Finishing Well.

From: Aaron(!!!)

20 days.  That’s all we have left.  Even typing the words makes the reality sink in a little deeper.  It’s so strange.  It feels like the sands of time our slipping through our fingers.  Our year in Lithuania is nearly complete.

As we have moved toward the end of the academic year we have moved through some of the traditional end-of-the-year events:  student-leader appreciation, the final chapel, closing convocation, graduation.  Each event has brought with it a myriad of emotions—pride, relief, sadness, hope.  Each event has required me to reflect on the year—the colleagues I have worked with, the students I have met, the events we have planned, the mistakes I have made.

And here’s what stood out the most:  I realized how much I have grown to love the people and mission of LCC.  I really have.  On a few occasions tears came to my eyes as I watched students receive awards and walk across the graduation stage.  Knowing the hurdles some of them have overcome to be here made me smile with the pride a parent has for a child. 

These events also prompted me to reflect on LCC’s mission.  Why, I wondered, have so many people had their hearts and imaginations captured by LCC?  Why does LCC matter? 

As I thought about this question I was reminded of a memoir I read in seminary, Open Secrets (Thanks, Neal Plantinga and Scott Hoezee!).  In it Richard Lischer reflects on his early years of pastoral ministry in New Cana, Illinois.  He was young and ambitious, new PhD in hand.  But slowly the grind of ministry—counseling couples who wouldn’t say they were sorry, sitting with children who weren’t going to get better, praying with elderly members who weren’t ever going home—changed him.  At some point he realized that neither his sermons nor his ministry were, in fact, going to change the world.  Even worse, it appeared, his ministry was not even going to change the people of his small, rural, Lutheran congregation.  Lischer slowly realized he would not change the world, but perhaps he could “make God a little more believable.” 

Why does LCC matter?  I think LCC matters because it makes our Triune God a little more believable to our students, to their families, and to our community.  It happens in a variety of ways, including ways you might expect like a theology class, a Bible study, or a mentoring relationship.  But it also happens in ways you might not expect—treating students firmly but fairly through the discipline process; giving students space and permission to wrestle with questions and doubts prompted by a lecture in history, psychology, or business. 

Through these means, and many others, the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of people who have previously been unable to see.  This, of course, happens in Christian universities all over the world.  But here, because LCC is the ONLY Christian university in ALL of the former Soviet Union, it seems more strategic.  That is why faculty, staff, and donors from Lithuania and beyond, respond to the Spirit’s promptings and offer their gifts, time and resources.  In so doing, they align their lives with their prayers: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth (in Lithuania, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia) as it is in heaven.” 

So as we count down the days we will begin to count up all of the blessings we have experienced this year.  There are many…too many to count

And from Betsy:
The lasts have also been memorable for our kids.  They were so SO excited to celebrate and host our friend Yulia's graduation.  Quincy worked for 2 days, trying to engineer a way to drop balloons on Yulia as she came into our house, and was successful!  Annie decorated with balloons and signs.  It made graduation day so much more meaningful.  It has been our privilege to know Yulia, and so many other students, staff, and faculty.  Walking through graduation and the last days of spring classes at LCC marked such a shift, from not knowing others, to feeling known and loved.  LCC is a place where many come with no ties, and after a school year of sharing all that life can bring, we feel like we have become part of a great extended family.  God's family is vast and full of amazing stories, it has been our privilege to share in so many here.

We've been blessed by visits from friends (Glenn and Yolanda), and gone to a few more places now that the Baltic sun has begun to shine again.  And we are slowly ending some of our daily routines too.  Quincy and Annie finished up math at the end of May (thank goodness!), and we are just tying up a few things in Language Arts. Lithuanian lessons are over, and today Quincy and Annie had their final drum and violin lesson, complete with a concert for our family and friends.  Jackson and Nala continue to grow up, and are developing such a sweet relationship.  Although Nala continues to knock down Jackson's towers (much to his dismay) they also have their own inside jokes now and can make each other belly laugh over the silliest things!

And we are beginning to have conversations about our return.  When I asked Quincy and Annie yesterday how they think they will feel when we get back to our Brown House, they both said "weird.  Weird because we haven't been there for so long, and we've done so many things here."  We have begun the rounds of "lasts," trying to visit places one last time before we leave.  And spending time with the friends God has blessed us with this year.  It may have taken a while, but our apartment in Klaipeda definitely feels like home.


And now, the pictures!

The hair, the glasses...love this kid!

 The sun is back, so we have been heading back to the beach.

 Glenn Triezenberg was here for a couple weeks, meeting with students and faculty at LCC.  

And enjoying a sunny day at Nida;)

Graduation!

 Graduation!  Our friends Yulia and Liza (sisters;)

 Ali (the newly named LCC student president for 2015-16:) was at the graduation party at our house.  He played cards, hide-and-seek, and countless other games with Jackson for close to an hour!  One of the many thoughtful and kind students we have immensely enjoyed getting to know.

 Back to the Baltic Sea!

 At the park, in a giant net.

 Still loving the bidet:(

Look who came to visit!  Movie night with Yoli!

 Another eventful sauna experience, for Quincy, Annie, Aaron, Glenn, and Yolanda;)

 We spent a Saturday in Nida.  The weather was AMAZING, and the company was even better:)

 Nala's BFF!

 At the sand dunes.  Just like Lake Michigan, except that on the right, past the dunes and forest, is Kaliningrad, a small section of Russia.

 Aaron was the chosen one to get buried in the sand.

 Quincy with cornrows, thanks Yoli!

 A night out with Yoli at our favorite restaurant, Herkus Kantas.

 Bowling with Yoli, between Nala's legs!

 Jackson was given MagnaTiles for his 3rd birthday last year.  His concentration and structures have vastly improved over the year!

We went to the opening weekend festival in Palanga.  Again, a beautiful day!  

And that's Annie, bungee-ing to the sun!

 Jackson and Nala decided to drive the train instead;)

Out on the pier.

 Along the Dane River for the Boat Parade.

 Sisters, matching, in pink fleece feet jams...love these lazy at home mornings!

During Quincy and Annie's drum/violin lessons, Jackson, Nala and I head to the coffee shop.  It is quite relaxing for all of us:)

 Quincy and Annie with their teachers.  We have been so appreciative of their music teachers, stretching a bit to teach in English, but listening and teaching our kids so well.  

Marija and Liza (and Yulia), our babysitters, made it to the big show:)

This is the blessing and curse of the Baltic Sun.  This picture was taken at 9pm last night in Quincy and Annie's room.  You'll notice the bright sunshine coming into the windows and our construction paper attempt to block it out;)

I will never tire of waking up to this view.  Our God is a masterful creator!

Much love to you all!

Blessings, Aaron and Betsy.

Paris!

Some of our friends at LCC compare our family to the study abroad students--we, like those students, have done a considerable amount of travel throughout our time here!  It really is quite remarkable to be able to experience so many places with our kids.  Our latest trip brought us to Paris.  This was Annie's request before we left, to see the Eiffel Tower, and we were able to go because it was also the location of the Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM, we are missionary partners during our time here) Spiritual Retreat.  So, off we went on another adventure!

Our time touring Paris was wonderful.  The weather was simply amazing.  70s and sunny every day we were there, and we all had a bit of a sunburn to prove it!  As a bonus, we were able to share most of our time touring with friends living in Vienna, Austria, the Schras.  It's amazing how God brings people into our lives in such a timely and relevant way.  We were able to the Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triumph and walk down the Champs Elysee.  But based on the sheer joy on their faces, I think Jackson and Nala would say our day at the Luxembourg Gardens was their favorite!  The park was wonderful, they literally played there for 6 hours.  And Quincy, Annie and Aaron were able to watch a EuroLeague game with the Schras (Paris St. Germaine vs. Barcelona), which was happening live not far from the crepe shop where they watched it.  When the game was done, they went to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night.  It was an eventful trip, both to see the lights and because Quincy's sensitive stomach had an untimely release on a crowded bus...whoops!  The next morning, we had pastries at the Jacques Park, we felt so Parisian;).

We landed in Beauvais (north of Paris), and visited the cathedral.

 The first of many baguettes!

 On our way to the Notre Dame.

 Dinner outside at a cafe.

 The Eiffel Tower!!!

 With the Schras.

 We took the elevator to the top, but some of them walked back down.

And then we had a picnic in the park (with baguettes).

 Taking a break from walking...

 ...outside the Arc de Triomphe.

And walking through the park past the Champs Elysees.

 The playground at the Luxembourg Gardens.

 The rest of the Gardens.

Ice Cream!

 When we lived briefly in France when we were first married, Aaron and I loved to watch the French people play Bocce ball.  Such a serious game, with coat racks on the side of the court;)

The Eiffel Tower at night!

 Pasteries at Saint-Jaques Park;)

We were in the Paris city center from Monday until Thursday morning, then we took a train to the southern edge of the city to a retreat center with other CRWM missionaries from Europe, Asia, and Africa.  To say the trip was restorative, humbling, and started some conversations would be putting it mildly.  And (most of) our kids loved it!  We only saw Quincy and Annie at meals and for bed, there were approximately 15 kids, a foosball table, a pool table, a soccer field, and a forest.  It was a magical wonderland of new friends, activity, and laughter for them!  Quincy and Annie were sad to leave and asked if we could go back next year;)  Jackson and Nala had a good time, but it was hard to not have the attention of their big siblings, and the lack of sleep caught up with them:(.

For Aaron and I, it was the first time we were able to worship together in close to 9 months, what a treat!  (We do have a church we attend and enjoy here, but it has no child care, so we alternate weeks;).  We were able to hear the work God is doing in different parts of EurAsia and Egypt, and to hear the stories of the folks that God is using to do that work.  We felt like newbies to this world of calling, risk, comittment, and determination, where families have been ministering for 3-5 years and up to 20-30 years!  We were able to listen to Pastor Roeda (from Church of the Servant in GR) talk to us about being in true covenant relationship with God and His people.  And we were able to talk about what God is doing in Klaipeda, and at LCC, and in us.

We left feeling restored, with a few tools to help us re-enter our lives in Grand Rapids in a couple months, and with a great sense of wonder.  And we returned to LCC from this trip to a week packed with end-of-the-year events, then finals and graduation.  So our hearts and are minds are ripe with questions and the beginnings of how to process this year in Lithuania, this year of God showing us so much about His world, brokenness, new passions, and ourselves.  How do we integrate who we are becoming into our familiar circumstances back in Grand Rapids?  How do we transition all 6 of us from this year?  How do we honor our time here well?  How do we continue to love on those God has brought into our lives that will stay here or move on as well?  And at the core of it all, what does this year mean in the greater context of our lives and where we go from here?  One thing is clear, we are blessed beyond measure...

And finally, some rest for Nala;)

Much love to you all!
Blessings, Betsy

 A couple bonus pictures of Jackson, tilling the garden with Vytas,

and his new favorite thing, drawing!