Living Lithuania : Building Community.

Here at LCC we always kick off the year with Community Day, our big homecoming fair! This year we had lawn games, face painting, henna tattoo art, balloon animals, a photo booth, a candy guessing game, 5K Fun Run and a BBQ! We serve Lithuania style hotdogs to the entire campus, and end the evening with a cake walk for dessert, and some dancing that goes late into the night.

This event is a fan favorite, it is a unique time for students, staff, faculty, and their families to come and spend the evening together. This year my team was in charge of the 5K, we mapped out a scenic route to a river near campus and back, and awarded prizes for the first few people across the finish line. Inside, and especially outside of the classroom we try our best to encourage our students to be aware of their surroundings, and live a healthy lifestyle. Doing homework, and getting good grades are important, but we also want to encourage a balanced and well-round life here at LCC.

Speaking of extracurricular activities, this Saturday was our second Saddleback Sermon showing! I'd been looking forward it all week after many friends back home told me how great the sermon was. Since we are watching the sermons one week behind the series (due to the time change) I receive great feedback and advice from loved ones at home, that pre-screen each week for us. This weeks talk focused strongly on hope, and the Purpose Driven Life book written by Saddleback's pastor Rick Warren. The movie "Captive" (that will be released on September 18th) is based on a story of healing that has come from this book, and Rick took time to interview one of the lead actors for his congregation. 15 people were able to join us last night to watch this sermon and learn about what it means to have hope in God's plan.

Last week one of my generous donors that attends Saddleback Church decided to donate 10 copies of Purpose Driven Life for my group to have, and share! I told them the good news last night and there was so much excitement in the air. I was even asked if perhaps we could find another donation to buy a couple copies of Purpose Driven Life in Russian, and Lithuania over here. If you are willing and able to help provide the funds for me to go out and buy copies in many of the students native language please email me! Kbergstrom@Lcc.Lt

Getting to show these sermons is such an honor for me. I can't stop praising God for giving this gift, and opportunity to me. I have faith that this is going to become a day of the week that I always look forward to. It's so good to see some of the same people every week, mixed in with a few new faces. I trust Saddleback to always deliver a compelling sermon, and I thank them for making it so easy for me to share the Good News with the students of LCC. Please keep our group in your prayers this week as we prepare to meet again next Saturday night.

This week I was able to print out the sermon notes for each student, which helps many to follow along and have something to look back on throughout the week. I also bought some refreshments for the group, we had tea, apple slices, and cookies to share before, and during the service. If you are interested in supporting the hospitality area of this group and donating funds to help me continually provide refreshments please let me know, I would love to talk with you about how best to make that happen!

On a personal note I was recently asked to join a women's bible study that meets on campus, and I can already tell that it is going to be a consistent blessing in my week. I have been looking for a group that I could join, rather than lead. It feels so good to spend an evening asking myself tough questions, taking a introspective look at my life, and spending quality time with Godly women. I am grateful for this opportunity and praising God for hearing my prayers. I'm heading into the 4th week of my grad school class, please keep this in your prayers, as I navigate how best to work, and study at the same time :) I love you all, thank you for supporting me here in Lithuania.