Christmas comes early to LCC

As usual, the annual Lithuania Christian College Christmas program occurred during the 1st weekend of December. With all the end of semester Christmas events & students preparing for finals, doing it any later just wouldn't work.

I served as the Program Coordinator again this year - something I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do with ieva, but found it to be a huge relief to get a little adult interaction again! This was the first year that I didn't sing in the choir, however, so I actually got to sit & watch the program as a member of the audience, which was fun. Ieva did awesome both nights & slept through the entire thing. Because I presented flowers to Dave (the director) at the end, I sat near the front & on an end (in case I had to run out with ieva or to help with something - like the first night when Mary & Joseph had their mics on back stage & we could hear everything they were saying!) which put me directly in front of the brass band we had accompanying the choir in a few pieces. After jolting awake to the first brass proclamation of Christ's birth, Ieva slept through the rest of it without a problem.

Our program is unique, as it's all done with both English & a Lithuanian narration, and the students who participate come from 18 different countries. This year our 3 wise men were from Ghana, Kyrgystan & Lithuania, Mary was from Albania & Joseph from Ukraine. A few years ago Dave had a life-size straw horse made (straw figures are a traditional Lithuanian handicraft) for Joseph to pull Mary out on. It's on wheels, so it rolls well & the audience always gets a huge kick out of it! We also have a Lithuanian guy who's played the angel Gabriel for the past few years & we tell the whole story of him appearing to shepherds in the fields, as well as to Mary & Joseph. We also had a troupe of dancing angels, dressed in white & proclaiming God's glory. Overall, this year was one of our best yet. The choir sounded amazing (especially considering they are made up of volunteering staff, faculty & students - some who can't even read music), and we had a bell choir who also added a nice touch.

People kept asking why ieva wasn't playing baby Jesus & then were shocked when I told them that she probably wouldn't stay as calm and serene as the doll we use instead. Everyone thinks she is a perfect baby who never cries, since she knows how to turn the charm on when she's in public. Before the 2nd performance, we took a group photo with the entire cast & Andrew set ieva on the back of the big straw horse.
Everyone Ooo'ed & Aww'ed and it seemed like hundreds of photos were taken (too bad our camera batteries were dead by that time & no one has sent us a copy yet). She definitely is a little star around LCC!

All in all, the program was a success. We told the story of Christ's birth & His love for all people to approximately 1,300 people over two nights, and hopefully, what was communicated made a difference in someone's life.