Easier??

So I've been doing a lot of thinking. I have been in Lithuania for about 2 1/2 weeks and on one hand it feels like I just got here and the time is flying by while on the other hand it feels like I have been here forever and have grown accustom to live on the other side of the ocean.

So like I promised we can rewind to our first "real" weekend here. Two of my roomies had gone home for family parties and the other one was unpacking and organizing so I didn't get to hangout out with them too much. A bunch of the SAs and one of our interns decided to go out to a karaoke bar. It was tons of fun!! As most of you know singing is not my forte and for those of you that are concerned about the safety of the ears of my new friends, I did not touch a mic all night! But we did pick some fun loud songs and all just sang and danced to them! It was a blast :)

Saturday was by far the coldest day since we have been here and a few of us decided it would be fun to go to the market! I did not really need groceries, but I'm always up for an adventure, so Jess, Mayu and I navigated our way to Karklu to meet up with some of the other SAs to go to the market. It was what you would think of as your typical outdoor, wooden stands selling clothes, shoes and food. There were also a few places inside which was great! There was a lot of fresh veggies, some fruit, breads and tons of meat. Even as someone who thoroughly enjoys meat I was a little taken back, I don't know how Jenn did it. Anyone as many of you also know my hands get numb ridiculously fast so as we are walking around I have lost pretty much all feeling in my fingers.

We decided to have tea and lunch at a cafe. When we sat down I literally just sat on my hands for a while until I gained some feeling. My new friends were concerned, but I assured them that I just had to thaw for a bit! They helped be order some warm hot cocoa which is just what I needed! ( In Lithuania, you need to be sure that you got the chocolate with milk because they usually just serve hot chocolate as literally chocolate that is heated up. It is very interesting and pretty sweet!) Anyway I eventually thawed out which leads me to Cheese Fingers! They are basically mozzarella sticks, but on a whole other level of goodness! There are pretty large and are served with this amazing sauce! It was wonderful!

Sunday I went to a Lithuanian church. I got connected through Frank then Milton. It was really awesome!! Laura, who actually works at LCC, translated the whole thing for me. I was able to use the few words that I knew to communicate with people! Everyone was really warm and welcoming! It was really cool because a few different people got up and shared in between songs. They had such amazing testimonies of how God was working in their lives. It was truly beautiful! After church Laura took me out to lunch and it was great to talk to her and hear about her life! It was such a blessing :)

This week has gone by soo fast! I can't believe that it is almost Friday. It's crazy how fast life goes by! So Adam went to this conference called Passion in the beginning of the month and so I found some of it on a podcast. The first sermon was called Unthinkable You and it truly was just that! It was awesome and a good reminder of who I am really am. I got to thinking...
It's easier...
not to care about what I do
not to care about how I talk
not to care about my thoughts
to go along with everyone else even if I don't agree
to get washed into a sea of apathy
to judge others, but not myself
to slack
to only put in a little effort
to gossip
to do whatever I want
Or is it...
What may seem easy, may not actually in reality be that easy. To ignore the truth and only focus on wants seems tiring and draining. I've thought about this "easier" side of life and in reality I think it might be harder to live in denial of what I know is true! Holding tight to the truth, though it may seem harder at times is actually good! Life may be temporarily better when it's easy but in the long run I think it will hurt more. So, I'll hold tight to the truth and keep trekking!
Philippians 4:8 and Psalm 139

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear
is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness,
that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?
Actually who are we not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people
won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine as children do.
We were born to make manifest
the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And when we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

- Marianne Williamson

Well I think that's all for now...I hope I got you caught up on my life and some of my thoughts!
Thanks for reading :)

Much love
~Chrissy