Wow! Time has flown by. We are already packing and preparing to leave the Greek Bible Institute in Pikermi. We are off to Camp Kalamos tomorrow morning bright and early where we will be councilors to teens from the church. I am so excited to re-live my fantastic girl scout camp days by sleeping in canvas tent/enclosure type things, playing games, showering every few days =) and bonding with all of my fellow campers! It'll be so exciting. Our team has been tasked with planning and leading games for the next eight days which means tons of water fights and team activities! I am so excited to get to know these teens' stories and be able to really communicate well since they pretty much all know English. I have already talked with a few of the girls who are part of the youth group of First Greek Evangelical Church and they are incredibly sweet and interested in my life in the United States. It'll be neat to hear about their lives in Greece and their impression of being part of a very small Christian denomination in a country that is about 97% Greek Orthodox.
As I was reading through my last few blogs, I was realizing that I had ALOT of thoughts and evaluation and not alot of the basics like all of the minstries we have been a part of! Goodness! Sorry that my last few blogs have been so lengthy (I tend to be very wordy when I write). We have been very involved with Center 68 and the ministry to the Albanian immigrant population through festivals and tournaments (which I discussed a few blogs ago), homeless ministry, trash pickup ministry and the Nea Zoi brothel ministry.
The homeless ministry that we took part in was interesting for me. We traveled downtown and up to the sixth floor of an average looking building. When we arrived, there were men and women lined up down the hallways waiting to be served. One of the main rooms was full of bags and bags of clothes and shoes which were given in exchange for these individuals' dirty clothes and laundered. In addition, there were a few bathrooms with showers, sinks, and shaving supplies for these people to have the opportunity to clean up. After everyone had an opportunity to change, they were led downstairs and given snacks, frappes and fellowship. Soon after, the gospel was preached and people were fed. This ministry went through this routine every week with about twenty volunteers. It was a beautiful, well orchestrated evening. People were fed both physically and spiritually. We were blessed to be able to sing a few hymns and some gave their testimonies. We also talked with many of these people and learned their stories. Many people had left their home countries and traveled to Greece in hopes for a better life, lost their jobs, and were on the streets. I found it odd that so many of these people were educated and well spoken. I was shocked to hear the stories of English teachers and carpenters. These were men and women who had families and hoped to provide for them but were faced with huge unemployment and little government welfare cushion as immigrants. It was amazing to see a handful of people responding to the altar call, some weeping and some in solemn prayer. God was working in amazing ways and it was very neat to be part of his promise to love all of his children, especially the lowly and the needy.
Another ministry that we have worked with a few times has been trash pickup in various parts of Greece. Before I arrived in Greece, the team was staying in the city of Volos and the main thing that they did was pick up trash along the road and cliffs. They learned that it was quite common for people to simply throw their trash out of their windows as they drove along. Some of the other interns had a competition of who could collect the most bendy straws (used for frappes- a must have for Greeks everyday) and they collected about four hundred. They filled up multiple trashbags from just picking up trash for a few hours. They were encouraged, by Pastor Meletis there, that they were "washing the feet of Volos." This was the way that they could serve the people the best since it is considered shameful to pick up trash, especially if it is a strangers'. They were a huge blessing there. A few days ago, however, our team ventured into the neighborhood of Exarcia to walk through their parks and on the hillside picking up trash. This neighborhood is a very unique one. It is the scene of many protests and holds the plaque remembering a 15 year old boy who was killed by a police officer during a protest. Since this event, the neighborhood has formed a strong hatred for the police, believing all of them to be corrupt pigs. There is now no police presence in the neighborhood. There is an unwritten agreement that if the people are left alone, they will remain peaceful and law abiding. In some strange way this system works for them because they have one of the lowest crime rates in Greece. It is a neighborhood of young college student and older socially conscious adults. It was described as a very "eclectic city" that is antiestablishment. Being that I am proestablishment and am quite fond of police and law enforcement, it took some getting used to. Becasue the neighborhood is essentially left to its own devices, there is a significant drug dealing/using population that hangs out in more secluded areas, including the parks and wooded areas that we were cleaning. As a result, most of our trash pickup was cigarette butts and syringes and needles. It was a huge shock to me. It was frankly kind of scary and eye-opening. I tried to remain calm since some of the other girls were getting a little worked up but admittedly, in my head, I was flip flopping between fear, tears and thanking God that I grew up in a loving family with parents that were always looking out for my best interest. I saw a few people sleeping on the concrete with nothing but a jacket to lay their head on. I also saw people shooting heroine right in front of us picking up trash as if it was as common as tying their shoes. This is the same neighborhood that the church is trying to establish a church plant for. They are truly men of God, abiding by his will even though many of the church planters and newlyweds who have moved into the neighborhood and out of their comfort zone. On man that we were able to speak with did just that: got married and moved into this neighborhood even though the church plant was not ready yet because they still needed more manpower. He moved into the neighborhood to get to know its inhabitants and begin to form relationships. I tell you, the men of the church that we have met here are so amazing. They leap out in faith more than most Christians I know dare to. That trash pickup was difficult and heart wrenching because the amount of despair was overwhelming but the hope that these church planters have and their dedication to their call was phenomenal to see.
That last ministry that we have been involved with in the Nea Zoi ministry. We have not had very many opportunities to visit the brothels just because we are very unwanted by the pimps so we have to tread lightly. What I did see was very sad. The first brothel I visited I was only in for a few moments because the regular madam was sick and the interim madam was not very friendly with us. Dina is the wife of the president of the Bible Institute here and she is very involved in the brothel ministry. She has been working for the past eight years to form positive relationships with the madams, many of whom were prostitutes themselves, in charge of taking care of the women. It was interesting to learn that the madams are generally very kind and inviting towards Dina because they see the good will that she has for all of the girls. They are not madams to continue the oppression but rather to ensure that the women are in the best possible living conditions that they can be in in their circumstances. It is the pimps that are very hostile towards that work of Dina's ministry and understandably so. By giving these women hope for a future, and encouraging them that they are worth more than the lifestyle they have chosen out of desperation, Nea Zoi is directly threatening the method of income for the evil business of legal prostitution. The courage that Dina shows and her dedication to the pursuit of these women has been refreshing for us to see. Talk about a challenging mission. I so often find myself hesitating to talk to my peers and sharing with them the hope that Jesus offers. I can't imagine facing angry pimps and their wives, one of which angrily screamed and chased us out of one of the brothels, while trying to give hope and respect to women who feel like they are stuck and ashamed. Please keep this ministry in your prayers especially.
Thank you all for your love and support during my time in Greece! It has been a blessing to be able to serve God and his people in Greece but I wouldn't be here without the encouragement of all of my loved ones. I have been so encouraged by the things that I have seen here and blessed to be part of the great outreaches and ministries of the Evangelical church. There are amazing things happening here in Greece and God is pouring so much love on his servants and those they are serving. I love you all very much and am so excited to return to the U.S. and begin to love in a way that I was too selfish and too haughty to love before this trip. I have seen the depths of hopelessness and despair on this trip but I have also seen the joy and love that is both possible and realistic if you fully trust in God's will and love all people of your community.
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries ina year of drought and never fails to bear fruit" (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Loving Greece
Hello all!
A common theme that has been coming up again and again in the last few days is the importance of loving Greece and its people. This seems like a fairly obvious thing that should be on our hearts daily, and it is, but it is hard. What I have been learning lately is just how tricky it is working in a culture much different than my own. It can be classified as culture shock but for me it is much more. I love the United States of America and anyone who knows me knows that (and would claim that my patriotism is often over the top...like my rendition of Yankee Doodle at the top of my lungs Fourth of July morning). I had been frustrated that because of the severe economic crisis here, strikes had become violent and out of control. Protesters were initially peaceful but began to attack the police line surrounding Parliament which prompted the police to begin to use tear gas against its people. Admittedly it was exciting to me but also scary. The people were hurting and the childrens' festivals were postponed. It was a sad few days in Greece and this broke my heart. Again, just yesterday, we were scheduled to have our last festival where we distributed the trophies and awards and we received word that there was Communist rally happening in Neos Kosmos square which was the square that we gathered at for the festvals; it would have been too big of a risk to bring families and children there so the festivals were postponed. Again my frustration flared and my nationalist thought that "this would never have happened in the U.S" came to mind. How is it just that a festival that everyone in the community knew about, and happened every night, could just be disregarded so callously? Oh man did God want to humble me...
When Alex, the man in charge of the festivals, came in and informed us that the festivals had to be postponed, he was calm and rational. He explained to the group that he had a conversation with the leader of the Communist rally and had decided it was safer to postpone the festivals. Alex excitedly proclaimed that he was glad to be able to tell the man that it was not a big deal at all and that, since they were so local anyway, they would just try again another day. What!? Alex's joy was a breath of fresh air in a room of frustrated Americans and Canadians. He represented Christ and Greek culture in that moment. He was not at all miffed by the change in plans, but rather excited that this created an opportunity to love the Communist party as well as feel confident that one heated rally cannot ruin all of the progress and positive change that the community center had brought to that community. Alex saw the bigger picture and was optimistic about the fruit that would come out of this seemingly negative event. I was immediately encouraged and humbled by his great love and wisdom. His love mirrored what Pastor Giotis (of First Greek Evangelical Church) had described to us a few days prior.
Pastor Giotis came to speak to all of us at the Bible Institute two days ago and his comments can be summarized as: love and be patient with the Greeks; it takes time to see great change but if you are patient, you will see amazing things. He jokingly remarked that the problem with American is that they need a schedule. They want to know what they are doing, when they are doing it and if the results are worth the effort. Admittedly, I have fallen into that stereotype. He described to us the needs of the Greeks. They need to be loved, cared for and have time invested in them. Because essentially everyone is a Greek Orthodox Christian, it is insulting to see people trying to convert them or tell them the errors of their ways. They are Christians and they are dedicated to the Greek Church. What they need is love. Love is what makes the difference and what exemplifies what it means to be a "Christian." That is what the Greek Evangelical Church is trying so hard to do here. They are picking up trash, something that is shameful and rare; they are establishing community centers to provide free tutoring, computers and games for a population of people though to be a lower social class; they are establishing church plants in communities that desperately need love and need to hear the gospel of grace; and they are going into brothels to show love and respect to women who feel as if they are unworthy of both love and respect. Giotis encouraged us in the work that we are doing here in Greece. He said that it often takes generations to see any real change because the culture is very nationalistic and has an inward looking church. It is difficult to change the mindset of the people and to convince them of the equality of all men. No one is deserving of Christ's love so who are we do look down our noses at the "lower people" of society? It is refreshing for me to remind myself of this as well as the fact that Americans are equally as guilty of this sin. Love is not something that flows very freely anywhere. Giotis work in Greece is not something to overlook or underestimate. He has sacrificed his time, money, comfort and more to ensure that Greece, Athens in particular, understands Christ's love. It is a priviledge to be part of a very large mission that is underway in Greece. I have been encouraged by the servants like Alex, Giotis and Courtney who serve the church and love Greece in the Greek way. As an American, I am striving to put aside my American schedule and list of goals and instead love Greece through patient devotion and service...the Greek way.
Please be praying for the Church:
-that they will begin to look outward for ways to love their own community
-for people to begin to embrace leadership
-for the Greek Evangelicals to begin to do ordinary things with "gospel intentionality"
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tounge but with actions and in truth. This thenis how we know we belong in the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presense...Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us" (1 John 3:18-19; 4:11-12).
A common theme that has been coming up again and again in the last few days is the importance of loving Greece and its people. This seems like a fairly obvious thing that should be on our hearts daily, and it is, but it is hard. What I have been learning lately is just how tricky it is working in a culture much different than my own. It can be classified as culture shock but for me it is much more. I love the United States of America and anyone who knows me knows that (and would claim that my patriotism is often over the top...like my rendition of Yankee Doodle at the top of my lungs Fourth of July morning). I had been frustrated that because of the severe economic crisis here, strikes had become violent and out of control. Protesters were initially peaceful but began to attack the police line surrounding Parliament which prompted the police to begin to use tear gas against its people. Admittedly it was exciting to me but also scary. The people were hurting and the childrens' festivals were postponed. It was a sad few days in Greece and this broke my heart. Again, just yesterday, we were scheduled to have our last festival where we distributed the trophies and awards and we received word that there was Communist rally happening in Neos Kosmos square which was the square that we gathered at for the festvals; it would have been too big of a risk to bring families and children there so the festivals were postponed. Again my frustration flared and my nationalist thought that "this would never have happened in the U.S" came to mind. How is it just that a festival that everyone in the community knew about, and happened every night, could just be disregarded so callously? Oh man did God want to humble me...
When Alex, the man in charge of the festivals, came in and informed us that the festivals had to be postponed, he was calm and rational. He explained to the group that he had a conversation with the leader of the Communist rally and had decided it was safer to postpone the festivals. Alex excitedly proclaimed that he was glad to be able to tell the man that it was not a big deal at all and that, since they were so local anyway, they would just try again another day. What!? Alex's joy was a breath of fresh air in a room of frustrated Americans and Canadians. He represented Christ and Greek culture in that moment. He was not at all miffed by the change in plans, but rather excited that this created an opportunity to love the Communist party as well as feel confident that one heated rally cannot ruin all of the progress and positive change that the community center had brought to that community. Alex saw the bigger picture and was optimistic about the fruit that would come out of this seemingly negative event. I was immediately encouraged and humbled by his great love and wisdom. His love mirrored what Pastor Giotis (of First Greek Evangelical Church) had described to us a few days prior.
Pastor Giotis came to speak to all of us at the Bible Institute two days ago and his comments can be summarized as: love and be patient with the Greeks; it takes time to see great change but if you are patient, you will see amazing things. He jokingly remarked that the problem with American is that they need a schedule. They want to know what they are doing, when they are doing it and if the results are worth the effort. Admittedly, I have fallen into that stereotype. He described to us the needs of the Greeks. They need to be loved, cared for and have time invested in them. Because essentially everyone is a Greek Orthodox Christian, it is insulting to see people trying to convert them or tell them the errors of their ways. They are Christians and they are dedicated to the Greek Church. What they need is love. Love is what makes the difference and what exemplifies what it means to be a "Christian." That is what the Greek Evangelical Church is trying so hard to do here. They are picking up trash, something that is shameful and rare; they are establishing community centers to provide free tutoring, computers and games for a population of people though to be a lower social class; they are establishing church plants in communities that desperately need love and need to hear the gospel of grace; and they are going into brothels to show love and respect to women who feel as if they are unworthy of both love and respect. Giotis encouraged us in the work that we are doing here in Greece. He said that it often takes generations to see any real change because the culture is very nationalistic and has an inward looking church. It is difficult to change the mindset of the people and to convince them of the equality of all men. No one is deserving of Christ's love so who are we do look down our noses at the "lower people" of society? It is refreshing for me to remind myself of this as well as the fact that Americans are equally as guilty of this sin. Love is not something that flows very freely anywhere. Giotis work in Greece is not something to overlook or underestimate. He has sacrificed his time, money, comfort and more to ensure that Greece, Athens in particular, understands Christ's love. It is a priviledge to be part of a very large mission that is underway in Greece. I have been encouraged by the servants like Alex, Giotis and Courtney who serve the church and love Greece in the Greek way. As an American, I am striving to put aside my American schedule and list of goals and instead love Greece through patient devotion and service...the Greek way.
Please be praying for the Church:
-that they will begin to look outward for ways to love their own community
-for people to begin to embrace leadership
-for the Greek Evangelicals to begin to do ordinary things with "gospel intentionality"
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tounge but with actions and in truth. This thenis how we know we belong in the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presense...Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us" (1 John 3:18-19; 4:11-12).
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Festivals
Hello All!
For the past few weeks our mighty group of ten has been working with the Community Center, Center 68, to put on festivals and tournaments for the families living in one more impoverished neighborhood of
Many of the Albanians we are working with do not speak English. Only the teenagers speak English because they are taught it in school. This has not proven to be a problem for us, however. These festivals and tournaments have been mostly games that we oversee. Many of the kids are familiar with these summer programs from the past couple of years and are more than happy to play amongst themselves and laugh, lovingly, at us when we attempt to speak Greek. I have about three phrases and six words down. On the upside, I do know the word for orange, portokali, which is the most commonly used color when children are asking for balloons, face paint and bracelet colors. Alright! I was tasked with working the diablo station which is essentially making sure that the kids stay in roughly the same vicinity as I am in. What I found was that the kids actually preferred to walk all over the square, the main park/central area of the city, and I would just have to round up the supplies at the end of the night. The diablo is a rubber hourglass shaped object that is spun and thrown and caught with two sticks and a string. I was the only one familiar with the game because I had done it in my seventh grade circus unit in P.E. so I was put in charge of that. Some of the other people on our team did face painting, stilts, balloon sculpting, hula hoops, and general help with the group activities which mostly involved water. As the week progressed, we all sort of moved around and helped with different activities but I found that I was not exceptionally talented with face/body painting. The kids politely thanked me but looked less than thrilled with my rendition of a dinosaur. I was pretty good at painting butterflies and hearts, though! I tried to send all the boys to Elise, one of the girls on our team, who was much more gifted in the art of face painting. In the last few days we have also been semi-assisting in the soccer tournaments. There is not too much for us to do here because the older boys and a few men run these tournaments so we mostly just marvel at all of these kids talent. There are younger boys and older boys’ brackets and all of them are tremendously talented. I love to see the little boys get so excited when they score a goal and all of their friends in the bleachers rush the field and jump on them. The older boys are a little more collected but are still stoked when their bicycle kick results in a goal. It was neat to see all of our talents, or at least enthusiasm, being utilized to make these festivals a success. Elise was master face painter, I was proficient at the diablo, Trevin was quite talented with the stilts with Kelsey's assistance, Camille had fun leading Twister with the help of her trusty translator Ana, Rachel got a kick out of leading the little kids in hula hoop games, Joanna, Tyler, and Jaimeson were great at following around Alex, the big boss in charge, and helping set up and run all the group games, Christi was our fantastic photographer and her son Carter was our mascot (drawing in all the parents and grandparents with his noises and faces). We have an awesome team and it has been such a blessing to work with Courtney and Alex in their efforts to put on these festivals and tournaments. Their passion and excitement has been such a motivator and we are so fortunate to be able to work with this community through simple things like water balloon tosses, hula hoop contests and soccer tournaments. I would love for all of your prayers for our success with these tournaments and that our efforts would bring joy to this community.
"Love what is sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving in the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality...Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud..." Romans 12: 9-16
Friday, June 17, 2011
"Getting to Know the Culture"
Hello all! This is the evening of my fourth full day in Greece! WOW! Time has flown by "getting to know the culture," as Jaimeson puts it. I arrived at about 11 PM Sunday night (Greece time), just in time for the teams' day off the next day. On the way home from the airport, Jaimeson told me about the full, emotional day that the women on our team had. The women on our team had gone into the red light district to meet with a few madams and prostitutes there. Many women that they met there were there by choice because the women forced into the profession were very much kept behind closed doors. From what I was told about our teams' experiences, it was a time of both hope and sadness. Many of the conversations were of introductory nature but the opportunity to join the women's center, learn a trade and begin to provide for themselves in a way that would make themselves proud was offered again and again. This ministry has been in operation for about eight years and these women have begun to trust in the New Zoi (New Life) ministry. There have been a few women who have been able to remove themselves from a life that they claim brings them much shame and greatly hinder their ability to join society again with respect. I truly hope that I will get the opportunity to visit with some of these women to hear their stories and share with them the hope that the wonderful women of the New Zoi ministry have been sharing with them for the past eight years.
I have been very spoiled in that I arrived in Greece at a sort of lull in the workload. The rest of the team has spent the past couple of weeks picking up LARGE amounts of trash in Volos. Littering is a huge problem because there are no laws regulating the disposal of trash. In addition, it is seen as shameful to pick up trash, especially as a volunteer. When I arrived, however, I was informed that the next day was our day off and everyone would be going to the Acropolis! We all woke up, bought our bus/metro tickets and headed downtown. I looked like a typical American tourist taking pictures everywhere, including on the bus and the metro. I think that I sufficiently embarrased everyone around me! When we finally got to downtown Athens, ate together like a big, happy, Greek family and I loved it! We ended up getting gelato twice that day. Oops. I am coming to find out that food is something that our days revolve around. We eat, talk about food and worry about when and what our next meals and snacks will be. I LOVE IT! Finally people that appreciate food as much as me. It soon began to pour, veryunusual for this time of year, and so we took at look at the museum and then began exploring. The Acropolis is literally the center of the city. It is raised far above everything else and is the most important spot in the city. It was amazing to learn about the history of Greek good worship, especially Athena, and to be able to stand a few feet away from the Parthenon, built 448 BC! Today we were able to visit Corith where Paul lived, preached, and was tried. I was struck but the fact that there were still things standing. The Romans knew how to build their cities! Everything was marble and, I imagine, stunning to see. There were still marble slabs strewn across the area that was once the marketplace. It is easy to take allof this for granted but Jaimeson's excitement began to rub off on all of us. Paul, the Apostle, actually walked the same ground that we were walking two thousand years earlier! That just blows my mind! We also stood over the Corinth Canal which was eventually carved after transporting boats over land became too tiring and time-consuming. We ended our trip in Corinth with lunch and swimming in the Ionian Sea which was pristine. The sea was clear blue, with big stones in place of sand. The beach looked like a postcard and I had to keep reminding myself that I WAS actually swimming in the sea in Greece! I am still finding it hard to beleive that God has called me here, provided for me and is allowing me to do His work.
Our plans for the second day were thwarted because of th ehuge strikes taking place outside of the Parlament building. The Greeks were striking about the increase in food and gas taxes for the purpose of trying to repay loans so not to default. The political scientist in me wanted to hop on a bus to witness these strikes but it was a good thing I didn't. They got pretty violent and soon tear gas a a thick police line was being showed all over the news. Instead we stayed at the Bible College and cooked together. These small things are what is helping our team become so close and so much more loving. Our love for each other and for God is what will allow us to pour love onto the Greeks during our times here. Our plan for the day was for us to go downtown to meet with a woamn who helps run the community center in a more impoverished part of Athens where the primary population is Albanian immigrants. We ended up meeting with her the next day and she told us a little bit about what we would be doing as we worked with her for the next feew weeks. We will be assisting in putting on these annual tournaments and festivals which include sporting competitions, mainly soccer, as well as face pianting, crafts and games. The community center is the sort of central location and resource for these events to happen. This community center includes a game room, study room and computer room and has blessed many of these kids in a very large way. These festivals and competitions are something that not only the kids look forward to every year, but the whole families too. These events are what brings the community together and allows them to simply have fun. Because many of these ministries are nonprofit, they are run entirely by the church and voulteers.Our team is going to help run these programs in the comming weeks! I am so excited! I almost got a little choked up hearing about the amazing things that have resulted from somthing as simple as workig with these kids on the computer and giving them a plastic trophy for winning a soccer game. These programs have given these families, who are mainly refugees, the tolls to succeed in a society in which Greek is not their first language and culture is completely foreign. The same group also hosts a few week long camp in Calamos at the end of July so we will be preparing for that by cleaning, starting tomorrow, setting up and then as councilors the last week. I am so excited to learn more about this ministry. I know that God has been doing some amazing things here is Greece and I am just exstatic that I get to be a part of it.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all of our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." 2 Corinthians 3-4
* Written by Paul!!!!! So exciting!
Sorry this post is so long. I will try to keep them shorter; I just had a lot to write!
If you would like to write to me, I would love it!
My email is: ebadraun@msn.com
Address: Greek Bible Institute
Adamopoulou 8
Pikermi, GR 190 09 GREECE
(write my name on the lower left hand corner away from the address area)
Of course you can always talk to me on facebook!
I love you all so much and thank you for all of your support!
Love,
Emily
I have been very spoiled in that I arrived in Greece at a sort of lull in the workload. The rest of the team has spent the past couple of weeks picking up LARGE amounts of trash in Volos. Littering is a huge problem because there are no laws regulating the disposal of trash. In addition, it is seen as shameful to pick up trash, especially as a volunteer. When I arrived, however, I was informed that the next day was our day off and everyone would be going to the Acropolis! We all woke up, bought our bus/metro tickets and headed downtown. I looked like a typical American tourist taking pictures everywhere, including on the bus and the metro. I think that I sufficiently embarrased everyone around me! When we finally got to downtown Athens, ate together like a big, happy, Greek family and I loved it! We ended up getting gelato twice that day. Oops. I am coming to find out that food is something that our days revolve around. We eat, talk about food and worry about when and what our next meals and snacks will be. I LOVE IT! Finally people that appreciate food as much as me. It soon began to pour, veryunusual for this time of year, and so we took at look at the museum and then began exploring. The Acropolis is literally the center of the city. It is raised far above everything else and is the most important spot in the city. It was amazing to learn about the history of Greek good worship, especially Athena, and to be able to stand a few feet away from the Parthenon, built 448 BC! Today we were able to visit Corith where Paul lived, preached, and was tried. I was struck but the fact that there were still things standing. The Romans knew how to build their cities! Everything was marble and, I imagine, stunning to see. There were still marble slabs strewn across the area that was once the marketplace. It is easy to take allof this for granted but Jaimeson's excitement began to rub off on all of us. Paul, the Apostle, actually walked the same ground that we were walking two thousand years earlier! That just blows my mind! We also stood over the Corinth Canal which was eventually carved after transporting boats over land became too tiring and time-consuming. We ended our trip in Corinth with lunch and swimming in the Ionian Sea which was pristine. The sea was clear blue, with big stones in place of sand. The beach looked like a postcard and I had to keep reminding myself that I WAS actually swimming in the sea in Greece! I am still finding it hard to beleive that God has called me here, provided for me and is allowing me to do His work.
Our plans for the second day were thwarted because of th ehuge strikes taking place outside of the Parlament building. The Greeks were striking about the increase in food and gas taxes for the purpose of trying to repay loans so not to default. The political scientist in me wanted to hop on a bus to witness these strikes but it was a good thing I didn't. They got pretty violent and soon tear gas a a thick police line was being showed all over the news. Instead we stayed at the Bible College and cooked together. These small things are what is helping our team become so close and so much more loving. Our love for each other and for God is what will allow us to pour love onto the Greeks during our times here. Our plan for the day was for us to go downtown to meet with a woamn who helps run the community center in a more impoverished part of Athens where the primary population is Albanian immigrants. We ended up meeting with her the next day and she told us a little bit about what we would be doing as we worked with her for the next feew weeks. We will be assisting in putting on these annual tournaments and festivals which include sporting competitions, mainly soccer, as well as face pianting, crafts and games. The community center is the sort of central location and resource for these events to happen. This community center includes a game room, study room and computer room and has blessed many of these kids in a very large way. These festivals and competitions are something that not only the kids look forward to every year, but the whole families too. These events are what brings the community together and allows them to simply have fun. Because many of these ministries are nonprofit, they are run entirely by the church and voulteers.Our team is going to help run these programs in the comming weeks! I am so excited! I almost got a little choked up hearing about the amazing things that have resulted from somthing as simple as workig with these kids on the computer and giving them a plastic trophy for winning a soccer game. These programs have given these families, who are mainly refugees, the tolls to succeed in a society in which Greek is not their first language and culture is completely foreign. The same group also hosts a few week long camp in Calamos at the end of July so we will be preparing for that by cleaning, starting tomorrow, setting up and then as councilors the last week. I am so excited to learn more about this ministry. I know that God has been doing some amazing things here is Greece and I am just exstatic that I get to be a part of it.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all of our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." 2 Corinthians 3-4
* Written by Paul!!!!! So exciting!
Sorry this post is so long. I will try to keep them shorter; I just had a lot to write!
If you would like to write to me, I would love it!
My email is: ebadraun@msn.com
Address: Greek Bible Institute
Adamopoulou 8
Pikermi, GR 190 09 GREECE
(write my name on the lower left hand corner away from the address area)
Of course you can always talk to me on facebook!
I love you all so much and thank you for all of your support!
Love,
Emily
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Praise the Lord! He does amazing things!
I am absolutely astonished at what God is able to do! He allowed me to raise 6,500 in support in about a month! WOW! I am utterly taken aback by the generosity of my family, friends and church family. God provided financial support in difficult economic times which is such a huge blessing and encouragement. Admittedly, I was hesitant to wholeheartedly jump into preparations for Greece because I knew that there were so many things that had to fall into place before I could hop on a plane. I was nervous about finances, subletting over the summer and general support. How foolish was I! I knew that this was what God had called me to do this summer and I should have been confident that he would have His hand in all of the preparations. Now I am set to join the rest of the team in Greece in just a few days!
The support that I have been getting the last few weeks, the sheer excitement that all of my peers and loved ones have been expressing, has been such an amazing blessing. Every time I saw my friends in RUF, they ALL asked me about how support raising was going and encouraged me with prayer. I have been so fortunate to have such an amazing family of believers here at school. They have been essential in my spiritual growth here at UCSB through their love of both Christ and me.
Another huge encouragement has been from the intern team that I will be serving with in Greece. I have never met Rachel, Camille, Tyler, Joanna, Trevin, Elise or Kelsey but they have shown me so much love already! I have talked to them on facebook and they have told me multiple times how excited they are to meet me and how they are praying for me as I take finals and prepare to meet them in Greece. As I was looking through all of the pictures and blog postings about a week ago, I stumbled upon one that I was tagged in. Kelsey and Elise had taken a picture with their arms around an imaginary person and tagged me between them. I don't know why but I was so touched by this. I almost started crying because it was so sweet! I know, I am SUCH a sap! Haha I am just so excited to meet all of them!
Most importantly, though, I have been encouraged and comforted by God's word. As I was reading through John the other day, I was struck by how many times Jesus id described as comforting others. I especially liked the passage John 14:1-4 which says:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."
God asks us to trust in Him and assures us that He has saved a place for us with Him! This assurance of his abundance of love is such a beautiful personal promise that encapsulates His goodness.
Sorry this is such a long post but there have been some pretty neat things happening lately! I have been so blessed and loved and God is really revealing that to me. Thank you all for your love and support!
Love,
Emily
The support that I have been getting the last few weeks, the sheer excitement that all of my peers and loved ones have been expressing, has been such an amazing blessing. Every time I saw my friends in RUF, they ALL asked me about how support raising was going and encouraged me with prayer. I have been so fortunate to have such an amazing family of believers here at school. They have been essential in my spiritual growth here at UCSB through their love of both Christ and me.
Another huge encouragement has been from the intern team that I will be serving with in Greece. I have never met Rachel, Camille, Tyler, Joanna, Trevin, Elise or Kelsey but they have shown me so much love already! I have talked to them on facebook and they have told me multiple times how excited they are to meet me and how they are praying for me as I take finals and prepare to meet them in Greece. As I was looking through all of the pictures and blog postings about a week ago, I stumbled upon one that I was tagged in. Kelsey and Elise had taken a picture with their arms around an imaginary person and tagged me between them. I don't know why but I was so touched by this. I almost started crying because it was so sweet! I know, I am SUCH a sap! Haha I am just so excited to meet all of them!
Most importantly, though, I have been encouraged and comforted by God's word. As I was reading through John the other day, I was struck by how many times Jesus id described as comforting others. I especially liked the passage John 14:1-4 which says:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."
God asks us to trust in Him and assures us that He has saved a place for us with Him! This assurance of his abundance of love is such a beautiful personal promise that encapsulates His goodness.
Sorry this is such a long post but there have been some pretty neat things happening lately! I have been so blessed and loved and God is really revealing that to me. Thank you all for your love and support!
Love,
Emily
Monday, May 23, 2011
Two weeks until takeoff!
It is all so exciting! I am leaving for Athens, Greece in two weeks! The rest of the team is already in North Carolina for their pre-field training and will be arriving in Greece on Friday! It is so crazy to think that I will be meeting the rest of the team so soon. I have been trying to get all the last minute details ironed out- I have started becoming really good friends with my health insurance company and the kind people at Chase bank. I am sure they love all of my questions (NOT!). As I have been reading through the blogs and comments of my fellow interns the last couple of weeks, I have been so encouraged by their sheer excitement to serve! I am so excited to meet them and serve with them.
At my small group meeting tonight, we studied Jeremiah 29 and we discussed the sheer magnitude of God's love. His people were in exile, scared for their lives, and he chose to prosper them where they were. He called them to plant roots, start families and integrate themselves into their community. Throughout their fear and anxiety, he continued to love them and encourage them that he was going to rescue them again. Jeremiah 29:11 describes God's reassurance of love, hope and a perfect plan. This verse is a familiar one that most people have memorized. In context, however, I was struck with just how powerful it was. God's plans for his people were to encourage them, love them and help them prosper for 70 years! While in exile! A God this good is truly a God that wants us to prosper, especially when doing His will. This passage tonight was very encouraging, especially with all of the stresses of the past and upcoming weeks. God's plan for me is prosperity and an amazing future.
With regard to my future in Greece, I have also been so blessed in peoples' interest in supporting me both prayerfully and financially. I have received a few donations in the lats few days so I am about a hundred dollars closer! Wooo Hooo! I still, however, have about 4,400 dollars to raise by June 6th. It seems very daunting when looking at the figures, but when I look at all the amazing things God has made happen, including prospering His people for generations while they were in exile, I know that the complexity of raising a few thousand dollars is dwarfed in comparison. I ask that you still continue in prayer, especially now that our team will be there is just a few short days! If you would like to support me financially, please go to the MTW website to donate in my name and number (10855):
https://www2.mtw.org/donations/donate/AddDesignation.aspx?No=10855
Thank you for all of your support and love,
Emily
At my small group meeting tonight, we studied Jeremiah 29 and we discussed the sheer magnitude of God's love. His people were in exile, scared for their lives, and he chose to prosper them where they were. He called them to plant roots, start families and integrate themselves into their community. Throughout their fear and anxiety, he continued to love them and encourage them that he was going to rescue them again. Jeremiah 29:11 describes God's reassurance of love, hope and a perfect plan. This verse is a familiar one that most people have memorized. In context, however, I was struck with just how powerful it was. God's plans for his people were to encourage them, love them and help them prosper for 70 years! While in exile! A God this good is truly a God that wants us to prosper, especially when doing His will. This passage tonight was very encouraging, especially with all of the stresses of the past and upcoming weeks. God's plan for me is prosperity and an amazing future.
With regard to my future in Greece, I have also been so blessed in peoples' interest in supporting me both prayerfully and financially. I have received a few donations in the lats few days so I am about a hundred dollars closer! Wooo Hooo! I still, however, have about 4,400 dollars to raise by June 6th. It seems very daunting when looking at the figures, but when I look at all the amazing things God has made happen, including prospering His people for generations while they were in exile, I know that the complexity of raising a few thousand dollars is dwarfed in comparison. I ask that you still continue in prayer, especially now that our team will be there is just a few short days! If you would like to support me financially, please go to the MTW website to donate in my name and number (10855):
https://www2.mtw.org/donations/donate/AddDesignation.aspx?No=10855
Thank you for all of your support and love,
Emily
Friday, May 20, 2011
Officially part of the MTW team headed to Greece!
Hello all!
I am excited to report that my application process went through smoothly and I am now an official member of the team headed to Greece! This is such an amazing opportunity and blessing! I am so excited to hop on a plane and begin to serve! Last month when Jaimeson, my RUF campus minister, mentioned that he was leading a team in Greece this summer and needed more students, I was immediately interested. God has been teaching me lately just how important simply serving and loving others is. The opportunity to serve and show God's love in Greece sounded like a dream to me. I was however a little concerned about the costs, speed of the application process and whether that was where God wanted me this summer. In the past few weeks, God has been opening and closing doors and has provided me with a very free summer (my job search yielded no success). I believe that he has presented me with this unique opportunity at this time in my life for a reason. When I officially became part of the Greece team just a few days ago, I was even more assured that was what He desired for me to do.
Our team is going to be working in many different ministries over the course of the next two months, but we are mostly going to be working in childrens' ministry, helping out with events and at camps, as well as in the "New Life" ministry which is aimed at working with women in brothels. I am so excited to travel to Greece, become immersed in the culture and, most importantly, serve in whatever ways I am called to.
Since this opportunity was presented to me fairly recently, I have less time to raise support. This is one of my biggest concerns during the preparation process. I know, however, that this is what God is calling me to do and that he will provide. I would love for your support, primarily in prayer. Please be praying for the team, the Greek citizens that we will be working with and for God's love to be apparent and abundant through our ministry.
I do, however, need financial support as well. I need to raise $6,500 by June 6th. I have already received a pledge of $2,000 from my church here in Santa Barbara, Christ Presbyterian Church. This is such an amazing blessing to me and I am utterly taken aback by God's faithfulness. I do still need $4,500 in order to leave for Greece in mid June. Any donation amount would be such a blessing and would get me closer to my goal! If you do choose to donate you can make a donation to me through Mission to the World's website. My donation link is:
https://www2.mtw.org/donations/donate/AddDesignation.aspx?No=10855
You can also make a check out to:
Please include my name and donation number (#10855) on the memo line. I would also appreciate if you could send an email to the Director of Internships, Beth Martin (beth.martin@mtw.org), with your pledged amount so that she can accurately account for support before she receives it in the mail.
This is such an exciting time and I am so incredibly blessed to be given this opportunity to serve overseas. I would ask that you pray for our team and for the work that we will be doing. I will keep you all updated my trip to Greece! If you have any questions or just want to talk to me about my trip, please do not hesitate to contact me! I would love to talk to all of you!
Love,
Emily
I am excited to report that my application process went through smoothly and I am now an official member of the team headed to Greece! This is such an amazing opportunity and blessing! I am so excited to hop on a plane and begin to serve! Last month when Jaimeson, my RUF campus minister, mentioned that he was leading a team in Greece this summer and needed more students, I was immediately interested. God has been teaching me lately just how important simply serving and loving others is. The opportunity to serve and show God's love in Greece sounded like a dream to me. I was however a little concerned about the costs, speed of the application process and whether that was where God wanted me this summer. In the past few weeks, God has been opening and closing doors and has provided me with a very free summer (my job search yielded no success). I believe that he has presented me with this unique opportunity at this time in my life for a reason. When I officially became part of the Greece team just a few days ago, I was even more assured that was what He desired for me to do.
Our team is going to be working in many different ministries over the course of the next two months, but we are mostly going to be working in childrens' ministry, helping out with events and at camps, as well as in the "New Life" ministry which is aimed at working with women in brothels. I am so excited to travel to Greece, become immersed in the culture and, most importantly, serve in whatever ways I am called to.
Since this opportunity was presented to me fairly recently, I have less time to raise support. This is one of my biggest concerns during the preparation process. I know, however, that this is what God is calling me to do and that he will provide. I would love for your support, primarily in prayer. Please be praying for the team, the Greek citizens that we will be working with and for God's love to be apparent and abundant through our ministry.
I do, however, need financial support as well. I need to raise $6,500 by June 6th. I have already received a pledge of $2,000 from my church here in Santa Barbara, Christ Presbyterian Church. This is such an amazing blessing to me and I am utterly taken aback by God's faithfulness. I do still need $4,500 in order to leave for Greece in mid June. Any donation amount would be such a blessing and would get me closer to my goal! If you do choose to donate you can make a donation to me through Mission to the World's website. My donation link is:
https://www2.mtw.org/donations/donate/AddDesignation.aspx?No=10855
You can also make a check out to:
Mission to the World
PO BOX 116284
Atlanta, GA 30368-6284
This is such an exciting time and I am so incredibly blessed to be given this opportunity to serve overseas. I would ask that you pray for our team and for the work that we will be doing. I will keep you all updated my trip to Greece! If you have any questions or just want to talk to me about my trip, please do not hesitate to contact me! I would love to talk to all of you!
Love,
Emily
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