First Day with New Life and Austen's Testimony

Once again, time has slipped away. I have so much to tell, so Austen and I have split up the past week so that we are able to share all that has gone on. I know that many of you are wondering about how Austen's testimony went (I know he won't agree but I was just as nervous as he was). He got up there and rocked it though. The church was filled to capacity with about 200 people (there was also a group of campus crusaders attending). A translator was repeating every word he said (which for me would have bothered me but he acted like it was no big deal). He started it out by saying "Hi, my name is Austen Weatherly, I was born 21 years ago with another person." This was preceded with a long pause and a questionable look from the translator...he presumed by saying "No, this is not a metaphor, I have a twin sister." Of course, many laughs were heard around the room (definitely a great ice breaker). He talked about how incredible our parents are (which is more than true), but how much of his life was spent escaping from the Lord (and how even Greece was an "escape") but how the Lord used that escape to draw Austen closer to him. I really appreciated the things he had to say and will be posting a video of his testimony (if he lets me) so that the rest of you can see how the Lord used him.

Some major things have happened since I last posted. Wednesday (June 10) was my first day with Nea Zoi (the New Life Ministry). I was excited to be apart of this ministry. To have a better understanding (as intrusive as it might be), I feel that I need to go into more detail into the organization of a brothel. Brothels in Greece are completely legal. A brothel can be spotted (day or night) with a white light outside of the door. In a single brothel, there is a madam and "the girl". The madam (all of whom are women in their later years of life 60+) is what you would call the pimp. When a customer comes through the door, she walks out and either sends the customer away (i.e if he is too young, Pakistani, or Muslim) or lets the customer see the girl. I cannot begin to describe how demoralizing this process is (for "the girl"). Men literally shop around until they decide on their "purchase". Once the madam calls the girl, she comes out (most of the time nude) and the man then decides if he wants to purchase her. I say all of that to describe how broken these women are. Much of a woman's value is placed on how she feels about herself on the outside. There are so many times in my own life where I place such a high value on how I look (so to have hundreds of men a day judge you for your looks is something I cannot grasp). Man, there is so much to say to describe what we are experiencing so I will just start from the beginning.

We arrived at Nea Zoi (located in the red light district) at around 10:30 a.m. There were two teams of five (with one male on each team). We met for about an hour before we went out on the streets. We prayed for some of the girls that many of the people had known for a long time and then prayed for the safety of our team while ministering. We ate breakfast and had worship time. All in all, collecting our thoughts and adjusted our hearts before we went out. The first brothel we came to I stayed outside to observe. Men were walking in and out of different brothels (as there were many brothels on one street) with shameless faces. Men of all ages and social classes. Their attitudes could be comparative of shopping for used cars (like a businesslike approach). That disgusted me without even having to go into the brothel. Two people go in (bearing gifts of Bibles, snacks, tea, condoms, contact info, etc) and the main goal is to build a relationship with these young women. Success means getting contact information and perhaps meeting up for coffee or dinner (which this rarely happens). Many of these girls are trafficked woman from various contries (Romania, Albania, Nigeria), who have been decieved into coming to Greece in search of a better life. The men who have taken them have stolen their papers and left them with nothing so that it is impossible for them to return to their home countries (so in return they end up living the life of a prostitue forever). One heart-wrenching story I was told was of a Romanian Christian couple. The couple had become so desperate for money that the husband forced his wife into prostitution. She became so mentally ill with the life that she had been forced into that the husband ended up leaving her (this is just one of the many stories to share). I was extremely nervous about going into my first brothel. I didn't know what I would do or say (there was a language barrier to bear in mind) and I had already been disgusted with the men I had seen on the street. So, It was my turn (I grabbed the basket of gifts) and followed one of the Greek speaking women into the brothel. It was dark when we went inside with various pictures on the wall (i.e porn) and there was a waiting room full of men. I didn't even look at the men and headed straight to the kitchen where the madam and the girl were sitting. The Greek missionary that I was paired with (Dona) quickly struck up a conversation with the madam. It is sad to say but the madam reminded me of a typical grandmother, neatly dressed and well-mannered. She told me I had beautiful eyes and was concerned about my safety (I don't know what that meant??). I know your probably thinking "Why would these madams want us to come and speak to the girls?" when our work could possibly cause them to lose these women. It is because these madams feel that if they allow us to come in and convert these women to Christ then that somehow gives them favor with the Lord (like what they are doing isn't just as bad as what the girls are doing). So they greet us with smiles and warm faces (so peculiar). As Dona was talking to the girl, she seemed very reserved and distant from the conversation. Since I couldn't really converse, I just observed my surroundings. It was ironic because the kitchen was filled with pictures of Jesus (I think that bothered me the most). The girl was also naked and she felt no shame. There was emptiness behind her eyes. Several times she got up during our conversation to "show" herself to new customers and came back (meaning they had turned her down). There was no emotion (these men had just rejected her because of the way she looked and she still had no emotion). As our conversation went no where, contact information was exchanged and we left for the next brothel (if the girls are not interested in talking with us then it is hard to force more conversation). The next brothel was much more encouraging. The girl we met with could speak broken English so I was able to relate to her (wish was a definite gift from the Lord). She was a bit reserved at first, but the more I smiled the more she opened up. She explained how the man she fell in love with brought her here and told her she would only be doing this for a short time (but he ended up stealing her papers and taking all of her money), so now she is on her own trying to raise enough money to make it back to Romania. She was such a beautiful girl with such a pretty smile. I just felt like scooping her up and taking her away because I could actually see the emotion in her (I know she hated what she was doing). She also got up several times to greet customers (but was rejected each time). When she returned she would explain that the men thought she was too fat (broke my heart). We didn't get to dig in too deep with her but she was extremely receptive to our conversation and we exchanged phone numbers (be praying for a coffee date!!). I know this was a lengthy post but these women are so broken and need to know that there is hope for a better life. Their mind sets are they have stooped to the lowest of lows (and make alot of money doing it) so why should they work a normal job. Pray for these women that they would have hope instilled in their hearts and that the Lord would mend these broken and beaten women. We are really wanting to pour ourselves into these women and are planning on going out on Wednesday mornings and Thursday nights (from 10-12). Thanks again for your time and can't wait to send more updates.

God Bless,
Caroline

The Past Week

Last Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed the company of a multitude of kids (probably 100+!) at a Festival we put on downtown in Athens. We did face painting, stilt racing, limbo, balloon animals, etc. for the local immigrant children with GREAT success. I taught a group of up and coming John Elways to throw the football, and it really caught on. My arm was blown by the end of the day, as all types of kids wanted to learn how to throw a spiral like we did (or more like Caroline did haha). The rest of the group really got in touch with a ton of various kids who knew small bits of English, and we were encouraged as they told us they'd like to come to the community center the next week.
I am going to skip ahead to our work this week (since I think Caroline wants to split the blog up on what we are telling, so keep in touch for her side of things). We continued doing research for Tim in regards to his church planting. We printed out a Google Maps satellite image of the area he is considering planting the church, and walked all the streets plotting down what kinds of businesses were there, what sorts of people, etc. That afternoon, we went back to our respected areas and "interviewed" the people who worked there. We asked them how long they worked there & if they liked working there, If they lived there and how long/like or dislike, etc. and finished up with a question regarding church planting and what who it take for them to seriously consider going inside. It got a wave of mixed results...some genuine interest in the thought, some negative responses, a ton of indifference, and other random ideas. People are very open to talk we have noticed though, even about religious matters.
We also visited the University of Athens, once again, yet this time it was open with a few students to talk to. We went around asking various groups of students two questions Tim chose. These were aimed at directing them to the idea of Jesus Christ: 1) What kind of leader do we need, 2) What kind of community to we need to achieve the life we desire. We recorded their responses and hoped for and open door of couriosity. Me and Thomas had a very favorable conversation with one group of guys, and even got to share the Gospel in a very serious discussion! We had to say goodbye since we were late to meet the group, but got their names and intend to Facebook them.
Caroline will tell you more about the Neo Zoi missions we did, but it was extremely eye opening as saddening to see the people here.
FUN POINT: The local director of the school here, Argyris Petrou, invited us to eat dinner with he and his family Monday night. IT WAS RIDICULOUS. They prepared pork chops and potatoes, with traditional Greek salads (Cucumbers, Peppers, Onions, and Tomatoes covered in Olive Oil and Vinegar and a mound of Feta cheese on top) and also this Feta casserole-type dish. I was blown away!! We had this amazing dessert (kind of like a spicy cake with this special type of ice cream made from butter fat? maybe I'm close...). Anyways, this also created an amazing opportunity to hear their life story and all the ways God was worked in their lives. This will have to be another blog, as it is incredibly lengthy, yet incredibly moving.
This week was filled with pretty menial tasks, yet important steps in establishing a foothold in the community. We were greatly encouraged by conversations that were held, and anxious to see what the next month and a half holds for us!