We are home! We woke up bright and early to head to the Athens airport for our flight to Atlanta, Georgia. We had a decently long layover which gave us time to grab our last meal together as a team and time to rest before heading back to Grand Rapids. As we start to settle back into life here at home, we will be reflecting and praying more about our experience. With this, we will later have a debrief all together to talk about how we’re feeling now that we’re back home and any other thoughts that God has brought to our attention. We would also like to give a big thank you to all of our supporters. Whether you were praying for us, supporting us financially, or both, we cannot thank you enough. We hope that you were encouraged or simply joyous to see us being obedient to God…
Continue ReadingFinal day update! To celebrate all the hard work we did throughout VBS, we spent time around Mati going shopping, to the beach and to a small chapel by the sea. During our time at the chapel, we spent time reflecting and praying on our time in Glyfada. God truly worked in each one of our lives through this experience. We had challenges, but also blessings that we can see God was working through before we even arrived in Greece. We look forward to coming back home with changed minds and hearts. We will be heading out early Sunday morning so please pray for us to be well rested and for safe travels. Thank you for all of your support! ‘“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. ‘” John 15:5…
Continue ReadingToday was our last day of VBS! We spent our final day at a local pool in the Glyfada area on our hottest day this week!! The kids had a blast swimming in the pool and playing at the splash pad. After a while, we went back to the church for movie and chill time. It was then time to say goodbye to all the wonderful kids and leaders we worked along side with. It has been a pleasure with work alongside with Phaedra, Pastor George, David and Maria this week. They are showing endless love and grace to the people of Glyfada. Our team can proudly say that we have witnessed that God is doing amazing work in the church and he is very present there. Though there are many non-believers in Greece, Jesus says, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”…
Continue Reading We are now approaching the end of our VBS with one more day to go! Today we had our last day at the jujitsu gym and had Joel teach self control to wrap up our fruit of the spirit week-long lesson. We closed our gym time with a group prayer, a game and a traditional Greek dance! At the church we had pool/water balloon and movie/relax time. Additionally, we had Maria talk with the preteens about self esteem and how God’s view of us is most important! In other words, seeing ourselves through God’s eyes and how much he loves us. We may be feeling a bit tired mentally and physically, but everyday we’ve seen how good God has been to us throughout this whole trip. He has provided in ways we’ve asked for and in other ways, we weren’t aware of. Thank you so much for your continued…
Continue ReadingWe are now at day three of VBS in Glyfada! We started our day with playing the game ninja, participating in worship, listening to a teaching on kindness, and finishing off with jujitsu! It has been a blessing to be spending time in worship with the preteens. Our relationships with each one has been growing and becoming a beautiful work of the Lord. When arriving back to the church, we helped assemble food packages for the local homeless shelter. They put a snacks and drinks into bags for the Greek shelter representative to give to the local homeless community. As the temperature continues to rise here, we are starting to spend a bit more time inside. However, that doesn’t stop the fun! We have been making bracelets, playing card games and just spending quality time together. We ask that you pray for our team to receive more endurance and perseverance…
Continue ReadingToday was the second day of VBS! It was a day full of fun games like Two Truths and One Lie, Poison Dart Frog and getting to know each other’s names games, followed by a Fruit of the Spirit teaching by our team leader Luke on Peace! 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. Philippians 4:6 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. We had another day at David’s Ju Jitsu gym where we had time for worship and Ju Jitsu! Luke shared many different ways in how we can grow in peace and fellowship with God throughout our lives and how God’s peace can transform us and we can offer that peace to one another and be examples to the outside world….
Continue ReadingToday was our first day of VBS! It was a day of introductions with the kids and getting to know one another. We started by making our way to David’s Ju Jitsu gym where we had time for worship, teaching and Ju Jitsu! Our fruit of the Spirit teaching today started with Love. David shared many different ways in how we can show Christ’s love in every aspect of our lives. Afterwards, made our way back to church where we had a Greek artist teach us how to work with oil pastels. We then ended the day with pool time and games. The Lord has tremendously blessed us just from day one! Continue to pray for our team, the Glyfada leaders and the children as well! – The Glyfada Team 1 Corinthians 13 13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love,…
Continue ReadingHello! Day One update! We are having the best time in Greece! We arrived on Saturday, June 21 and went straight to the store to pick up supplies for our VBS camp this week. We had a blast meeting George from the Glyfada church and walking around Athens, Greece and exploring the Parthenon and Mars Hill, where Paul delivered his Acts 17 speech to the Athenians. Acts 17:16-34 In Athens 16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to…
Continue ReadingHello! Team Update: We had Elder Prayer on Pentecost Sunday and are so grateful to God and for everyone’s prayers as we continue to prepare for our trip to Glyfada! God has and will continue to work through us to spread the good news of the Gospel and to ensure our trip goes smoothly and that we are servants of God while we are out in Greece! Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us! We ask for continued prayers as we prepare for our trip. We are only 10 days away from our mission trip to Greece and we couldn’t be more excited! We spent our final team meeting learning…
Continue ReadingHello! Great news! We are fully funded for our trip to Glyfada! God has done exceedingly abundantly more than we could ever ask or think and we have been so excited as we continue to plan out our trip! Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us too. We ask for continued prayers. We have our next team meeting at Reeds Lake and then our final Team meeting and Elder prayer before we take off for Greece. We can’t wait and we are so excited to see how God continues to use us on this trip. Thank you! -Glyfada Team Psalm 91: 1-2 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
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