Last Thursday I went with Graeme, Zoe, Sian and Zoe's parents to Lithuania for the day. Our primary purpose was to visit the Hill of Crosses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_of_Crosses). We also visited a pretty little town and had a great meal at a cafe along the road.

The Hill of Crosses was unsettling for me. My initial reaction when I started to walk into it was disturbing. I felt a little 'creeped out' like there was something not quite right about the place. It's supposed to be a place of hope for the people of Lithuania who have experienced, like Latvia, oppression and lack of peace for so many years. I think it's the current purpose, which seems much more like a tourist attraction that is so disturbing. You can buy crosses in the parking lot and leave them amongst the meaningful and historic crosses left by sincere people in the past. I know that sounds harsh, but Dana said it well. She said it's like people are simply saying "I was here". I didn't have a sense that people understand the real meaning of the cross. Thank God we can find hope and peace and it's not dependent on a place or an icon but on the true and living God, Jesus Christ.

(I'm having trouble uploading pictures so I'll try to post them later. )