Community Dinner

Once a month the Spiritual Life Department organizes a Community Dinner for all of campus.  They make big pots of soup and everyone pay 5 litas (about $2 US funds) for the meal.  It's held over in the gym lobby and ends up being a relaxing and fun evening.  I sat with and got to know some dear people.

A student, me, and Marietta (our Community Bible Study International coordinator - an amazing woman!) 

Deborah (an English prof here on sabbitcal from Dallas Baptist University - LOVE her) and two of our students. 

Sergio, Veslava, and Olena - Veslava and Olena are on my Community Life staff and Sergio is married to Olena.  Are they all just too cute for words?!  And they are wonderful God loving folks too!  :)

Another Supper @ Susie's!

The Neumann West Res Life team came over for dinner the next week.  I made chicken enchiladas for them.  We had a wonderful time visiting.  I love cramming everyone around my little table - it's a cozy little community building experience!  :)

The Neumann West RAs with their RD -Alexandra on the right.

Supper @ Susie's

At GC I often had students in for dinner.  I called those meals "Supper @ Susie's."  I wanted to find a way to continue to have students into my home for meals, but knew I couldn't use the same kind of advertising and ways of inviting students that I used as an RD.  I decided to have the women that are a part of Community Life each work with their student leaders to find an evening that worked for their teams and then come to dinner as a group.  On Wednesday evening I had the Intercultural Program Leaders (IPLs) and their supervisor (Gabija) over for dinner.  It was a wonderful time!  We enjoyed a meal of lasagna, salad, and garlic bread.  For dessert we had a birthday cake for one of the students who was turning 20 that day.  I am looking forward to the other groups joining me in the weeks ahead!

Gabija (on the right) and the IPLs 

The IPLs and me!

A day in Vilnius!

On Monday I took the day off work and went to Vilnius (the capital of Lithuania) for the day with Kim.  She had a doctor's appointment at the clinic there, so we combined that with a lot of shop talk in the car and shopping in the city!  :)

One of my famous self portraits before I left the house in the morning! 

A lovely cup of cappuccino I enjoyed while shopping on my own during Kim's appointment.

Mmmm...coffee & foam! 

The interior of the coffee shop where I enjoyed the cappuccino...so quaint! 

We had lunch & went shopping with some other American expat women that Kim knows in Vilnius.  Here we are after our afternoon of fun! 

Vinkiemis!

Marlene and I were hanging out last weekend.  We did some driving around Klaipeda seeing the sights and her teaching me more about the history of the city.  We ended up driving north of the city and going to a great place called "Vienkiemis".  It was a country style restaurant with a lovely grounds filled with carved wooden statues.  The food was delish, the atmosphere was charming, and the company was fun.

The sign at the entrance.

The fabulous beet soup. 

The creamy chicken & mushroom skillet supper. 

The little pond area.

 A merry-go-round with a crazy witch in the middle.

The goofy dudes on the teeter-totter. 

Some sort of swinging aligator play equipment for kids.

Happy Birthday to Mackie!

Last Friday night the folks who live on the faculty floor of Neumann had a potluck dinner.   They invited me to join them.  We shared a delicious meal tht ended with a birthday cake for Mackie.  Mackie is one of our Spiritual Formation Cooridnators this fall.  He and his wife, Deborah, are here for the fall while she is on sabbatical from DBU.  They are a delightful couple who love the Lord with all their hearts and are an amaizng blessing to our community here at LCC.

Mackie & Deborah

Mackie's birthday cake...one of the tastiest things I've eaten here in Lithuania so far!!!

God's promise

The evening of the Ugly Duckling Cup it was cold, gray and rainy - as you can likely see from the photos.  An hour or so after the race was over many of us looked out the back windows of Neumann Hall and saw the sun shining brightly from the west.  We went outside to drink in a bit of its beauty.  Once outside we looked to the east and saw a gorgeous double rainbow!  Not only was it beautiful to look at, but it was also like God was tapping on my shoulder and reminding me of the depth of His love for me and all of mankind.  It was breath taking on multiple levels. 

You can barely see the second rainbow in the top right corner of my photo.

It's there though, I promise!  :)