A preview of what's to come!

On Sunday I had the exciting privilege to meet some folks who will be joining us at LCC soon.  Josh and Alisha Garber are new RDs that will be coming to Lithuania in late June.  They are a young couple from the Phoenix, AZ area.  I interviewed them via skype back in March and decided to hire them.  This is often how hires are done when your institution is a non-profit overseas.  I was excited when I learned that Josh has family ties to the Goshen area and that they would be visiting Goshen over Memorial Day weekend to see friends & family before moving to Lithuania.  They made some time to have lunch with Amanda (the other RD) and I after church on Sunday.  It was great to meet them in person and helped me feel even more confident that we made a good decision of who to hire for the RD position.  

Residence Life 2012-2013

Amanda, me, Alisha, and Josh

Nelson's Chicken Fundraiser

On Friday we did a Nelson's chicken BBQ fundraiser in the parking lot of a local church.  We sold Nelson's special BBQ chicken and smokey pit-tatoes.  I made 2 batches of Whoopie Pies to sell and picked up some cases of pop to add to the menu.  It was a long (I was there about 9 hours) day, but we sold most of the chicken and had a fun time working together, chatting with folks who stopped by to get chicken, and raising more funds for me to return to LCC!  

Me under the tent with the Nelson's truck in the background.

Homemade whoopie pies!  Yummm!

Some of the dear friends who spent the day helping.

Tracy, Brenda, and Patty

Waiting on some of our friends

me, Leah, and Patty

Thanks to all who came out to support our efforts!

A Taste of Lithuania!

On Sunday, May 20th I hosted my first fundraiser of the summer season - a Lithuanian meal, a silent auction of Lithuanian items and a time of me sharing about my life in Lithuania.  It was held at 8th Street Mennonite Church in the evening and about 50 people came.  It was a very fun evening for me and those who attended.

This is what the room looked like before the guests arrived.  Things were decorated in yellow, green, and red - the colors of the Lithuanian flag!

Lithuanian items on display for the silent auction.

A table of GC friends

David, Haly, Ashley, Emily, Katie, and Tim

"Special" friends

Austin, Bonnie, Kassidy, and Daniel

Friends from my church - LifeSpring Community Church

Rob, Sandy, Bonnie, and David

Friends

Kristine, Darrel, Karen, and Miriam

GC friends (& Denise!)

Jean, Barb, Joel, and Denise

more friends from church!

Brenda, Tracy, Joelle, and Connie

my former mentor and mentee!

Gary, Rosie, and Tina

LCC board member Kent with his wife Cheryl and Steve from church

the Garratts from church

Alan, Mark, and Nathaniel

"Most Honored" guest of the evening!

my former speech teacher Susan Smith and her husband Larry!

Couldn't have pulled it off without the help of these two!

Kevin & Patty

My family and those who are "like" family

Angela, Gary, Mom, Bev, Alice, and Dennis

The event TRULY would NOT have happened without all the help of this 

AMAZING woman!

Thanks times 1,000 to you, Amanda Entz!!!

Dintamans

When I arrived back in the states I received an email from the school saying that the mission board that supports my good friends, Steve & Betsy, has decided to bring them home from Lithuania.  This was terribly sad news for me.  They have become dear friends (and a bit like parental figures for me) during my two years at LCC.  They both are full of wisdom and add much joy to my life in Klaipeda.  We often have lunch together and they are frequent guests at my flat for game nights and other fun.  

They are heavily involved in ICF (our church) and I will miss working with them there the most.  Steve is a gifted preacher and worship leader.  Betsy and I have done many hospitality things together.  I will miss them both a great deal! 

I love this couple!

Another celebration before we all leave...

May 7 is 3 people's birthday at LCC - Jane, Steve, and Amanda!  The night before I left for the summer we had a party to celebrate the wonderfulness of these 3 people!  We went out for dinner at a local pizza place and then back to the Dintaman's flat for some cake and fellowship.

 Betsy made Boston Creme Pies from scratch!

We had a big group..and had big fun together!  

The birthday folks - Steve, Amanda, and Jane

Student Life 2011-2012

Kim wanted a photo of our group in front of our awesome red wall before the end of the year.  Here we all are for one last photo!

(in sort of a bottom to top counter clockwise order)

Vaida, Ina, Olena, Levi, Andrew, Alex, Amanda, me, Kim, and Margarita

And we took one last Community Life photo as well!

Alex, me, Levi, Olena, and Amanda

Farewell Party!

The end of the year came and it was time for us to say farewell to the Stave family.  Such a bittersweet event.  I wish them all the best and am excited for what their future holds, but my heart breaks at the thought of LCC without them.  Kim has been an amazing boss and trusted friend, Andrew has added laughter to my life and been helpful beyond measure on countless occasions, and the kids had filled a void that being away from my nieces and nephews in the states has left.  I know that God will fill the voids they leave in my life with new relationships, but no one can really take the place of this special family.

I really do love this family!

And I'm not the only one who loves them!  :)

Alex, Kirsten, Jennifer, Amanda, and John.

Margarita, Vaida, and Ina

Greg and Vernon

Natalija and Laura

Jane, Gina, and Julija

Marlene and Vaidas

Sharon and Marietta

me and Andrea (Vaida's daughter)

For fun we rented traditional Lithuanian costumes and had Kim & Andrew dress up!  

And then we made them dance...

(sorry about the sideways nature of this video!)

me with Kim & Andrew

I like this photo of Kim & Andrew

I enjoyed making lots of food for the event!

The fruit pizza was a hit!

Here's a photo of almost everyone who was there!

And a more "natural" photo of this fun family!  :)

Surprise! Happy Birthday, Marlene!

Marlene's birthday was May 2nd.  Students were mostly gone and we were shifting into summer mode in the LCC offices.  Robin organized a surprise birthday celebration for Marlene at the beginning of the President's Cabinet meeting the afternoon of her birthday.  She was quite surprised!  :)

A surprised Marlene!

Part of the party crew!

More party goers

Jane, Julianna, and Robin "popped out" to surprise her!  :)

Robin, Marlene, and I all got the "wear purple" memo!

End of the year photo at ICF

This week was our last Sunday to meet as an ICF group for the academic year.  It was a smaller than normal group, as many people had already started to head back home AND it was the gorgeous kind of day that beckons people to the beach!  After church we decided to take a photo of the group that was able to make it.  Such a fun and special group of folks!

The ICF crew from 29-April-2012

Commencement photos!

Sunday afternoon was commencement.  The weather was gorgeous, everyone had huge smiles on their faces and flowers in their hands...a perfect time for photos!  :)

Amanda and me before the graduation ceremony

me and Ira (my SOS leader from last year)

me and Vaiva - the CDC intern and amazing young woman!

me and Tanya - an RA and lovely young woman of God

me and Zhenya - an RA and a sweetheart!

Lina, Roma, and me - Roma was an RA for 3 1/2 of his 4 years at LCC

Sara and me - a great student leader and fabulous young woman!

Olena's mom was in town (for her FIRST visit to Lithuania.)  It was nice to meet the woman who raised the lovely and wonderful Olena!