Sorry to all for the absence of the blog the last two weeks. Our week in Volos went incredibly well, and I feel redundant to blog about it at this point. PLEASE read my fellow teammates blogs regarding Volos (Rachel, Thomas, and Mallory each provide a great perspective on our week spent there, and me blogging any more about it would only be repeating their thoughts!). The link to each of them is in the top corner of our page! The title of this blog was a quote from Pastor Meletis up in Volos. It is a popular Greek saying, meaning "it's time for you to go". Every night after our meetings, he would dismiss us with this and a laugh. It's starting to wind down to the last couple of weeks here, and we are starting to worry about the smell of our feet. A mentor, Opal, just visited us to help us through this awkward final stretch...and how to prepare ourselves mentally for the return back to the states. But while we are here, we have work left to be done.....so I will share:
With Volos out of the way in one short paragraph, we got back to the Bible School Saturday night, with me and Thomas in brand new rooms! I haven't told you guys this yet, but our prior room before Volos was pretty dadgum awful (compared to the girls rooms hah). No air conditioning (like the girls had), ant infested bathroom (unlike the girls had), and a mattress that resembled a black diamond in Vail. I say this with a cheerful heart and slight sarcasm because, without our prior accomodations, we would not know how heavenly this bedroom is and how lovely a back can feel in the morning. The downside is we only get to stay in this room one week before we must pack up again and move to Kalamos for the grand-hoorah to our summer's end.
We went to church on Sunday morning at the First Evangelical, and had a pleasant surprise. We were supposed to be going to Kalamos after the service to help with the kids there, but we now had an unanticipated guest with us. Ekki, a former prostitute from Nigeria who has come to know the Lord through Nea Zoi, would be tagging along with us all day. You could see the hearts of every girl melt for this beautiful girl, and you could still sense the fear and the guarded heart of Ekki. She met our group with downcast eyes and few choice words, and you could sense her feelings of judgement and shame with her prior occupation. But an amazing thing happened. Throughout the day, the love of Christ poured out from each girl on our team to Ekki. Her eyes began looking upward, her words began reflecting encouragement, her arms began linking with theirs as they walked. After lunch, we went to get coffee and discuss our week with the teenage camp coming up with what we would be doing. She surprised us all and ordered two pizzas for everyone to share (we were all stuffed from lunch, but the act in and of itself was amazing). For a former prostitute who idolized the ideal of money and intake to see the generosity others had shown her... and to digest that generosity to the point that it poured back out of her heart was one of the farthest acts they have ever seen a so-called "jaded" woman like Ekki do. Her heart now is to attend the Bible School. GUYS, THIS IS AMAZING. Not long ago, this girl was on the streets selling her body and soul to abuse. God has now brought her out of this mess, into another job, and impressed on her the desire to learn more about him. I can symbolize how far she has come by the way that we said goodbye to her. SHE LOOKED ME IN THE EYES. Something she hadn't done to me all day, me...a man...the same kind of gender who used to abuse her and manipulate her and treat her no more importantly than cattle at a stockyard. She saw in us something different, something not to be scared of or belittled by. There are godly men out there, men that she can look in the eyes and hug and say "thank you for everything" and "goodbye" to. Praise God for all the He has done in the heart of Ekki and in the heart of this team.
That night, Yotis informed us that we would be leading worship and giving 4-5 testimonies. This is something that we have becomed accustomed to, and we find almost humourous now. We joke and say that we are this traveling group of worship monkeys, ready to dance at any moment. But we have grown to love sharing our stories to these people. Even our ill prepared songs (Every Move I Make and Shout to the Lord) wound up being fun and working out. The testimony-ers were Rachel, Thomas, Emily, and myself. Each person did fantastic. I had been told earlier that day that I was needed to play the role of God/Jesus in a pantomine skit to the song "Everything" by Lifehouse in the middle of the nightly program. This wound up being an awesome experience for me, who has never really acted since my "Amerikids" glory days when I was 10 yrs old and Yakee Doodle Doo. To give you an idea, here's the link to a youtube video that we practiced to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyheJ480LYA.
The skit really was moving to me, even though I was in it. You can watch it and kind of note the symbolism and the role God plays in our lives. At the climax scene, the kids were all standing up and yelling...and shouting and cheering once God won in the end. Haha, I'm not going to lie about my goosebumps. Anyways, overall great experience with the kids there....and I really, really, really cannot wait for our next week there. We will be there from Friday-Friday, spending 7 nights apart from each other in our own separate camp cabins immersed in the kids. Please pray that we touch these campers lives, and finish strong in this trip I know has changed my life and each person on our team's.
Thank every one of you who has committed us to your prayers, to our church who has supported us so faithfully, and those who have continued to read our blog and be apart of God's work out here. I know that we have only really scratched the surface for you guys, and to truly comprehend what is going out here is hard to convey via blogspot. I cannot wait to see many of you in two weeks, but I am not ready to leave this place behind. Pray that our looking forward will not hamper our final days, and that we will have no regrets about our time spent here. Pray for continued team unity, as each team member truly loves the next. Pray for the continued protection from the devices of the devil, and that our physical and mental fatigue will not leave us vulnerable to these. Pray for the continued impression of the Gospel here, and the understanding that the Gospel does not end once we get off that plane in Atlanta. Thank you to all the mentors who have been able to spend time with us out here, and know that each of your absence is sorely missed! We love each and every one of you guys, and know that you would still be out here if you could.
"Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love." 1 Corinthians 16:13-14
In Him,
Austen Weatherly
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