"WE SHARE..." Andrew from Gambia

We introduce you to the practical devotional 5-minute read called "We share...", which is written by our fellow students and volunteers. Our dear brother in Christ, Andrew from the Gambia, shares his memories of his time spent in Lithuania, as he was a part of Lithuanian Christian Student Fellowship.

MY LKSB EXPERIENCE My name is Andrew P. Mendy. I am from the smallest mainland continental African country called The Gambia. I came to Lithuania in 2015 as an international student after I won an Erasmus - Kite Scholarship to study in Europe. I pursued a Master in English Studies (literature, linguistics and culture) Degree for two years.

During my stay in Lithuania, my connection with LKSB (IFES Lithuania) has been a blessing to me in various ways. Firstly, upon my arrival in Lithuania, I decided to connect with the IFES family in the country since I was a member of the IFES movement in my county called FES-Gambia. The results of a Google search revealed the existence of an IFES group including the contact details of the the general secretary. I sent her an e-mail to which replied and volunteered to take to church (International Church of Vilnius), the following day being a Sunday. She indeed kept her promise. Another area of blessing from my connections with LKSB was in the area of mentors. It is a tradition in Vilnius University that international students are provided mentors whose responsibilities include showing them (mentees) around so as to get them familiarise with their new environment and the way of doing things. Since I was late to arrive for the commencement of the academic year, and the mentor assigned me was not going to be available at the time of my arrival, a member of LKSB, also an international student, volunteered to help me around. She took me to my university for registeration, took me to the mall (Akropolis) to buy appropriate cloths for the winter, helped me open a bank account and also helped me get a bus card. Without her help, life would have been more challenging for me. I would have been forced to figure out most of these things for myself.

Finally, living far away from home and in a very different culture, especially as a Christian, can be very challenging. Lithuania is no exception. It can be depressing to spend long hours indoors; so, healthy social interactions are a necessity if one is to thrive as a Christian student in Lithuania.

Apart from church, LKSB was the sole source of my numerous social engagements. The prayer meetings, the Bible studies, the camps and the many social evenings were very refreshing after long periods of university work. These meetings were also opportunities for meeting both local and international students and to share the rich experiences of our diverse cultures.

Are you an international student (Christian and non-Christian) and would like to make your stay in Lithuania a memorable one? Would you like to continue to grow in your faith through prayer, Bible study and other social gatherings within a multicultural setting, or may be you are searching for God? I recommend LKSB. There, you will have the people and resources to help you in your pursuits within a very sociable environment; you will have the opportunity to be blessed and also be a blessing to many.