I can‘t think of very many places I‘d rather be right now than sitting here, Rita and Shane washing over me, soup boiling on stove, my hands stained red from grating beets, cup of tea and selga at hand, sunshine warming my back, breeze cool on my cheeks. Fall has arrived in Lithuania. Last weekend at the beach I could feel the air start to change; I could see the clouds of autumn moving in. Short skirts are being traded for jackets and scarves, the open-toed sandals replaced by point-toed stilettos. It gets darker at least 2 hours earlier than it did when I first got here. Life is good. This week, here‘s why:
* I got mail! Two mails in one week! Mom sent me a letter and I got a package from Beth and Adrianne complete with a picture of some of my most favorite women ever, Lithuanian language cd‘s, flower seeds and stickers. You girls are amazing! Aciu!
* The Board arrives this week. That means it‘ll be a crazy week, but it also means that the bulk of the preparation is done. Even though Friday afternoon is seemingly the new Monday morning, the docket and strategic plan were sent to the printers on Friday. I have been so inspired and encouraged working with this group of people and seeing the work they‘ve done in the past for this school I love so much.
* I‘ve really been praying for opportunities to connect with Rebecca. I always knew there was great potential for friendship there, but we never seemed to find time to just go talk. We‘re both aware of the fact that girls can‘t just go play basketball with each other and end up best friends; we knew we needed to just sit and talk, so we had lunch on Saturday in Old Town. Our Crepes with Chicken & Avacados and Peach Juice were amazing, and our conversation was such a blessing. Walking back to LCC for Intercultural Olympics, we saw 3 wedding parties. It‘s a Lithuanian tradition to drive all over town and take pictures with the wedding party, and then for the groom to carry the bride over the bridge. It‘s so cool!
* I am right on track with my financial support! As long as regular monthly donations continue to come in, I will be at 100% by the end of the year. I never doubted God‘s ability to provide, but it‘s so exciting to watch His faithfulness unfold in my life.
* We got to hang out with students a whole bunch this weekend. Friday night the guys played pingpong in the dorm and Beka and I shared a chair and watched and talked. Saturday was the Intercultural Olympics – see pictures – and it was a blast! Casey did a great job organizing the event and the kids had such a great time. Saturday night we watched Alias with a bunch of students at the Soks.
* I hired a Lithuanian tutor for 2 hours a week, and I am starting to notice a difference in how much I can understand and make myself understood. I learned how to say „Can I help you?“ and also „Can you help me?“ I‘m not sure why I never picked up on asking for help in Radvyda‘s class as a Study Abroad, but the freedom to ask if I can do something is amazing! My tutor‘s really good and gives me homework and makes me read outloud and corrects my pronunciation all the time so I sound more authentic. Hardly any day passes when I don‘t wish I was at least trilingual. I‘d really like to learn Russian, but I‘m not sure my brain can handle learning anther language right now.
* My TV fixed itself! I get about 8 channels, and my only English channel other than some weird cartoons is BBCWorld, and for some reason, it disappeared the middle of last week [Kind of like Beka & Pisey‘s electricity and Casey & Jared‘s hot water...count my blessings, right? :o)] But today, it was back on and I was able to watch my favorite BBC show about countries that don‘t exist – places and people groups that consider themselves to be real countries but aren‘t recognized by other governements. And...yesterday on Balticom, Friends was on! It was dubbed over in loud man Lithuanian, but I‘ve seen all the episodes enough to know what was going on, and watching TV is great for language acquisition. „Hey, my sweater!“ Heh. Love it!
* My apartment is clean! I swept my floor, washed dishes, cleaned my bathroom and clean laundry is hanging in my room. Little joys are the best sometimes.
So yes. Life is good. And God is good. He is the trust of the farthest sea (I think that's where Lithuania is...) „How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You to dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of our house, Your holy temple. By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation, You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea.“ Ps.64.4-5
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