Dear friend,
I am writing to you from Thessaloniki, Greece where I arrived yesterday to meet with Agape Europe (CRU) leaders from Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland for our Workshop 6 in Transform & Multiply. It is a joy to meet with these precious women, hungry for God and hungry to be equipped and empowered to reach women in their countries.
Diana, one of our European Agape butterfly leaders in Lithuania has just completed her 3 ½ year LUV Transform & Multiply discipleship journey in Orlando. Diana is a mother of 7 children! But she flew every six months to join us in the US until she was interrupted by Covid, – but continued to join us on zoom. She made it back to Orlando in-person for her final workshop and Commissioning in April this year where she experienced, and we witnessed the grace and kindness of God in her life.
Diana became a believer in Albania through Cru 20 years ago and was discipled in Lithuania by a precious couple, dear friends of mine, Randy and Sherry, for 3 years. Diana has been a faithful minister in Lithuania since then.
But 20 years later, in 2017 the Lord brought Diana to the Agape Women’s Initiative retreat in Madrid where I was invited to speak and challenge women in their ministry to reach women in Europe. The Lord deeply touched Diana’s heart again with a call to know Him more and to be further equipped to reach women’s hearts in Lithuania. She obeyed His call to join our LUV 3-year journey Transform & Multiply journey in Orlando during which time the Lord did a deeper work of healing, freedom and transformation in her life.
The sweetest blessing happened at the Commissioning this April. Most of the women invited their husbands and families (one husband even flew in from Oregon, traveling 12 hours to be with us!). It was too far for Diana’s husband and 7 children to travel from Lithuania. However, the Lord had a sweet gift for Diana. Randy and Sherry, her first spiritual mentors were able to attend her commissioning as her spiritual family! (Sherry was out of town but joined us in spirit). It was amazing to witness Randy praying over Diana and see how God brought them back together, a gift for Diana and an encouragement for Randy and Sherry to see how their faithful discipleship has borne fruit in Diana’s life.
After her first workshop in Orlando, Diana caught the vision to reach women, and returned to Lithuania with the vision for a movement of God among women in her country. The task seemed daunting, but she began with a small group of 12 women meeting 2 days every 3 months. The Holy Spirit brought great transformation and freedom in their lives, and at the end of their 3-year journey, these Lithuanian butterflies have caught the vision, and have been equipped and empowered to multiply. At her commissioning Diana shared – “I am no longer alone. God did the work through me, so now I have more helpers who have the vision too.” Two of her disciples have already started other groups and the movement of the Holy Spirit among women being transformed to multiply is ongoing.
Diana is leading two other groups of women through this three-year discipleship journey and Lord willing I will join all the Lithuania butterflies to partner with Agape Lithuania for a Lithuania Butterfly Conference in 2023 to share God’s transforming love with more women in Lithuania!
I believe the movement of the Holy Spirit through women in Lithuania and Europe is for such a time as this. When Ukrainian women refugees began arriving in Lithuania, Diana partnered with a Christian friend who owned a café, to serve free coffee and cake to the refugees every Friday. Diana and her friend use this time to comfort these women whose hearts are broken with loss and displacement. The women are not yet believers, but they share the Butterfly story, Magdalena movie and let them know of God’s love for them. These few hours together with cake and coffee, are how two daughters of the King are offering the light and love of Jesus in a dark place, to Ukrainian women who have found refuge in Lithuania.
Please pray for our workshop in Greece, that I would quickly recover from Jetlag, and that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in all our hearts, transforming, equipping, and empowering European women leaders to reach the hearts of women in their own countries with the transforming love of God, and to disciple women to live in the freedom and power found in Jesus Christ.
Thank you for your prayers!
In His love
Liz
Liz Dickson
Founder & Executive Director
Love UnVeiled