clean monday

As the US celebrated President's Day last wk, "we" Greeks celebrated Clean Monday. It's the day the Orthodox people spend symbolically "cleaning" out their fridge (and simultaneously their hearts and attitudes) to purge all the meat in preparation for Lent. I celebrated by taking the bus 2 hours away to a coastal town called Nafplio. After the Turkish occupation, it was the original capital of Greece before they moved it to Athens. A lucky move for Nafplio... enabling it to retain it's quiet charm and quaintness.

My friend and I sat in cafes and watched people dressed up in crazy costumes for the final hours of the 3-wk carnival that ends when Lent begins.


In exciting Nea Zoi news... my teammate, Kelsey, spent the long wkend at a shelter for trafficked girls. There are currently 12, TWELVE, 12 girls staying there! It seems like we don't usually get to see tangible changes for that many at the same time! Some of them had been rescued by a police raid last week. Kelsey enjoyed living among the girls and being able to have some meaningful conversations about magic, fortune tellers and faith in God. One girl was pregnant and had been to the clinic 3 times for an abortion but just couldn't go through with it. During the wkend, she decided to keep the baby. Please pray for the shelter....for the staff they need and for the girls that come through. Pray that they encounter the Lord's love for them in a real and life-changing way during their short stay!

Story #2. Another Nea Zoi player, Jim, just happened to be driving through Athens on a Saturday evening a couple of weeks ago. He pulled over when he saw a hysterical, screaming and naked Nigerian girl. In his street-work-trained mind he knew that meant she'd just had a bad experience with a customer. So without missing a beat, he threw open his car door and offered for her to jump in. She gladly did... he offered her his coat and his phone (in that order!) and got her safely home.

We are always praying for a way to take it to the next level with the Nigerian girls we meet on the streets. They know us, love to see us coming with tea, they like chatting with us. But they rarely call....rarely take steps to make changes. Please pray that God could use Jim's kindness to further build the bridge of trust. That the word would spread in their community that we don't want anything from them...but we can be trusted to help.