Greetings from Lithuania, again!

I was glad when I got away for a while to Kaliningrad 
since I was going with the older folks.  I have really 
had it driven home just how hard it is to be a single 
guy here, especially when I'm the only one. In the midst
of a host of friends, I am still alone.  I feel like most
every action I take is heavily scrutinized by the other
staff, and definitely when it comes to the single female
staff.  I have to be painfully aware of not just my
motivation for doing anything, but also of any possible
misinterpretation of my motivation for doing anything.
It is all getting very wearying.  I wouldn't want to
do this again unless I was married, just so I'd have
someone to turn to who I could trust to be on my side.
There hasn't been any open conflict on staff, but there
were a couple of times recently when I had to take
extra measures to head off problems before they got
to be major.

I might really dread warm weather after all.  I had a
student show up last Wednesday wearing a nicely tailored
open jacket and a completely sheer camisole.  Very distracting
in the front row.  Karen (Dean of Students) told
me it was much worse early in the Fall semester.  Help!

I have one student (not the same one) who refused to
turn in a paper copy of the project summary, and wrote a
note on the Excel spreadsheet file that she considered the
summary a waste of time.  Now I have to figure out just
how hard to clobber her grade while still being fair.  She
did make me pretty mad.

The hockey games have wound up for the time being.  The
staff team made it to the three team championship round
robin, and then lost 5-0 to the team we had beaten 8-4
in the very first game.  That team featured the two male Taylor
exchange students.  We came back to win our final game
5-3, leaving all three teams tied again at 1-1.  We came
in third in goal differential.  I was very frustrated by
the first game, but felt better after the second.  No guesses
as to why.

Last Sunday, I witnessed a fire in an apartment building close
to LCC.  It was an alarming experience (no pun intended).
The fire was in the top floor apartment on the end of the
building, and smoke was plainly coming from the open window
on the end.  When the fire department arrived, their single
responding pumper truck was small and looked to be 50s vintage.
They did have breather equipment.  They don't have fire hydrants.
Not anywhere.  Neither do there appear to be any external
water hookups on the buildings around here.  I've been told
that they have underground hookups, but they aren't well marked.
No attempt was made to evacuate the apartment building, either.
I saw folks looking out of their balcony windows at the fire
truck.  I even saw an old woman in the apartment directly
below the fire.  I guess that the fire was not serious enough--
the building was concrete and brick--and it was eventually
put out.  Still unsettling.

While I was watching the fire crew, I was talking to a
young Lithuanian, Eric, who told me he was studying to
be a policeman.  When I pointed out the woman below the
fire, he wanted to yell at her to jump from the fourth
floor onto a fence.  Just malicious.  He also got abusive 
with a neighbor who was complaining about a Mercedes 
which bypassed the fire truck by driving through
the children's playground.  Please pray for him.

I am feeling a little lost right now.  This is about
the halfway point, and I'm looking toward home without
really knowing where home is supposed to be.  Please
pray for me, because I need to know what I'm supposed
to do in two months and where I'm supposed to go.  I
am looking back at Auburn without really knowing if
I want to stay there when my current group of friends
leave.  I don't know if I can go anywhere else because
I've used all my cash to come to LCC.  

I am looking for Option X, the one God wants me to do.

Thank you for all your letters and encouragement. 
I appreciate them greatly.

Yours in Christ,
David