As the year of 2013 comes to a close, I would like to take the time to reflect back on some of greatest stories, from a humorous, (or at least I think) Lietuve perspective. I thank God for every single day that He gave me to walk the streets of this beautiful life this past year.
Starting from June 12th......until end of this December....
That awkward moment of life you're in an Icelandic airport and these two German guys are talking to each other and they keep looking at you. Then when you are about to board your flight, as you get up, they get up, they both look at each other and say "Moskva" and walk away..........
When you and your two friends are stranded in a train station in some random German town and you have exactly 13 minutes to find your next train connection, and everyone is freaking out and your friend walks over to this lady and says "Dresden?" and she doesn't understand him, and you say in your most heavy Russian accent, "Dresden?" and the lady smiles and points you in the right direction....and you can't help but smile a little on the inside, and be like....yeah....=P
When you and your three friends FINALLY make it to the town where the missions school of your dreams is, and this random German guy on this random German bus tells you to follow these 3 random German ladies to your "destination" and you end up stranded in a village, stuck guarding about 100+ kilograms of luggage on a hot June day singing and playing acoustic Thousand Foot Krutch covers, and end up dragging about 55 Kilograms for about 3 kilometers. and after 72 hours of traveling....you have reached the one and only Steiger Missions School.
Those moments of life you sit on a German window sill with your dearest sister, and yell out these random Russian phrases, and she screams your crush's name, but you don't think he heard that, or if he did, he is in complete unknown denial of it until this day.
Grocery store walks to Norma with my dearest roommie accompanied with deep meaningful theological conversations.
Jumping on a forbidden trampoline with my dearest roommie like we're 5 years old and cool like that.
Playing my acoustic guitar in a German forest practically at midnight and having European guys appear out of nowhere.
That random moment of life you are at Polish Woodstock, doing your evangelistic outreach with your missions school and this Polish nun records you singing "Here I Am To Worship" in Lithuanian on a street corner.....
Third day into Polish Woodstock, it's about 1 in the morning and you and several friends are walking the streets of woodstock looking for evangelistic ministry opportunities with your guitar, and you end up sitting in a circle of Polish youth that are smoking weed, with one young Georgian man who has apparently lived in Poland for a year, and they REALLY want you to sing with your guitar, but you refuse 3 times in a row, and they really persist, so you give in, and you sing the reflective melodic song "So Far Gone" by TFK and you can see the young Georgian man slowly start tearing up with a few tears in his eyes, and he shakes your hand with deep respect, and you can't help but laugh on the inside just a little.
That random moment of life you meet 3 Lithuanians at Polish Woodstock and are in absolute shock cause this festival has like 700,000 people, and you are so proud that the cute lil Lithuanian sign you made actually worked.
When you're brave enough to let your dearest Polish and Belorussian sisters create 25 dreadlocks in your hair.
To all those beautiful memories of Steiger Missions School 2013 that you will hold close in your heart forever.....<3
Dragging 55 Kilograms of luggage all the way to Kaunas, Lietuva, BY YOURSELF, and the horrible hell of switching trains 3 times in Germany and having Baltic Air start check in 1 hour before the flight, charging you 20 Euros for check in, and 30 Euros for your guitar at the very last minute, to having only 30 minutes to find your flight in the Riga airport.........
Actually MAKING it onto Lietuva soil and crying your eyes out at a reality that seems too good to be true.
Starting from June 12th......until end of this December....
That awkward moment of life you're in an Icelandic airport and these two German guys are talking to each other and they keep looking at you. Then when you are about to board your flight, as you get up, they get up, they both look at each other and say "Moskva" and walk away..........
When you and your two friends are stranded in a train station in some random German town and you have exactly 13 minutes to find your next train connection, and everyone is freaking out and your friend walks over to this lady and says "Dresden?" and she doesn't understand him, and you say in your most heavy Russian accent, "Dresden?" and the lady smiles and points you in the right direction....and you can't help but smile a little on the inside, and be like....yeah....=P
When you and your three friends FINALLY make it to the town where the missions school of your dreams is, and this random German guy on this random German bus tells you to follow these 3 random German ladies to your "destination" and you end up stranded in a village, stuck guarding about 100+ kilograms of luggage on a hot June day singing and playing acoustic Thousand Foot Krutch covers, and end up dragging about 55 Kilograms for about 3 kilometers. and after 72 hours of traveling....you have reached the one and only Steiger Missions School.
Those moments of life you sit on a German window sill with your dearest sister, and yell out these random Russian phrases, and she screams your crush's name, but you don't think he heard that, or if he did, he is in complete unknown denial of it until this day.
Grocery store walks to Norma with my dearest roommie accompanied with deep meaningful theological conversations.
Jumping on a forbidden trampoline with my dearest roommie like we're 5 years old and cool like that.
Playing my acoustic guitar in a German forest practically at midnight and having European guys appear out of nowhere.
That random moment of life you are at Polish Woodstock, doing your evangelistic outreach with your missions school and this Polish nun records you singing "Here I Am To Worship" in Lithuanian on a street corner.....
Third day into Polish Woodstock, it's about 1 in the morning and you and several friends are walking the streets of woodstock looking for evangelistic ministry opportunities with your guitar, and you end up sitting in a circle of Polish youth that are smoking weed, with one young Georgian man who has apparently lived in Poland for a year, and they REALLY want you to sing with your guitar, but you refuse 3 times in a row, and they really persist, so you give in, and you sing the reflective melodic song "So Far Gone" by TFK and you can see the young Georgian man slowly start tearing up with a few tears in his eyes, and he shakes your hand with deep respect, and you can't help but laugh on the inside just a little.
That random moment of life you meet 3 Lithuanians at Polish Woodstock and are in absolute shock cause this festival has like 700,000 people, and you are so proud that the cute lil Lithuanian sign you made actually worked.
When you're brave enough to let your dearest Polish and Belorussian sisters create 25 dreadlocks in your hair.
To all those beautiful memories of Steiger Missions School 2013 that you will hold close in your heart forever.....<3
Dragging 55 Kilograms of luggage all the way to Kaunas, Lietuva, BY YOURSELF, and the horrible hell of switching trains 3 times in Germany and having Baltic Air start check in 1 hour before the flight, charging you 20 Euros for check in, and 30 Euros for your guitar at the very last minute, to having only 30 minutes to find your flight in the Riga airport.........
Actually MAKING it onto Lietuva soil and crying your eyes out at a reality that seems too good to be true.
Meeting your generation of Lithuanians for the very first time in your life and all the beautiful cultural awkwardness & judgments that comes along with that.
That awkward moment of life you ask a fellow Lithuanian where the "Food Church" is.......=P
When you're just sitting enjoying your dear Lietuve life, and this young Lithuanian man walks around shirtless as if he's waiting for you to turn and look at him, and you being your Quaker self just keep thinking, don't look, Don't look, Don't look, you know European guys, don't get their attention, just roll your eyes and pretend they're not there, and then he asks you a question, and to be polite, you must respond, and he makes you coffee. and you are just laughing on the inside of why? how? shto? yaneznayu.....
and LAST but not least....okay maybe not last, but if you have persevered to read this far....this one is truly golden....
THAT moment of life you're at Polish Woodstock, handing out metal core bibles, and you start talking to this one Polish guy who happened to lose his back pack, and he's like FREAKING OUT like he's 5 years old, and he is probably almost 30 and you ask him if you can pray for him, that he would find his backpack with all of his important documents. and he gives you a strange look like, "I don't believe God can answer prayer", (and keep in mind this festival has 700,000) So you silently pray for his backpack, and exactly 15 minutes later, this person randomely drops off his backpack right next to him. The young Polish man is in complete shock, and you can't help but smile on the inside, and then you start talking about each others lives, and you tell him that Jesus loves him, and then after about an hour you ask him for his email address so you can keep in touch, and he's like "Email address, will you be my wife?!?!?!?" and you just sit there absolutely frozen (that moment where you are sipping your coffee and you spit /gag it out of your mouth like an elephant spraying water) and you just look deeply into his sky blue Polish glaza, smirk, laugh and say HELL NO....okay maybe it wasn't that mean more like a sweet "no".......and he's sad............and you are trying your hardest not to burst out in laughter, and you have to step away for a few moments, and you burst out in Lietuve laughter that echos like a lion across the Polish woodstock plains........
TO BE CONTINUED......Part 2
That awkward moment of life you ask a fellow Lithuanian where the "Food Church" is.......=P
When you're just sitting enjoying your dear Lietuve life, and this young Lithuanian man walks around shirtless as if he's waiting for you to turn and look at him, and you being your Quaker self just keep thinking, don't look, Don't look, Don't look, you know European guys, don't get their attention, just roll your eyes and pretend they're not there, and then he asks you a question, and to be polite, you must respond, and he makes you coffee. and you are just laughing on the inside of why? how? shto? yaneznayu.....
and LAST but not least....okay maybe not last, but if you have persevered to read this far....this one is truly golden....
THAT moment of life you're at Polish Woodstock, handing out metal core bibles, and you start talking to this one Polish guy who happened to lose his back pack, and he's like FREAKING OUT like he's 5 years old, and he is probably almost 30 and you ask him if you can pray for him, that he would find his backpack with all of his important documents. and he gives you a strange look like, "I don't believe God can answer prayer", (and keep in mind this festival has 700,000) So you silently pray for his backpack, and exactly 15 minutes later, this person randomely drops off his backpack right next to him. The young Polish man is in complete shock, and you can't help but smile on the inside, and then you start talking about each others lives, and you tell him that Jesus loves him, and then after about an hour you ask him for his email address so you can keep in touch, and he's like "Email address, will you be my wife?!?!?!?" and you just sit there absolutely frozen (that moment where you are sipping your coffee and you spit /gag it out of your mouth like an elephant spraying water) and you just look deeply into his sky blue Polish glaza, smirk, laugh and say HELL NO....okay maybe it wasn't that mean more like a sweet "no".......and he's sad............and you are trying your hardest not to burst out in laughter, and you have to step away for a few moments, and you burst out in Lietuve laughter that echos like a lion across the Polish woodstock plains........
TO BE CONTINUED......Part 2
