Rest.

Last week we ended our time at Nea Zoi by going out on outreach and joining the teams that went into the brothels. I appreciated the role we had as the prayer support on the previous outreaches as well as the Nigerian outreach because it helped to prepare me to go into the brothels. God’s timing is perfect and the day before I received a letter from my family with these verses:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual force of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, stand firm.

-Ephesians 6:10-13

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way.

-2 Thessalonians 3:16

My knees were shaking as I walked up the stairs to the first one, but I had those verses in my head. Over and over I thought “God is peace Himself and he gives it to me at all times and in every way.” When I came out Beth said that she had been praying and I remembered the times I had stood outside praying for the teams that were inside. I knew that I was covered in prayer. The darkness in the brothels is so dense both physically and spiritually. But those prisons still cannot keep out the light. I gave juice and cookies to the girls and madams and Daniela did the talking. It was such a small thing to do, in many ways, just offering physical nourishment but I trust that God uses the small simple things to display His glory. I am reminded once again that I am a link in the chain, that God began His work in these girls lives long before I came to Greece, and He will continue to work in the lives of those He has called, long after I have left. Because He doesn’t stop working, He doesn’t give up half way through. I was able to have peace, the kind of peace that you know comes from the Lord because there is no reason I should have peace when I am in the worst part of town, watching people do drugs in broad day light, and going into brothels. But I did have peace because God gave it to me, and I was able to rest in the knowledge that the battle has already been won. The evil that was all around couldn’t touch me because I was in the Light. My heart still hurts for those girls, for the girls that we met on the Nigerian outreach. But I celebrate what God is doing, providing a job for one of the girls so that she can leave prostitution, and I can pray. My role was not to go in and convince every girl I met to leave. My role was to offer juice and cookies, pray for them, and that’s the part God gave me in His story of redemption through Nea Zoi.

The theme of the last two weeks was rest. We have been doing so much that it's hard to make yourself slow down and get the rest and sleep you need to continue.  We drove to the island of Evia and got away from the business of Athens. Once again, it was amazing to have the time and space to think and process. It was much needed and we enjoyed just being together. We read, journaled, and discussed Generous Justice by Tim Keller, we have been reading it as a group and it was been great to see how it fits together so well with what we have been doing and wrestling with this summer. 

We had some adventures as well, I tried grilled octopus that looked like it has been in the sea only minutes before it was on the plate. Beth and I went snorkeling and we able to see all kinds of sea creatures. It was amazing and the water was so quiet. Then it was time to leave and what should have been a three hour drive home (at the most) turned into a ten hour drive, with eight hours on the same dirt road, driving up and down every mountain on the island. The road was littered with large rocks and there were several times that I was sure we would pop a tire. I fell asleep, only to wake up to a donkey outside my window. When a car would pass by (one every few hours or so) Philip asked for directions and most of the time the people laughed when they heard where we were trying to go, not very reassuring. The road was occasionally blocked by goat herds. Finally we got off the island and back to Athens. Definitely an adventure! 

The next day was Beth’s birthday and we celebrated with crepes, and then we went to a bookstore to escape the 105 degree heat. When it was cooler we picked up Beth’s free kilo of gelato from one of our favorite gelato places. 

These last few days we spent camping outside of Nafplio with Courtney and Tolis. It was different to camp on a beach instead of in the woods like I’m used to in the States, but it was great!  In the evenings we would play card games, tell stories, go for walks, and look at stars. It is impossible to see stars when you are in Athens and I forgot how bright and beautiful they are. We laughed and teased each other, and enjoyed just being able to sit and talk. Nafplio is a beautiful, quiet village with colorful doors and vibrant flowers along every alley. The rest has been so good. Good for my soul as well as my body. 

This is good because in the morning Beth and I head to Kalamos, a camp that has three sections, a boys section, a girls section, and a youth section. We will be at the youth section and will be running the games. From what I’ve heard you are simultaneously covered in dirt and water the whole time. One of the favorite pranks is to pour buckets of water on each other and the camp is on the side of a mountain, covered in dirt. I’m sure it will be a blast! For many of the kids that come to Kalamos, if they are from an Orthodox family, or Albanian, it is the only time of the year that they here the Gospel and are around other believers. While I have been in Greece I have met many people who became Evangelical Christians through Kalamos, or camps like it in other parts of Greece. I am very

excited to see what happens this year and to see God opening up hearts.