Peace in Christ!
Today was a good day. We had lunch with the kids. Lithuanian fast food. The best way to describe it is a flat Up North Michigan pasty. Very good. After that, Kate gave her lesson. Once we were done with the lesson, all of us (youth included) headed out to the beach. It was very nice to see some open water again. We had a nice time dipping our feet in the water, walking in the sand, and playing some games. An excellent way to build our relationships with the youth.
Tomorrow is our last day. It will be a sad day to leave the youth, but another blessing from God to have another day to be with them and to speak to them God's Word. As Pastor wrote in his post, him and I will be teaching on Matthew 7 and the warning from Christ to be aware of false prophets. This is an excellent text for these youth. I think that the young people at Our Savior have a better understanding of who bears "dying fruit" and who bears "living fruit". Those who speak against the beliefs of the Lutheran church bear the "dying fruit". For the youth in Lithuania, I think it is much harder for them to be able to test the spirits. I pray that they will continue in their studies of God's Word at the church, so they will be able to test the spirits and to identify the good trees from the bad ones.
We give thanks to our heavenly Father for this great week. It has been filled with laughs and good times. But most importantly, God has given to these youth his promise of mercy. The saving message of Jesus Christ has been proclaimed. There is no doubt in my mind that the job has been done. The seed has been planted. We give all glory to God for that, and we pray that that seed may grow, take root, and stand strong among the weeds of this fallen, sinful world.
I hope that all is well in Michigan. It will be sad to leave, but I also look forward to returning to all of my friends and family and telling them of the joys that we have had here.
Josh
