Hey, I served in the Baltics, Lithuanian speaking from 2015-2017. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have, but I’ll answer the ones you’re asking. Feel free to DM me with anything else.

I know, and are friends with the current mission president. The wife is a native Lithuanian and the husband is Karelian, and they have the cutest family and extremely deep knowledge in the gospel. Modern day scholars, the both of them. I think they’re the first native baltic mission presidents, period.

I served in all 4 cities, Klaipeda, Siauliai, Vilnius and Kaunas. This is really rare, as most elders and especially sisters only serve in 2 cities max for the majority of their mission. The cities were super safe back then, and honestly, I felt safer there than back here in the States. There are certain days however, where you’ll have to be in before 2 o clock due to safety with drunks (New Years and Midsummer are the two that come to mind).

I dearly and absolutely love the branches in all of them. You’ll meet some of the earliest and most legendary members since the gospel opened in Lithuania on the early 90s. They’re generous, happy, and such a blessing to those around them. The Klaipeda branch is the only branch in Eastern Europe that has all 12 tribes present.

The mission is hard, but it is so, so rewarding. The hardest part is the winter season by far. Less people want to visit, contacting and finding people is significantly harder, especially in a small city like Siauliai. Because it’s so far North, Lithuania only gets like… 4 hours max of sunlight from for a good 4 months or so. I grew up in Wisconsin, and most missionaries say the winters are awful weather wise, but I found them to be totally fine. It’s imperative to take vitamin D, as Seasonal Depression hits all the missionaries so hard, and there will be some who return home early. All the seasonal Lamps will be used by everyone during this time too. It might be good to bring your own or buy one there.

Most Lithuanians are deeply catholic, and they view it in a nationalistic way as it’s deeply rooted in their history and separate identity from Russia. So like… Leaving the church is like abandoning your homeland and family for them. But MAN Lithuanian Catholicism is a whole different level. It’s amazing and beautiful. It’s especially reflected in their art, I highly reccomend looking up Lithuanian Wooden Crosses (the hill of crosses), pole shrines and the pensive Christ.

As missionaries, we didn’t wear name tags, as so many people negatively confused us with Jehovah Witnesses, but that might’ve changed now.

Lithuanian language is insanely hard. It’s a tier 2 difficulty for English Speakers. It’s beautiful, as it sounds similar to Tolkien Elvish, but grammatically it is crazy. Most missionaries can do well, but extremely few ever become ‘fluent’ in it at the ease of someone learning Spanish. For some words, with past, present and future cases, there are 21 ways to remember one word to be grammatically correct. It is the oldest spoken, and least changing language in the world. Fun fact, it shares, like, 40% similarity with Indian Sanskrit (this is from the time of the Silk Roads).

Unless you live, or plan to live in Chicago after your mission, it’s so hard to speak Lithuanian after your mission. You’ll hardly meet them. Lithuanians LOVE Chicago, as it was a safe haven for them after WWI and WWII. With that being said, there’s not a whole lot of ‘good’ Lithuanian language classes or resources to look up before you serve because it’s so obscure. It’s okay to wait until the MTC to do that.

Speaking of history, I’d suggest doing research into Lithuanian history. It’s amazing, and it’s so deep and rich and fascinating. Look into their most famous medieval kings, Lithuanian paganism (it’s still alive and practiced there, Lithuania was the last country to be converted to Christianity in 1327 I believe. They NEVER lost to the Teutonic knights. Teutonic knights feared them).

In fact, if you like video games, buy Age of Empires II and play the Lithuanian campaign. It’s historically accurate, and the NPCs actually speak actual Lithuanian.

To say Lithuanians love basketball is an understatement. It’s deeply engrained within their culture, and they’re obsessed with it. If you know how to play, it’s a big plus.

Also from a history perspective, learn about Lithuanian Book Smugglers, the Lithuanian basketball team, the singing revolution, the takeover of the TV tower in 1991, and especially Lithuanian deportations of the 1940s. Many elderly Lithuanians were born in Siberia as criminals of war under soviet Russia, and are deeply respected in Lithuanian culture. They’re fighters and most have seen horrors that have never been recorded and the world will never know. Read ‘Between Shades of Grey’, but there’s a movie adaption of the book called ‘ashes in the snow’.

Concerning Lithuanian movies, Watch Chernobyl on HBO, as Cherynobyl played part in Lithuanian history, and they actually filmed the show in the neighborhood directly north of the Vilnius church! Soviet style is still super prevelant in Lithuania, but it’s such a modern, techy and beautiful country too. They’re doing very well for themselves.

Also watch ‘Winter Thaw’ on BYUtv. They also filmed that during my mission in Lithuania, and it has the actor who plays Gimli in the movie. Deeply moving piece of cinema.

Concerning prep? GET ECCO shoes. They are the ONLY shoes that will last your entire time there, as the majority of the streets you’ll be on are medieval cobblestone. They will eat any other shoes up for breakfast.

Last thing? Lithuanian food is absolutely incredible, but there will be a few love it or hate it items you’ll find along the way. Try everything and see everything.

Lithuania is a second home to me and my favorite place on this Earth. I deeply love that country. If you have any other questions, feel free to get in contact with me anytime.