Athens Update #2

Friday January 30, 2003

Greetings from Athens!

A fair bit has happened since my last letter a couple of weeks ago. I’ve had the opportunity to take part in many aspects of the ministry here, get to know both the staff, and some of the refugees better, and do some more sightseeing.

During one of the drop-in times, I had the opportunity to work with the children here. Briare, a young Albanian boy comes here quite often. His father is a blind man who sells cigarettes on street corners to make some money. His mother is mentally ill, and generally not in his life at all. The result is a young boy who is quite a handful – I guess that’s the only way he know to get attention. While there are children like this back home, Briare is a refugee who doesn’t have the same services and safety net available to him that we’ve grown used to. Please pray for him, and the many other children like him.

I’ve also been kept busy teaching an English class, helping in the kitchen, playing backgammon with refugees, cleaning up tables, etc. I’ve also gotten to have some great talks with some of the refugees, staff, and volunteers here. It’s been exciting to see the diversity of the body of believers, and how we are all able to work together so well.

Another exciting opportunity I’ve had here is in building relationships with other short term people that have come through the ministry. Sky was here for just over a week. He’s been traveling through Europe for several months, visiting a number of missionaries as he explores his future in ministry. I had the opportunity to have a number of great discussions with him about missions, ministry, life, and things he could be doing in the future. These sorts of talks are things that always excite me, and something I’d love to be able to do a lot more of.

I’ve also had the opportunity to do some more sightseeing here. A couple of weeks ago, I got to visit ancient Corinth. The top right picture is one of me at the Bema Seat where Paul was brought in Acts 18:12. Seeing sights that are referred to in the bible has been pretty exciting – it helps to make those passages come more alive for me. I also had a chance to see more of the ruins in Athens, including the marketplace near Mars Hill. In that area, there are ruins of many temples, shrines, places of worship, etc. to many gods, just like Paul mentioned when he spoke to the philosophers and leaders there.

I’ve also included several other pictures of my time in Corinth. One is a picture of the bathhouse in Corinth. Also, above the main city of Corinth, is Acrocorinth, the more secure part of the city at the top of the mountain. There, we were able to explore the ruins of what looks like a military fortress. Being quite a high point, it also provided an amazing view.

As you might expect, this time away has also been quite a learning time for both Grace and I as we have to deal with being apart for an extended period of time. I’m excited to say that the relationship continues to deepen as a result. It’s been tough at times, but good too. Before leaving on this trip, we had wondered what would happen between us. Distance like this can be a real acid-test of a relationship. Sometimes, people forget about each other, while other times, they really miss each other. Both reactions say a lot about their real feelings for each other. It has been exciting to see my feelings for Grace grow as a result of my time away. Would you be praying for the two of us? Our relationship is getting quite serious. Please be praying that God would continue to teach us lots during this time, and that we would continue to seek His guidance in where He would have this relationship go.

Thanks so much for your prayer, encouragement and support during this time, as I grow, and seek God’s continued direction in my life. Praise Him for what He’s doing, and continue to pray that it would become clear where He wants me next.

For His glory,
Steve.