HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year Everyone! (We get to celebrate before most of you.)

We had fun bringing in the New Year at Mark and Lera Hamilton's home. They live on the 5th floor of a building so we could see fireworks going off everywhere! It was fantastic. (Other than when one hit near the open window we were taking pictures from!)

Then we ended the night with sparklers. Funny to do sparklers in the winter :) (The pictures show a bit of the fun.)

To top it off...this was the night of the "Blue Moon" in Lithuania. That is when you see a full moon twice in one month. We saw ours tonight. So, if it happens "once in a Blue Moon," it could have been tonight!

Snowy days

We have been having snow this week and it is looking like a winter wonderland!!!!!!

This is our yard area and street.

Isn't it beautiful?!

Time with friends

We have lived in Lithuania since 1997 and God has blessed us with so many friends. This weekend we had Josh and Sandra Doan with us for games, movies, pizza and lots of fun! Josh is Matt's MK friend from our arrival. He is now married to Sandra and they are waiting for the arrival of their first child.

Neighbors from our first home were over for dinner. We are so thankful for their friendship too. George and Julija, Stasys, Alina, Gediminas and Oksyte will always remain neighbors in our hearts!

These times remind us of how long we have lived in Lithuania and how many ways God has blessed us through relationships here.

Christmas Baking

Today was a big baking day in our home. Bette Sue made two of her family's favorites...Mice and Linza cookies. These are German recipes passed down through her family.

The Mice are the tiny puffy pastries that Kristina, our dear friend, is holding in the pan before they were baked. The final result is on the plate. Before eating them, we sprinkle them with powdered sugar and they are really tasty. So light that you can just keep popping one after another into your mouth!

Kristina was a huge help to Bette Sue today. They rolled and baked Mice for five hours! This is one of those recipes that is worth all the work!

Buddy Dog

On Sunday we traveled to Birzai for Bob to preach. The pastor's family owns Matt's dog now. So, it is always fun to go and see Buddy while we are there.

Buddy is 11 1/2 now and losing eye sight and some hearing. He was still very active in his quiet, growly way of begging for food though. Bob even got him to give him his paw for a special treat.

It was a very good day in Birzai!

He is back!!!!!!

Matt arrived home late last night after traveling for 24 hours on four planes. We are thankful for his safe arrival.

He is with us for 3 1/2 weeks!!!!

It is so nice to have our family together again.

It is always fun to watch people greeting their friends and family at the airport. This group was waiting for two friends and they were all happy to be together again too.

501 Campaign Update

25th Wedding Anniversary

On December 8th we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary! We were in Riga, Latvia and are so thankful for our marriage! The time has gone by quickly and we look forward to another 25 years!

Cold Day for sightseeing

Recently we saw the place where the Grand Duchee of Lithuania died in battle. It was a cold day as you can see how well Bob was bundled up!

501 Campaign Status

Thanksgiving Day

We had a great time with our missionary team at the McClung's home for Thanksgiving Day!

Plenty of food and desserts to eat. We even got to watch the Lions/Packers game LIVE through the computer and projected on the wall. It was a very special day to be with friends and count our blessings!

Getting ready for Thanksgiving!

Yes, we celebrate Thanksgiving in Lithuania. We will be at the McClung's home this year with our missionary team.

My pies, chocolate and apple, are ready. Sharon and Patti will have the pumpkin pies ready too. YUMMY!!!!!!

Then this is always a good time to make cinnamon/sugar snacks with the extra pieces of crust...just like Mom always did :)

More from our November excursion

We saw a very old solarium/green house and if you can see it in the picture, (we could only look through the glass from the outside) there is a palm tree inside as high as the building. A little taste of California for Bob!

Now isn't this a nice way to ride home?

Kaunas Marriage Seminar

We had a great time at Kaunas Christian Church for a recent marriage seminar. There were 40 on Friday evening and close to that on Saturday. As you can see from the pictures, we had to keep our coats on to stay warm. The building was very cold. These people were bold to sit there and listen. Glad that so many returned on Saturday!

Bette Sue's Birthday

This year Bette Sue wanted to see something new for her birthday. We traveled with our friends, Andrius and Silvija, outside of the city of Kaunas. They were our tour guides and historians. This area has the largest river and in the 11th and 12th centuries was lined with castles/fortresses. We drove along the river and stopped to see the original sites of the buildings. Some are completely gone and others (the ones we have pictures of) were rebuilt in the 17th century. Some are open to the public and one is used as a public school for children.

The day was cold but very sunny and we had a wonderful time exploring a new area. It was very pretty.

Kids Quest in Birzai

Last weekend Kids Quest began in Birzai, Lithuania. Sharon McCammon, A/G missionary for children's ministry in Lithuania, has been working hard for five years to get this program ready for presentation. Finally, the day arrived with the Kids Quest training team from the states coming here to help train the people in the Birzai church.

The weekend was a great success with a total of 700 children and 200 parents coming during the three different meetings. There were clowns, stories, games, memorization of Bible verses and lessons taught by the pastor. Everyone was excited!

On Sunday morning 53 new children came to church for Sunday School. PTL! The group will use the Power Mark comic books for follow-up lessons for the next several weeks. Sharon is also prepared to give a one-year curriculum to the group for continuing classes with the children.

We are excited about this new ministry and so is everyone else that hears about what happened in Birzai!

Dizzy

Recently, we met Jack and Lyra, an American/Lithuanian couple living in Vilnius. While visiting their home we got to meet "Dizzy" too.

Dizzy is a Lovebird and he is very loving! He quickly came to check us out and was very friendly. He even gave both of us kisses on our lips. Then he tried to eat from Bob's cookie! We had fun laughing and watching Dizzy check out everything in the kitchen. (Lyra was snapping pictures.)

It was a nice evening with all three of our new friends!