Summer Travels pt. 2

Our second, shorter round in Central Indiana ended with an afternoon barbecue in the park with the extended Denny family.

What a whirlwind trip this has been! Who would have thought we could have possibly crammed in as much fun, adventures, stories, and food into a short five weeks?

Jeanne and Jerry Garber guide us through an afternoon tour around the lake they live on in Michigan.

It was such a joy to reconnect with all of you while we traveled in Indiana and Arizona. The delicious meals, the heartfelt conversation, the meaningful sharing -- what more can we say but thank you!

We had so much fun at the Talent Night & Silent Auction as well as the viewing of “The Other Dream Team” documentary. If you missed out on either of those events, DVD copies can be borrowed from the Trinity Mennonite Church office, 4334 W. Vista Ave., Glendale, AZ 85301.

One of several Lithuanian summer feasts we prepared for friends and family.

Thanks to the generosity of many, many people, we can honestly say our fundraising efforts while in the U.S. have been successful -- we’re closer to our goal for the upcoming service year.

That said, we still have a ways to go. If you are interested in making a donation to us, please visit this site. Make sure that you enter “Josh and Alisha Garber” as the comment in the Faculty/Staff support line.

Although our time "back home" may not have been entirely restful, it was definitely worthwhile and helped refuel our spirits for another year at LCC International University.

While naming everyone who helped us out during our time in the states would be impossible, there are a few individuals we want to give an extra special thanks to Aaron Gouldthorpe, Daniel Wohlberg, Alissa & Tyler Prater, and Jerry & Jeanne Garber for housing us and making us feel like family. Also, thanks to the Schrocks for helping us with our technology and got us out of town for a night of mindless fun.

We feel affirmed that we have returned to Lithuania as ambassadors of our community at Trinity Mennonite Church. We are also excited to be serving as Mission Associates for Mennonite Mission Network -- a development we'll explain more in an upcoming update.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we return to work here in Klaipėda.

Performing a few songs at our Variety Show fundraiser at Trinity Mennonite Church.

Playing the Game of Life with Stephanie Quirin, who treated us to an afternoon of games and lounging by the pool as an escape from the desert heat.

Alisha was able to un- expectedly reunite with best friend and local grump, Harry LaPillough.

Josh experiences Sam Schrock for the first time. Both are unsure how to feel.

Myriam Sollman, a former bandmate and good friend, traveled to Phoenix from the East Coast to spend some time with us. Playing Dutch Blitz at a new-ish outdoor, mist-cooled venue was a great way to catch up.

Jacket Season!

The Resident Assistants of Neumann Hall's east wing (Josh's hall) light up some sparklers during their RA retreat. They are, from left, Kristine, Ieva, Vadim, and Toms. The weekend retreat, lead by Josh, was an opportunity for the group to grow closer.

If some weeks are a breath in, full of activity and movement, this past week and this week have been a breath out -- a momentary release from the hecticness.

A lot of that time has been spent preparing for next week's Art Education Week, which is, in part, a product of our brainstorming ways to make LCC a more holistic educational experience at the start of the year. The week will feature a couple of evenings devoted to music instruction and experience, a series of photography workshops, an experimental jam session for musicians AND visual artists, and an art show at the end of the week.

Josh also was able to take his group of RAs on their fall retreat, which was very successful. If you have Facebook, you can see all the pictures by clicking here.

We also were able to check out the annual Intercultural Olympics -- yet another example of the unique community we're surrounded by (for those keeping track, Ukraine won this year.).

This week is "Serve Week" -- a time when we focus on teaching servant leadership to the students we work with most directly. We'll post some pictures of Serve Day -- the day where large groups of students go out into the surrounding community to make the world a little bit of a better place.

Finally, the weather is definitely changing. Today was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit and mushrooms are growing everywhere. Jacket season is here... 

Busy? We'll show you busy!

Very short post this week as I am currently sitting outside a storage room helping returning students find their possessions while Alisha is downstairs checking in students. This week has consisted of a lot of that, meetings, and training our resident assistants (RAs).

The RA training has definitely been the most enjoyable part of this hectic week. Although this is our first year as resident directors (RDs), I feel we've already been able to tap into our personal experiences in ways that will help these young adults as they prepare for a challenging, exciting year in student leadership.

Here are some zazz-y pictures!