Our experience so far in Greece is difficult to put into words because words can’t adequately convey what the Lord has revealed.  The people we’ve met are so brave but in need and the stories we’ve heard have been heartbreaking.  But God is at work here and is using his workers and believers to reach and teach the refugees.

Most of the countries these people come from are closed to the gospel.  These people have left their homes for fear of their lives and desire to give their children a better life.  It has been so amazing to see how God has made a way to reach these people, here in this city.  Their countries may be “closed” but the gospel is being shared and some are accepting Him as their Savior!  There are more than 1 mil refugees in Greece, on their way to W Europe.  The center we’re serving baptized 60-70 new believers last year. 12 of them are now part of a small church in Europe.

As you can see, God is moving and doing a mighty work here!  I wish I could put into words all that we’ve seen and heard.

Please pray for the refugees–for open hearts, to know Christ, and for safety in this city.
Please pray for the center–for protection spiritually and physically, funds for sustainability
Please pray for the workers here–strength and encouragement in their hard work, wisdom as they work with these people
groups, and safety in this city and their work.

Today was another great day!  The morning began with about half of the team working one-on-one with some women who are interested in improving their English.  This was the first meeting for this group of women and 8 showed up!  It was a sweet time of learning and fellowship.  The rest of the team were hard at work sorting clothes to be distributed.  Hours and hours have been put into this effort this week, and huge progress has been made in that room.  Next we’ll get to bring in the clothes we brought to distribute!

Afterward, we had a sharing time with the leaders and were asked to lift up their need for wisdom as they deal with so many complicated situations.  On the way to the prayerwalk, we picked up some lunch and ate at a beautiful park.  We then broke into three groups and lifted up different project areas of the center:   children, families, and meals and staff.

Before the evening programming, we prepared 60 food bags, sorted and prepared more clothing, and bundled tea bag packs for the food bags.  Those teaching prepared for their lessons.  Lazy can not be used to describe this team!  They are so generous with their energy and time.

The building is absolutely filled with life and energy on every level of the building…wish you all could experience it!

Requests for tomorrow:

One reason we are extra excited about our time tomorrow is that we will actually get to spend time with women we have already met.  Please pray that we can deepen our relationships with these women and that we will get more and more questions on why we have come and more and more opportunities to share why we love them.  We will be doing crafts with them, host a lunch for them, and then have a tea and Bible study with them.  Please pray that God is preparing their hearts and mind to receive the message from God’s Word.

After that, we will get to see a few more sites in the area.

Thank you so much for praying for us…this is an amazing place…they have such a special window of opportunity with these people.  There are more conversions in this city from a particular rel. than any other place in the world.

When we get home, please make an effort to talk in person with the team member(s) you know…there is so much information that you need to know that we are unable to post on the internet.  Just know that God is at work in the place and you are a part of it!

Here are some pictures:

www.blakeandbritt.blogspot.com

This morning some of us are working with women and others are preparing for distribution of goods…then we are prayer walking. The lead teachers this afternoon are Amanda in preschool, Brittany in children, and Nora in adults. Will get the chance to hear a report on multiplication of the king. Tonight! Excited about the day.

I am not getting much info from the ladies. I would say they are very busy. Be praying for strength and insight for them as they do ministry.

I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith, and love, and every grace;
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek, more earnestly, His face.

’Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He, I trust, has answered prayer!
But it has been in such a way,
As almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that in some favored hour,
At once He’d answer my request;
And by His love’s constraining pow’r,
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

Instead of this, He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry pow’rs of hell
Assault my soul in every part.

Yea more, with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my hopes, and laid me low.

Lord, why is this, I trembling cried,
Will thou pursue thy worm to death?
“’Tis in this way, the Lord replied,
I answer prayer for grace and faith.

These inward trials I employ,
From self, and pride, to set thee free;
And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
That you may find thine all in Me.”

Our hotel has a great breakfast buffet, so we got some good fuel in us to start our morning. I got a good night’s sleep (thanks to 1/2 an Ambian at 11 p.m and another 1/2 at 3:30 am!). I think the main reason we woke up was because our room was SOO hot…unfortunately, they are on centralized air and we can’t adjust.

We had a neat worship experience. The music was beautiful…sang some familiar hymns…and we were able to wear headphones and hear everything in English. He preached on Heb. 10:19-26 about why we have hope. We also shared communion with them.

We went to a neat mall and had lunch. Our stomachs needed a break from Greek food, so I had Taco Bell with a couple, a couple had KFC, a few had Asian, and the rest had crepes.

We headed to the Acropolis, but it had just closed, so we made up our own exploration tour around part of the city. We saw some ruins, National Gardens, some markets (Sunday is the big market day), the Parliament building and saw the changing of the guards, old churches, and other things that we don’t really know what they were, but were neat…It was an action packed day.

We came back and had dinner near the hotel (3 braved a new restaurant…the rest went to the yummy place we ate yesterday, but we all had great food again. Hopefully the gazillion times I climbed the hotel stairs and all the walking we did today will help keep me from gaining too much weight…

We spent the rest of the evening prepping for work with refugees. We have a morning and afternoon session tomorrow.

Hoping for a good night’s rest for another exciting day!

Tomorrow starts the 21 day Easter Journey at Living Hope Baptist Church.  If you email subscribe to this blog, a daily email will be sent with scripture, prayer points, and devotion from one of our leaders.  These 21 days will be a great time to renew ourselves spiritually and help us prepare for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

During this time also, pray for those in your life that are unchurched or dechurched.  Be looking for ways to share Christ with them and invite them to church.

God really blessed us with our airplane situations…only 25 on our puddlejumper…so we had lots of room. Even on the big flight, most of us had two empty seats between us and another team member. I’m not sure that has ever happened to me on an International flight!

We had an amazing Greek lunch, got checked into our hotel and then headed to Orientation. After that, a couple headed back to rest and the rest of the team went with a couple of leaders and we went exploring the city. We thought walking around would be the best way to stay up until 8 or 9 p.m. It worked! We had lots of fun and laughter and cultural experiences…and another great Greek meal. It was so amazing. We got to see the Acropolis up on the hill…it was beautiful…lots of neat sights and sounds.

We LOVE the leadership team…love their hearts, love their passion, love their sweet spirits…we just plain love them. Excited about serving alongside them in the coming days!

Thank you to those who are lifting us up…this is such a truly unbelievable window of opportunity we have with these people from areas that are normally very closed. We are so very grateful to have this opportunity.