God was in my talk and really involved in getting people there. It is very rare that I can say that I see what I'm doing and feel that there is spiritual power behind it, but this was definitely the case as I talked about "What is faith?" A couple guys spoke honestly about being unsure about belief, and prayed with us. A couple girls who generally don't come burst into tears as I closed with my English translation of my song "Within Your Hands." It was really cool.
Through the three weeks, I met with the students and friends that I'd made and invested in over the past years. Two trends stuck out: answered prayers and pastoring. One of my shy Catholic friends is now teaching Bible at her church. One young student who had told Kate and I that " I'm not a leader" two years ago is leading worship for the 200-person church in a very powerful way. Another friend I've supported and counselled is a key person with a vision to return YWAM to Lithuania. One of the high school guys has preached multiple times. Of course, these weren't the only stories...I had heartbreaking conversations with doubting friends losing faith or people who were still right in the same place they were two years ago. A couple more conversations turned over a different leaf: as I met two friends back-to-back, one told the other "James is like a counselor" and exhorted her friend to value the time. As I look over the whole here, I was very encouraged that in my role as a pastoral care person is something God can really use in people's lives, and is something that has been somewhat sadly dormant for a lot of the last few years.
It was really good to see my family. My Lithuanian sister got engaged and baptized during the time I was there. Unfortunately the end of semester had most everyone fairly busy, but it was still great to spend time biking, walking, watching movies, and sharing meals.
The last Saturday I played a house show at my Parents' place. 27 people from 10 countries showed up. (Yeah, LCC is a cool place) The Sparrows opened with 4 songs, and then I played a 12 song set, telling a bunch of my stories along the way. I was told by multiple people afterward that I need to record an album, that my voice is much better than it was two years ago, and that my songs are songs that people need to hear. The love and support was really a big confidence boost and has me rethinking a lot about my life. But more about that later. :)
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