KAZUKO MUGE

Today was an exciting day outside. I, Bette Sue, went with a friend, Kandra Millsaps, to the Kazuko Muge. This is St. Casimir's Market in honor of his birthday. This outdoor market takes place every year the first weekend of March with vendors coming from all over the area to sell their home-made items. The city closes down streets and lets vendors set up booths for blocks around the downtown area. Today's temperature soared up to 40 F. It was a perfect day to be outside shopping. We had no rain or snow and no sun either but it was not too cold to shop. Some years I have been at the Muge(market) when there was thick ice on the ground and snow falling. Other years it was raining and cold. So, this was a wonderful day for being outside. Many of the items are the same each year but there are always some new things to watch for. This year it seemed that jewelry made with a soft, fuzzy material was the popular item to buy. There are always baskets galore, honey and wax candles, special dried flowers on poles that can be blessed at a church, wooden Easter eggs and real decorated ones, pottery and some more pottery, baskets, scarves, hats, woolen slippers (which I bought for Bob), metal works, wooden tables (we got a great deal on a small one), did I mention baskets, and lots of good things to eat like sausages, shashlik (shish-ka-bob), baked goods, and all this to take home in a new basket :) and much, much more.

The streets will be packed with people all weekend. This is a great tradition to participate in each year and buy gifts. You can bargain with the vendors and everyone is so kind and friendly. If you enjoy bundling up and going out in the cold, then this is your place to shop!

GETTING SETTLED

Traffic in our city has really increased over the past couple years. This road used to be very easy to travel in the middle of the day but now is busy all day. More people are buying and leasing cars now and the city has small roads. More construction is happening throughout the city to improve the roads by making bypasses and multi-layer bridges in busy intersections. It will be very nice when it is completed. Until then, everyone talks about the traffic and we must allow twice as much time to go places as we did before.

Here is a look at our new home. Our garage is below our flat. We are the flat on the first level above the garage. Each day we feel more blessed with God's provision for us. As we get settled, we see how wonderful our home is and that it is going to be a perfect fit for us.

The other day I, Bette Sue, had something funny happen to me while shopping for some furniture for our home. I came out of the store and put up the hood on my coat to stay warmer and saw the car parked down the way. I ran to the car and clicked the alarm button and hopped inside. Something seemed wrong...first the car made a funny "clicking" sound when I opened the door, then I didn't see the alarm system lights, then the seat was really far from the steering wheel and I wondered who had been in the car. I looked around the car and couldn't figure out who left things in the seat next to me. Suddenly it dawned on me that I was the one in the wrong car!!!!!!! So, I jumped out quickly and ran to my car. As I started my car, a man came to my window looking at me. It sure surprised me! I opened the door and thought maybe he was from the other car and started to explain in Lithuanian that I thought it was my car and I apologized and I think he saw the shock in my eyes and started to laugh. Then I laughed with him. He said, "no problem" and walked away. As I pulled out of the lot, I saw the man talking to someone and then realized they had watched the whole thing from when I ran out of the store and into his car. They must have thought I was stealing something or had been watching them and going to try to steal the car.
I waved and smiled as I passed by them and they waved and laughed along with me :)

Life is never dull here! We finally have all the boxes unpacked in our home. This week our shipment of extra things from the states will be arriving and then we can get fully unpacked and settled. We are thankful for joy in all we do!!!!!!

ALL MOVED IN

On February 6th we moved into our flat. The day was cool and cloudy and all went very well for our move. As you can see in the first picture, there was a lot of dust that had settled on our things. Five men from a moving company worked for six hours to move and deliver our household goods.

After the men left, our missionary team helped us get settled for our first night's sleep in our new home. They were a big help. We are still unpacking but the end is in sight. This flat is smaller than what we had before and we are working hard to get things set up and comfortable for living and ministry. We wanted a smaller place that would help life be simpler this term. The Lord has blessed us with a wonderful home with a garage on the ground level that allows us to enter from inside as well. We also have extra storage space in the garage which is a big help. Our needs are definitely being met here. God is so faithful!