Some Catching Up......

Some things that have happened the last couple weeks are........

Christmas:
Christmas Eve the team came over to Tiana and I's flat and had dinner, played games, and hung out. Everyone stayed the night and then we all met up later and Mormances for a Christmas dinner. It was a great time of celebrating! A lovely German missionary was able to join us in celebrating too!
Christmas Dinner
Showing off our "Stockings"

Tiana and I did Stockings. So much fun!
Jason wrapped my Christmas present in duct tape and change in between the layers of tape. Ah the joys...... :)

My Mom's Visit:
My mom came on the 27th and on the 28th I found out I had to leave the country for visa reasons. So my mom joined me on the adventure of living overseas. :) We hopped on a plan the evening of the 28th to Tallinn, Estonia and came back early the next morning. It was fun and spontaneous!





I will post more pictures of my mom's time here in LT later. :)

Baltic Staff Conference:
We went to the coast here in LT for our yearly Baltic Staff Conference. All people who work for Agape in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia came. It was a very encouraging, restful, and enjoyable conference. I loved meeting and getting to know the amazing people working in the Baltic's.




There was about 40 people who attended
We crammed 6 of us into a small honda to go to the Dolphinarium which was so cool!

Scariest Man on Earth???

My friend sent me an email that I thought was cute so I decided I would share in light of the Christmas Season.
All it said was, "How he keeps a positive attitude.....I don't know!"

Slumber Party!!

Last Friday, Sharon and I had a slumber party for the university girls at our church. There were 12 girls that came. We had dinner together, Sharon gave a talk on God's view of woman, we watched movies, played games, and hung out. It was a lot of fun!
Relaxing and hanging out
A little back massage anyone?
Settler's of Catan in Lithuanian
Through out the night we had a drawing and prizes for the girls.

Appreciating Cultural Differences.....

We had some lovely people come and visit us a couple weeks ago. They are technically our "bosses" for Campus Crusade. It was a blast to hang out with them and get to know them more. They are special people. :)
Us girls were able to each have a date with Krista while she was here. Her and I went to the mall to one of the only places that has to-go coffee. We both order a small coffee. Now portion sizes are definitely smaller here. If we are luck, a large coffee is about the size of a tall Starbucks coffee. So Krista and I were waiting for our coffee and I was staring off somewhere and I heard her start laughing. I turned around to see what was amusing her so much and then I saw them. Our cappuccinos......our "small" cappuccinos.......in dixie cups! It was hilarious!
Then later Krista went on a coffee date with Sharon. Sharon was sharing with Krista about the difference in portion sizes and that she needed more coffee today so she was going to get the "mega latte."


It was definitely "Mega." HA HA!





And just for fun, here is a picture of "Hot Chocolate" here:
It is basically a chocolate bar melted down and put in a cup! :0 Yum Yum!

Bible Study Methods

As a team we've been going through the book of Jonah and applying a different part of Bible Study Methods each week as we study.
A couple weeks ago we were going over types, genres, and forms with in Jonah. However, to start the meeting, Matt had certain ones of us on the team (we have decided to remain anonymous), write out a Narrative, Poem, and Discourse (the three types of literature in the Bible) to persuade him never to go to KFC again. The purpose of this exercise was to get a better grasp on the difference between the three types. I would say the exercise was successful and fun at the same time. :)
Here is what people came up with:

Narrative:
"The day that KFC opened I went to Akropolis so excited for the finger licking goodness. I could smell deep fried chicken from two floors down. I got in line, which to my dismay was rather long, but I didn't mind. I would wait for KFC's yumminess. However, 45 minutes later I was starting to think it might not be worth it, but just then it was my turn to order. I went up to the cashier and ordered. The worker was quite unfriendly and disrespectful. I finally got my order in and as I was watching them cook my food I saw the cook sneeze on my chicken! Then it was handed to me on a plater. As I turned it over to start picking at it, I noticed a couple hairs fried in with my chicken! That is was it! I couldn't do it. I was done with KFC! Even the finger licking goodness isn't worth all of that."

Poem:
" To KFC say bye bye
because if not ,you might get ecoli.
They don't have any good pie.
So if you don't go, you won't die.
There is no big KFC in the sky
So just give it up and say bye bye"

Discourse:
"Therefore, Matt, in light of the fact that they do not carry buttermilk biscuits and mashers, I urge you to not partake in any meals at the KFC. This is your thoughtful act of kindness to the. Do not conform to the crowds at Akropolis, mindlessly wandering in hoping to try new American delicacies. What shall I say then? Just give in to public pressure? By no means! Instead walk in the path I have set before you- Pizza Hut."

There you have it.

Christmas Decorating

I really enjoy this time of year when Christmas music is playing in the back ground and the smell of your Noble Tree is filling the air. You dig in the attic for all the Christmas decorations and the clutter of the boxes fill your living room. You start sorting through the decorations; reminiscing about past years, talking about the sentimental value behind some of the ornaments, untangling and checking to see if the lights still work from last year. Sitting in front of the fireplace, sipping on hot chocolate with whipped cream on top and using a candy cane as a stir stick. These are some of my fondest memories of the holidays and it is during this time of year that it becomes harder to be away from my family and not be able to partake of these traditions.
But I praise the Lord for the team He has given me and the friendships that have bloomed over the last couple years. This last weekend Tiana and I put on some Christmas music and made some hot chocolate and then dug out our little fake Christmas Tree (which my lovely and amazing sister, Renee, mailed me last year), our lights and decorations. As we decorated we talked about our favorite family traditions , shared Christmas stories, and decided we should go to church this year! Ha ha ha! We didn't quite make it last year.

Turkey Day! Paketos Diena!

Well, We started off our Thanksgiving with an exam in our Lithuanian language class. If you ask me, it wouldn't have been my first choice to start off Turkey day, but it ended up being a fun class. Our professor divided us up in to groups where each group had at least one American. I was in a group with a guy from Germany and a girl from Poland. They were suppose to ask us Americans, questions about Thanksgiving. The problem: my Lithuanian vernacular does not cover words like "pilgrim," "Indian," or "Plymouth Rock." However, it was a fun time of trying to explain Thanksgiving to people who were from two different cultures and using a language to communicate that was none of our native tongue. It was an interesting experience. :)
After class, we went back to our flats and started preparing dinner.Jason and I got into a flour fight. I think he won.....

Matt BBQed the turkey which turned out amazing! All the food was very tasty. We had twice baked potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, and gravy. Mmmmmm.... yummy goodness.
We spent the evening hanging out, playing games, and watching movies. It was a great day!

Then there were five......

Last Thursday we saw Peter and Jen off at the airport. It was a bitter sweet time. Sweet because I'm excited for them as God guides them into full time ministry and as they get to tap into their God given gifts and bless another team with them. Bitter because I will miss Peter and I will miss Jen and I will miss the Hibbs. Especially in the times when I know what Peter would've said or when Jen would've laughed and on the days we would've just hung out and enjoyed them.
Anywho, here are some pictures of the day.....


On the ride to Vilnius
Peter having a Stat Oil dog for breakfast
Our last full team picture
Saying, "See ya later, Friend!"

I love you guys!

SNOW!!!!

It has been snowing the last couple days and it has been beautiful, but not sticking! I woke up this morning to this.......




I love snow!

Laura's B-Day Party

One of our friends birthday was this last Sunday and we offered to have her birthday party at our flat on Saturday. It was a blast! She wanted to have tacos for dinner then we hung out, played games and chatted. I thank the Lord that He has given us a place that students feel like and are able to have parties and whatnot at our flat! That just blesses my heart!

All Saints Day

November 1st is All Saints day and it is tradition in Lithuania to go to the cemetery in the evening and place candles on the grave sites of people you knew. It is a surreal and tranquil experiences. I have become quite found of this tradition since I have been here. :)