Reflections

My roommate got second place in the talent show on Friday! We had a little roommate party afterwards to celebrate. On Saturday, we helped rake leaves at the orphanage because it was ‘Darom’, or Lithuanian environment and cleaning day. All over Lithuania, people were cleaning the streets and picking up trash.
Plans changed on Sunday though. My roommate and I were planning to go to Nida, a nearby port city, to see the famous sand dunes. We would be back in time for the evening church service at Salvation Army. Early in the morning, as we were getting ready to leave, she decided that she was really too tired to go. I was very disappointed, and with all of my roommates sleeping, decided to go for an early morning walk. I strolled a little ways downtown and to the ferry dock, where all the ships were. It was beautiful there, with the sparkling water and the sea gulls flying in circles above. I read my Bible and prayed for a while there. Then, I walked back to go to church but met a friend who invited me to go to his church in the afternoon. So, I ended up going to both church services. I think God was trying to teach me something; to make Him more of a priority. I had selfishly wanted to spend the day at the beach, but my plans weren’t God’s plans. After the church services, I felt spiritually refreshed and encouraged in the Word. My favorite verse this semester has been Psalms 86:11 which says, “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name”.

On a different note, I’ve also understood a little more about European history and events. It’s interesting how some news events have impacted me while in Europe. With the volcano in Iceland, thousands of flights have been cancelled. A friend of mine couldn’t leave to go to Switzerland and right now, it would be very hard to leave Europe. All of a sudden, it has gotten pretty chilly and we have had to wear our coats again. They said that this was because of the ashes in the air that caused the chilling. Also, with the tragedy that happened in Poland a while ago, there were flags everywhere in Lithuania. We had a school assembly where we raised the Polish flag at half-mast and prayed for the Polish people. And a week after we left Moscow, the bombings in the Metro occurred. It is a very big place with millions of people, but still, being so near the incident personalized the matter. I’ve also learned from my Ukrainian friends’ opinions during the Ukrainian elections a few months ago.

Tonight we had our last dinner together as a study abroad group, with good Lithuanian food. It was fun, yet sad at the same time because we'll all be going our separate ways in 2 short weeks.