Finishing well and kicking off Summer!
How did we do it? Good question? After nearly seven-nine (depending on who ya are) months of ministry in Lithuania we are exhausted! While students are still in the midst of exams, presentations, and papers, our team got to retreat to a small town called Žarasai. Our team along with the five staff from Vilnius went for three days. We met in town and headed to a small cottage in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Only the Storks knew what was where because they were like the mile markers on top of the telephone poles that dotted the dirt roads we took. Once, we got to the cottage we spent time playing some fun games. One of the games that was very memorable was a game we played with toilet paper. There were two teams and each of us had to roll the toilet paper over our heads in a line and then under as the toilet paper wrapped around our head and ankles. You can imagine the sight.
After, our games we got to hear about what God did in Vilnius. It is really amazing to think about how God has been working here over the years. There are students involved in leading Alpha courses, being discipled and reaching out to their friends to share the Gospel. There are students preparing to go to Russia this summer to share the Gospel in a Muslim area of Russia. Their preparations include raising prayer and financial support, coming to Kaunas for a day of outreach, and preparing to minister to Muslim students. This is huge here in Lithuania! They don’t have the influence of teaching about reaching others for Christ, but they are getting a taste of God’s heart through this! Also, three students in Vilnius have made decisions to follow Jesus this school year. Praise God! This is just a taste of what God has done in Vilnius in and through the staff and students. What an awesome taste of God’s gracious hand.
The second day, our team got to share what God had done in and through our lives. Peter and Jen put together a short film, sharing how each of us was blessed this semester and some fun photos of our team and students. Each of us in addition got to share about how we were touched personally this year. I (Tiana) got a chance to look back over our prayer requests this last year and wrote a prayer of thanksgiving to God. I read this prayer of thanksgiving together to rejoice in what God has done. Here is a copy of that prayer.
Father
This is our prayer of thanks. We know that you have answered many unasked things too and so we say thank you. We know that you are a Father who hears our prayers and knows all that we need so that even though we might not know it, you do. Thanks for the things you provided that we didn’t even know we needed. Thanks for the challenges, the pain, and even the times of sadness that brought us to repentance. Thanks for the fun times, for friendship with you and our team. Thanks for your leading as we walk along this road which for this time has the seven of us together in it. Thanks that because you are a Father who continues to show His great love for His children through Jesus that we can approach you with boldness and confidence.
In this we rejoice and say thanks. As we remember these prayers we remember you, your faithfulness, your loving-kindness, and your mercy.
In this we rejoice and say thanks.
A year ago we prayed for hearts that love Lithuanians and God answered giving us hearts that are learning how to love them best.
In this we rejoice and give thanks.
A year ago we prayed for a language teacher and continued to pray for a language teacher for Peter and Jen. God provided Dalia and gave us a deeper connection with her and her friends. God seemed to leave the door to language studies for Peter and Jen closed.
In this we rejoice and give thanks.
We prayed for the relationships on our team. For Peter and Jen and Matt and Sharon, that God would protect their marriages and for good communication. And as a team that God would allow us to grow in communication together. God provided challenging situations, painful talks, honesty, forgiveness and commitment to show each person the depths of love that God will go for them.
In this we rejoice and give thanks.
We prayed for the Easter celebration and God provided Nerijus to follow up with further. God prompted the relationship to develop between Nerijus and Matt.
In this we rejoice and give thanks.
We remembered Nerijus and Vaida in our prayers so that they would not go to Greece to work for this summer. God heard and answered our prayers.
In this we rejoice and give thanks.


We remembered Jen in our prayers for her to have time with our Father and to be guided into truth. He met her faithfully and guided her time of reflection and gave her truth and perspective when needed.
In this we rejoice and give thanks.
We remembered Peter in our prayers and his film projects and his need for good sleep and back pain. God provided projects and grew Peter in his understanding and use in this area. God also gave short nights and long nights and recently provided weekly massages.
In this we rejoice and give thanks.
We remembered Sharon in our prayers for wisdom this last semester on how to pursue the women she knows. God provided meetings in the street and e-mails with Egle, and prompted her with the idea to give study break gifts for Agna and Vaida.
In this we rejoice and give thanks.
We remembered Jason in our prayers for his growth in understanding his relationship with God and for wisdom on how to share his life with the guys he knows. God provided Algis, Taudas, Marufus, Giedrius and some Mormons to meet.
In this we rejoice and give thanks.
We remembered Kellie in our prayers for her persistence in International English Corner and for women to meet with weekly. God provided Kellie with the connection with Irma who helped to get us a room for IEC and then He closed the door for this semester. God also provided relationships with Ramune, Liuba and Gintare.
In this we rejoice and give thanks.
My team remembered me in their prayers for my personal growth in communication and for meetings with Asta, Laura, Erika and Rima. God provided challenging situations and talks with people. God also provided sensitivity to His Spirit and direction during conversations that I had no idea about how to respond.
In this we rejoice and give thanks.
We remembered the city of Kaunas and the students in our prayers. God has heard them and we wait upon Him for revival and for future leaders who follow Him.
In this we rejoice and give thanks.
Father, thanks that you have heard your people and responded out of your love for your children. To you we give all honor and glory! Amen!

Overall our retreat proved to be a great transition into summer as we got time to reflect and celebrate God’s provisions. This summer many of us will be taking time off to rest and relax so that we can be prepared for this coming fall. We will also be preparing for a summer team from Good Shepherd as well as a team from Coram Deo Fellowship. We are excited to see God work this next year. I am especially excited because we get to spend another whole year in ministry here, where as many teams have prepared to go home. It will be fun to look back next summer and to see how God has grown us and the students we are in contact with. Hopefully, we will be able to take what we have learned and be able to continue to step out in faith more and more as well as be able to connect with students and the culture of Lithuania.

They WIll Know Us By Our Love For One Another.......

Last night's dinner and discussion I think as a team we received one of the best complements we could. There were five of us from the team and two students, of which only one was Lithuanian. It was quite a surprise that this student came. Not because she hasn't come in the past, she happens to be a regular attender. However, she usually comes with her boyfriend who really enjoys the evening because he likes to think and talk about deeper issues. She usually sits there quietly, speaking up every once in a while. It was a huge step for her to come by herself. Honestly, it never crossed my mind that she would come by herself, but we serve a big God who answers prayer and who does things that seem impossible.
Our topic last night was about being ourselves. Why we don't let people in and show who we really are. She spoke up for most of the questions and joined into the discussion. Half way through, Matt asked her what it was like to be a Lithuanian and come to dinner and discussion. (Most Lithuanians do not like talking about deep things or they don't have the chance/opportunity to.)
She replied by saying that when she started coming she felt warm feelings from us that she has never felt before. It was hard for her to accept them and the dinner that we offered. But now she can accept it.
It was really encouraging because it has been a prayer of ours that when students walk through the door they will notice that something is different. That they will feel loved like never before and ultimately that they would see Christ through the way we love each other and the way we love them.
May God get the Glory!

Crunch Time

I can hardly believe it is already May! Time has flown by this semester. There is about a week and half left. Oh goodness! This is a busy time for us, as we are trying to meet with students and continue to build relationships before summer. Most of the students will leave for the summer to go work abroad. We would like to have a solid foundation with these students so we can stay in contact with them while they are gone and hopefully pick right back up when they return. Please pray that we can finish this semester strong and be able to meet and connect with the students God has put in our path.

The Simple Life

How would I describe the life of a missionary in a few words? Adventurous - yes, living in a foreign country is always an adventure. . . unpredictable - yes, a missionary must always be ready to expect the unexpected. . . and ordinary! Truly, the life of a missionary is much more ordinary than many would imagine. We spend a good portion of our week doing "normal" things like shopping, cooking, and laundry. You have heard about many of the highlights of our ministry in previous posts, so I (Sharon) would like to take this opportunity to give you a glimpse into some of the "ordinary" in our lives.

Picture #1 - We walk a lot.

Picture #2 - We have diner at our friend's parent's house.

Picture #3 - This is Jolanta with her mom and dad. Jolanta is the campus director for Vilniius.

Picture #4 - Here we are walking again. (Note the popularity of man purses among the men on our team)

Picture #5 - Ok, so some things are not as ordinary. Matt and I have taken a Tango class to try to get to know some students at VDU. Unfortunately, our class has dwindled over the past few weeks. We are still asking ourselves, "Why did we choose to start by trying to learn one of the hardest dances?!"

Picture #6 - We watch sunsets

Picture #7 - Sometimes we take a bus or minibus instead of walking

Picture #8 - We spend time in the dorms

Picture #9 - And I'll end here with one last photo of us walking. We walk to each other's flats. We walk to church. We walk to the store. Even when we go to the dorms we have to walk a good distance to and from the bus stop. But that's ok. We've learned to enjoy walking. Some of our best conversations have taken place while we are walking.

It is hard to give you a clear picture of what life is like here - I hope you've enjoyed this small glimpse into some of our everyday life.

An Exciting Saturday

Last saturday we were able to host our first short term team, very short that is....about 7 hours short :)
We coordinated with the Vilnius Team to have them come over and help us do some survey outreach in the dorms. There were 4 staff and 6 students from Vilnius, plus Tiana's friend Rima. Each of us Kaunas Team members were able to pair up with a student and head out to see what God had in store for us :)
I was paired with Ramune, a 2nd year student from Vilnius. It was such a glimpse of what we hope to see here in Kaunas in the future. The coolest thing about it was getting to watch her be a little timid at first then see how God used her to share her personal testimony with students in the dorms - some were really interested, some were really hung-over & some were really apathetic. Seeing how amazingly she communicated truth about Jesus and His love and grace was truly wonderful & natural. Great Job Vilnius students! You are all amazing!
OH! another HUGE praise was that we have continually had trouble getting into the dorms we went to on Saturday due to the huge language barrier between us and the dorm security guard ladies....well God truly went before us and once they understood what we wanted to do they encouraged us to do more rooms and other floors. We were even able to give one lady a copy of More than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell.
Glimpses of the future give us much hope and we can't wait until we have students here in Kaunas who are sharing their own story & how to know Jesus personally with their fellow students. Make sure you are praying for that friends!

So a couple weeks ago we did our Easter outreach and in that time we gave the students some questions to answer about spiritual things. One of the questions was would you like to meet with someone to talk more about what it means to be a Christian. Many of the students said yes, so it was our job to follow up. Now even though someone said they wanted to talk more about God and what it means to follow Christ your mind still plays tricks on you and you begin to doubt. It was easy to think that they didn't really mean it or that they aren't really interested. So there was a guy student that said they wanted to talk more and I (Matt) said I would follow up. The doubts came, but I really wanted to meet with him. So I prayed and then later we connected online and I carefully broached the issue by asking if he wanted to hang out sometime and talk. He thought it would be a good idea and then launched into how he would love to meet and talk more about deeper things since he doesn't have many guy friends who want to talk about such things. It was a great time to see God work despite my doubts and fears. I am looking forward to meeting with him this week.

How was the Easter Outreach?

So this past Tuesday we had an Event focused on the meaning and purpose of Easter. We entitled it "How Easter Saved My Life". We had 9 students come and enjoy the evening with us. We started with dinner then moved into testimonies. Laura, a Lithuanian student, and I (Jason) had the pleasure of sharing our testimonies. I was surprised at all the questions after we shared. It was very encouraging that everyone immediately wanted to know more about God's work in our lives. Next, Peter did an amazing job at sharing the Gospel by bringing our testimonies together with his own and the Biblical Gospel account. Then we watched clips from the Passion of the Christ, followed by a time of reflection. Matt wrapped up the presentation and we had tea and dessert.

During the time of reflection we had a few questions to ponder to help us process the message of the evening. The last question was, Would you like to meet with an Agape staff member to learn more about how you can have a relationship with Jesus? We had two or three students answer Yes to this question, which is Awesome. Of course these students will be contacted to set up one on one meetings. Over all, everyone responded positively to the Message. Everyone responded that, in some way or another, they are searching. We were given confessions of Emptiness, Self Reliance, Doubt, and Misunderstanding. From our experience it is amazing to have such openness in Lithuania.

Please pray for us as we follow up with these students. Pray that God would reveal Himself to each one of them. Here are their names.
Nerijus, Vaida, Rita, Egle, Giedre, Agne, Ramune, and Tatjana

Praise God for the Work He is Doing.