Does your heart ache yet?

Imagine yourself walking through the city streets of Athens. To your right a man is covered in sores and he has a foul smell. You notice him doing something- he is shooting up in desperation, turning to drugs so he can run from his heartbreaking reality. On your left a refugee woman is openly feeding her baby on the side of the road, doing anything she can for money. Straight ahead a group of policemen are maliciously beating a man asking for papers and passports, but the man can’t show them what he doesn’t have. Across the street a young girl is crying out, pleading to not be taken into prostitution, but that is the only way she can make money. Refugee children are being carried from center to center with their parents, yet they seem so happy and sweet. You wonder why they are smiling, do they children know they will grow up as refugee’s? Do they know how narrow their future is?

Those surroundings have been my world only for the last two weeks, but my life has been impacted more here than any other place. This is Athens’s reality! It is a place full of darkness, desperation and despair. The only hope for this city and it’s people is God. Nothing else will give them the peace and the light that He offers. We need missionaries to rise up and help reach the city of Athens! There are already numerous organizations here following God’s heart for the people but with the population of refugees steadily increasing more missionaries are needed. 

We have had the wonderful opportunity to pair with three different organizations in the city center, working with refugee’s, drug addicts, the homeless and some of the youth. I have devoted myself to these ministries, doing up to three a day, and I have never been happier! I get to see how much God loves the farsi speaking people, how He has given most of them ear to ear smiles despite their situations. I get to see the kids express themselves through art in the upstairs room and how the little kids have imaginations with the legos in the basement. I get to see the shining love the staff members have for the people as they sing and prepare meals for them in the kitchen and hang up the clothes in the main room. Above all, I get to see how God is glorified in those places. A day doesn’t go by when His truth isn’t preached, at one point I was even able to give my testimony to a group of 100 muslims, Amen! Through these organizations God’s truth is slowly coming into Athens. Hope can once again be sought after! 

Please keep Athens in your prayers, we will be leaving here on Wednesday and traveling to  T  U  R  K  E  Y for two weeks. These last two weeks have really opened my eyes to different cultures and a different aspect of God’s love and power. I am very sad to leave, I have come to the love the people and the staff members but I hope and pray that one day God will allow me to return. Thank you so much!