God is moving.

Hello, all,

Sorry for the blogging hiatus. We don’t usually get back to the Bible College until pretty late and I head straight for bed.

I want to tell you about a huge opportunity we had last night. Exarchia is an area of Athens known for its crime. If you remember the huge riots in December of 2008 in response to the killing of a teenage boy (they protested police brutality), those took place in this neighborhood. It’s near the university so many of the residents are students. There isn’t a huge immigrant population, but it is an immigrant-friendly area. Compared to the rest of Athens (and Greece really) it’s the least religious and most postmodern neighborhood. In America, that wouldn’t be a good thing. But here in Greece, that is actually a fantastic thing for the evangelical church. Those who are against the government tend to side, or commiserate with the evangelical church. Just as they’ve been attacked by the government, so has the evangelical church been attacked by both the government and the Orthodox Church. They don’t go running to the church or anything, but they aren’t automatically against it.

But here’s how God is working: three men have moved themselves and their families into this neighborhood with the intention of planting a church. Right now they are still in the gathering stages, getting to know the community and its struggles and needs. They are forming connections and relationships. Greeks don’t trust one another. They trust no one. If these church planters walk in and start beating them over the head with Bibles, the people will flee. They are truly trying to become a part of Exarchia. They are intently listening for God’s direction, already having uprooted their families in response to God’s call, just as Abram did.

The three planters took my team and another team (from Canada) into the neighborhood to show us around and tell us about the process. They split us up into three groups so that we wouldn’t stand out and so that we could all hear what was being said. As we concluded our tour I thought about how much of an impact would come from these men taking the time to share their ministry with 16 strangers. The needs of this community, the planters, and the plant itself are now going out to two different countries, at least 16 different churches, 9 universities, and countless supporters and prayer warriors. The Lord multiplies loaves and fishes, doesn’t He?

Here’s what you can pray for right now:

- The planters are still trying to gather some young families from the church who would be willing to relocate to Exarchia

- The planters are exhausted. They aren’t being paid for this. They are missionaries, but without support. They have jobs but are trying to devote all of their time to developing relationships and making a presence in the neighborhood.

- The planters are also lonely, trying to uproot themselves from their home churches and implant themselves into a harsh environment.

- That the church would continue to support this ministry. Historically, the Greek Evangelical Church has been extremely introverted. They don’t reach out. They are comfortable where they are and don’t make too much effort to share that. The planters need all the support they can get.

There are many, many more prayers that this plant and this neighborhood need. It meant more than a lot to me to see this plant in action and to hear the hearts of the planters. I can’t wait to talk to you all about it in person.

God is moving. He’s not a God that doesn’t work among His people. He loves.

I'm still excited that I'm here. I'm supposed to be here. God had is hand over all that went into the making of this trip for me and my teammates. We shared with another missionary here tonight about how we all came to be here. It's pretty amazing what God can do.

In Him,

Kelsey