Our days have a better rhythm as we add more activities to the week. Quincy still has drum lessons weekly and basketball school a couple times a week. A boy from his basketball class sat with him at an LCC basketball game last week, so good to see! That's the Quincy we know, making friends, even if he didn't remember his name;)
Annie has started up violin, her face after her first lesson was priceless! Such pride and joy. It's so good for her to have something of her own to do here too. Her attention to detail and precise nature may be to her benefit with the violin, there's a lot to learn!
Jackson and Nala seem to know what to expect each day and welcome our babysitters over quite eagerly, thanks Marija and Liza!!! They keep our days hoppin'! Nala loves to play in the sink right now, and in general likes to move chairs around and climb up to get all the things we have tried to move out of her reach. She's determined and resourceful; nothing seems to be too high!
For Aaron and I, we continue to experience LCC as a wonderful and enveloping community. What a gift to walk into a place where new staff and families are welcomed and cared for so well! There are moments we feel at home here, but then other moments where we feel like visitors to someone else's life. At our home on Bates, we are often a hub of community, neighbors, family, and friends are in and out of our house frequently. There are times when it feels quite lonely without that level of activity.
And then the last couple weeks we had several invitations to parties (birthday and Halloween!) and a pancake breakfast. Just to be invited was enough, but then to have such a great time, to feel valued and cared for, and to be able to offer that back was life-giving. It felt familiar, the sense of being a part of community, of sharing who we are and listening to others' stories. It was something we have missed.
Our lives in Grand Rapids are comfortable and familiar. We are known and loved, and it is so easy to be in our familiar surroundings with people we know well. Here, we are new and unknown. We are unfamiliar, there are a lot of us, and we only speak English. There are many barriers. But we still long to be a valued part of community. These past couple weeks pointed out to us that we are establishing that here as well. And that others are inviting us in.
So here is the challenge, for us upon returning. How do we remember this feeling of being the other, of looking in? How welcoming and open are we to new and unfamiliar? How do we invite those that might feel 'the other' into our community? How do we look past the barriers to listen to new stories? I pray this softens our hearts and opens our eyes, and helps us take action.
Here are a few pictures from the Halloween festivities. It is not a holiday typically celebrated here in Lithuania, and many of the Lithuanian guests had never been to a Halloween party! The closest celebration to Halloween in Lithuania is in February when kids dress up to chase away the snow (it seems you might want that in MI this year!).
Betsy, thank you for sharing your thoughts about community. We hope you guys have a blessed holiday and continue to have such exciting adventures! You are missed dearly at LSA.
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