Last Full Day in Thess

Today was it. Two more travel days and home to my husband and babies! We prayer walked more of the city and continued passing out website cards. After handing out as many as we could to living, breathing people, we started blitzing the cars and mail boxes. My box is emtpy and I am ready to come home.

 

This has been a fabulous trip! I have so much more to write when I get home, have recovered and gotten back into reality for four young children. For now, please pray for our travel......................from here, I take 3 buses, 2 trains, 3 planes and 1 automobile to get back to my house. Looking forward to arriving in one tired piece.

Not Much Longer

Today was another full day. The most meaningful part of the day was at the very end. We took a bus up to the top of the city and you can see the wall and gates that date back to when the Apostle Paul came to Thessaloniki. They are still in use. Our VERY large bus drove through the very tiny gate. We were able to walk around at the wall and look out over the city. We arrived shortly after sunset, so the city was all lit up. An incredible and humbling sight. It is a vast city and the masses live in spiritual darkness. Our team took time to pray for the people and for the Christ followers that live here. We prayed that the Greeks would find life abundantly in Jesus Christ and that the Lord would have mercy on the Greeks. It is a daunting task that only He can do. Looking out over the city is an image that I will not soon forget................and the souls it represents.

 

PS - I promise to load pictures when I get home. You will understand my frustration with technology when I tell you that the computer I am using still has a 3.5" floppy drive on it!

Working Hard - Full Day in Thess

Today was a very full day in the western part of Thessaloniki. It is an area where the families live - young to old, poor and wealthier. My team was on the streets 8 hours today covering our assigned area. Here's how this works: you have a map and an assigned area that you literally walk and pray down the streets. We came upon an open market where there was vendor after vendor selling any and everything. It was a very diverse area and we were able to put website cards in the hands of so many of them. The challenge from today was the lack of English spoken in our work zone. I probably encountered five people total that could speak ANY English. Sharing the gospel is challenging under the best of conditions, it was pretty much non-existent under these conditions.

 

My team of four was also struck by an event that happened over lunch. About 10 feet (literally!) from our lunch table, a small kitten was hit by a car while we were eating. Not a pretty sight and it really was sad and struck a chord on our hearts. The problem we talked about moments later was how upset we were over the cat and yet there had been no gasping or near tears over the people around us that were dying and going to hell as fast as that little kitten passed. Really gave us perspective.

 

Please pray for the veil of darkness to be lifted from this city. There are less than 1500 known Christ-followers in the city!

 

I'm missing home now more and more. I looked through all my pictures on the iPhone this afternoon. It's just not the same. I look forward to hearing their voices!

We Have Pictures Too!

I have finally been able to get a picture up. There are many of the historical sites, but we really got to work tonight so I wanted one of work for you. More on our day in another post. Here is Jessica on a busy street corner handing out a business card that leads the Greeks to a website that spells out the plan of salvation in their language. Each of our team members is equipped with 500 cards. Pray we are obedient and willing to pass them all out. My team of three was able to hand out about 150 over the course of an hour and a half....a long road ahead.

 

Speaking of long day..........tomorrow we prayer walk the western part of the city. The plan is to prayer walk an area that houses 1/3 of the 1.5 million people that live in this city. We are looking at a 9 hour day of prayer walking. As you pray for us, think of this statement that we were reminded of today............."How many people prayed for me as I embarked on this trip? Probably at least 300?? For the people of this city that is less than 1% evangelical christian, NOBODY has EVER prayed for them." These people need the power of prayer to enact a movement of God among them. Please pray.

Another Greek City - Day 2

Today we went to ancient Corinth. By bus, we traveled along the coastline for about 1.5 hours and saw the Corinth Canal (Panama Canal - the same but different) and then on to the ancient ruins where the Apostle Paul preached for 18 months. We saw the place where he would have been chained as he awaited trial before the Roman authorities. An incredible expereince - more on that when I return home and can appropriately gather my thoughts.

We have been with our tour guide, Vicki for the past two days. She has been an incredible guide and is a very intelligent woman. We have spent a number of hours with her and she has heard the gospel of Jesus Christ clearly. Please pray her heart is moved towards life change that only the Holy Spirit can bring. I pray she is the tour guide for our next team in a few short weeks!

Tomorrow, we head to Thessaloniki by train for 5+ hours. We will be doing the bulk of our work and church planting efforts in the western part of the city. We have 9,500 cards to put in the hands of Greeks. Pray these cards open doors and help to plant seeds of hope in the lives of these people. NEHBC family - to those wishing they had signed up for a team this year: here's your chance. Pray for us. Your efforts back home on your knees on our behalf are critical to the movement of God on the other side of the globe. We thank you!

As for how I feel about being gone.................ohhhhhh I miss NL and those four little people. I can't wait to squeeze them and hear their voices. It's kind of a weird deal when you are on a trip like this. Because you know you are exactly where you are supposed to be at that time (where God wants you), you are not consumed by thoughts of things back home. I miss them and wonder what they are doing from time to time, but it is not consuming. Keeping the mind focused!

I'm not sure of the technology arrangements once we get to Thess, so this may be it for a few days. Please continue to pray.

Time on the Farm

Some more of our experience outside of the city.........riding a real horse - not the carnival pony rides; watching the hours-old chicks being tossed into the chicken house (50 days to sell day). It was such fun and so good for our kids. Great memories as a family.

Greece - 1st Complete Day

I am too exhausted to do any of this justice, so just a quick note..........we were on the streets of Athens for almost 11 hours today. We toured historical sites, had a reading of God's Word on Mars Hill, handed out some cards to native speakers, enjoyed the local culture and did some team bonding. Tomorrow begins with a bus ride to Corinth for more of the same. Pray for opportunities for us to interact with tourists and locals alike.