Some prayer requests

There are so many things you can keep in prayer to support the ministry that is happening here at LCC.

· Pray for continued opportunity for conversations about faith, and that God would guide those conversations.

· Pray for students’ safety and discernment as they make plans for summer jobs abroad.

· Pray for students, faculty and staff as we enter into the winter months and experience very little sunshine. Depression can become a real issue during the winter in Klaipeda.

· Pray for a smooth transition between semesters—some staff members either join LCC or leave us at this time, and it is difficult for students and other staff to adjust to the changes right away.

True Thanksgiving.

In the true spirit of the American Thanksgiving, I was excited to celebrate the wonderful blessing my RAs are to me with a family-style meal this November. The event proved to be an incredible time of sharing food and—more importantly—sharing thanks. Becky and I cooked a traditional Thanksgiving meal for all 16 RAs, and before eating we shared with them the history of the celebration. My favorite part of the afternoon took place between dinner and dessert—sharing the things we are thankful for. I was touched when I heard all the thankfulness expressed by my RAs, students for whom a quick glance reveals that they have so little. However, hearing them share reminded me how much we truly have to be thankful for every day. It was such a blessing to hear them express even how thankful they were to have this dinner, and to finally have a better understanding of what the holiday is all about!

We finished the evening by watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” to kick off the Christmas season, just as the first snow rolled in!

Mug n' Muffin: Women Sharing Openly and Honestly

What do you expect to find in a room full of sixty young women and over 200 muffins? A whole lot of conversation, of course! And that’s just what we wanted at LCC’s second-ever Mug n’ Muffin. The event was first created last year by another one of LCC’s Resident Directors, Becky. She, along with other faculty and staff, saw a huge need for bringing together the female students of LCC to talk about issues they are facing which often are overlooked. Such issues are especially important to focus on in a post-Soviet culture because the painful history of this place under harsh Soviet rule has caused people to be very reticent in their sharing.

The event, which included delicious muffins and warm drinks, also offered a topic relevant to our students for discussion: “Making the Most of Your University Years: Life at LCC goes beyond studies”. We had 4 speakers (two LCC grads now working at the university, one more recent grad, and one North American staff member) speak about what they learned during their university years outside of the classroom. The hope was that we could convey to students the importance of being a part of this community and seeking to take and invest in all that life together has to offer. It was exciting to hear past students share about how they came to know Christ while studying at LCC, and even more exciting to watch students in the audience listen intently to their stories. It was particularly encouraging for me to hear the story of the recent grad who had roomed with one of my current RAs, as she explained how the love and patience of her roommates over the year caused her to seek to know the God who fueling such care and compassion. It is so exciting to see how God is working through believers here on campus. The event also prompted a several young women to seek out mentors from among the speakers or the other women attending who were willing to continue the conversation—this was one of our greatest hopes for the event! Overall, there was a ton of great feedback from the students, and we are planning to host another Mug n’ Muffin in January!

I am so thankful for the good conversations that happen in the dorms!

Good Discussions

A focus of mine as of late has been to increase my knowledge of theology. This idea took root during an unplanned conversation late one night in the Neumann Dormitory lobby between two RAs and I. It all started when I was asked to proofread an essay for grammar mistakes. Reading the essay of this one RA led me to ask him to tell me more about his point of view (his paper was on human rights from a Christian perspective). As we discussed the topic, another RA and his girlfriend who were both seated nearby joined the conversation. This RA is not a believer, yet he is very open to conversations about faith. He had many good theological questions, some of which I didn’t have answers for; this is what led me to my quest for further theological understanding. Thankfully, the library is full of books to read and the university is full of professors willing to help me on this journey! You can join me in prayer that God will equip me with right knowledge and open the hearts of this RA as well as other residents who are ready to receive His word with spirits hungry to know Him.

We had a beautiful weekend for our staff retreat.

Here is the countryside home we stayed in.

Continued open conversation…to keep thinking about some of the issues that were brought up.

Good time management...skills for busy students who can easily become overwhelmed!

Continued joyfulness…when we spend time together as a staff!

a retreat to the lithuanian countryside

One of the highlights of this past month was a restful and enjoyable staff retreat for my RAs and I to take the weekend off and get to know each other better. Another staff member was so generous as to let us use his home for the weekend while he stayed in the city with some family so that we could have the lovely place to ourselves. It was a much-needed break for the RAs who work hard all the time, and it was great to be able to spend time together without discussing work. It did, however, provide some incredible time for conversations spurred while playing a game called “Table Talk” which is full of great discussion questions. Also, I had the privilege of spending some time with one of my RAs who was unable to take part in one of the activities. We had a good conversation about the future and some of his worries about that, and I was able to share my experience of how I felt God lead me to different places throughout my life so far. Overall, it was an incredible time to spend together with good conversation and community!

Update #1

Update #1

t’s amazing to me that I have already been here in Lithuania for 2 months. Time has flown by. I even hope it will slow down a bit so I can savor each moment here a little longer!

My time here started out as a whirlwind—training was packed into half a week before my Resident Assistants (the student staff I lead) arrived ready for me to train them! But God is faithful, and everything went smoothly.

Let me tell you a little more about my position here. I live in the student dormitory as Resident Director, and I lead a team of five Resident Assistants (RAs). The RAs are students at LCC whose job is to engage their peers in community-building activities, as well as to maintain order in the dorm. My RA team is made up of four Ukrainian students and one Belarusian student; three young women and two young men. They are all third and fourth year students. My job is to organize meetings with them where we plan events—everything from small gatherings on their floors to campus-wide events for the entire student body. I also have the privilege to meet with each one of them individually on a weekly basis in more of a mentoring setting; this is one of my favorite parts of my job. I cherish this opportunity to get to know them better, especially because it tends to be the time when they open up more and I also have the opportunity to model vulnerability to them in my own sharing.

Another aspect of my job is student discipline. We have a code of conduct on campus, and students who neglect these rules get sent to me for disciplinary action. This probably the most difficult part of my job; however, I am finding ways to make it meaningful and transformative. My goal is not to saddle students with busy-work as punishment for their chosen actions, but rather to engage them in community-building activities as a way to give back to the community here in our building. I also make sure to spend time with these students outside of the context of discipline in order to show them that I am interested in getting to know them as individuals, and my hope is that this helps to strengthen a relationship that was off to a rocky start!

My job leaves a lot of time for building relationships with my RAs and residents in the dorm. My prayer is that during this time, God will open up opportunities for conversation about faith and what Christians really believe. I have already been pleasantly surprised by some students’ openness to talking about such things, and some really great conversations have taken place! I am hoping that by seeing the way I live, students will notice something different about me and start asking questions, but I also believe that these conversations are incredibly important.

If you are looking for ways to partner with me in serving students at LCC, there are several ways you can do that. Firstly and most importantly, you can PRAY!

Here are some prayer points:

--Pray that God would use the time during my one-on-ones with RAs as a way for me to reach out to them and encourage them to seek after God

--Pray that God would open up opportunities for conversation and give me the wisdom to know what I should say during these times

--Pray for protection and health for LCC students

--Pray that God would protect students' (& staff's) hearts as there is such a high turnover rate of staff and faculty at LCC. It can be very difficult especially for students to constantly have mentors coming into their lives and then leaving.

Also, I am in need of people who will join in to help support me financially.

I still need 5 people who will commit to giving $20 per month, and 5 who will commit to giving $10 per month. One time gifts are also gladly accepted! This will help me to support myself since I am an unpaid volunteer, as well as enable me to bless my RAs when I see a need. It also allows me to cook meals and invite students over to my apartment which is a great time for conversation and also a blessing for them since they live on extremely tight budgets. I thank you so much for your prayers and support; it is a greater blessing than you could possibly know! Ministry here at LCC would not be possible without hearts that pray and hands that give, which are equally as important as the feet that go.

Thank you so much!!