Wow. This has been the fianl week of summer project: Greece 2011 on campus anyway. Today concluded the active part of this trip and has begun the faithful and prayerful portion.
Monday: I woke up super excited for this week on campus! The "home stretch" idea and the extra energy that implies filled me with spunk and excitement. We had a great day, we met a group of girls by playing a new card game with them, called tichu (tee-choo) and eventually got to play soularium. Their answers were very interesting. One girl, Maya, said that she could trust what she called God to take care of her when she was in a difficult situation, and that God cared for us, but when I suggested that a relationship with God was possible she said that on a 1-10 scale of wanting that relationship, she was at about a 5 because she was afraid. The rest of the group drew her attention so I wasn't able to tell her about the tenderness of God, but she is seeking and I know that God will continue to reveal Himself to her. Another girl very quickly admitted to being lonely and that church elicited these feelings (Greek Orthodox Church). Keegan got to talk to her a bit about the nearness and fullfillment of God, she said that if it were possible, she would without a doubt want a relationship with God, but she dosen't know yet what she believes about God, "i am very young and don't have much experience." Another broke into tears when she told us about the deaths in her family and how she has trouble getting close to anyone because she has been hurt so deeply. These girls are a more expressive example of what is going on beneath the surface of everyone we talk to. There is hurt, but there is a God that is bigger!
It was Lauren Sullivan's birthday! We surprised her with dinner out, greek desserts, and of course, plate smashing! Each of us had bought a plate and we all smashed them with many cries of Opa! and nervous screams. Then we went to a rooftop bar and had drinks while the parthenon and olympic stadium lit up the skyline.
Tuesday: I did NOT want to be on campus on tuesday... I had done so well on monday, but I was very discouraged and my role on my team was beginning to wear me out. I am the "initiator" which means I have been the one who has gone up to people and groups to ask if we could join them, or play with them or show them this or that whatever our stratagy is on that particular day. The devil was convincing me that wasn't a good enough job and I found myself envying Cari and Keegan's ability to talk about spiritual things or even normal things easily. Despite myself, we talked to another group of girls who very easily could have been Christians already. They believed in God, they believed they could have a relationship with Him. We didn't straight up present the Gospel to them, but we will see them on friday and it is my goal to find out and make that assumption if not a reality, plant the idea in their mind. I left campus much more encouraged than I had entered it, but I realized that this week was not going to be as easy as I had oringianlly thought.
Wednesday: Man, the devil is working overtime on my mind. He is showing me everything that bothers me about my teammates and making it stand out all the more. So I find myself frustrated easily and irritable with very little prompting. We didn't find anyone new to talk to, but we did get to see the girls we met on Monday and play cards with them again. At this point cari, keegan and I have decided that we should put our energy into connecting with the people that we have met already and get ready for our going away party on Friday night. I have a hard time with this simply because I feel like www are wasting our time.
I had discipleship time with Jason after campus time and I expressed my frustration with the decision to not meet more groups but he helped me realize why it was bothering me. I was letting the devil condemn me for not meeting some "goal" of talking to new people everyday. We talked about some other stuff but our time was up before getting advice about my frustration with my teammates.
It was Zachary Apel's birthday, he is one of the stenters, so we all went out to a local basketball court and played basketball and volleyball! It felt so good to be active. After playing for three hours, we went back to the steki (hangout) for pizza, cake, and a dance party. I can't explain it, but I have wanted to dance since arriving in Greece.
Thursday: the last day on campus! It was a bittersweet day because we know that we have done good work over the course of the summer but we have fallen in love with the students and want to continue to help them towards God. We spent a lot of time in prayer, for the campus, for the country, for the students and for God to continue to work in the minds and hearts of the students we had talked to and the friends they talk to about what we said. The harvest is ripening! I can't wait to report when Greece is a launch pad into Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe and the campus of polytechnic university has it's own ministries to the nations, because I believe God can bring that dream to reality! As far as conversations, we played jungle speed (awesome card game, check it out!) with some guys and left campus for the last time praying.
Monday: I woke up super excited for this week on campus! The "home stretch" idea and the extra energy that implies filled me with spunk and excitement. We had a great day, we met a group of girls by playing a new card game with them, called tichu (tee-choo) and eventually got to play soularium. Their answers were very interesting. One girl, Maya, said that she could trust what she called God to take care of her when she was in a difficult situation, and that God cared for us, but when I suggested that a relationship with God was possible she said that on a 1-10 scale of wanting that relationship, she was at about a 5 because she was afraid. The rest of the group drew her attention so I wasn't able to tell her about the tenderness of God, but she is seeking and I know that God will continue to reveal Himself to her. Another girl very quickly admitted to being lonely and that church elicited these feelings (Greek Orthodox Church). Keegan got to talk to her a bit about the nearness and fullfillment of God, she said that if it were possible, she would without a doubt want a relationship with God, but she dosen't know yet what she believes about God, "i am very young and don't have much experience." Another broke into tears when she told us about the deaths in her family and how she has trouble getting close to anyone because she has been hurt so deeply. These girls are a more expressive example of what is going on beneath the surface of everyone we talk to. There is hurt, but there is a God that is bigger!
It was Lauren Sullivan's birthday! We surprised her with dinner out, greek desserts, and of course, plate smashing! Each of us had bought a plate and we all smashed them with many cries of Opa! and nervous screams. Then we went to a rooftop bar and had drinks while the parthenon and olympic stadium lit up the skyline.
Tuesday: I did NOT want to be on campus on tuesday... I had done so well on monday, but I was very discouraged and my role on my team was beginning to wear me out. I am the "initiator" which means I have been the one who has gone up to people and groups to ask if we could join them, or play with them or show them this or that whatever our stratagy is on that particular day. The devil was convincing me that wasn't a good enough job and I found myself envying Cari and Keegan's ability to talk about spiritual things or even normal things easily. Despite myself, we talked to another group of girls who very easily could have been Christians already. They believed in God, they believed they could have a relationship with Him. We didn't straight up present the Gospel to them, but we will see them on friday and it is my goal to find out and make that assumption if not a reality, plant the idea in their mind. I left campus much more encouraged than I had entered it, but I realized that this week was not going to be as easy as I had oringianlly thought.
Wednesday: Man, the devil is working overtime on my mind. He is showing me everything that bothers me about my teammates and making it stand out all the more. So I find myself frustrated easily and irritable with very little prompting. We didn't find anyone new to talk to, but we did get to see the girls we met on Monday and play cards with them again. At this point cari, keegan and I have decided that we should put our energy into connecting with the people that we have met already and get ready for our going away party on Friday night. I have a hard time with this simply because I feel like www are wasting our time.
I had discipleship time with Jason after campus time and I expressed my frustration with the decision to not meet more groups but he helped me realize why it was bothering me. I was letting the devil condemn me for not meeting some "goal" of talking to new people everyday. We talked about some other stuff but our time was up before getting advice about my frustration with my teammates.
It was Zachary Apel's birthday, he is one of the stenters, so we all went out to a local basketball court and played basketball and volleyball! It felt so good to be active. After playing for three hours, we went back to the steki (hangout) for pizza, cake, and a dance party. I can't explain it, but I have wanted to dance since arriving in Greece.
Thursday: the last day on campus! It was a bittersweet day because we know that we have done good work over the course of the summer but we have fallen in love with the students and want to continue to help them towards God. We spent a lot of time in prayer, for the campus, for the country, for the students and for God to continue to work in the minds and hearts of the students we had talked to and the friends they talk to about what we said. The harvest is ripening! I can't wait to report when Greece is a launch pad into Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe and the campus of polytechnic university has it's own ministries to the nations, because I believe God can bring that dream to reality! As far as conversations, we played jungle speed (awesome card game, check it out!) with some guys and left campus for the last time praying.
No comments:
Post a Comment