A little background

Hi there.  Since a few people have asked, here is our blog!

In case you didn't already know, we are moving...for a year...to Klaipeda, Lithuania.  Crazy, I know.  We've been praying for about a year for an experience abroad, and here we go!

Aaron will be working at Lithuania Christian College (forevermore to be identified as LCC) as the Vice President of Student Life.  It is a GREAT opportunity for him professionally (and for our little family too!).  The college is so unique, started by some Mennonite folks after Lithuania claimed independence from the former USSR, hoping to bring western teaching (in English) to Lithuania.   We've heard the community is amazing and enfolding, which we have already experienced as we prepare to move.  LCC is connected with the CCCU and known among many Christian College folks in the US; several faculty from Calvin have been there in recent years and have provided us with helpful guidance.  

For those of you that are not quite sure where Lithuania is, hopefully the map below will give a little context! Klaipeda is on the Baltic Sea, on the far west side of the country.  The picture in the banner above is of Klaipeda.  It is a port city and we hear has advanced quite a bit from the Soviet days.  

While Aaron is at work, I will be leading the adventures at home!  Quincy (4th grade) and Annie (2nd grade) will be homeschooled, a decision all 3 of us are quite excited about.  I am glad that both can read already and I just need to move them along.  They have plenty of ideas of what we should learn more about (Lithuanian sports and animals to name a few) and  Quincy has promised a few blog updates of his own;)  Jackson and Nala are along for the ride, they have no idea what they are in for!  Based on the few days home together we've had since the end of school, they will love having Quincy and Annie around more often.  

We hope to take advantage of where we will be living as much as possible, with some major and minor trips throughout northern Europe.  A few things on the kids' list to see, a reindeer farm in Finland, the Eiffel Tower, and several places their globe-trotting friends have told them about in Amsterdam.  Along the way, we hope to learn plenty about Lithuanian culture, some world history, and food:)

We will be living in a 3 bedroom apartment, which will not be the Bates house and neighborhood we love, but will help enforce the idea of living more simply we hope to embrace.  The picture below is the view from our apartment, which is not far from the LCC campus, a grocery store, and the bus line (we're going to give it a go without a car for as long as we can:).

A few travel details…we will be flying out of Chicago on the evening of July 23, landing in Copenhagen, Denmark around noon and have about a 9 hour layover.  Aaron played a year of professional basketball in Denmark the first year we were married, so we are planning to head into the city, meet up with a few friends, and show the kids around a bit!  Then we fly on to Palanga, Lithuania (about a 20 minute drive from Klaipeda), landing around midnight.  

So for now, we are living our summer life, a bit more compacted.  Aaron, Quincy, and Annie have already been to Mexico and back on a service learning trip with our church.  Quincy and Annie are currently at Spring Hill for a week of summer camp.  The rest of the time before we leave will be spent with our families, packing, and getting our house ready for the 4 Calvin nursing grads that will be living here while we are gone.

That's our story!  Thanks to those that are already supporting us, with your hands and feet, words of encouragement, and prayers.  We would appreciate continued prayers as we pack up, prepare each of us for this next year as best we can, and try to say "Good-bye for now!" to all those we love!