April GWOM: Πανεπιστήμιο - University

April has been an exciting month as we have continued to make progress on so many levels in the Hope Center Ministry. We have been encouraged as we watch God shaping the ministry in His perfect timing and according to His plan.

Peggy and Sarah have been especially encouraged by weekly visits they have been making to the local university, with the Agape Team, to talk to students there.

We have experienced such openness in speaking to students about "taboo" subjects such as sex, STD's, abortion, adoption, their thoughts about the need for a maternity home, the Bible and Jesus.

We strongly feel that a huge part of our Hope Center ministry will be raising awareness and education about sex and the consequences of it, especially as it relates to pregnancy, abortion and God's plan for sex and we are really enjoying the opportunity to speak to students face to face about all these things.

Additionally, the construction work continues on the building, slowly but steadily and we are almost ready for the final exterior coat of paint which will surely give the place a whole new look.

We appreciate your prayers for...
finances to complete the building
help in developing a website and promotional materials
boldness as we speak to university students
the two interns that are praying about joining us this Fall

March GWOM: Eπισκέπτες - Visitors

March began with a flurry, both literally and figuratively as we welcomed snow and an eight man team from Wheaton Bible Church. The team from our home church joined us for a week to work at doing some much needed repairs and construction at the hall where we work with the refugees and the homeless.

The team was a huge encouragement to us both personally and to the mission. They framed bathrooms and closets, and did many painting jobs which left the hall looking very refreshed. They also were able to spend a day playing games, talking with and serving the refugees who are at the hall on Mondays.

The 24th of March brought another group of special visitors to us as our son and his family arrived for a nine day holiday with us. This is their first visit to Greece and we are LOVING having this special time to spend with them and our three grandchildren, Jackson 6, Griffin 2, and Ruby who will have her first birthday here on Thursday, March 31st!

The stucco work has begun at The Hope Center Maternity House and it has really transformed the look of the place. Meanwhile at the office, Sarah and I continue to work developing the ministry. We are excited to begin visiting the local universities to make contacts with girls and to speak to them about this new ministry.

Please keep praying with us about this; for finances for the building, for wisdom for us in planning, and for the girls God wants to reach through it.

February GWOM: Πρόοδος - Progress

Brick walls have been built and the electric and plumbing rough ins are taking place at the Hope Center! Mike is intrigued as he watches how the workmen here chisel the structure apart in order to run their wires and pipes and then patch it all back together again to prepare for the stucco that will cover it all.

Meanwhile, Peggy and Sarah spend time searching Athens for color schemes and exterior housing details that we like for the building. We also prepared promotional materials for Sarah to use as she visited the US and Canada in February promoting the Hope Center Maternity Home.

Progress on other levels:

Mike has had great opportunities to speak truth to the guys as he works side by side with them and they ask, "Why would you ever leave America to come here?"

Our Greek neighbors invited us to their son's first birthday party last night. We found that birthdays are the same all around the world, cake, candles, singing and families celebrating life. We felt privileged to attend.

January GWOM: Προσφορές - Bids/Offers

January has been a busy month for Mike collecting bids, in Greek, for construction work that needs to be done at the Hope Center. He is in the process of trying to discern what the bids entail and how to decide which contractor and product is the best for our new maternity house.

In between, he loves the time he spends with his refugee friends, a couple of which are helping him cut out concrete where needed at The Hope Center.

Peggy is working hard trying to get promotional materials ready for the ministry.

Additionally this month, we had an awesome New Year's with an extended visit from one of Peggy's classmates from Moody, Emily.

Read more about the A21 Campaign, an anti human trafficking movement here in Greece, at www.thea21campaign.org.

December GWOM: Χριστούγεννα - Christmas

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Here are some pictures of the Christmas love meals HM hosted this year. We loved having the opportunity to share the love of Jesus with all we touched these days as we hosted three different meals for more than 700 refugees and homeless from the streets of Athens.

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.