We're Back

We got back Sunday afternoon, following a very smooth trip.
A month was long enough to have just a bit of adjusting to do when we got back, but not long enough to really have missed too terribly much. We've both gotten an even stronger sense of the usefulness of the work the college is doing. We arrived there with some trepidation, aware that "diversity" can sometimes mean diluted, too. As the Dean acknowledged in our conversation, the staff/faculty cover a range of attitudes about how evangelical (in this case, proselytic) to be.
Sandy is wont to be a bit bolder than I, but we could both see the difficulty of striking a balance between pressing delicately on the "postmodern mind" and being a fool for Christ.
When we returned I found an old copy of By Faith (the PCA magazine) which contained an article about how youth pastors in the US (like missionaries in certain places) are having to find new and relational ways to reach their target in this postmodern society. One person observed that we can't just do the one-time proselytizing and move on; we have to build relationships with people and push ahead thoughtfully. Interesting, and, I think, reasonable enough in Lithuania, as well.
We saw a bit of the fruit of this relationship-building while we were there. One young woman has gone to 5 SLIs in a row, mostly because of the on-going interaction she's had with one of the long-time teachers in the program. I hadn't realized that she is a Christian, or is at least seeking to be, and this relationship is an important one in her spiritual pursuit.
To the same end, I'm already trying to sustain e-mail relationships with some students. I guess this means we'll go back at some point.? Actually, we have already thought very seriously that we would do so...sometime soon, though likely not next summer.
We also met several students who are already Christians and had good fellowship with them, which was, we hope, enriching and encouraging to them...it was to us. The relationships we built among our staff colleagues was enriching also. We're looking forward to long-distance fellowship with them, too.
All in all, a good (and tiring) month.