Leaving Thessaloniki

Today was spent cleaning and packing, all 11 of us. Today we fully realized the farewell that waits for us tomorrow morning as we head to the train station and board ourselves (and all our luggage!!) Athens-bound.

It was pretty relaxing this day of packing. Mostly because I packed nearly everything last night. This was very convenient this morning but not enough to redeem the trade-off! I was back in a bit of over-exertion/exhaustion from the last weeks and could not muster up enough umph to go to Halkidiki, one of the most gorgeous beachfronts in the Balkans found on one of the peninsulas. I do not know what I missed yet, the girls have not posted any pictures or told stories yet but I am sure it was a good time with our friends we have made here through ministry nights at White Tower.

But anyway, back to the photo ;)

It is hard to summarize the last 2 MONTHS of our time spent here. This room in particular is where all of our team-time was spent: worship, crafts, jokes, meals, movie-nights, pedi-cure parties, some breakdowns and cheer-ups, steaming our faces over boiled water in spaghetti pots, you know, the usual. Many a Skype date and skype-call home, and way too many hours spent on Facebook.
This room was our homiest room, its a close call to the kitchen for we all know we love to eat!

Here is where things were planned like Emily's paper-flower ministry, Chelsea's cookies for the homeless, a lot of talk about the logistics for a team media project and a lot of adjustments that lead to it being put on the shelf until God brings it back. Monica's chalking event and Christine's care-packages for the homeless were brain-stormed and organized.

We watched movies here and I uploaded and organized so many picture and video files and wrote these blog entries. It was walked by daily and frequently at that. This room had dance parties and giggle fits. It was a place for community and for love. It was the center to our apartment life. 

Christ Died for Him, Too

One person considers one day to be above another day. Someone else considers every dat to be the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind. (Rom 14:5)
But you, why do you criticize your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God. (Rom 14:10)

For if your brother is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. By what you eat, do not destroy that one for whom Christ died. (Rom 14:15)

Do you have faith? Keep it to yourself before God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. (Rom 14:23)

These scriptures stuck a cord in me today as I took a sort of sabbath to rest; I had been feeling over-exerted and did ministry all day on Sunday. Something that always seems to weigh with much awareness on my mind is how people have such different ideas on what is good, correct, righteous, worthy, compassionate, etc. Living with 10 other people for the last 2+ months and with 7 others the three months before that, and well let's just throw in all the other living situations throughout college I have had—they have all been sprinkled with frustrations about the differences in lifestyles and recently in ideas on holiness and Jesus-like-ness.

I am a very critical person and this usually flirts with judgementalism. It is one thing to assess a situation and I don't think it reaches full on judgment most of the time (though I'm human, and normal, and it happens try as I might to not). But the thing is a critical mind is toxic in a parallel way. I get frustrated because I EXPECT others to want the things I want wether it is to take out the trash and wipe up the counters (thanks, Mom!) or if it is to speak more kindly in certain situations or to be what I consider more humble in other regards. Very vague examples but the idea is that COMPARISON and CRITICISM are just boiling points for in-house mental flurry. What I mean is it does me harm, doesn't change the world for Christ and God definitely does not need me to be a on detail-patrol for other's hearts and their own relationships with God.

Everyone has their own load, their own life and their own relationship with God.

So, as I reflect on these passages this is what I want to soak in:

Christ died for others just as He did for me!! We are equally loved and saved, and how we do house chores or the specifics on how we express the love we know and the love we are just getting to know are petty. In my freedom to act boldly and strongly as is true to my character, this freedom need not EVER harm or bring inferiority to another. What is righteousness if there is no grace?

With all that I am chasing after the freedom that confidence in faith brings that what I am doing is in-line with who I know Jesus to be in my life and to be able to stand on that. Alone. This is faith. (Rom 14:23)

Mount Olympus + Beach

So today was a really fun day, and I'd like to tell you about it. 

Our school leader, Jonathan, is here to visit our team in Greece. Just having come from his pastoral visit to Team Thailand, he is tired but really pumped to see us, obviously. 

We packed up the rental cars and headed Southwest to Olympus, to see Mount Olympus, and to go to the Olympic Beach. All things Olympic during this wondrous Olympic season, so fitting! And, original. 

These are some of the photos from the day! I had a wonderful day photography wise, it was of no effort to find something inspiring and beautiful to photograph. I wish I could have spent all day there. The sunlight penetrated through the canopies for just a bit, long enough to light up the pool below the waterfall the first time by. But sooner than we would like, just as Emily and I (pictured below) had gone off to grab some stray teammates it began to sprinkle. From a sprinkle to a light rain, from a light rain to a decently steady drip, then BOOOOOOM!!!! Thunder so sudden I screamed, I usually don't scream like this, let's be honest; it was out of nowhere. It was raining hard, I still wanted pictures of the turquoise water receiving more H20 and all its gorgeousness. But, MY CAMERA! We had to run the trail back up to the car, it was wet (duh?) and a challenge. Thankfully I had on layers and could use my shirt to wrap around my camera. The shirt was damp all the way through as it rained on me it flowed nicely off my hunched back--thinking this would be a make-shift umbrella of sorts. I was dripping but my camera remained safe. Let's just say we needed full time defrost on in the car ride home. 

A couple realizations I shall try to match up with my photos, you know, to give that deep, profound, tortured-artist vibe. But, lets be honest, God's creation speaks for itself and I hardly needed inspiration to snap the shot and let God do the rest. 

Beauty is simultaneous; it is NOT mutually exclusive. 

Every tear drop, every prayer, lands on the ♥ of God

Standing tall may come with resistance, but never, NEVER stop being who you are. Thanks, Mom. 

When you feel like life lesson's come in the form of a fire hose, build a lake to catch it all. 

'So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
[If] You stand through the pain
You won't drown...
You stand in the rain'
--Superchick, Stand In The Rain

Honor others above yourself. 

Even without much sunshine, it is still good to relax and nap. 

Laughter is so good, even and especially when it wasn't your idea. 

Pirate Ship Ministry

I apologize for this entry as I am well caffeinated and hitting an hour of delirium: it is 3am at publish time.
BUT get excited, because tonight was a fabulous night of ministry!

The momma ducks (our warriors of team leaders) had a meeting with a local professor who had volunteered himself to be our translator at our visit to a new (his) church last week. It was so touching! After he had come to invite us to sit in the vacant choir balcony to translate for us he mentioned, "I know you girls, y'all were at Operation Joshua last week." Okay, he didn't say "y'all." Anyway, because Campbell and Jillian were meeting up with the Prof we were set free to give away as many free frappés as we could and to minister to those we were able. So we did! We gave away nearly 15L worth of coffees! Do you know how much sugar we must have used? Probably a good 500mg. Do you like my metrics?

It was interesting to walk down to White Tower after being gone for so long--the adjustment from being away in Alexandroupolis and the refining of our game plan for the rest of our time in Greece--4 weeks LOADED with media ideas, look out! I found that we were in awe of all the shops and everything in Thessaloniki is 50% off or more, 11 girls and the lure of shopping?! Sinful, I'm sure. But as soon as the coffees were whipped up, literally, whipped! we were passing them out and making people smile. A couple here and there spoke enough English to ask us what we were doing and I did not feel like I was pressing in long enough to make friends with them. I got side-tracked by SWING DANCING on the cobble-stone walkway opposite the bike-path and the ocean by the coolest, most rad accordian + guitar duet street musicians, EVER. Hallelujah, praise Jesus (in all genuiness) for dancing. It was SO FUN. Anyway, I was trying to say we needed to get to the heart of ministry, to legit make friends, learn of their stories and respond in tenderheartedness that God knows and He loves them the same.

THEN. BOOM! A group of (mostly) Albanians walk by and though it was getting past the hours of caffeination, they all accepted. There were two men and a woman that were particularly near our age and with them two aunts and an uncle and a niece. The one woman, Angela, is actually American! Another Hallelujah! She swears she was more blessed to have English speakers around than we were to have an American around...I think I'll let her win this one. She is the only English speaker on her holidays vacation that does not know Albanian, and the 2 men the two know English are busy catching up with family and friends...who only speak Albanian. Anywhom, we all got to talking, got to share about her college dreams and career goals, what the men do in Miami slash Albania and lots of small talk for Angela. Rugout and Christiáno were not as hyped of course, but she was so delighted. I invited them to church with us, not knowing what I do now about their lives. They were eager to go as the rest of the fambam could not converse with us and Rugout was particularly eager to leave.

This is the one we went on...

About 5 minutes later Angela came back and invited us to join them on this epic thing (sans the daylight/sunset, its was 10:30ish pm):

...But this photo is way cooler!

To carry on, this night was so blessed. The not-so-simple fact that Angela came back to invite us to hang out with them was impressive, suggestive and leading. The conversations with her on the boat, shared over lemonade and Fanta while the men had their drinks, were over sex trafficking where we got to share about the A21 Campaign here in Greece (www.thea21campaign.org) and hear her heart on that (Chels and Christine were in that convo). I was chatting with Christiàn about the confusions in our minds that the devil tries to plant when we are seeking God in times of need. Oh, man, do I understand that one! It was so good to be in a young social setting, sitting on a boat, I'm on a Boat!, in GREECE, and listening to American poo-music and just getting to know people for who and where they are. I can legitimately promise that as I meet people and wrap conversations around my God, my Savior, I genuinely do it for the sake of Christ. Motivated by love, increasing still.

After the 30 minute boat ride was finished we all continued to talk. Christiàn and I took photos of the MOON as used it as a light pen and I then showed Angela a bit of what we were doing. Rugout and Chels and Christine polished off our night with talk on the Holy Spirit, American churches that tend to be more concerned with logistics that being led by the Holy Spirit, his relationship with God that has been on pause for so long and his endorsement for what we do and for the discovery of Christ for all.

Please pray for these new friends, I'll update the spelling of their names when we 'friend' each other on Facebook haha. Please pray that over the next day that God stirs in them to come to church with us on Sunday, especially because we'll be at the beach, but for an encounter of God's presence in their lives to stir their long-ago zeal for God. And that we'll get another wonderful excuse to hang out and speak English and HUG hello and good bye, crack sarcastic jokes and share in the secret world of girl-code with Angela.
Also pray for an opportunity to pray with and over them, I believe church building(shore) or not, we can bless their lives by sharing in them through God.

Lots of love and JOY!! What a delight to do what I do for a God who loved me so I can love you.
Isaiah 58:8