Preview of the Week

Well, today is the day. We fly out of Huntsville International at 1:30 this afternoon. Bill, Lowell and I are taking our wives for one final meal at Cracker Barrel after we all meet at the church around 11 o'clock. I think we have packed everything we need; surely we have.

As to our daily doings while we are there, I thought I would give you an overview. We spend the night on the plane tonight and land in Copenhagen tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock. We don't arrive in Vilnius until 5:30, so we go directly from there to Kaunus where we spend the night at a hotel. Copenhagen is a little over 400 miles from Kybarti (I am never sure which is the correct spelling as I see it spelled Kybarti, Kybartai, and Kybart; we'll try to learn while we are there.) Vilnius is about 50 miles from Kaunas and Kaunas about 50 miles from Kybarti. That gives you an idea of the distance and really Google Earth doesn't do a bad job letting you see things from above; you might check it out as we travel over there.

We don't really get to work until Thursday morning when we meet for two hours (10-12) with the District Superintendent's representative, Mr. Egle, and Remigijus (pastor of the church in Kybarti). At that time we will be reviewing the status of the building and the funding. After that we travel to Kybarti for the first time, but stop in the larger town of Vilkaviskis (about 10 miles away) where we will have rooms in the hotel. We have a short meeting with the authorities in Kybarti that afternoon. If you are checking Google earth, be sure to look for the pictures of these towns. I think they have pictures of everything except Kybarti.

On Friday, Nov. 17, we visit the gymnasium and an English class around 9 and remain there with the people until we meet for lunch at a local restaurant to continue our discussions with city authorities. Later that afternoon, around 3 o'clock, we will meet at the church to discuss the ministries they have put together: Needlework, AGAPE project, the breat of life, stairs of freedom, and others. That night, we have an informal gathering with the whole congregation that I am very excited about. That's one of the reasons we are going, to meet with and encourage that congregation.

On Saturday, we take a day long trip to Siauliai to visit the Hill of Crosses. We wondered if we should take the time to do that since Siauliai is a little over 90 miles away, but felt we must see it as it says so much about the depth of religious belief in this area and their determination to give expression to that belief. As you can see form the picture bellow, it is a most impressive sight.

Sunday, as you might imagine is our day of worship. Lowell will teach Sunday school at 10 o'clock and I will deliver the morning sermon at 11 o'clock. Bill promises to listen carefully to what we say; I suppose he'll be a spear carrier for the day. Following the service, we will share a meal with the congregation at the orphanage. This is their traditional Agape meal they have together each Sunday, a tradition which goes back to the earliest Christian churches.

On Monday, Nov. 20, we meet with the leaders of the orphanage around 10 o'clock. We hope to know the results of our work there in 2004 and to look into any future projects we might help with. From there we will travel to Vilnius where we will spend out last night in a hotel near the airport. Our flight home leaves the next day shortly after 7 p.m., and we plan to be home shortly after 4 that afternoon. Keep us in your prayers and check this site each day for updates on our activities. Don't miss traveling with us through cyber space!