A day at the orphanage and a walk on the beach

On Saturday, Jude and I took a bus to the orphanage. Kel and Erwin drove the two cars filled with five students and five other teachers. Once at the orphanage, we met the social worker and other volunteers from the Vineyeard Church who help out each week. Kel and Sharon let their Vineyard volunteers lead the group. Jude made bubbles for the kids and brought bubble wands and little pipes for the students to blow bubbles with. Another group of us took to the baseball field, literally a field where we played baseball. There are holes littered all over the field. In fact, I stepped in one up to my knee. Kel reassured me that all the metal had been cleaned up and taken out of the kids at the hospital already. Cheerful thought. While we played, one of our group prayed over these kids at half hour intervals. We recognized several of the students from year's past. Daimante, a 17 year old who just had a baby, recognized Becka from the years she worked at the orphanage. Erv, one of our friends from BC, had made friends with Jonas four years ago. It's a touching story. Neither speak each other's language yet they communicate through love. Jonas even asked Kel when Erv was coming this year. The day ended with farewells. It was extrememly hot by Lithuanian standards--around 88 degrees and humid with little breeze and nowhere but the seaside to cool off.

Several of us strolled the beach on Sunday. We took the ferry across the spit, jumped onto a bus and rode down to the first town. From there, we hiked about 3 k to the sea and then walked the beach until we reached Klaipeda, about 12 k. The first part of the morning was in the pine forest, so it was cool. Then we reached the giant dunes before the sea, climbed over them and then down to the beach. We were ready for our first dip. The water was like glass. I went in first followed by Erwin and then Robin. As we walked back to shore off the sandbar, I noticed a streak of bubblers on the water. Were we really that dirty? We chuckled. On the beach, we ran across a dead seal. We have never seen a seal in the water around here before. It must have come down from the northern currents. As we walked, we looked for amber. Since it was over 90 degrees out, we decided to cut our walk short. Originally, we were going to go 22 k. That night, my legs were glad they only trudged the 12 k. We passed an assortment of swimming beaches--nude males, nude females, nude families, clothed males, clothesd females and clothed families before making it to the end and a refreshing liter of Kalnipolis. Erv and I stayed on the beach until 3 pm and Robin headed home. Along the route, whenever we got hot and tired, we jumped in the sea. It was refreshing, around 72 degrees. Check that one off the bucket list. Jude was smarter. She and some of her friends took the bus to Nida, a quaint little town at the end of the spit. There, she AMBERED around.