Christmas In LT

Well I must say its different being in another country for Christmas. Both Sharon and I have been away from our families on Christmas because we do the every other year with the family for Christmas thing since they live a few hundred miles apart. But this year is different because we aren't with family at all. Its great that we have phones to talk with them for cheap but its weird not being there, we miss them and all our friends at home. However, God has given us a team who we love and that is becoming like family. We are learning to take care of each other and since we spend so much time together doing the same things we are getting to know each other pretty well, even the little quirks that are so lovable and frustrating.
So we had a big Christmas dinner last night and I barbequed a big ol' roast.

Side note, my neighbors think I am crazy. First of all, Lithuanians don't bbq much and second they sure don't do it in winter. So often they see me out on my 3' by 4' balcony bbq-ing in the dark with my head lamp on. They stare at me all the time, in fact I even caught one woman staring so she looked away real quick and then went and turned off her lights so she could keep watching what the silly American was doing.

Anyway, we had a great dinner and then played games. Today we all met at Peter and Jen's for brunch at 11 and had another great meal together. We played more games and hung out it was a great Christmas. Here are some picts we took.

Merry Christmas to all, we love you and miss you!

Curiosity and something about a cat

Here is a fun little story about life in Kaunas.

So, we moved into our apartment and a week or so after we moved in I was going through some of the manuals the owner had left for us concerning the heating system and other odds and ends. There was this little key chain looking thing with a button on it. No one told us what it was or what it was for, so naturally as any curious boy would do, I decided there was one way to figure what it was. Push it. As I did I heard a click in the utility closet. "Must work," I proudly thought to myself. I was also taking note of my keen sleuthing skills as I pushed the button again to hone in on the target. Yep, the clicking was definitely coming from this 1' x 2' white box on the wall. As I inspected the suspicious box, I told Sharon, "Huh? Kinda looks like a control panel for the security system." Just as I got out my screw driver to see if in fact it was such a panel, I heard our entrance speaker ring, notifying me that someone wanted me to buzz them in at the stairwell door so they can come visit us. I nonchalantly said hello and was met with frantic Lithuanian on the other end. I explained to the mystery person that I didn't speak Lithuanian. They usually don't bother after that but this guy was persistent. Sharon ran over to the window to see who it might be but couldn't tell from our angle on the 3rd story. As I was trying to figure out what he wanted, I heard a walky talky type noise and realized these guys were most likely security and that my deductions of that box were in fact correct. So I buzzed them in and within seconds I had some very serious and concerned armed men at my front door. Employing my logic up to this point, I showed the guard the keychain still in my hand and said, "This must set off the alarm," and though he didn't understand the words he agreed with my amazing ability to put two and two together. Next, we had to get our passports to prove to them we actually lived here, and after quite a fun little situation, all was well.

We learned two very important cultural lessons that day. First, our security system is indeed active and working . . . and second, I am smarter than the average bear.

Now my little key chain buddy has a new home in the utility closet hanging up where no one will mistake his purpose in life.