“We live by believing, not by seeing.”

The chalkboard in my kitchen displays this version of 2 Corinthians 5:7 to remind me that reality lies in what I can’t physically see. Eleni and I had a great conversation about it while I washed dishes after dinner together.

We’d already talked about God. She said that she’d visited a priest this summer who had told her that she couldn’t talk to God unless she was in a church. “I don’t believe that. I believe in God. I pray. But I don’t believe I have to go to a church to pray to God.” We talked for a couple of hours. The spiritual parts of the conversation weren’t always clear. Often Greek thought patterns are circular. I tried to emphasize trusting Christ for real life in Him.

A year ago when we met Eleni she wondered if God existed. New friends she’d made were atheists and their beliefs caused her to question the faith she saw in her grandmother. In the spring she said that she needed to figure out what she believed for herself.

She asked me, “How do you believe what you don’t see? Don’t you think we follow signs and then believe?”

I told her that often I choose to believe what the Bible says is true and then I see evidence that it’s the right thing. I gave her a small example of seeing anger in myself last Thursday, confessing it and trusting Jesus to change me, and then hearing three different lessons about anger within three days to confirm the truth

• Please pray with me that the Lord would give Eleni and other Greek students genuine, growing faith.
• Ask Him to bring clarity in the confusion of Greek religious thought.
• You can also pray that God would give us open doors for more conversations like this and would give us His wisdom as we talk about Him.

Thank you for praying with me!

And who is adequate for these things?

We’ve had a great first couple of weeks with students! We’ve enjoyed reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones. I don’t think I’ve left campus on any of our school days without having a significant conversation with Greeks about the things that matter most to them. Many of them have expressed a desire in spiritual things. Seven different individuals have attended at least one of our group discussions over the book of John—either a Wednesday afternoon coffee time or a Monday night dinner and discussion.

• Some of my favorite thoughts from Greek students:
• Being a child of God means being fully accepted and loved.
• One thing that sticks out to me from our discussions last year is that Christianity is the only religion that is a religion of love.
• We Greeks are very practical. We study engineering or economics. I’ve never studied metaphysics (spiritual things, the Bible), but I think I’d like to.
• You study the Bible? Can Greeks come? I’d like to come.
• I’m not religious, but I talk to God.
• I’ve never even touched a Bible before.
• I really like your group.
• Of course I liked the discussion. I would have left if I didn't.


Please pray that God would draw us all close to Him, as the Author and Perfecter of faith.

to the other a sweet aroma from life to life

I loved Carolina’s answer to the first application question in our discussion about John 3 tonight. My friend, Jeremy, asked, “What is one thing that you’d like to learn from Jesus?” And Carolina said, “I’d like to learn about His forgiveness.”

Carolina has come to both of our Monday night dinner and discussion times. At the first one, she said things like:
• I need the light. I can’t do what’s right on my own.
• I learned last year with Paige that sometimes we need God to help us love other people. There was someone I had a problem loving. I couldn’t love her. So I had to depend on the Light to show me how.
• When talking about applying the passage— Sometimes I just need to stop thinking. I need to rest and trust and stop trying to figure things out. (It reminded me of Psalm 131.)

Tonight she said that a higher power has been speaking to her, telling her that He wants her to search for more in her life. She also said that she’d like for Jesus to tell her which voices inside her are good and which are bad. I’m praying that He will answer all of her questions and desires with great clarity.

All Greece Staff Retreat

We traveled north to the foot of Mount Olympus for a staff retreat with our Greek, Cypriot, and Maltese staff. We talked about how God moves mightily in individual lives and in countries to lead people to Himself. Such good perspective as we begin our time on campus! I enjoyed the staff. I enjoyed the mountains. I enjoyed the sea.