Whirlwind

These last few days have been interesting. Some rough, some relaxing.

On Sunday, we attended First Greek Evangelical Church of Athens for the first time. It's the church at which we will be spending the rest of the summer. After church, our team and a bunch of other members of the church changed into matching shirts and headed to clean up Mars Hill (Acts 17- the Aeropagus). You can see the whole city from that giant rock. It's right next to the Acropolis so it's also a fantastic view of hte Parthenon. We had been cleaning for about twenty minutes when we paused to watch a storm roll in across the city. It didn't take long for giant (I mean GIANT) raindrops to start falling on our heads. Obviously, we headed down off the giant rock in the middle of the city and huddled beneath trees lower down. As we tried to wait out the storm, lightning struck the Acropolis and a mound of stone tumbled down. It was such an awesome display of God's power. He didn't need us to clean that hill. He didn't (and doesn't) need us for anything, but He has graciously allowed us to work for Him and His Kingdom. We needed that reminder though, and it stands in stark contrast to the day that followed.

On Monday, Dina (the wife of the dean of the Greek Bible Institute) took us into the Red Light District. She works with Nea Zoi ("New Life" www.neazoi.org), an organization that enters into brothels to offer help and support to prostitutes, whether they are there willingly or whether they've been trafficked into Greece. Dina works to form relationships with these women. You can't go into the brothels and meet different women every week and never follow up. Dina knows these women. She knows their pasts, their families, their hearts. She's been working with Nea Zoi for eight years, and in that time, she has only helped about five women out of the brothels. The newest and biggest problem right now is the need for a safe house for the women once they come out. Right now, there's really no place for them to go. The closest Christian house is in Thessaloniki, but these women need to stay close to Nea Zoi for support or they'll return to prostitution. A young girl in the United States began raising money for a safe house, and it's because of her that the project is even off the ground.
Our entire team went into the Red Light District, but Dina took one or two of us girls in at a time. Everyone else stayed outside to pray. There are 300 brothels in Athens alone (prostitution is legal here). It's a heartbreaking sight. We would pray with our eyes open because we were in the most dangerous area of the city. That meant that we had to watch as man after man walked through door after door. I cried. I don't think that I can possibly explain what I felt that day. Men walked around in daylight, on their lunch breaks, talking on their cell phones, and holding their heads up high. They had no shame. Some would walk out one door and into another. It could have made me hate all men, but instead I would think about the men standing next to me. Tyler, Trevin, and Jaimeson stood solidly beside us, praying just as hard and feeling just as heartbroken. I don't think I've ever felt real righteous anger, but every time a man walked in or out, I asked God to forgive them. To forgive them for the hurt they were causing themselves, their families, the girls. To forgive them for their perpetuation of sin. To forgive them for their pride. I've never done something so hard; my heart has never broken so sharply. I don't know how Dina does it every week.
Satan has dominion over those streets, but I saw God at work. Pray for Brothel 19. Dina is friends with the madam there and is hoping that she will convert her brothel into a prayer house.
I pray that when I return home, I don't remain blinded to such prevalent sin. Atlanta is the human trafficking capital of the world...

A praise! Emily arrived late Monday night safe and sound! Our team is complete!

Tuesday was a complete turnaround. As a break for us after a hard day and as a way to break Emily into our team and this country, we were tourists for the day. We went up to the Acropolis but noticed a threatening sky so we headed into the museum first. We then walked up the hill to the Parthenon. It was the perfect day. It was cool and the sun wasn't so intense. We took tons of photos.

Wednesday was supposed to be our first day of work with the teens in downtown Athens. However, as you probably know, there were strikes and protests in the city. We decided it wasn't safe enough, especially with baby Carter. We stayed back for the day and cooked for ourselves. Most delicious meal yet! It was also the night of the lunar eclipse, and we had a stellar view from on top of our roof. Spectacular.

Yesterday we had orientation for the youth events (the festivals and tournaments) we will be putting on and helping with. I was nervous about how this would work, but I'm feeling so much better about it all. I can see how God will be working through us in these kids. I'll talk more about that once we get started in that ministry.

I have so much running through my mind. Pray that God helps form my thoughts and mold my heart.
This country needs so much prayer. So much prayer.

καλη νικτα
"Good night"

Love,
Kelsey

By the way, Camille has a couple of wonderful blog posts on Nea Zoi and our time in the Red Light District.