I’m starting to feel more at home here. I’ve enjoyed getting to know people in my dorm and in some of my classes, and also the missionaries who work as professors at LCC. I’ve especially enjoyed playing chess at the Salvation Army every Friday. Every day from 10:00-2:00, there are social hours for the homeless in Klaipeda. They can come to the center and receive counseling, shelter from the cold, snacks, and music. I have been coming on Fridays to play chess for a few hours. I’ve really enjoyed hanging out there and meeting the homeless people. I’m surprised at how many of them know a little bit of English. But you really don’t need to speak to play chess. I went to the homeless church today and was happy to see one of my chess friends there. He asked me to come and play chess with him on Thursday as well. I will be able to since my class that is on Thursday is cancelled. Next week will be my last week playing chess at the Salvation Army, though, because there are no social hours at the center when spring starts. I was a bit disappointed about that, but I will still be able to go to their church on Sundays when there is translation.
Yesterday, I also went to the orphanage with the monthly ministry team from LCC. The kids are so needy and really love attention. One little girl with Down syndrome kept hanging on to me and loved holding my hand. She wanted me to run around the room with her and give her high fives the whole time. She’s very cute. We mostly played games with the children and tried to do a craft. We decided not to do the craft because the kids were too wild to listen to directions. Some of the boys were actually running on the tables and hitting each other. They are very hard to discipline, but I think they just need people to show love to them.
This week we will be getting ready for our study abroad trip to Russia during Spring Break from March 6-12. I’m very excited! We will be touring Moscow and St Petersburg! We have been trying to learn the Russian alphabet and useful phrases in Russian. It’s interesting, because my roommates are trying to teach me Ukrainian phrases! It’s easy to get them all mixed up-especially since I’m also learning Lithuanian! By the way, we had our Lithuanian midterm last Friday and I actually wrote a whole paragraph in Lithuanian! I shocked myself, but I think I didn’t do very well on the vocabulary section.
This next week will also be busy because it’s already midterm week. Everybody is busy studying for exams! Also, on Friday, I’m playing with bell choir at another university for a special concert.
Spiritually, I’ve been getting a lot out of the book of John from Bible study and also from my own study of Ephesians. They are continual reminders to ‘live a life worthy of the calling you have received’. This involves imitating Christ so that we can be a fragrant offering to God. All of this is a process of learning and growing where God reveals his greatness and love for you. Did you know that the Greek word for ‘be’ in Ephesians 5:1 means ‘become’? This means that it is a process of walking closely with Jesus and involves perseverance.
Pray for LCC University: They have difficulty finding faculty year to year; there is always shortage of professors as people come and go. Also for me specifically: for guidance and wisdom with summer plans and using my time here
domingo, 28 de febrero de 2010
lunes, 15 de febrero de 2010
Some pictures relating to the festivities post
I am trying the fish at the festival in Palanga.
-the sea and the dock
This is part of the Užgavėnės festivities. During the festival, people dressed up in costumes representing things that would happen during the year. Here they are acting out a wedding.
This is the huge doll that is burned at the end of the festival!
People are playing the traditional bean bag game and one is actually flying in the air in front of me.Festivities
Lithuania is known for their holidays and celebrations! Yesterday, I went with a group of friends to Palanga, a nearby tourist beach town. And believe it or not, there was a Smelt Fish festival! So, there was a lot of food and music. We ate a lot of street food like donuts, chocolate covered waffles, fried fish, and candies. It was really cold by the beach and dock; part of the sea was frozen over. We warmed up by going to a café and drinking hot fruit tea. Then we came back to Klaipeda and had dinner at a missionary’s house and watched a movie.
On Sunday, there was another festival called Užgavėnės to bring in the spring and get rid of winter. It is like a Mardi gras festival before lent where everybody dresses up in interesting masks and costumes. There are traditional pancakes to eat and Lithuanian music and dancing. There were competitions with bean bags where men had to knock each other over. Traditionally, there is a comical drama done between a man representing winter and a man representing spring. They have a dramatic fight but spring always wins. Near the end of the festivities a huge doll symbolizing winter is burned. After all of this, people are ready for the spring!
Then on Tuesday is the Independence Day for Lithuania. It is their first one that occurred in 1918 (they had a 2nd one in 1990). We have the day off from classes! I think I will go with my roommates to the Acropolis, which is a mall. A lot of study abroad students travelled to other countries during this time. It has been a fun weekend, seeing Lithuanian festivities!
On Sunday, there was another festival called Užgavėnės to bring in the spring and get rid of winter. It is like a Mardi gras festival before lent where everybody dresses up in interesting masks and costumes. There are traditional pancakes to eat and Lithuanian music and dancing. There were competitions with bean bags where men had to knock each other over. Traditionally, there is a comical drama done between a man representing winter and a man representing spring. They have a dramatic fight but spring always wins. Near the end of the festivities a huge doll symbolizing winter is burned. After all of this, people are ready for the spring!
Then on Tuesday is the Independence Day for Lithuania. It is their first one that occurred in 1918 (they had a 2nd one in 1990). We have the day off from classes! I think I will go with my roommates to the Acropolis, which is a mall. A lot of study abroad students travelled to other countries during this time. It has been a fun weekend, seeing Lithuanian festivities!
sábado, 6 de febrero de 2010
busy busy busy!
I can’t believe that I’ve been here for a month already! This Friday I did a group presentation on Lithuanian holidays. Because Lithuania is such an old country, there is a rich history and culture. Because Lithuania was the last European country to convert from paganism to Christianity, many of the holidays are a mixture of pagan rituals and religious symbols. This combination makes for very interesting traditions and superstitions. For example, the Christmas Eve dinner consists of 9-12 sides of food placed on a covering of hay that symbolizes the manger birth. It is a tradition for young people to take a piece of this straw. If it is a long stem, this means that they will find love within the year. If it is a short stem, this means that they will have bad luck during the year.
The superstitions are evident in other holidays as well. In one holiday young girls make wreaths and throw them into the river. If a boy finds it, then they will fall in love. Some superstitions are evident even when I walk downtown. On one corner of the street there is a small statue of a mouse with big ears. We were told that if we whisper a wish into its ear, then it will soon come true! There is also a special stone in the center of the Vilnius square where people are supposed to spin in circles and say a wish. As our tour guide said, “Your wish will most definitely come true!” There are many more interesting places to make wishes downtown. If I come back rich you will know why!
Last week I volunteered at the orphanage with a big group from LCC. We go to Rytas orphanage once a month on Saturdays to provide fun games and crafts for the kids. It was a lot of fun, but overwhelming at the same time because they were so wild and out of control. It was hard for me to interact with the kids because of the language barrier. I enjoyed it though and will be going back later this month.
For a change, I also went to the Salvation Army morning church service for the homeless population. It is a time for them to listen to a Christian service and have shelter from the cold. The sermon was a simple one in English with Lithuanian translation (normally it is in Lithuanian). Afterwards, the homeless can stay for a while and have tea. Just recently Lithuania is starting to provide more social services for the homeless.
I just started going to a Bible study led by a missionary who lives near our dorm. We are studying the book of John. It consists of mostly girls from LCC. I really liked the first meeting and will keep going with my roommates on Friday nights. It seems like it will be a good time of sharing, learning, and worshiping.
Tomorrow, a few friends and I are leading the worship for the evening Sunday service. There are four girls singing and one man playing the guitar. We had a few hours of practice today. That was a lot of fun. I love singing! Bell choir rehearsals are also fun. I found out that we are playing for the LCC president’s inauguration!
Now I'm off to aerobics with some girls in the dorm! For fun on the weekends we also like to play groups games, watch movies, or go downtown. This morning I went to the market to buy fresh groceries for the week. Later in the week a few of us are having dinner at a missionary's house.
I know this was long, but thanks for reading! I’ll try to write more often so it won’t be so long!
Praises: God has provided for ways for me to get to know people (through bell choir, Bible study, group projects, etc.) It was initially hard because of the more reserved culture.
Requests: That I would have patience and understanding! It can be so frustrating when people forget that you don't know their language and they unintentionally exclude you from a conversation. The cool thing is that there are so many languages spoken on campus: Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and I've even gotten to use my Spanish a bit!
The superstitions are evident in other holidays as well. In one holiday young girls make wreaths and throw them into the river. If a boy finds it, then they will fall in love. Some superstitions are evident even when I walk downtown. On one corner of the street there is a small statue of a mouse with big ears. We were told that if we whisper a wish into its ear, then it will soon come true! There is also a special stone in the center of the Vilnius square where people are supposed to spin in circles and say a wish. As our tour guide said, “Your wish will most definitely come true!” There are many more interesting places to make wishes downtown. If I come back rich you will know why!
Last week I volunteered at the orphanage with a big group from LCC. We go to Rytas orphanage once a month on Saturdays to provide fun games and crafts for the kids. It was a lot of fun, but overwhelming at the same time because they were so wild and out of control. It was hard for me to interact with the kids because of the language barrier. I enjoyed it though and will be going back later this month.
For a change, I also went to the Salvation Army morning church service for the homeless population. It is a time for them to listen to a Christian service and have shelter from the cold. The sermon was a simple one in English with Lithuanian translation (normally it is in Lithuanian). Afterwards, the homeless can stay for a while and have tea. Just recently Lithuania is starting to provide more social services for the homeless.
I just started going to a Bible study led by a missionary who lives near our dorm. We are studying the book of John. It consists of mostly girls from LCC. I really liked the first meeting and will keep going with my roommates on Friday nights. It seems like it will be a good time of sharing, learning, and worshiping.
Tomorrow, a few friends and I are leading the worship for the evening Sunday service. There are four girls singing and one man playing the guitar. We had a few hours of practice today. That was a lot of fun. I love singing! Bell choir rehearsals are also fun. I found out that we are playing for the LCC president’s inauguration!
Now I'm off to aerobics with some girls in the dorm! For fun on the weekends we also like to play groups games, watch movies, or go downtown. This morning I went to the market to buy fresh groceries for the week. Later in the week a few of us are having dinner at a missionary's house.
I know this was long, but thanks for reading! I’ll try to write more often so it won’t be so long!
Praises: God has provided for ways for me to get to know people (through bell choir, Bible study, group projects, etc.) It was initially hard because of the more reserved culture.
Requests: That I would have patience and understanding! It can be so frustrating when people forget that you don't know their language and they unintentionally exclude you from a conversation. The cool thing is that there are so many languages spoken on campus: Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and I've even gotten to use my Spanish a bit!
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