Writing is often very healing to me. And I have tried to sit down and write about "Greece- Part 2" a couple times- but I gotta get some of the real feels out first.
Within the past couple months there have been some really terrible couple of weeks. Some of the worst. And I have felt sad. Exhausted. And angry. People I love are suffering because of sin and our broken world. And I'm just ready. Ready for peace to come. Ready for Jesus to make the world whole. Sometimes I'm excited that day is coming, and some times Im ticked off at God for making us wait. I don't understand. And I feel justified. I feel desperate to be rescued from the weight of all the evil and pain in our world. But what I forget is that we have been rescued, by our Savior Jesus- God knew we needed to be rescued, and he sent us a Savior because we need to be rescued from this life. I long for that peace, and am on shaky legs sustained by hope in Jesus. I hope you will talk to Him if you are also feeling hopeless and defeated.
Okay. Deeeeep breathe. Greece Part 2.
Chapter 4- The Churches-
One of the most amazing parts of our time in Greece was getting to see and experience different churches. The “home” church we were partnered with is called First Greek Evangelical Church- a church that has been in Greece for a long time, and has now begun planting (starting and overseeing) other churches. Church planting is something that in our culture we might be familiar with to varying degrees. In Greece, however, church planting is not common at all. With such few believers, it is very difficult to raise up leaders, and the knee jerk reaction if there is a leader is to bring them as your own church staff because they are usually understaffed. But Pastor Giotis of First Church has decided to choose faith and obedience and very quickly send out the disciples he has trained that they might love on and invest in more people.
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| Inside of First Church |
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| Outside of First Church |
One of the church plants that we went to was an Iranian Church plant of First Church. It was amazing to worship in Farsi, along side a couple dozen of our Iranian brothers and sisters. Watching them sing out and read the Bible in their home language was so beautiful. Speaking of choosing faith? Because of the nature of the relationship most Iranians have had with Greece in the past(most likely passing through) the pastor has no resemblance of a consistent congregation. He has been faithfully shepherding his changing group of attendants for years. It was so inspiring.
Probably one of my very favorite experiences that we had our entire time in Greece was visit the Church of Exarchia, another plant of First Church. This is a very difficult to explain but there was a neighborhood in Greece that was known as the home area for the Anarchists of the community. The law had no place in their neighborhood, and everyone knows it. The police just don't go there. Ever. It was very difficult for our team to wrap our mind around the fact there there was entire group of people in the city that have decided they will not acknowledge the government, and vice versa. The police just knows that the Anarchist do not respect them, so they just don't go there. Crazy. They are highly educated, and passionate. And the amazing part was that as members of minority, they invited the Christians to plant a church in their neighborhood, as a fellow minority. So several of the believers moved into the Anarchist neighborhood, and planted a church. Built relationships, "joined" some of the anarchist groups. Meaning, they do not now identify as anarchists in their beliefs, but they read with them, discuss with them, live life with them. We even heard a story of how one man of the neighborhood said to one of the church planters, "You know? I am never going to be a Christian, but if I did- I would follow the Christ that you follow." That story gave me chills- the core group of that church that have moved their families into the neighborhood and embraced incarnational ministry in a way I have never seen. This church was one of the things that stuck with Joe and I the most from the whole trip. You MUST visit their website and look through the pictures. It was so awesome: http://ecclesia-ex.gr/
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| Inside the church in Excarchia- the cross is made from hundreds of little wooden cubes- its hard to tell in the picture, but the where the light is shining through the cubes are moving towards you... As the light breaks through the cross is moving towards you. Im obsessed with it. |
Chapter 5 - The Team.
One of the most unexpected blessings of the trip was our amazing team. It was me and Joe, one girl our age who quickly became a dear friend, a woman in her early thirties, our lead couple that were about my parents age, and the rest of them were women somewhere in between my mom and my grandmothers age. Being surrounded by mostly older women for the entirety of the trip was the most amazing gift. They were so encouraging to us a believers, as a couple, and as people- we are so grateful for the incredible affirmation and love we got from all of our team members the entire trip. It was a fun marriage week for me too because I had all these awesome older women swooning over Joe and making sure I understood how fortunate I am to have such an amazing husband. Joe is one of kind, and they could see that- and they wanted to make sure I could see it too. The Lord put these women in my life to speak to me at a time when I needed them the most. They shepherded forgiveness, healing, and the bravery to explore... I love each of them. And can't forget the one other guy! Joe and Heiko paired off like life long pals and the Lord really let Joe's time with Heiko be calm, free, and fun. So thankful for the one older guy on the team to embrace Joe and love him well. It was just a fantastic group.
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| Left to right back row: Joe, me, Alli, Heiko, Cameron, and Linda. Front three: Jeanie, Kay, and Caitlyn. Not pictured: Cynthia! We love you and missed you in this pic, Cynthia! |
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| My new sister friend Alli- we had to go to Greece to meet each other but she lives where I grew up and we have about 100 mutual friends. We were meant for each other and it all came together in Athens, Greece :) |
Chapter 6- Greece. Just Greece.
Going to Greece was not something that had been on my radar at all- ever. Not for missions, not for vacation, just never occurred to me to want to go there. I was sorely mistaken in my error of writing Greece off- it is a fantastic place. The culture is so beautiful and people centered - as opposed to our culture which is more work/task/individual centered... ie every time we ask how someone is doing the answer will probably be "busy" whether thats true or not. We like being busy for some reason. That is not the Greek way... at all. We had coffee every time we got some where, somewhere in the middle, and then before we left. The Greeks focused on each other, and they weren't in a hurry. So often I sing that Alabama song in my head- "Im in a hurry to get things done, oh I rush and rush until life's no fun. All I really gotta do is live and die, but Im in a hurry and don't know why." The Greeks seem to really get that "live" part right. And I love it... felt really right. Before we left I had several people warn me that working with the Greeks might be frustrating because they are "lazy." Well... I understand what people are saying- that their work day is shorter, that they don't highly prioritize efficiency in the same way we do... organization trends that we have here are not a thing there... but lazy isn't it at all. They prioritize people, and sun, and fantastic food.... not lazy or bad. Just different.
Going to Greece was not something that had been on my radar at all- ever. Not for missions, not for vacation, just never occurred to me to want to go there. I was sorely mistaken in my error of writing Greece off- it is a fantastic place. The culture is so beautiful and people centered - as opposed to our culture which is more work/task/individual centered... ie every time we ask how someone is doing the answer will probably be "busy" whether thats true or not. We like being busy for some reason. That is not the Greek way... at all. We had coffee every time we got some where, somewhere in the middle, and then before we left. The Greeks focused on each other, and they weren't in a hurry. So often I sing that Alabama song in my head- "Im in a hurry to get things done, oh I rush and rush until life's no fun. All I really gotta do is live and die, but Im in a hurry and don't know why." The Greeks seem to really get that "live" part right. And I love it... felt really right. Before we left I had several people warn me that working with the Greeks might be frustrating because they are "lazy." Well... I understand what people are saying- that their work day is shorter, that they don't highly prioritize efficiency in the same way we do... organization trends that we have here are not a thing there... but lazy isn't it at all. They prioritize people, and sun, and fantastic food.... not lazy or bad. Just different.
Because we went through MTW we spent a good amount of time with the MTW team in Greece - the Kirkland family. Phillip and Joy, and their three kids Norah (I think she was in middle school), Everly (Upper elementary age) and Abraham (6.5 years old). And they are so wonderful. They moved to Greece from the US about 4 or 5 years ago and have truly embraced their life there. They are extremely committed members of the neighborhood and their Church community, they volunteer working with immigrants and refugees all the time, and open up their hearts and their homes to younger couples in their Church community. Their faith and perseverance was so inspiring, and they were just so lovely to be around. I count it a privilege and joy that we got to spend time with them and I look forward to keeping in touch and Lord willing getting to spend more time with them in the future. Please pray for their family as they have encountered some health issues (and I'm sure consequential medical bills) and its a disheartening blow to give your life to serving the Lord in that way and simultaneously face these kinds of hard ships. Pray for their kids safety and education as they grow up in a country that is beautiful and wonderful, but very much struggling economically as a whole. And pray for perseverance in their work and their spirits. We were told there are less then 30,000 Christians in the entire country of Greece.... not exactly the popular religion. So please pray that their minds are protected from discouragement as they face such a huge task to walk in faith in a society where it is viewed as strange and abnormal. Glory to God for their bravery and peace.
Conclusion:
If I were to pick a word to describe the entire trip it would be encouraging. God is moving his creation in amazing ways- ways that the world has never seen. So many people do not have access to the gospel, can't ask questions, can't get to church or believers... and God is moving them to places where they now have access to the gospel, they have safe space to ask their questions. The tragedies resulting from ISIS moving throughout the middle east is devastating to say the least. But the Lord, in his Sovereignty, has used that awful reality to hold open the gates for people from the middle east to hear the gospel. They are learning more about Islam and about the origin of their religion because of ISIS... and it's making them pause. It making them ask questions. What an amazing chance to introduce the Gospel! The refugees have lived a certain way their entire lives-many born Muslim- and now everything they have ever known has been completely shaken. And that includes their understanding of the Islam. The time to reach them is now, and getting to be part of the efforts being made to love them in Greece was amazing.
On a more personal level, the trip was overwhelmingly encouraging to my marriage, and my dreams of ministry. I fell in love with Greece, with doing ministry with my husband, with the women pouring every ounce their love to me, and with the Kirklands. I pray that the Lord will lead my path back with the women, back with the Kirklands, and continuing to do ministry with my husband and refugees. Believers, don't hold back. The world is changing and we have the chance to respond in love and the for the whole world to notice Jesus. Remember the love you were given, and don't hold back.
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| Left to right: Everly, Joy, Norah, Phillip, and awesome Abraham in the front |
If I were to pick a word to describe the entire trip it would be encouraging. God is moving his creation in amazing ways- ways that the world has never seen. So many people do not have access to the gospel, can't ask questions, can't get to church or believers... and God is moving them to places where they now have access to the gospel, they have safe space to ask their questions. The tragedies resulting from ISIS moving throughout the middle east is devastating to say the least. But the Lord, in his Sovereignty, has used that awful reality to hold open the gates for people from the middle east to hear the gospel. They are learning more about Islam and about the origin of their religion because of ISIS... and it's making them pause. It making them ask questions. What an amazing chance to introduce the Gospel! The refugees have lived a certain way their entire lives-many born Muslim- and now everything they have ever known has been completely shaken. And that includes their understanding of the Islam. The time to reach them is now, and getting to be part of the efforts being made to love them in Greece was amazing.
On a more personal level, the trip was overwhelmingly encouraging to my marriage, and my dreams of ministry. I fell in love with Greece, with doing ministry with my husband, with the women pouring every ounce their love to me, and with the Kirklands. I pray that the Lord will lead my path back with the women, back with the Kirklands, and continuing to do ministry with my husband and refugees. Believers, don't hold back. The world is changing and we have the chance to respond in love and the for the whole world to notice Jesus. Remember the love you were given, and don't hold back.
