Well, hello again friends!! :)
I hope you enjoyed my pictures of Russia... what an incredible place. But coming back to Klaipeda was actually quite refreshing.. I was surprised when I walked in the door and said, "Home sweet home". I am feeling more and more at home here as I fall more deeply in love with the people and the culture.. Anyhow, classes are the same here as in the states: work, long, and not my favorite activity in the day or my favorite topic for conversation...
So, I will just tell you about my new adventures instead.. :) Last weekend (March 21st), I spent the entire weekend at my friend Ona's apartment with her family. It was so relaxing. We watched movies and cooked and talked.. great girly weekend! :) Anyways, I don't know if you remember when I wrote about meeting a Canadian lady on the street who works for Salvation Army. But she asked me to give my testimony to the youth and so last saturday I did that.
Not only did she want me to give my testimony, but she also wanted me to lead the entire time they were meeting. So for 3 hours the youth that showed up had to do whatever I told them to.. :) For the first hour and a half, I taught them a few games that we play at Taylor and that are crazy, but super fun. They think Americans are pretty silly and ridiculous now... which is pretty accurate of Taylor students, so that's ok! After games, we had banana bread (made by the Canadian lady, Bridgette) and a little fellowship with tea. Then, it was time for my testimony... I was pretty nervous and I actually have a strange philosophy about such things. Because instead of preparing like most people do, I usually just have a two sentence outline of my life in front of me and then I pray. I pray that God will give me the words to say and that they aren't my words..
I told God that these are his children and that if he wants to speak to them to please use me and my life. "Say what you want them to hear, not what I want to say." So, I started speaking and it didn't come out as smoothly as I would have liked. I stammered through my own life story actually. (Oh, did I mention the fact that Ona was translating for me the whole time... sentence by sentence) Anyhow, I finished my life story in about 25 minutes. (Even after translated!!) It was so much faster than it should've been.. They asked me to speak for an hour.. In my head I was thinking oh no! I just ruined it.. I stammered and didn't speak long enough... I just ruined my opportunity to speak truth to these youth..
But then, they started asking me questions about my life. They asked me how I saw God (because I talked about that several times). And they asked me about how I talked about wrestling with God throughout my life. And another leader was actually touched by my story and so she added a little bit to encourage what I said. Evaldas, one of the boys, isn't a Christian and he was struggling with the idea of seeing and experiencing God. So he kept asking me about that and was really cynical. But the way that he is struggling is exactly how I struggled, so I just told him to keep asking God to show himself so that he can see for himself. It actually encouraged me to see him genuinely seeking truth! Awesome!!
Then another boy, who hadn't said a word the whole time, spoke up and told about a dream he just had. He said that in his dream he saw Jesus and Jesus said, "Come, I want to be close to you." It still makes me tear up thinking about it... and at the time, it definitely gave me shivers up my spine. He said that he completely forgot about the dream until he had listened to my testimony, so he thanked me.
Anyhow, I'm not saying these things to brag about my story or how eloquent of a speaker I am. I am sharing this to show you that God is at work in this place and he's letting me see it and be a part of it! I am so lucky to be a part of it! My life story actually means something to someone. I never thought that would be the case. My years of fighting and wrestling with God is actually an encouragement for others. Thank you, God. :)
Monday, March 30, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Russia :).. (St. Petersburg!)
Well, Moscow was completely amazing, but that isn't even half the trip!..
So, I guess I'm starting with Day 5 (March 11). The very first activity that we did in St. Petersburg was a 5 hour walking tour through all the beautiful parts of the city with our own tour guide. It was snowing outside and it made the city extra beautiful... Also, our guide was young and nice and really has a big passion for his city, so the tour was completely fun from beginning to end. He showed us famous places and even little communities that many people don't know about. Completely worth the 5 hours on our feet.
Then, we went back to the hostel to get ready for the ballet. We left in our huge American-sized herd and headed off in our fancy dresses and shoes. The theatre was beautiful inside and out, but the ballet on the other hand was contemporary and confused the entire group. If there was a mesesage locked inside of the dancing, we all missed it! But it was definitely a great experience that we were all happy we had. Then, we came back to our rooms and crashed.
Next day, March 12, we broke off into smaller groups and headed off in separate directions to explore the sights of the city. I went to Peter and Paul fortress where we went inside the cathedral and a small museum about the island that it's located on. After that we headed over to the Hermitage museum, which is the 2nd largest art museum in the world (after the louvre). So, needless to say, it was impossible to get through the entire thing in the 2 hour timespan allotted to us. Then, after a quick bite to eat, we headed back to the hostel to get ready for the opera. Again, we left in a nice American-sized herd to see the opera. It was a spectacular show by the way with very talented singers and actors in a small production. Then, we had free time to wander the city with whomever we chose. A few of us went to a restaurant to relax for the rest of the evening.
Next day, March 13, we woke up and headed out in small groups again to explore the city. My group decided to go to St. Isaac's Cathedral. It was so beautiful and it's one of the biggest in the world. We were even able to go up to the top and see the entire city from there. Then, my group went to the small pie place to eat lunch, which was some of the most delicious food I have ever eaten. It was like bread filled with chicken, meat or sweets of any kind fresh and warm. Then, we met back at the hostel to get ready for the sauna (traditional russian sauna). WOW.. LOVED IT! The girls went to a sauna that we rented all for ourselves that had it's own pool, showers, and changing rooms. Such luxury! There was about 9 of us that spent our time there relaxing and chatting the afternoon away. Afterwards, we headed to Kazan cathedral, which was completely spectacular, to attend a normal Russian Orthodox service. Then, we had the rest of the evening to ourselves to relax and explore even more if we chose to.
Final day, March 14, the entire herd left to go see the Spilt Blood Church, which is a compltely incredible sight. The church was built on the place where Alexander the 2nd was killed and it was built to honor his life. The outside of the church is meant to resemble St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow and the inside is nothing but Mosaics on the walls. Pictures do not do justice to this goregous building. Then, we went across the street to the market to buy plenty of souvenirs. After that we all headed back to the delicious pie place to eat lots more calories! yum! Then, we headed back to the hostel in order to collect our bags to leave St. Petersburg. But before we left completely, we went to the Feel Yourself Russian Show, which was full of singing and dancing all representing traditional Russian culture of course! Such a fun time. I even met other Americans who had come to watch the show. Then, we gathered our bags and were hurried into taxis in order to make it to the train station in time. Finally, we got on the train, which took us back to Riga through the night. Then, we got on a bus back to Klaipeda, where we made it safely home!
I will post pictures tomorrow!
So, I guess I'm starting with Day 5 (March 11). The very first activity that we did in St. Petersburg was a 5 hour walking tour through all the beautiful parts of the city with our own tour guide. It was snowing outside and it made the city extra beautiful... Also, our guide was young and nice and really has a big passion for his city, so the tour was completely fun from beginning to end. He showed us famous places and even little communities that many people don't know about. Completely worth the 5 hours on our feet.
Then, we went back to the hostel to get ready for the ballet. We left in our huge American-sized herd and headed off in our fancy dresses and shoes. The theatre was beautiful inside and out, but the ballet on the other hand was contemporary and confused the entire group. If there was a mesesage locked inside of the dancing, we all missed it! But it was definitely a great experience that we were all happy we had. Then, we came back to our rooms and crashed.
Next day, March 12, we broke off into smaller groups and headed off in separate directions to explore the sights of the city. I went to Peter and Paul fortress where we went inside the cathedral and a small museum about the island that it's located on. After that we headed over to the Hermitage museum, which is the 2nd largest art museum in the world (after the louvre). So, needless to say, it was impossible to get through the entire thing in the 2 hour timespan allotted to us. Then, after a quick bite to eat, we headed back to the hostel to get ready for the opera. Again, we left in a nice American-sized herd to see the opera. It was a spectacular show by the way with very talented singers and actors in a small production. Then, we had free time to wander the city with whomever we chose. A few of us went to a restaurant to relax for the rest of the evening.
Next day, March 13, we woke up and headed out in small groups again to explore the city. My group decided to go to St. Isaac's Cathedral. It was so beautiful and it's one of the biggest in the world. We were even able to go up to the top and see the entire city from there. Then, my group went to the small pie place to eat lunch, which was some of the most delicious food I have ever eaten. It was like bread filled with chicken, meat or sweets of any kind fresh and warm. Then, we met back at the hostel to get ready for the sauna (traditional russian sauna). WOW.. LOVED IT! The girls went to a sauna that we rented all for ourselves that had it's own pool, showers, and changing rooms. Such luxury! There was about 9 of us that spent our time there relaxing and chatting the afternoon away. Afterwards, we headed to Kazan cathedral, which was completely spectacular, to attend a normal Russian Orthodox service. Then, we had the rest of the evening to ourselves to relax and explore even more if we chose to.
Final day, March 14, the entire herd left to go see the Spilt Blood Church, which is a compltely incredible sight. The church was built on the place where Alexander the 2nd was killed and it was built to honor his life. The outside of the church is meant to resemble St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow and the inside is nothing but Mosaics on the walls. Pictures do not do justice to this goregous building. Then, we went across the street to the market to buy plenty of souvenirs. After that we all headed back to the delicious pie place to eat lots more calories! yum! Then, we headed back to the hostel in order to collect our bags to leave St. Petersburg. But before we left completely, we went to the Feel Yourself Russian Show, which was full of singing and dancing all representing traditional Russian culture of course! Such a fun time. I even met other Americans who had come to watch the show. Then, we gathered our bags and were hurried into taxis in order to make it to the train station in time. Finally, we got on the train, which took us back to Riga through the night. Then, we got on a bus back to Klaipeda, where we made it safely home!
I will post pictures tomorrow!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Russia.. :) (Moscow)
ok, this is my second attempt to post this.. SO... moscow!!
So, we start this journey on March 7th at approximately at 7 AM, where my leader knocks on my door and says, "Abby, you coming to Russia?" to which I respond.. WHAT?!? you mean I'm not up already! (I was supposed to be on the bus at 645.) Woo
ps!! After that whole scene was over, I got into the bus with the rest of the on time students and we were off towards Riga. On the way, we stopped at the Hill of Crosses, which is on the Lithuanian side. It has 500,000 crosses or so that were placed there by citizens of the Baltic States that started during Soviet times. Incredible how this simple act brought hope to so many!Then, we finished our drive to Riga, Latvia, where we got on t
he train towards Moscow. This train ride was 17 hours. We reached the Russian border at 12 midnight where we showed them our passports and we were officially in RUSSIA! (new stamp in passport if ya want to see it!!) Anyhow, we went to bed on the train and woke up to get ready for our new adventures in russia. When we arrived (March 8), we got on the Metro and headed to t
he hostel. (Godzillas Hostel) We dropped our stuff off, divided into smaller grou
ps and left for the Red Square.When we got off of the train, the sight took my breath away. I am really in a place with so much history and splendor. I couldn't even believe it. We had time to stop and stare while taking lots of pictures of course and then we were obligated to go on a group tour through the Kremlin. We met our tour guide and she explained to us many of the historical details of Russia that I was completely ignorant about (now I'm slightly less ignorant than before). We went through the Museum and several other sights inside the Kremlin. Then, we collected tickets and grabbed a bite to eat on the way to the Circus. The circus was such a fun experience with many acts from people all over the world. Animals and people alike with many talents. So much fun! Then, we were all exhausted and headed back to our hostel for a good night's sleep.
Day two (kind of 3/ March 9), started off by going to Christ the Savior cathedral, which was an incredibly beautiful orthodox church that was used as a swimming pool during soviet times. Then, we went to St. Basil's in the Red Square, which is famou
s for the onion shaped domes. Completely beautiful on the inside with handpainted details everywhere you look. Then, after we grabbed a bite to eat, we headed to the Vernishazh market, where we bartered our way around to buy souvenirs. (Bargaining like this is not my best talent that is for sure) But I did get some pretty good deals if I do say so myself. This was followed by a tour through the State History Museum. Then, we headed to Arbat Street for dinner and hang out time. This is the street that many tourists go to because it has two Starbucks, Hard Rock Cafe, and McDonalds.(All of which I avoided like the plague) But walking up and down the street for a while was quite relaxing and the food at a Russian style barbaque was delicious. Then, we finished our evening back at the Red Square to see the buildings all lit up at night. So beautiful. The evening was gorgeo
us and the weather was quite nice (for Mosocw in March anyhow) and so we spent plenty of time taking pictures and dancing in the square! This was of course followed by more sleep.March 10, last day in Moscow. We walked over to see Lenin's tomb, but he was on vacation until April... so unfortunately, we did not get the chance to see dead Lenin. :( But we did get to go to the New Tretyakovskaya Museum, which houses lots of propoganda posters from Soviet times, etc. However, a large portion of it was being renovated, so we didn't get to see much there either. But we did get to eat before we got on the 5 hour train to St. Petersburg! The train ride was deifnitely needed because so many of us were worn out by the hustle and busyness of Moscow.
Next post will be St. Petersburg. It's way too much for one post...enjoy lots of pictures!!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
is it really march?!?!
wow..
March crept up on us so fast! :) I can't believe it's here already. And school is already half over. The thing that is the most surprising is realizing how much God has already taught me. I feel completely different than when I was at Taylor... It's like God can really speak to me here, unlike any other time in my life. He is releasing me from so many things that tie me down back home and at school. He is letting me be almost worry-free, which is so rare for any person. He's releasing me from being tied down, so I can experience real freedom in him and what it really means to rely on him for comfort and rest. He's allowing me to step outside of myself and everything that I rely on for emotional stability, comfort, etc.. in order to re-evaluate why I believe what I do and what needs to be changed in order to serve him better. It's not the prettiest picture that I have ever seen and it's definitely strange to realize that what you've desired for so long is not what God desires. However, he's making my heart more beautiful with a better ability to serve Him and communicate to others how glorious he is.
Anyhow, more details about normal life. Lately, I have been feeling really comfortable here... and I asked God to give me a bigger and better love for Lithuania. So what does he do? He sends me to Lithuanian high school students. :) I am helping out with this program called CMAP. It's a program about multiculturalism and diversity and it teaches all of these concepts to local high school students. This is definitely an area that I am interested in, so I asked if I could participate. I meant as a volunteer to run the thing, but instead they put me in a high school group! :) It's been so fun. We watch movies like crash and discuss them as well as doing games and activities that illustrated minority/majority groups and how they should interact. Also, we did a debate about immigration in Lithuania. Very interesting! :) Now, their next mission is to share this information with somebody. So I get to present my ideas on this to a group of high school students in their school! Wow.. who knew?! Also, I have just become friends with a few of the students who are just wonderful. They have such big hearts and are so smart and have so much potential for their futures. Who knew that they would want to get to know some random American girl for a few weeks. They have decided that they want to take me around Klaipeda and show me how to have a good time Lithuanian style. (hopefully, that doesn't just mean drinking....)
Here's another random story. I was walking to school one day and I saw this lady in front of me and she was talking in English to a Lithuanian man. When I passed by she said Hi to me, which wouldn't normallly surprise me, but living here for 2 months and never getting spoken to on the streets makes you kind of skeptical when someone does. Anyhow, I said hi back and because we both spoke english we started talking. So, are you on your way to LCC? Yes (why else would I bet in Lithuania) Are you Canadian?Yes( i could tell by her accent) Anyhow, she works for the Salvation Army in town and is taking Lithuanian at LCC. She helps with the elderly, youth, and the homeless and I asked her if I could get her contact information so I could help sometimes. So she gave me her email and we said our goodbyes. I'll beat around the bush and say that she asked me to give my testimony to a group of youth that meets every once in a while at Salvation Army. She wants me to bring pictures and illustrate some struggles I have had throughout my life. She thinks that if the youth heard a young, American Christian's testimony and how I have struggled throughout my life that it would be encouraging to them. WOW.. not the answer I expected. But I am completely excited about it and cannot wait to prepare how God has worked through me. I was also thinking of inviting my new high school friends from CMAP.... Anyhow.. that is fantastic.. and I'm very excited about it.
Last thing.. I leave for Russia on Saturday morning for our spring break. I won't be back until the following Sunday.. So I will update as soon as possible when I get back. with LOTS of pictures!!!! :) XOXO
March crept up on us so fast! :) I can't believe it's here already. And school is already half over. The thing that is the most surprising is realizing how much God has already taught me. I feel completely different than when I was at Taylor... It's like God can really speak to me here, unlike any other time in my life. He is releasing me from so many things that tie me down back home and at school. He is letting me be almost worry-free, which is so rare for any person. He's releasing me from being tied down, so I can experience real freedom in him and what it really means to rely on him for comfort and rest. He's allowing me to step outside of myself and everything that I rely on for emotional stability, comfort, etc.. in order to re-evaluate why I believe what I do and what needs to be changed in order to serve him better. It's not the prettiest picture that I have ever seen and it's definitely strange to realize that what you've desired for so long is not what God desires. However, he's making my heart more beautiful with a better ability to serve Him and communicate to others how glorious he is.
Anyhow, more details about normal life. Lately, I have been feeling really comfortable here... and I asked God to give me a bigger and better love for Lithuania. So what does he do? He sends me to Lithuanian high school students. :) I am helping out with this program called CMAP. It's a program about multiculturalism and diversity and it teaches all of these concepts to local high school students. This is definitely an area that I am interested in, so I asked if I could participate. I meant as a volunteer to run the thing, but instead they put me in a high school group! :) It's been so fun. We watch movies like crash and discuss them as well as doing games and activities that illustrated minority/majority groups and how they should interact. Also, we did a debate about immigration in Lithuania. Very interesting! :) Now, their next mission is to share this information with somebody. So I get to present my ideas on this to a group of high school students in their school! Wow.. who knew?! Also, I have just become friends with a few of the students who are just wonderful. They have such big hearts and are so smart and have so much potential for their futures. Who knew that they would want to get to know some random American girl for a few weeks. They have decided that they want to take me around Klaipeda and show me how to have a good time Lithuanian style. (hopefully, that doesn't just mean drinking....)
Here's another random story. I was walking to school one day and I saw this lady in front of me and she was talking in English to a Lithuanian man. When I passed by she said Hi to me, which wouldn't normallly surprise me, but living here for 2 months and never getting spoken to on the streets makes you kind of skeptical when someone does. Anyhow, I said hi back and because we both spoke english we started talking. So, are you on your way to LCC? Yes (why else would I bet in Lithuania) Are you Canadian?Yes( i could tell by her accent) Anyhow, she works for the Salvation Army in town and is taking Lithuanian at LCC. She helps with the elderly, youth, and the homeless and I asked her if I could get her contact information so I could help sometimes. So she gave me her email and we said our goodbyes. I'll beat around the bush and say that she asked me to give my testimony to a group of youth that meets every once in a while at Salvation Army. She wants me to bring pictures and illustrate some struggles I have had throughout my life. She thinks that if the youth heard a young, American Christian's testimony and how I have struggled throughout my life that it would be encouraging to them. WOW.. not the answer I expected. But I am completely excited about it and cannot wait to prepare how God has worked through me. I was also thinking of inviting my new high school friends from CMAP.... Anyhow.. that is fantastic.. and I'm very excited about it.
Last thing.. I leave for Russia on Saturday morning for our spring break. I won't be back until the following Sunday.. So I will update as soon as possible when I get back. with LOTS of pictures!!!! :) XOXO
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