Monday, November 29, 2010
November GWOM: ΕΛΠΙΔΑ - HOPE
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in You. Psalm 33:22
Finally, after 2.5+ of paperwork, construction work has finally begun on the building that HM is preparing as a maternity house, called the Hope Center. The final plans have been drawn up and clean up has begun.
We envisage the Hope Center to be a place where we can offer love and care for young women in need of shelter during their pregnancy. It will provide a chance for us to live side by side with girls and to share with them the hope that we have in Jesus.
With no shelter of its kind in Athens’ sprawling city of 5 million people, and one of the highest abortion rates in the world, there is great need for such housing. Our desire is to provide counseling and encouragement for girls to give life to their unborn children and not to seek abortion. Additionally, if they choose to consider adoption, we aim to help them journey through that process as well.
Our prayer is that God will meet each girl in their place of need and that they will find refuge in Him and a way to walk forward in strength.
Please pray for our team to have wisdom in our decisions and also, please get in touch with us if you feel that you can help us fulfill this vision.
God willing, we anticipate being able to open our doors sometime in the Fall 2011.
THIS IS IMMIGRATION-I NEED YOUR PASSPORT!
These are the words I heard as I answered the phone this morning. THIS IS THE IMMIGRATION OFFICE, YOU NEED TO COME IN AND BRING IN YOUR PASSPORT.
I didn't quite know what to say. So many thoughts raced through my mind. DId this mean they were kicking me out of the country? If so, it would have been nice if she asked for Mike's too! Had something new happened with immigration laws that I didn't know about? Even the word immigration sounded so serious, could this really apply to me?
As I got over the initial shock and listened more, I believe the lady was calling to tell me to bring in my passport to have my residence visa put in it. I am not sure. I will run off to her office in about a half hour and see.
It will be a blessing if it means that the government has finally approved our visas, they have been pending now since January 2009. Yep, we are already two years behind!
You never know what might surprise you on any given day here. How did a girl from Wheaton with no aspirations for moving or travel end up involved in such things? Only for Jesus' sake!
OK, crisis averted. I just returned from the immigration office. What a difference two years makes (since my first visit to this office). I found the place all by myself (without Mike-huge accomplishment) and was able to figure out what they wanted. They just needed a copy of my new passport since mine had expired in the two years since our last visa application.
No worries-they assure me that another office will call in about 10 days to give us the official stamp in our passports. It will be interesting to see what happens, if we are granted the visas, they expire again January 9, 2011 and we start the whole process over again-oh joy!
On another note, as I walked in to the office, I passed about 50 other immigrants/refugees that were waiting in line for service. I was almost ashamed to just march past them upstairs to be waited on. I was reminded again of the privilege of my US citizenship and of all those who have sacrificed so that I might enjoy such freedoms and my heart was also moved with compassion for those without such privileges. Oh that one day Jesus will return to right all the wrongs of this world.
I didn't quite know what to say. So many thoughts raced through my mind. DId this mean they were kicking me out of the country? If so, it would have been nice if she asked for Mike's too! Had something new happened with immigration laws that I didn't know about? Even the word immigration sounded so serious, could this really apply to me?
As I got over the initial shock and listened more, I believe the lady was calling to tell me to bring in my passport to have my residence visa put in it. I am not sure. I will run off to her office in about a half hour and see.
It will be a blessing if it means that the government has finally approved our visas, they have been pending now since January 2009. Yep, we are already two years behind!
You never know what might surprise you on any given day here. How did a girl from Wheaton with no aspirations for moving or travel end up involved in such things? Only for Jesus' sake!
OK, crisis averted. I just returned from the immigration office. What a difference two years makes (since my first visit to this office). I found the place all by myself (without Mike-huge accomplishment) and was able to figure out what they wanted. They just needed a copy of my new passport since mine had expired in the two years since our last visa application.
No worries-they assure me that another office will call in about 10 days to give us the official stamp in our passports. It will be interesting to see what happens, if we are granted the visas, they expire again January 9, 2011 and we start the whole process over again-oh joy!
On another note, as I walked in to the office, I passed about 50 other immigrants/refugees that were waiting in line for service. I was almost ashamed to just march past them upstairs to be waited on. I was reminded again of the privilege of my US citizenship and of all those who have sacrificed so that I might enjoy such freedoms and my heart was also moved with compassion for those without such privileges. Oh that one day Jesus will return to right all the wrongs of this world.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Hunger strike ends!
A great feast marked the end of the Iranian hunger strike here in Greece. Many who had had their lips sewn together rejoiced together as 49 people were granted political asylum here, a landmark decision for this country.
Please continue to pray for humanitarian solutions to the refugee crisis.
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