The Most Important Thing in Life?

In a recent Greek language class, I was asked to answer a question written in our book. "What do you think is the most important thing in life?"

It was my chance to answer first, in Greek, of course. I told the class in my very fundamental Greek that I thought one's relationship with God was the most important thing in life. Others answered love or understanding one self.

As we got up to go to break, my teacher said he respects people who think God is important but that he just found it really hard to believe that there is really a God who loves him. I said really, to me it makes everything make sense. It was an interesting conversation around the table and was quite eye-opening to hear other peoples' views about God.

Another conversation from my class this week was one man who said he didn't want to have kids because he is so discouraged with humankind in general.

Gosh, I am no longer in Wheaton anymore and I pray that I can be an effective tool in sharing with others in my class the love of God that I know and that gives my life purpose.

An Ancient Theater

We called up some friends, jumped in the car and took about a two hour road trip down to Epidavros yesterday. It was fun just to get out of Athens and check out more of this country. It also was fun to take new friends with us. This ancient theater is supposed to have been built back in the last quarter of the fourth century B.C. It was awesome and you will be glad to know that I did NOT get out in the middle and sing as several other people did. The acoustics were incredible and you could hear a coin dropped in the middle stage all the way up at the top of the theater. An incredible architectural feat, mind boggling to imagine how it was done back in the day.

Eye Opening!

Last week we volunteered with another Christian organization that ministers to prostitutes and trafficked girls on the streets of Athens. We went out of the street from 11pm till 1:30 am. I am still reeling from the experience. We went to their office and were educated about what we would see and do and then we split into teams and went out. Four of the girls on our team were on one side of the street and Mike and I and another team member were across the street. Our job was to pray and to keep our eyes open for trouble and to be ready to step in and protect our teammates if any threatening situation arose.

It was incredibly sad to watch these young girls, mostly from Nigeria or Algeria, who were scantily clad standing on the side of the road, yelling at the cars that drove by slowly to stop and pick them up. Some of them chased after the cars, banging on the driver’s windows for them to stop and take them in. Some were joined by customers and then walked together across the street into a hotel. They have “work quotas” to achieve each night.

We were informed that the girls were observing that night we all victims of trafficking. In other words, someone brought them into this county illegally and is making money off of their forced prostitution. It is a very complex situation, tied into organized crime and apparently very prevalent here in Greece. Most of the victims of trafficking are not aware that the job that they are offered is selling their bodies in prostitution. But once they get here, they are without legal papers and see no way out of the situation. The girls are often kept under lock and key together in a house and the trafficker maintains control over them by threatening their families with voodoo curses.

Our teammates approached the girls and offered them tea and tried to initiate conversations with them. They also handed out cards with contact information on it about the organization. This other Christian organization goes out on the streets three times a week and makes frequent contact with the girls. Their goal is to help the girls however they can and to share the love of Christ with them.

Please pray for this organization, for the girls on the streets, and for the destruction of the sex trade here in Greece.

Another Family Reunited

Recently, Hamza, the other Albanian who has been living and working at Porto Astro for the last seven years, was granted permission to bring his wife and sons to live with him here in Greece. This is the last of the refugees who are employed by HM to have his family reunited! We rejoice to see Hamza’s, Aurturo’s and Akbar’s families living together again after so many painful years of separation.

Hamza brought his wife Maria and his two sons, Elton, 14, and Zudi, 12, home to Greece in mid February. They join Aurturo and his wife and son who also live out at the property. It was with incredible joy that we saw this family reunited. Some of the HMers have dreamed of this day for many, many years. In fact, this was another dream of the late Costas Macris; for Hamza and Aurturo to be able to bring their families to Greece.

Please pray for Maria and the boys in this transition period. They left behind life in a two-story house in a big city with lots of relatives near by to begin living in trailers on a remote location without most of the conveniences of a city. The boys will also have to integrate into the Greek school system. Elton was the top student in his class in Albania and will miss the stimulus of school until they are able to get the paperwork sorted out and the boys in school, hopefully by the fall. Additionally, in their 16-year marriage, Hamza and Maria have never lived together for longer than a short period of time.

So amidst the joys of reunion there will also be challenges. Please remember to keep them in your prayers. For now, we are rejoicing in God’s goodness in bringing this family together again.

Aurturo's family's house at Porto Astro

After living and working on the property for ten years, Aurturo finally got all the red tape cleared and was able to bring his wife and son from Albania to live with him in Greece last year. Costas Macris had promised him that if he were ever able to get permission to bring his family here, he would provide a house for them. So now, 10 years down the road, and after the passing of Costas, Aurturo and his family are moving into their own little house at Porto Astro. Mike worked along with some of the other men on the team to help convert this little place from a storage room to a house! How fun to be part of this project.

Just two days ago, the other Albanian man who lives and works at the property, brought his wife and two sons to live here too. I guess we know what Mike will be doing next!

It's a blessing and privilege to be part of this work and to see what God is doing in the lives of these men and their families.

Rioting and Openness to Spiritual Things

The month of December was marked as one of anarchy and rioting in Greece. While many things were destroyed in the capitol city of Athens, our HM staff and our buildings were protected from harm.

Johnathan summarizes:
If you've been following the news, you will know that Athens has been wrapped up in flames! Store after store, banks, supermarkets and anything that breathed capitalism with a capital 'C' was pillaged and burned...not only in Athens but across Greece, Istanbul, Spain, Italy and France among other places! A 15 yr old teenager was accidentally shot by police. Young Alexandros was among the anarchists who refused to stop hurling obscenities and threatened police with rocks and Molotov cocktail bombs that were literally raining on the streets of Athens. Over 1,000 garbage bins were burned, 400 shops ransacked, 100's of cars charcoaled, 100 arrested, 70 wounded, two police men imprisoned, one boy killed...a nation divided!

Will it be a Christmas of Hope? Where there is no desperation, pain or loss, there is no need for hope! So, yes, it is a season where we will celebrate and proclaim HOPE.

Has our ministry been affected by the rioting and the fires?

We had to cancel one Worship Event in December due to the rioting and burning in the streets directly below our meeting hall but the Christmas Love Meal was served! The poor and the refugees managed to make it through the disrupted city center to our downtown hall for the Love Meal on Monday, December 15th. As Bruce McAtee was preaching the gospel before serving the food, large flames and debris were seen outside of the 7th floor from the burning on the street below. The tear gas was so bad, that even through the closed windows, eyes were stinging. Bruce was able to calm calmed the frightened people and assured them that they would be okay. He continued with the program as usual.

Man on Fire – As our staff was helping some of the elderly to the bus station after the meal, Liza and Elias saw a man up ahead of them whose jacket had caught on fire as he brushed by a burning garbage bin. Elias ran and helped the man get his coat off just in the nick of time. The man's hand was slightly burned, but his life was spared. No sooner had they saved the man from his flaming jacket than two strangers ran up, grabbed the blazing jacket and searched the pockets for something to steal! Again, Elias ran after the two strangers on behalf of the old man who was on fire. This describes the spirit of unruliness in the streets of Athens.


…for such a time as this…Esther 4:14

These troubled times have produced an openness in the people here to listen to the words of the gospel like never before reports one young Greek police officer, Yiannis, who is a friend of the ministry.

As Yiannis was working out in the gym in December, he believes he received a message directly from God. He got up from the equipment, grabbed a pen and paper and recorded what he had heard. He was inspired to create the postcard shown below:

The Greek words say, (rough translation by Peggy):
In whom do you stand/lean on? In the government? In the minister? In the holy mountain? In the monk? In the police force? In the special guard?

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

Jesus Christ, the only one who keeps his word.

He had 800 of these cards printed and at present has handed out over 600 of them. He sent them to many government officials, including the President and the Prime Minister of Greece, with a hand written note on the back. He also passed them out amongst all his colleagues on the police force and to rioters and others he encountered in the streets.

Yiannis tells us that he has never experienced such a time of sensitivity and willingness to listen to the hope of the gospel as in these days.

Please pray with us that God will continue to inspire many other Greek believers to speak the truth and to move in the hearts of others to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Greek language progress

We began language school again this week and Mike is having a good time. Exact quote, "it is even fun!" We are thrilled. He has a new teacher who speaks only Greek in class which he thinks is good because it helps him keep mind focused in Greek. She is enthusiastic and is trying many different methods of communicating with their class of 6 students which Mike finds helpful. This is truly an answer to prayer because he had such a bad experience last time he attended class.

Peggy's teacher, on the other hand, is not as challenging and it will be harder for her as he is "too easy." He communicates a lot in English and doesn't give any homework. Way too easy since she does much better with pressure. Please pray that she will continue to work hard on her own.

We really believe that we need to be able to want to communicate with Greeks in their heart language in order to share Jesus with them. Please keep praying for us and we will keep trying.




ONE FUN LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE:

While I (Peggy) was out for an early morning walk by our house, I was approached by a Greek taxi driver. As I saw him slowing and rolling down his window, I began to recite in my head the Greek words to say, I don't speak Greek, so that I would be prepared to tell him. Before I could speak, he asked me for directions and sure enough I understood what he was asking and miracle of all (those who know I am so directionally challenged) I knew the place. So instead of telling him that I didn't speak Greek I was able to give him directions!!! The truth is though, that the place he was asking about was right across the street as well as the only restaurant on the country back roads where I walk! So I pointed and said, Δουκατο, ειναι εδω. It's right here. OK, it is a bit of an exaggeration to say that they will be hiring me as a GPS consultant (now or ever) but I did walk away smiling thinking, I just gave a Greek taxi driver directions-wow that was really cool and it encouraged me to keep pressing on!!