friday in athens & saturday homeward bound!

we made it to athens with several of us still feeling sick, but on the upward slope--we were recovering, bit by bit. when we got to where the other teams were staying (there were a total of seven ruf groups who went to greece this same week--five were in athens, we were in corfu, and another team in volos; but we all convened in athens on friday). the greek evangelical church in athens has several hundred members, which was definitely a change for us, after working with a church of about 20 members and 40 who regularly attend. the church building is across the street from the ruins of zeus's temple (literally right across the street). behind the church is the acropolis. it's amazing.

we arrived at the church in time for lunch. i still was not feeling well, and though our group was going to tour the acropolis, i did not have the energy to walk the mile up and back. so i took a nap : ) one of the women graciously took me up to a couch where i could sleep more comfortably (see photo to the left)--it was at the very top of the church and there were two windows: out the front i could see all of the ruins of the temple of zeus (photo to the right), and out the back i could see the acropolis. so, as i intermittently fell in and out of sleep i would look out to the acropolis, smile and close my eyes once more.

(everyone enjoyed the acropolis and alex was dear to take pictures--they all joked probably not as many as i would take, but he tried : ) )

around five o'clock, we left the church to go to where we would sleep. the baylor girls' group was quarantined--which was really funny, and actually allowed us to get some sleep, which we were all thankful for--and had a bathroom to ourselves, another plus as we just wanted to shower in hot water and didn't have to wait that long for the bathroom : )

we had to be on the bus saturday morning at 3:30am to make it in time for our 6am flight from athens to amsterdam. we then flew from amsterdam to minneapolis, where we were so thankful to be "home" (or at least in the states). alex and i got to visit with his best friend who is from minneapolis (who was his best man in our wedding), which was wonderful. several hours later we flew to dfw and made our way back to waco late saturday night. the return flights were on time and fairly smooth--we all made it safely!

overall, we had a wonderful time of mutual encouragement. i am thankful that we were with such an intimate church family and that they were encouraged by our desire to see the work of Christ in their town. they were excited that we came. we were excited to be there. we were both sad to leave.

thank you so much for your prayers and support. we were encouraged to know there were so many praying for us while we were there.

wednesday and thursday in corfu

wednesday morning the greek evangelical church hosted the anglican church for a service at the youth center--they are planning on continuing to use the center for their weekly morning meetings. there were many people who came and almost all spoke english--many had either retired in corfu after visiting and falling in love with the island, or met their spouse in corfu while visiting. the anglican priest gave a short devotional and Shaynor preached a homily. we also sang and several of our students gave their testimonies. after the service, we had lunch at the center and were able to continue visiting. it was neat to see people in so many different walks of life coming together--i talked with a mom of a two-year-old, several women whose husbands have retired, and others who are working (just not at the time because it wasn't tourism season). i rejoiced in seeing our students not only conversing with these people they only just met, but already beginning to care for them and their story--where they grew up, how they got to corfu, what their plans are, etc. i am thankful for our students commitment to Christ's working in their lives and how they were clear in testifying that Jesus sought them and called them to Himself. that they didn't do anything to earn His favor and love, but that the beauty of grace is that He loves them when they don't deserve His love. the Gospel was proclaimed, and we trust God for the work that only He can and will do.

we also had a service that evening back at the greek evangelical church--very similar to a mid-week service that we would have in the States. again, several students shared their testimony--with the added challenge that it was being translated. they, too, shared of God's grace in their lives and how he has continued to work. Shaynor preached, also with the pastor translating, and we all sang hymns (in both greek and english).

after the service, there was a jazz concert which many of our students were interested in going. so our group split up, with ten students going to the concert and seven of us going out to eat with the pastor at his family's favorite restaurant. thankfully, i was with the group eating, probably the best meal i've ever had. the appetizers came out, consisting of (and i'm probably forgetting something) fresh bread with fresh olive oil, tzatziki sause, and something like humus, fried feta, marinated peppers, eggplant with a marinara-like sauce, fresh tomatoes...and then they brought out the main course! there was a beef and garlic dish, a chicken dish with prunes and a divine cream sauce, and a pork dish with raisins and another divine cream sauce--which is actually only made in corfu, and has its roots back in greek mythology where apparently Odysseus came to the island and had it. besides amazing, i can think of no way to describe it. the group that went to the jazz concert had a great time and ate downtown at the mcdonalds (which they all said was better than in the states).

thursday was our last day in corfu. in the morning we went back into town where most people bought souveniers and enjoyed being in the city. we walked more around the city and enjoyed the beauty of the sea and gazing out across at albania.

around lunchtime, the pastor from albania and his family met with us and he shared how he came to know the Lord Jesus through the grace and mercy of a family in the greek evangelical church who helped him after he fled albania and invited him to come to church. he also told us of the work the church that he pastors is doing in albania and of the children's camps they are running and their visits with neighboring villages. it was a beautiful reminder that God is at work in this world and that He is not yet finished in seeking and saving His people. we were encouraged to hear the pastor and he told us that his family is encouraged to remember that he doesn't concern himself with how many people believed, but how many people heard the Gospel; the Lord called us to preach, not to save--only the Lord can save. a beautiful reminder for us.

that afternoon, we broke into small groups of about four and visited members of the church. i went with several other students and the pastor to a home where the woman we were visiting actually grew up in that church--she remembers going to sunday school and hearing about Jesus since she was very young. it was really exciting to hear her story. she didn't speak english, but the pastor served as our translator and it seemed very natural. they were wonderful hosts, having made us greek coffee (which i really liked!) and cookies that were similar to snickerdoodles. she told us about her family and we were also able to visit with her mother-in-law, too.

when we got back, i heard that one of our students got sick, so i went to help her out. that night, several of us got sick, in a wide spectrum of severity. thankfully no one had to go to the hospital (we feared dehydration), as we were told by the pastor's wife that we do not want to go to the hospital on the island--we were nervous, to say the least. we were flying to athens the next day, and hoping that no one would need medical attention until then. our prayers were answered, and most people were feeling better by the time we arrived in athens.

monday and tuesday in corfu

monday morning we enjoyed for breakfast fresh bread and homemade jams and marmelades--there was cherry, peach (my favorite), apricot, fig, and orange. they were delicious. today we were going into town to get a feel for life in corfu during the "off-season". corfu is a tourist town, and when it's not tourism season, much of the town closes--for example, almost all of the hotels and many shops and restaurants are closed for about 11 months. greece, well at least in corfu, moves at a slower pace than in the US, so after breakfast we were able to relax and visit with one another and play around the world--several of the people in the church put together a ping pong table at the youth center right before we arrived--we decided to help break it in. it was a great time of being able to incorporate our team and greeks together.


we went into town to get familiar with the layout and, as some of you will not be surprised, i immediately began photographing the architecture. the island of corfu has many different styles present because of the varying influences it has received throughout its history. it has been under rule of England, Italy, and was even independent of Greece for a time. though the styles do vary, most of the buildings are painted one of the four distinct colors of corfu: a dark red (pictured to the right), two different shades of yellow, and pink.

that evening, we had a service with the youth of the greek evangelical church. in greece, "youth" is considered teenager to non-married, really anywhere between 12 to 29. this service looked very much like a typical ruf large group that we would have at baylor--we sang songs and my co-intern Tyler spoke. but we also sang several greek songs, which we were able to get the hang of, and three of our students shared their testimonies about God's faithfulness in their lives and how, though they were raised in a Christian home, God continued to grow them in the truth and knowledge of who they were as sinners, and who He is as Savior and Lord. i was encouraged both by their stepping out in faith to share and hearing how God is at work in their lives. after the service, we ate dinner with the greek students and played games--both around the world (it was a huge group) and a variety of card games. we ended up playing until midnight, at which point we realized it would be good to get some sleep...

we spent tuesday morning at the music building of the university on corfu. the building is located inside an old venetian fortress--it's spectacular! several of the students who attend the greek evangelical church are students at the music school and were able to give us a tour of the building and the surrounding grounds. several of our students studying music immediately connected with these students and a common bond was formed that brought them closer to our group and us closer with them. we walked up to the top of the fortress and could clearly see the city and surrounding areas (we also could see albania from this point--less than two miles away!)


that afternoon we took a driving tour of the island (the weather was frequently raining, but this day the sun was shining) and were able to see the varying terrain, the olive groves, several towns, and the closest point to Albania. it's a beautiful island, and we had a great tour guide (the pastor) who not only told us of the history of the island, but also the spiritual history and their church's efforts to reach out to their community on corfu and in the towns of albania. when albania's borders were opened, the church began helping with an orphanage and then realized that most of the children there were not, in fact, orphans, but that their parents sent them there so that they could be cared for and given food. during the summer months, these children would return to their homes. so the church decided to help out these families by adopting the family and negotiating with local markets that these families could use a coupon-like system where they could receive food staples and essential needs in exchange for these coupons and the church would cover the cost of these items. the pastor was able to arrange so that the families in the church were able to go into albania and meet the family that they had adopted. it was a blessing to hear how God was working in the church to reach out to the global community. (the photo above and to the right is of albania--and i was using a standard lens!)

corfu, greece

we left waco on friday, march 5th, beginning our journey. we flew from the dallas/fort worth airport to amsterdam to athens to corfu, arriving saturday night around 9pm, their time. we were greeted by the pastor and his family and driven to their just-finished youth center for dinner--a wonderful beef stew. after dinner we quickly called it a night, and went to where we'd be staying for the week.


sunday morning we joined the Greek Evangelical Church for worship. the service was in greek, so we were thankful for the translation devices (headphones with a member of the congregation translating in the back). we sang hymns together, both in greek and english at the same time, to the same tune. one student commented that they thought it would be weird at first, but instead that it sounded like something we might hear in heaven--a multitude of languages singing praises to God. since i studied ancient greek at baylor, i attempted to join in singing in greek--a difficult task as the modern pronunciation of the vowels and some consonants has changed : ) but i tried and began to catch on, a little. i enjoyed listening to the greek during the service (my headset wasn't working) there were a few words every now and then that i recognized, but it was beautiful to just listen. a couple of our students (a pianist and Alex playing viola) assisted in some of the hymns and during the offertory. they enjoyed being able to be a part of the service and the church really appreciated their willingness to play.



as we left church, it was raining, so we were given a driving tour of the town, instead of exploring it on foot--which would be left for the next day. we went back to the center, which i have yet to mention that it's above a bakery--smelled and tasted delicious, to have lunch with real greek pastries (pictured to the right). after lunch, we were able to rest, as we were still recovering from jetlag.

sunday night we went back to the church for an evening service. it was a unique service in that it was the women's national day of prayer, so churches/denominations from all over corfu came together at the greek evangelical church. there were people from the greek orthodox church, the anglican church, the catholic church, and a phillippine church. it was a time of coming together to pray for the injustice in the world and to praise God.

by the end, we were ready for a bit more of much needed rest.

one on one

it's a big part of what i do (though i have to be reminded it's not my only responsibility).

i have the priviledge, joy, sorrow, annoyance, etc. of meeting with college girls who are trying to figure out what it means to live their life in this world. they have problems with roommates, boyfriends, sorority sisters, parents, teachers, friends, really with anyone who has a pulse. and that's only where it starts.

what am i to do as i listen to these girls? they really don't want to know what i think or what advice i have for them. they don't want to hear how i can identify with them or how i've been there too. they don't really even want me to cry with them.

they want to be known.

and most of the time, they don't even know it. they are unaware of this deep yearning inside to be known. and i've been there, too. i know what it means to feel like no one around knows me...they may know things about me, but they fail to know me, really know me. yet this is normal. this is the longing of our hearts, this is our humanity. we were created to be in relationship--in community--and so this deep yearning makes perfect sense. but they also don't know that they're trying to fill this through relationships with their boyfriends; through their intensely busy schedule; through their academic work; through their social activities; through their identity as being in greek life, the honors college, a pre-med major, an athlete, a non-conformist, a super-christian; through their desire to escape from their thoughts that tell them they're just not good enough.

they hear but don't believe that Jesus knows them. He knows her name. He knows her desires. He knows her struggles. He knows her sin. He knows her ambitions. He knows her fears. He knows her pain. He knows her laugh. He knows her tears. He knows her disappointments. He knows her joys. He knows her doubts. He knows her deepest secrets. He knows her idols. He knows her gods. He knows her.

what a comfort. scary, though it may be, that Jesus actually knows me and these girls i'm just trying to love on.

so what do i actually do when i meet with these girls? i try to point her back to the only One who can put her together again. i'm pointing her back to reality, to the One who created her and knows her. trying to get her to quit looking at herself and to behold her Savior. He is her only hope. and He fills her every longing.

that's why i'm here.

hebrews

we had our first small group Bible study on hebrews this past monday. i really enjoyed being in dialogue with the girls--we had someone from each year, freshman through senior, which was encouraging to me. and i wasn't expecting all of them to jump in and contribute something to the discussion, as i know there are some who are still seeing where they fit in. so i was surprised that when our time came to a close, i realized that each girl had added a comment or question or observation.

please continue to be praying for these girls as we read through and consider God's Word. these girls come from all different backgrounds, so pray that their unity in Christ will overstep their boundaries they have as they look different, are involved in different things, and are going through different stages of life (an 18-year old in-coming freshman is thinking about and struggling with different things than a 22-year old senior whose trying to figure out what their next step in life will be) but they have been willing to share their thoughts and ideas and be generally well received from the group.

and please continue to pray for me that my identity and my view of the success/failure of the group will not rise nor fall based on the numbers who come, on the discussion had, nor on the presence or lack of keen insights i share.

thank you for your prayers and support!

bookshelf

so, here it is, our bookshelf. all of our walls are white, so i wanted something to add more color. and green it is. actually, it's called guacamole. though, now looking at a picture of it, i think the books add more color than the bookcase, but i like it.

we spent some time yesterday unloading boxes of books, so our office area is getting a bit less cluttered and looking more like an office/practice room. i'll be thankful when it's complete.

a brief summer update

summer conference -- ruf's national conference at laguna beach, florida -- was wonderful. there were over 900 students during the two weeks where their typical day looked like: breakfast; 2 seminar classes taught by campus ministers from all over the country on various topics from christianity and the arts to idolatry to evangelism to justification and everything in between; lunch; free time on the beautiful beaches of florida; dinner; a large group worship time of music and preaching by either Jeff Hatton, the pastor of redeemer PCA in waco, texas, or Rich Lambert, the pastor of new saint peters PCA in dallas; ending with small groups and a bit more free time. what a great time of fellowship and growth!

alex and i married in june and moved to waco, texas, mid-july after honeymooning and spending time with family. we have been settling in since -- our current project is building and painting a bookshelf to house all of our books.

because of our marriage, my work with ruf has transferred me from texas a&m to baylor university, my alma mater. the ruf staff at baylor includes the new campus minister Shaynor Newsome, previously the campus minister at new mexico state, and Tyler Hall, who has been working with baylor's ruf for the past year (he and i will be doing similar jobs -- though i will be directing my attention towards the girls and he towards the guys.) we are very excited about this upcoming fall, which is fast approaching.
- freshmen move in this wednesday and thursday
- our leadership retreat is from thursday to saturday
- we have a church fair for the freshmen on saturday
- classes begin the next monday (august 24)
- Shaynor, Tyler, and I will be on campus passing out water bottles and telling people about ruf the first week
- ruf's first large group is next wednesday (august 26)

please visit baylor ruf's website for more information: www.baylor.ruf.org

thank you for your continued prayer and support!