kalo pascha...

"I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's Love.... Indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus." Ro 8

For Easter this week we delivered a special Greek sweet bread called "Tsoureki" to the girls working in brothels. And in response to many requests by the Nigerian girls, we collected, wrapped and delivered 80 Bibles and bookmarks to the girls working on the streets.

It was 1:00 AM. The street was empty except for 90-ish Nigerian girls and a few drunk men. We showed up to pass out our Easter gifts. As soon as we handed out the first two Bibles the word spread all the way down the street and we were mobbed! SWARMED! They came running, sprinting and yelling, "Give me Bible!" 75% of our gifts went on the first corner and it took just half a block to empty our last bag.... all 80 Bibles were snatched out of our arms as fast as we could give them. Many girls took 2 and 3 Bibles (much to our chagrin) to take to their sisters and friends.

Then the part that only God could design....the girls started singing! Praise songs. All the same songs I know. Probably 30 girls danced in the middle of the street and bust out with "Let Everything that has Breath Praise the Lord" ...a familiar song but sung with harmony that only people from Africa can do. I asked one girl standing on the fringes why they were singing and she said, "They are giving thanks to God for the Bibles."

With our gift stock exhausted but still more of the street to cover, we walked further down the block. We met a few more who had heard the commotion down the street and were disappointed to learn we were out of Bibles. But excited that we might bring some more another time, they started singing and dancing! Then they asked us to sing them some Easter songs. (hmmm, hmm clear throat) A couple of us did our rendition of "Up from the Grave" ....this group knew the words and started singing too.

There we were... in the middle of a smelly, dirty, sketchy street. Way past my bedtime. I have this job, she has that job. I sing like this, she sings like that. My skin is this color, her skin is that color. Together singing praise to God.

I'm humbled by the opportunity to be there that night....

We understand that the Bibles are often a cultural "good luck talisman" for the girls. They put them under their pillows at night to ward off spirits. Please pray that they'll crack them open...and that the Word would jump off the pages and saturate their hearts and transform their lives.

age-old questions...

I spent the day at a beach north of the city with my friends from Greek class.

Since they're nice people, I helped them build this British sandcastle.

I didn't have my stars and stripes with me or I would have staged an invasion, take-over and flag replacement! I'm not afraid of this Englishman...

In ministry news, our conversations during outreach this wk were ....sparse. The few girls we saw were sprinting by us at top speeds to outrun the loads of police that were around. We poured a few futile cups of tea only to have them thrown to the ground when they saw the flashing lights.

This raises an age-old question for me. How do you "solve" the problem of prostitution? Athens has decided of late to crack down on it in the city center. So they have more police paroles. Seems positive, right? From a 'clean-up-the-city' standpoint it IS positive. But the girls are expected by their pimp/trafficker/owner/madam to bring home a certain quota and there are really scary repercussions for them if they don't. So police raids just scatter the girls to other streets where they'll continue to do business. Hmmmm, back to square 1 for the city police.

From my simpleton soapbox, I say start with young boys & girls long before they reach the streets....at home, in church and in schools!! In my perfect world, the demand would dwindle as young boys learn to honor God with their bodies and see women as equals worthy of respect. And every little girl would find her value as a daughter of the King! "You wove me in my mother's womb, I will give thanks to you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made... How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand." Ps 139

This side of heaven, thank you for your prayers for these girls who live in a fearful reality and the men that propagate it.

cyprus sojourn...

I just returned from a Cyprus excursion. I have to exit every 3 mos to keep the EU happy and Kelsey was doing a conference on trafficking so I decided to join her. We were encouraged by the 50-ish people that came each day to hear about human trafficking in general and about the happenings on Cyprus specifically. Although Cyprus is a very small country, it is a major destination for trafficking because of its location. The girls seem to be sourced from Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Philippines. Sophisticated maf. crime rings bring them in on artiste visas or bar-maid work permits.

Most of the 50 that came to our conference didn't know much about the problem on their island and were shocked to learn the gritty details. They just had no idea it was going on in their quiet backyard. But there is a grass-roots group of 4 ladies that hit the streets each Wednesday hoping to build meaningful relationships with girls. Please pray for them! And please pray for the others that networked and dreamed up new ideas during the wkend. Pray they'd get involved as the Lord leads.


Meanwhile, back in Athens the protests and strikes continue! This is what I walked through today...


Strike, Strike, Strike! The Greeks love to strike! They often close the airport and all public forms of transportation to STRIKE! Can't imagine these strikes are super helpful to the suffering economy....but they didn't ask my opinion....

I'm leaving in a few hours for our late night Thurs outreach. Thank you for your prayers for safety and for good conversations!! With the nicer weather we seem to be encountering more curious 'customers' and with the bad economy the girls are willing to do more dangerous things for $$. We'll be out from 11p.m. - 2a.m. (that's 1:00pm in Seattle, 2:00pm in Idaho! )

hole in the wall...

The weather is beautiful today! I just returned from a sunny, warm stroll through Plaka - the old part of the city center. I Wish you could have been with me!

During the Monday outreach, I ran into the sad Nigerian girl I told you about. She said she "dealt with her problem" and is no longer pregnant. I wasn't surprised... I'm sure she couldn't find answers to some very real questions, such as, "How could she make money while she was pregnant? Where could she live? What would her pimp/trafficker say/do? Who would help her find a doctor ...or an adoption agency....or, crazier still, a way to keep the baby". I wasn't surprised at her decision, but sad nonetheless.

We also found a new brothel. Actually we've recently found a lot of new brothels springing up. Athens doesn't seem to be overly concerned with safety or health codes. This new addition - completely illegal according to the "official" books - is on the 2nd floor of a building. The former window was knocked out and a door loosely hinged to the wall. A rickety staircase is propped up on the wall for customers to use (it literally rocks when you step on it!) Where is the Dep't of Public Safety!? or the Health Dep't? ....maybe the Better Business Bureau...?? Somebody should care that this is happening in their lovely city. Prostitution is just such a way of life here. I've heard even as many as 1 in 3 Greek men have visited a den of 'ill repute'...not to mention immigrants and tourists. I guess it's just easier to look the other way when a new one joins the ranks.

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.

getaway...

Here are some pics of the brothels we visit. They are usually housed in great old buildings that could be beautiful under different circumstances. Brothels are indicated by white lights in our "red light" district.

(brothel photos by Andrea Rip)

I met a sad Nigerian girl working on the streets on Monday. She shared with us that she's only been here for 3 months and now thinks she's pregnant. Elephant-sized tears rolled down her cheeks as she talked. She asked us how to find free medical help. She doesn't want to keep the baby. We begged her to call us the next morning and we would meet her and help her.

But we never heard from her.

Sadly, that's really common. They promise they'll call because they'd like to get help or get out or get advice...or just meet for coffee. But they often don't call. We think this girl's phone was confiscated.

Please pray for her! Her fears, her pimp, her chains, her dangers are big. But I try to remember that God is Bigger still! "...to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory..." Eph 3

Some good news!... Marie, also from Nigeria, made a run for it last week! When she was dropped off on the corner to do her job, she made her break and ran to get help. My teammate helped her get to a safe place hours away from her trafficker! This one good story is hugely encouraging in this line of work! Please pray for continued protection for her as she is still in danger for a few months.

translation...

Yeia sas, Friends! I started an intensive Greek class last week. As you can see, I'm well on my way to fluency. Mon, Wed & Fri Stella is teaching 6 of us from all over the world....including my new friend from Slovakia whose husband is a British Embassy official. (Sounds important....)

Even without my studies here are some things an American can translate...

ahhh, the Bucks... a welcome familiar in this foreign land.

this naturally follows...

international house of cheap, yet hip, furnishings...

duck tape sold on the street corners for 1 euro.

I see Jesus in Greece, too. There is a lot of faith based symbolism in Athens. To be Greek is to be Greek Orthodox almost exclusively....but it's often a historical, cultural tradition for people...rather than a heart thing. There are 3 main evangelical churches here (cleverly called 1st, 2nd and 3rd).

Here are a few things I'm having trouble translating... perhaps I'll have better luck after wk 2 of class...??
What are these?? Should I try them?? These are standard questions for me at the grocery...

This is outside of my design expertise... "hair equipment"??

Parking rules are mere suggestions. The red arrow indicates where the corner ends....totally irrelevant to the red car! Also, note the cars parked 2 wide.

from the opposite angle...

I will only be going to the Monday night outreaches from 7:00 - 10:00 PM until my class ends in 6 wks. So in case you are curious... that is 10:00AM in Idaho and 9:00AM in Seattle. Last week I met Sara who asked me a lot of questions about how to find medical help here. I'm praying she took our advice and went to get the free check-ups! She also has our card and could call us for further help.

FYI, here are the demographics of the prostitution Nea Zoi saw in 2009...

29% Nigerian
24% Romanian
14% Bulgarian
12% Albanian
9% Greek
10% Former USSR

Thank you for standing w us in prayer as we hit the streets!