Sunday May 21, 2017. The last day in Greece before we all go on our separate ways.
Today the group split up to go to two different churches. Half the group went to First Greek Evangelical Church in Athens again, the other half went to First Greek Evangelical Church of Glyfada. I went with the second group to Glyfada. The church was on the second floor in what looked like an office building. A couple rows of folding chairs were set out facing the podium. There were about 60 people there total, including us. The head pastor is currently in Uganda, so we had an English speaking pastor sub in for today. Andrew, today’s preacher, is a professor at the Bible college here in Athens. He talked about how we often expect God to change our situation and not to change us.
After attending church in Glyfada, we all made our way back to the church in Athens for lunch. Nopi, Pastor Giotis’ wife, cooked us an amazing meal again. Meal time with her is the favorite part of the day for most of us. Meal time is community time. As we eat, we relax, tell stories of awkward first dates or bolo tie business aspiration, and have a chance to build relationships with the speakers, each other, and the church as we reflect on the day. Today we went especially long. No one wanted to leave. The mealtimes have been something special that would be hard to recreate in any other context than the church in Greece.
To end the day, we are all packing up and hoping to get some sleep before our flights tomorrow. A few of us went out to a coffee shop to meet up with a friend we made while visiting the Iranian church. But mainly we cleaned and packed. I do not want to say goodbye but it is a good day to end on.
As I look back on the two weeks we have been in Greece, there are so many things I’ve learned, but there are two main themes that have stuck out to me. The first week, over and over I heard the theme of ‘working in the context you are in’. Paul was very intentional in his letters to be relevant to his audience. He wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 9:24-17 about people running for a crown that will not last. The people of Corinth were able to understand that metaphor because Corinth hosted the Isthmian Games, athletic contests similar to the Olympics that were held every two years. These runners ran for a crown of leaves. That’s all they got if they won, yet they would train like crazy. These races were a very real part of the Corinthian culture and lifestyle. They would understand the dedication and training these runners went through for leaves. They would be able to connect that simple passage to their lives, because Paul wrote to the context he was in.
The second theme I saw was during the second week in the context of ministry. This theme is a bit harder to explain since it is more theoretical and not concrete in application. It was a rethinking of what ministry means and why you do it. When I think of ministry, the first thing that comes to mind is a group of people in matching t-shirts, going to homeless people and giving them dinner or building them a house. If that is what ministry is, then there are several things wrong. We first need to realize that we are not helping to get converts, make friends, feel like we are doing something important, to add to our resume, to get tax reductions, or because we need better stories for the dinner table. No. We do ministry because God called us to love, not to promote ourselves. Pastor Giotis said last night, “We have become worse than the pagans in promoting ourselves.” He told a story about how his church was debating having matching shirts when they served the refugees. They decided against it because they saw anarchist groups and average Greek citizens going out there and just opening trunks full of food. They were there to help, not self promote. Those we serve do not need to see us promoting our organization.
It is also important to evaluate why you are doing ministry. The first thing you must ask yourself, in the words of Pastor Giotis, is, “Is it about them or is it about me? Am I using them? Or am I really doing something for their sake?” We often come in with our own agenda. We often come in and do not really help because we are giving people what we think they need and not what they want. We see the problem of not enough food and give them food. Yes, they may need food, but maybe they want to learn how to get a job to support themselves, more than they want dinner. Giotis also said, “We do mercy not ‘in order to’ but ‘because of.’” in response to what God has done in our own lives. Center for Hope, a women's day center, fills this calling. They opened up two years ago because there were refugee women and children on the streets each day as they traveled to the next destination. The church quickly realised that there were no bathrooms for these ladies. They opened up a place where ladies could come in, use the bathroom, sit on a couch and drink tea for 20 minutes. They gave the ladies dignity. Two years later, the ministry is still around. They have recently changed the focus of the center from relief work to helping integrate the ladies to the community here in Greece. They offer English and Greek classes, have cultural day, and counseling and legal info sessions. They bring in a social worker to help answer questions as well as have knitting class where all the ladies crochet together in community. They said they changed the organization because the needs have changed.
This trip has changed my view on refugees. They are my friends. More than a refugee, more than a Muslim, more than a human. It breaks my heart to think that people won't let my friends into America. I understand that people are scared of terrorism and of people who are different. Some respond by hating the people group as a whole. We as Christians need to remember that people are made in God’s image and we are called to love our enemies and our neighbors. Pastor Giotis was once asked the question, “Isn’t it dangerous?” He responded, “This is what ministry is all about. There is a cost.” No one can guarantee safety. Only God can, and he is the one who called us to love others. I know that God’s plan is the best plan for my life. If we are faithfully following him, we will not die a day before we are supposed to. I do not want to be part of the generation that missed the opportunity. I do not want to see a problem and not respond. I do not want to be too scared to serve my brothers and sisters. One man who has multiple sclerosis told pastor Giotis, “I do not want to lose this privilege to help. Please use me.” This man could not go up stairs or be very mobile at all, but he could drive. He was one of the most faithful drivers whenever the church needed help transporting people to the refugee camps and back. We have a privilege, not a burden, to serve others.
One last thing that stuck out to me was something Suzannah said today during our group debrief. She said she often gets wrapped up in the bigger problem of sex trafficking or the refugee crisis. This can be overwhelming and can look impossible to solve or help because of how many people are involved and how global the issues are. After we visited the Damaris House, a rehabilitation center for women who are rescued from sex trafficking, Suzannah saw how even helping 7 people is important. It may not make a dent in the thousands and thousands of people who are still slaves, but those 7 lives matter. She said, “What can I do if there are thousands of people? You can help one person. One person is just as important as the bigger problem.”
I am so thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow here in Greece. I have so many people to thank for this experience. I do not want this trip to go to waste. I am praying that God will use everyone here to further his kingdom back home. I have told everyone here this, but we have a unique opportunity to make a difference. There are about 15 churches represented in our group. If we all told our church community what we learned about the church here in Athens, then we could make a difference in America. Maybe I am romanticising that a bit. But I do believe that we all have been given an opportunity here and it would be a mistake to do nothing. Thank you for all your prayers and support. God has blessed us and I know we all can not wait to see our families and friends again.
written by Avery Drury
Today the group split up to go to two different churches. Half the group went to First Greek Evangelical Church in Athens again, the other half went to First Greek Evangelical Church of Glyfada. I went with the second group to Glyfada. The church was on the second floor in what looked like an office building. A couple rows of folding chairs were set out facing the podium. There were about 60 people there total, including us. The head pastor is currently in Uganda, so we had an English speaking pastor sub in for today. Andrew, today’s preacher, is a professor at the Bible college here in Athens. He talked about how we often expect God to change our situation and not to change us.
After attending church in Glyfada, we all made our way back to the church in Athens for lunch. Nopi, Pastor Giotis’ wife, cooked us an amazing meal again. Meal time with her is the favorite part of the day for most of us. Meal time is community time. As we eat, we relax, tell stories of awkward first dates or bolo tie business aspiration, and have a chance to build relationships with the speakers, each other, and the church as we reflect on the day. Today we went especially long. No one wanted to leave. The mealtimes have been something special that would be hard to recreate in any other context than the church in Greece.
To end the day, we are all packing up and hoping to get some sleep before our flights tomorrow. A few of us went out to a coffee shop to meet up with a friend we made while visiting the Iranian church. But mainly we cleaned and packed. I do not want to say goodbye but it is a good day to end on.
As I look back on the two weeks we have been in Greece, there are so many things I’ve learned, but there are two main themes that have stuck out to me. The first week, over and over I heard the theme of ‘working in the context you are in’. Paul was very intentional in his letters to be relevant to his audience. He wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 9:24-17 about people running for a crown that will not last. The people of Corinth were able to understand that metaphor because Corinth hosted the Isthmian Games, athletic contests similar to the Olympics that were held every two years. These runners ran for a crown of leaves. That’s all they got if they won, yet they would train like crazy. These races were a very real part of the Corinthian culture and lifestyle. They would understand the dedication and training these runners went through for leaves. They would be able to connect that simple passage to their lives, because Paul wrote to the context he was in.
The second theme I saw was during the second week in the context of ministry. This theme is a bit harder to explain since it is more theoretical and not concrete in application. It was a rethinking of what ministry means and why you do it. When I think of ministry, the first thing that comes to mind is a group of people in matching t-shirts, going to homeless people and giving them dinner or building them a house. If that is what ministry is, then there are several things wrong. We first need to realize that we are not helping to get converts, make friends, feel like we are doing something important, to add to our resume, to get tax reductions, or because we need better stories for the dinner table. No. We do ministry because God called us to love, not to promote ourselves. Pastor Giotis said last night, “We have become worse than the pagans in promoting ourselves.” He told a story about how his church was debating having matching shirts when they served the refugees. They decided against it because they saw anarchist groups and average Greek citizens going out there and just opening trunks full of food. They were there to help, not self promote. Those we serve do not need to see us promoting our organization.
It is also important to evaluate why you are doing ministry. The first thing you must ask yourself, in the words of Pastor Giotis, is, “Is it about them or is it about me? Am I using them? Or am I really doing something for their sake?” We often come in with our own agenda. We often come in and do not really help because we are giving people what we think they need and not what they want. We see the problem of not enough food and give them food. Yes, they may need food, but maybe they want to learn how to get a job to support themselves, more than they want dinner. Giotis also said, “We do mercy not ‘in order to’ but ‘because of.’” in response to what God has done in our own lives. Center for Hope, a women's day center, fills this calling. They opened up two years ago because there were refugee women and children on the streets each day as they traveled to the next destination. The church quickly realised that there were no bathrooms for these ladies. They opened up a place where ladies could come in, use the bathroom, sit on a couch and drink tea for 20 minutes. They gave the ladies dignity. Two years later, the ministry is still around. They have recently changed the focus of the center from relief work to helping integrate the ladies to the community here in Greece. They offer English and Greek classes, have cultural day, and counseling and legal info sessions. They bring in a social worker to help answer questions as well as have knitting class where all the ladies crochet together in community. They said they changed the organization because the needs have changed.
This trip has changed my view on refugees. They are my friends. More than a refugee, more than a Muslim, more than a human. It breaks my heart to think that people won't let my friends into America. I understand that people are scared of terrorism and of people who are different. Some respond by hating the people group as a whole. We as Christians need to remember that people are made in God’s image and we are called to love our enemies and our neighbors. Pastor Giotis was once asked the question, “Isn’t it dangerous?” He responded, “This is what ministry is all about. There is a cost.” No one can guarantee safety. Only God can, and he is the one who called us to love others. I know that God’s plan is the best plan for my life. If we are faithfully following him, we will not die a day before we are supposed to. I do not want to be part of the generation that missed the opportunity. I do not want to see a problem and not respond. I do not want to be too scared to serve my brothers and sisters. One man who has multiple sclerosis told pastor Giotis, “I do not want to lose this privilege to help. Please use me.” This man could not go up stairs or be very mobile at all, but he could drive. He was one of the most faithful drivers whenever the church needed help transporting people to the refugee camps and back. We have a privilege, not a burden, to serve others.
One last thing that stuck out to me was something Suzannah said today during our group debrief. She said she often gets wrapped up in the bigger problem of sex trafficking or the refugee crisis. This can be overwhelming and can look impossible to solve or help because of how many people are involved and how global the issues are. After we visited the Damaris House, a rehabilitation center for women who are rescued from sex trafficking, Suzannah saw how even helping 7 people is important. It may not make a dent in the thousands and thousands of people who are still slaves, but those 7 lives matter. She said, “What can I do if there are thousands of people? You can help one person. One person is just as important as the bigger problem.”
I am so thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow here in Greece. I have so many people to thank for this experience. I do not want this trip to go to waste. I am praying that God will use everyone here to further his kingdom back home. I have told everyone here this, but we have a unique opportunity to make a difference. There are about 15 churches represented in our group. If we all told our church community what we learned about the church here in Athens, then we could make a difference in America. Maybe I am romanticising that a bit. But I do believe that we all have been given an opportunity here and it would be a mistake to do nothing. Thank you for all your prayers and support. God has blessed us and I know we all can not wait to see our families and friends again.
written by Avery Drury
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