To the Believers far away!

There are many days when the path I walk is crowded and very busy (yes, I am walking!). There are other days when the pace of the journey seems far more sane and even manageable. Where have I been since I last wrote? Following are a few journal entries that might paint a small picture of my meanderings.

July-August Weeks and weeks of recuperation, being hosted in friends’ homes. Lots of good food, good conversation, and delightful visits, time with family—two months of sunny days in Colorado and California! Dear friends even drive from St. Louis and fly from New York to see me?! I say I am using the time to "recover from recovery" (my stay in Berlin was 13 weeks long), and that isn’t far from true. Slowly and steadily, I begin to walk, first with two crutches, then with one, then with a cane. Then September 11 comes. Time stands still, for days on end.

September Somewhat delayed, I fly to Berlin on Sept. 20, am there just long enough to book passage on a freighter, and arrive Monday, the 24th, back in Lithuania. Moving back into my apartment is full of small and not-so-small surprises (remember, I was evacuated in 24 hours in April). Still reeling from the terrorist’s attack, I find that the impact has been experienced quite differently by colleagues and students here.

The board meetings of Lithuanian Christian College (LCC) begin. I watch and interact with a group of folks from North America, Lithuania, Germany—all of whom are committed to the vision and goals of LCC. Their faithful and dutiful care, informed and perceptive insight are no small thing to experience first-hand. Sitting around the table are other observers—Lina and Alma, Ala and Aiste, Ludavika, and others, all grads of the college who are now support staff, administrative staff, or faculty. An amazing gathering! I am once again reminded of the privilege it is to work in this time and place with such fine people.

October The air attacks on Afghanistan begin. What to do? I suggest to the faculty that we hold a student/faculty seminar and discuss as much as we can bear! The situation is complicated and complex. How do we talk about U.S. policy, the refugees, a solution? I will moderate. Oh, oh, what have I taken on?

The third student chapel service since my return takes place, and it is International Student Week. Besides the Lithuanians singing the Lord’s Prayer and the Africans with their distinct Ghanaian sound and movement, the speaker is Ami, a study-abroad student. She is a Japanese national, an exchange student at Taylor University, who heard about LCC and wanted to come to Lithuania for a semester. Our student body truly is a mix these days—Latvians, Lithuanians, Russian, Belarussians, Moldovans, Albanians, Ghanaians, Canadians, Americans, and one student from Japan!

October 22 The panel discussion is amazingly well-attended, with about 100 present. The presentations from faculty and students are lucid and well-prepared. Questions from the audience occupy us for almost an hour! The evening ends, and I think it is a good beginning for our college. I hope there will be more such encounters of thought and learning.

October 26 I fly to Berlin to visit the orthopaedist I didn’t have time to see in September. After an X-ray and an MRI, we determine that the back problems I have been having the last three weeks are indeed a degenerating disc. Nothing serious enough to warrant surgery, but serious enough to mean weight-watching, exercise, massage, and sensible "movement!" The eight days in my old hometown fill with visits with friends, a concert, a movie, the compulsory trip to the bookstore, more walking than I have done in over a year! It is exhausting, but at the same time feels great!

November 5-16 I wonder whether my substitute chaplain role really fits. Taking on that task for one semester has been a challenge, with so much that could be done and so little time to do more than "oil the wheels." This indeed seems to be what it’s still about, simply being faithful to the place and the time and the people.

In addition to conversations with a growing number of students dropping in the office to chat, I am hard at work trying to design a new course I’ll be teaching beginning in January, "Faith Themes in Literature." Choosing the novels, short stories, poems, drama and biblical texts is proving to be formidable.

November 18 At 5:30 a.m. I and a Lithuanian friend from the Reformed church drive to Siauliai (about two hours away). The small Reformed congregation there meets in the Lutheran church house, and with Sigita as liturgist, I preach. This is the first of what will be monthly trips to Reformed congregations to preach. I still need a translator.

And so go the days. The semester is rapidly drawing to a close. First Advent is but a week away, and practices have begun for the Christmas program. This morning there is a light dusting of snow on the ground, patches of blue between the whirling clouds, and the pervasive smell of burning wood and coal. God is good!

Grace and peace to you!

Jane Holslag

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 88