From Joy Everett:
We started the morning fellowshipping with breakfast and a group devotional on the borderless Kingdom of God. We sat with Psalm 117:1–2 and Revelation 7:9 and let them speak to what we’re living out in real time, where it talks about every tribe and tongue praising God. He’s the same GOD whether the language is Greek or English, whether we’re standing high in the hills or low by the water. And he is worthy of all our praise,His love is steadfast across the nations and across generations. And getting to worship Him across these different expressions of faith and culture only widens our view of who He is; Our God is bigger and richer than any one tradition could hold on its own.
The ladies spent the morning in an art studio with Gill Tomlinson, the studio owner, a UK expat who’s made Greece her home. She taught us how to paint a seascape, and even though we all used the same techniques, all of our paintings came out just as diverse as our group was! Gill has a passion for teaching and encouraging local artist!
Gill recently spent a month back in the UK caring for her 96-year-old mother, who broke her neck. Would you join us in praying for Gill and her mom?
Ann and I got to spend rich two-on-one time with Anna, part of our host family trading stories about our lives, our cultures, and our faith. She’s a strong woman with a strong faith, hardworking, deeply loving, and it turns out, a wonderful painter too!
Anna also walked us through a bit of the town of Koroni where we stopped by a boutique run by Katerina, a kind woman who makes her own jewelry, and an olive wood shop belonging to Mr. Kostas, a name we’d already heard plenty about from our friend Voula. Mr. Kostas creates beautiful work from olive wood, and we learned he spent years as a merchant marine, living all over the world including Jamaica, which lit up the conversation since that’s where Ann is from!
At the shop we also met Dimitri, a friend of Mr. Kostas, who’s been traveling the world by motorbike. He’s already ridden through North Africa and Southeast Asia, with a six month tour of the U.S. coastline planned next. He was honest about some worries he’s carried about parts of the South and Northeast, and we hope our conversation eased some of that as Ann and I have lived in both places! He also opened up about a tragedy from his past that still weighs on him; something that happened to a close friend after moving to the states. Dimitri is searching, even if he couldn’t quite name for what. Thank GOD for pursuing him and pray that he continue to reveal Himself clearly in Dimitri’s life. Our time got cut short, but we’re hoping to see him and Mr. Kostas again before we leave.
The day closed the way it started, in fellowship with one another. We met back up with Anna, Voula, and her husband for a meal, swapping pictures of our families, talking faith, life in Greece, and the small things that make each of us who we are.
A day of seeds planted, and borders disappearing between languages and cultures.
Thank GOD for open doors. Pray for us to be discerning and bold in our interactions with others. May the Holy Spirit guide us in our speech and May people be drawn to us by the way we love one another and point them to Christ.
We started the morning fellowshipping with breakfast and a group devotional on the borderless Kingdom of God. We sat with Psalm 117:1–2 and Revelation 7:9 and let them speak to what we’re living out in real time, where it talks about every tribe and tongue praising God. He’s the same GOD whether the language is Greek or English, whether we’re standing high in the hills or low by the water. And he is worthy of all our praise,His love is steadfast across the nations and across generations. And getting to worship Him across these different expressions of faith and culture only widens our view of who He is; Our God is bigger and richer than any one tradition could hold on its own.
The ladies spent the morning in an art studio with Gill Tomlinson, the studio owner, a UK expat who’s made Greece her home. She taught us how to paint a seascape, and even though we all used the same techniques, all of our paintings came out just as diverse as our group was! Gill has a passion for teaching and encouraging local artist!
Gill recently spent a month back in the UK caring for her 96-year-old mother, who broke her neck. Would you join us in praying for Gill and her mom?
Ann and I got to spend rich two-on-one time with Anna, part of our host family trading stories about our lives, our cultures, and our faith. She’s a strong woman with a strong faith, hardworking, deeply loving, and it turns out, a wonderful painter too!
Anna also walked us through a bit of the town of Koroni where we stopped by a boutique run by Katerina, a kind woman who makes her own jewelry, and an olive wood shop belonging to Mr. Kostas, a name we’d already heard plenty about from our friend Voula. Mr. Kostas creates beautiful work from olive wood, and we learned he spent years as a merchant marine, living all over the world including Jamaica, which lit up the conversation since that’s where Ann is from!
At the shop we also met Dimitri, a friend of Mr. Kostas, who’s been traveling the world by motorbike. He’s already ridden through North Africa and Southeast Asia, with a six month tour of the U.S. coastline planned next. He was honest about some worries he’s carried about parts of the South and Northeast, and we hope our conversation eased some of that as Ann and I have lived in both places! He also opened up about a tragedy from his past that still weighs on him; something that happened to a close friend after moving to the states. Dimitri is searching, even if he couldn’t quite name for what. Thank GOD for pursuing him and pray that he continue to reveal Himself clearly in Dimitri’s life. Our time got cut short, but we’re hoping to see him and Mr. Kostas again before we leave.
The day closed the way it started, in fellowship with one another. We met back up with Anna, Voula, and her husband for a meal, swapping pictures of our families, talking faith, life in Greece, and the small things that make each of us who we are.
A day of seeds planted, and borders disappearing between languages and cultures.
Thank GOD for open doors. Pray for us to be discerning and bold in our interactions with others. May the Holy Spirit guide us in our speech and May people be drawn to us by the way we love one another and point them to Christ.