a HUGE country).....and Zane served in Ukraine.



Dimitri's was just made the District Clerk or Executive Secretary.  Zane was just made the Relief Society President in her branch.... :)  That is how important these return missionaries are in the Baltic.

It is a good thing we have had so many missionaries returning home because  another "old" friend was leaving for his mission.  We had a farewell for Rudolfs at FHE because he would soon be going to the  Provo, UT,  Missionary Training Center and then on to Taiwan.

Elina leads the opening song....

 

Maija,  Sister Nelson, Sister Gallacher & Petris singing a hymn.

Rudolfs has a lot of friends, so we ended up with 22 people coming to FHE to say goodbye to him.

Rudolfs talked about his mission call and then the audience was allowed to ask questions.  What Rudolf's didn't know was that the questions (some strange cultural ones and some pertaining to missionary life) had been handed out to everyone beforehand by Marta. She found some unusual things about Taiwan and at first Rudolfs struggled for the answers and wondered by people were asking such strange questions.  His answer was pretty much the same one over and over,  "I don't know", until he caught on to the gag.

We played a few games like, who can sew a button on a shirt the fastest.  Eva competes against Juris, Rudolfs and Alexejs.  It was a tie between Eva and Alexejs. They both got a Snicker bar for their efforts.

Alexejs is a returned missionary himself and had no problem sewing on that button!

We had other games planned but we ran out of time...after all, we had brownies for dessert (a YSA favorite).

On this mission we have realized that friends are important to us.... both new and old friends, are of great value. One is truly silver and the other gold.  We will never forget the friendships we had before our mission and those we made on our mission.