Project Thessalonica

Monday, May 13, 2013:
It’s was a real treat to visit Philippi and envision how things must have looked in Paul’s day when he met Lydia by the river. The serenity of this place is a beautiful parallel to the “peace that passeth all understanding” in the heart of a believer. Seemingly forgotten by the world, the traces of civilization lay nearly unknown despite their rich history.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013:
The pace was a bit slower today as Br. Brent had a meeting with the American Consulate regarding the police harassment experienced to date. The rest stamped the remaining Gospel of John booklets in preparation for their future distribution as we fellowshipped together.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013:
We began the day letter-boxing and distributed every piece of literature, literally, that we had in the vehicles, in our bags and our pockets! It was so sad to see Satan’s “fowls of the air” come and steal the seed that had just been sown. We watched as a woman, who was passing out real estate flyers door-to-door, took every booklet from one side of the street we had just finished and trashed them in the dumpster at the end of the street. Another interesting observation while doing this type of work here is that lots of businesses stuff letter boxes, yet, when residents open their box stuffed with these earthly advertisements and the gospel, one cannot help but wonder if they will realize their finger tips hold the truth of eternal life! We must pray that the seed sown will find good ground.

Tonight’s church service was a great time around the word of God as Br. Brent preached on 1 Thess. 2:1-5, with the primary thought being that the Lord did not consider the time Paul, et al., spent in Thessalonica ‘in vain’ because it was about the souls of men and pleasing the Saviour, despite the contentions. May we all keep this thought at the forefront of all we say and do every day! Please continue to pray for the translator situation that the Lord would give wisdom, discernment and guidance for the right man to fill Angelo’s shoes. This person will not only need to translate in church, but be willing to go on the street to make that time profitable and effective.

Thursday, May 16, 2013:
…our time of departure is at hand…we have fought a good fight and finished our course!
Today was our last day here in Thessaloniki as we will be departing tomorrow morning at 800a local time and headed back to Virginia.

We spent the morning on the street to give it one last go before departing, unfortunately, the police were a problem again today. As we calmly talked with Greeks, two officers walked up and started questioning us…”who are you, where are you from, what is this stuff you are handing out…?” After informing him we were Americans and that we were giving away the Bible, he checked our passports and told us to pack up our stuff and leave. Br. Brent calmly asked him what we had done wrong and why they were forcing us to leave. The officer then instructed us to go to the police station. We asked why, he said “go!”, we asked why, he said “go” and began physically pushing Br. Brent to leave. Ultimately, Br. Brent was the only one “arrested”, though none of us were told what had been done illegally. We remained on the street for another hour passing out booklets and earnestly contending for the souls of men in conversations without incident. While at the station, Br. Brent had all his personal belongings taken from him and he spent 2.5 hours in a holding cell with drug addicts, drunkards, thieves and the like, even though he was not officially arrested.

Jesus said the religious crowd hated him without a cause (Jn. 15:25) and we who will live godly in Christ Jesus should expect nothing less. However, for the work to continue in this city, the police harassment issue must be addressed. Please be in prayer for Br. Brent that the Lord would give him wisdom and guidance on what steps to take and with whom he should speak to attain a resolution. The EU guarantees religious freedom, and as a part of the EU, Greece is supposed to recognize and uphold this law, however, this has not been the case. The Christians preaching the gospel have once again been targeted and shamefully entreated (1 Thess. 2:2), yet we know our labour is not in vain! Unfortunately, not much has changed in this city over the last 2000 years concerning those who would preach Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen again for the salvation of men’s souls! Nevertheless, let us be so bold as to say, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Continue to pray for those souls that have been saved and for THE BIBLE Baptist Church of Thessaloniki that they would be “steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…”

As we depart, our prayer for this work continues to be in accord with 2 Thess. 3:1-2:
“Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.”

Print PDF

Sunday, May 12, 2013:
Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love… (1 Thess. 1:3)

Angelo’s last day and last Sunday has come with mixed emotions for everyone involved in the project. While this humble servant would never desire the limelight, it would do us all good to remember the work of faith and labour of love the Lord has allowed him to do over the past year. His departure marks the loss of a gospel preacher, faithful witness, fellow-labourer and dedicated friend.

As good servants of our Lord and Saviour, we should all desire that our lives would make a marked difference in someone else’s life during our time on earth. This morning’s service revealed just how much Angelo’s presence has meant to those with whom he has made contact. Although many have rejected the preaching, it was evident as he poured out his heart this morning and the tears flowed that his presence has made a profound impact on those here in the church. After Angelo’s stirring message about ‘counting the cost’, Br. Brent expounded on 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, reminding us of the characteristics the church in this city once possessed, which received two epistles by the hand of Paul. The following are highlights from the day:

1. One man in the church has been burdened with the need of Angelo’s father in Australia to be born again. As such, he wrote a heart-felt, 8-page letter for Angelo to deliver to his dad. Please be in prayer for his parents’ salvation as he returns to Sydney!

2. Elias, who was baptized Saturday, gave a wonderful testimony of being born again. Pray for him as Kayode teaches him the Bible / English.

3. A first-time visitor showed up from the distribution of gospel literature on the streets. He believes St. Demetrius saved him and is steeped in Orthodox tradition. He left the service after Br. Logan preached on ‘turning from idols’ (1 Thess. 1:9) but then returned a few minutes later and sat quietly until service was done. Although we parted ways ‘agreeing to disagree’, he heard the word of God clearly, and “faith cometh by hearing”!

4. Alexis and her 7-month old daughter, who we met on the street Monday, kept her word and attended today. She made a hearty go of it, but in the end, a fussy baby and the sound levels in the small room caused her to be in and out during the preaching. She promised to return and speak with us another time. We have not been able to speak with her at length concerning salvation, so pray she will keep her word again and return.

After church, we treated Angelo to dinner at his his favorite restaurant and he was able to pass out Greek New Testaments to all the waiters and owners that he has become acquainted with over the past year.

Please pray for Angelo as he flies out at 930a (Greece time) that the Lord will bless his trip back to Australia and will multiply blessings upon his life for ‘counting the cost’ and deeming the service to our Saviour this past year more valuable than his own life. He has truly hazarded his life for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 15:26)!

Finally, let us not cease to pray for the salvation of souls in this great city! The work must continue on so that a foundation in Jesus Christ can be laid. May we all be busy in our respective parts of the world sowing and watering, for “the night cometh, when no man can work”(Jn. 9:4).

To God be the glory, great things He hath done!

Print PDF

What a blessing that the last weekend of Angelo’s service to the Lord here in Thessaloniki included a baptism! We all traveled down to the sea and followed the commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ just as believers have done for centuries. There was singing, testifying, and a Biblical admonition on the shores of the sea where believers of past days must surely have also followed our Savior.

This was all provoked by Elias, the Iranian born man that has been attending our services for a little over a month. Elias escaped Iran and Afghanistan after coming to the realization that Islam and the Koran were a lie. After arriving in Greece, he was told of the good news of Jesus Christ by an Arabic speaking man. Then he met Kayode, the dear brother who came from London to work with us for the sake of the gospel. Kayode has been spending much time with Elias teaching him English so that he can teach him the Bible. Kayode brought him to our church where he continued to learn of Christ and Biblical salvation. At the end of a Wednesday night bible study, he declared out loud DURING THE PREACHING with his hands lifted up…”I know I am born again and wish to be baptized! I am ready now!” The Greeks in the service were greatly convicted by such an act of courageous obedience. While the Greeks are scared to follow the Lord in believer’s baptism because of the serious persecution they will experience, it was a shock to see one willing to follow the Savior when it would mean certain death in his homeland and with his relatives. The Greeks discussed among themselves for a good while accusing one another concerning why they were unwilling to reject their baby baptism now that they had been born again. It was an amazing thing to watch. Finally, of their own volition, four Greeks said they wanted to be baptized. We scheduled the time and transportation, but sadly, all of the Greeks backed out at the last minute on Saturday with different excuses. They continue to say, however, that they wish to follow the Lord in this step. We will pray and wait for their growth. Bro. Logan also re-baptized his daughter Bethany at her request. Three years ago in Romania she received the assurance of her salvation after struggling with doubts over her childhood profession.

All in all, it was a wonderful day on the shores of Thessaloniki with a uniquely Scriptural testimony for our Savior. Bless the Lord!

Print PDF

Friday, May 10, 2013:
The Lord instructed us to beware of those who wear long robes and love greetings in the market (Luke 20:46). Beware, because they honour the Lord with their lips, but their hearts are far from him; because in vain they worship Him and teach for doctrines the commandments of men; because they reject the commandments of God to keep their traditions (Mark 7:7).

How would you react to a man in a long, black robe instructing people that the freely distributed word of God was heresy and then commanding little children to kiss his hand in a sickening show of power and pride? Well, we did as the Lord instructed and preached Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen again for the salvation of men’s souls! The man in the long, black robe hates this message, he hates Jesus, the Bible and he hates the men who preach it and the women who hand it out (Jn. 15). So, as any good church-run state would do, the man in the long, black robe makes a phone call and the Christians get hauled off to the police station…again, to have our passports checked…again, in order to stop the preaching and distribution of God’s word. While these events are light afflictions compared to persecutions of past Christians, not to mention our Lord and Saviour, they are nonetheless annoying and disrupting…and illegal . We were not officially “under arrest”, but were forced to ride in the back of police cars to the station and locked in a holding area with common criminals…while our passports were “checked”, of course. After about 45 minutes, we were released. Four Americans, a Brit and an Aussie all guilty of giving out the gospel…Praise the Lord!

The lesson is simple, anyone willing to obey the Lord and “go into all the world” will suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:12)! Howbeit, the incorruptible seed went forth to hundreds and we ask that all continue to pray the seed will find good ground.

As we make our way around the city, it is inspiring to see the historic ruins and to imagine oneself present when Paul and Silas were reasoning with them out of the scriptures and to see the agora where is it quite plausible Jason was brought and falsely accused by envious religious leaders (sounds familiar, Acts 17). One thing is for certain, the warfare then was spiritual and the same is true today! Just as they, we are wrestling against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12). But praise the Lord, we have the victory through Jesus Christ, who has spoiled those principalities (Col. 2:15) and hath made us more than conquerors, promising us that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:37-39) Amen!

Print PDF

Wednesday, May 8, 2013:
Crowds were back to normal capacity as our group ministered on the streets in the city. Three preachers sounded forth the saving gospel to this generation of Greeks on the same ground where Paul preached the same saving gospel to his generation (Acts 13:36). The word of God quietly worked on the hearts of those who would receive it and good conversations were had in both Greek and English. One man read the entire Gospel of John before going on his way while another couple, who spoke very good English, sat and listened to the men preaching until they all finished before going leaving. Let us continue to pray the seed sown will find good ground and bear much fruit to the glory and praise of our Saviour!

It was truly a blessing to be at The BIBLE Baptist Church of Thessaloniki for Wednesday night service. A good crowd of Greeks, Americans, Aussies, Afghans and Brits were in attendance for the preaching of God’s word. Br. Brent and Br. Nathan shared the preaching time and brought respective messages on ‘eternal security’ and ‘properly receiving God’s word’. These are lively services with those in attendance frequently commenting and asking questions during the preaching as they grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Many years of spiritual darkness and “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” must be undone and the word of God rightly divided so that all may worship in Spirit and in truth. Nonetheless, it is such a blessing that saved sinners from all over the world (literally) can be together in sweet fellowship (1 Jn. 1:3).

Thursday, May 9, 2013:
This morning the group was busy letter-boxing in the city, which is quite a production given the maze of one-way streets and double-parked vehicles that must be negotiated. Many residential buildings in the city place their letter boxes inside the foyer making it very difficult to access them due to key pad combination locks. However, if you are Bethany and Lydia Logan, you get people to hold the door open for you so that you can stuff the boxes and then smile and wish you a good day as you exit! . Let this be a lesson to us all who have children that it is worth the effort, if at all possible, to take them with us as we minister publicly. Rarely will someone turn down literature from the hands of a child and oftentimes they receive more favour with those being ministered to than do we adults!

This afternoon, we dove into stamping Gospel of John booklets while everyone took care of some respective personal items. We then enjoyed a meal together at the Logan’s house and rested up for what promises to be a busy weekend as we look forward to the street meeting Friday, a baptism Saturday and church services Sunday.

Please remember these prayer requests:
1. Angelo flies out early Monday morning and a translator is needed to continue effectively ministering
2. That our group will obtain favour from the Lord and the Greeks and that we can make a difference in their lives for the cause of Christ
3. Continue to pray according to 2 Thess. 3:1-2

Print PDF

The Greek Easter celebration ended Monday…but that did not necessarily mean people returned to work on Tuesday! Our plans to do food shopping were thwarted because the stores were all closed, so we went to the city center to sow some incorruptible seed (1 Peter 1:23) and offer freely the Bread of Life (Jn. 6). We wondered if God might have switched our plans – it turned out to be a great day! The following are highlights from our 3 hours on the street:

1. Perhaps the most uplifting event was getting to see Avra, a dear Greek lady whom we have heard much about from the folks here. It was a blessing getting to meet her and we are looking forward to spending more time with her and the others during church services.

2. One gentleman approached and said “I’m 80 years old and I know I’m going to die…I just want to know the truth!” He was shown the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

3. Pray for Antonio, who believes Jesus is God and died for his sins, but has been taught that only the priests can have the Holy Spirit and that scriptural understanding is reserved only for them as well.

4. A Pentecostal man stood beside one of our members and sharply rebuked his fellow-countrymen when they refused our gifts. He stated he was ready to punch those who treated us badly. We started pointing to…just kidding !

5. Pray that Alexis and her 7-month old baby girl visiting for 6 weeks from ? will honor her word and attend services this week. Promises like this abound, but few follow through.

Rest assured that when the precious name of Jesus is preached, it has an effect on people. Despite very low numbers of people out and about, there was no lack of excitement! We preached Christ…to many Greeks, foolishness (1 Cor. 1:23). Men earnestly contended for their religion, some to the point of fighting amongst themselves, while we earnestly contended for the faith of Christ with those who would listen (Jude 3).

We finished out the day letter-boxing in the city. It is truly amazing how many ways a letter box can be designed and built! We then enjoyed a meal together at one of the fine Greek restaurants that abound in this sea-port city.

Please make the following matters of prayer:
1. Angelo leaves May 13 and a translator is badly needed.
2. We are hopeful there will be a baptism on Saturday.
3. That our team will make a difference in someone’s life for Christ during our time here.
4. “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.” (2 Thess. 3:1-2)

Print PDF

The team from Spring City Baptist Church arrived safely and began settling in while stamping some Gospel of John booklets that will be given out on the streets. We enjoyed fellowship and a meal prepared by the Logan’s at their house before retiring for the night. Unless you’ve been here, it will be hard to understand what a wonderful work the Lord has done in preparing all the details of this project! It is such a blessing to see His hand at work and to be serving with dedicated servants who simply love the Lord and want to see the name of our Saviour lifted high (John 12:32) in this city!

Print PDF

What a joy to labour together with other believers to get the gospel out! Below you see a picture of some of those in the church working together to stuff over 13,000 envelopes with the good news of Jesus Christ. It took 9 hours to complete this job, but all were happy to do it for the Lord. We prayed over this literature, and it is now at the post office ready to be delivered. It will cover a radius of the city around our church building and potentially reach over 40,000 individuals. Please pray for the recipients to respond to the Spirit of God and get in touch with us!

Print PDF

The gospel continues to sound out in Thessaloniki for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our public preaching has encountered no more opposition due to the grace of God and answered prayer. Literature also floods the city door-to-door. It is amazing just how many tracts and gospels of John have been distributed. May Jesus Christ be praised. This week we are planning a mail-out to over 13,000 households in a circumference around the church building. Keep this before the Lord!

Recently, we have been blessed with Harula’s husband attending our services. We have tried unsuccessfully for 10 months to get this man to visit or converse with us. His wife has been coming all along, but he was always leery. Possibly because of Angelo’s persistence and Mrs. Logan’s continual sending of sweets to him via his wife, his heart softened. He and his wife now enjoy coming together. What a joy to see Greeks (born and raised Orthodox) follow along in the word of God as it is preached. They both (older couple on the back row pictured below) now acknowledge the fallacy of the Greek Orthodox religion and declare they have been saved. Please pray for them. This past Sunday we had 5 Greeks, 1 Nigerian, 1 Iranian, and of course, 5 Americans with 1 Australian. So many more have promised to attend. Others have been hindered with extra work as they struggle to pay their bills. We are praying that the things of the Lord become first in the hearts of those to whom we are teaching the precious word of God. Please be in pray over a replacement for Angelo. He departs Greece on May 13th. We are looking now for a translator to hire.

Print PDF

Day 11 (Last Day:(
Friday, April 19 10:30am

Up and ready and no matter how hard we try, we cannot sleep in. Did not need to go letter boxing until noon so after our time with the Lord we began stamping the gospel of John with the church’s address and phone number and started reminiscing about yesterday;
-Elisabeth and I were coming back to Br. Logan during street ministry when a camera man and reporter came up to us and put the mic up to Elisabeth and spoke Greek. Elisabeth says she can’t understand and he says you don’t speak Greek? No! They walk away frustrated.
-When I was holding the gospel sign I saw a woman coming from my right and I heard her say, “tsk, tsk, haven’t you anything better to do?” At first I am caught off guard because I am not expecting to hear English and by the time I turned towards her, she was already a few meters away.

12:00pm
After praying for our day we all head over to Br. Logan’s. Karine (Correct spelling, sounds like Carina) wants to come letter boxing so she goes with Angelo (to have someone to speak with), Ben and David while LauraM, Elisabeth and I go with Br. Logan. What a great day and we get over six boxes emptied by close to 2:30pm. We all had a good time and I even saw the street where the Apostle Paul hung out; they named this street after him! Ha Ha!! Angelo said he changed Karine’s name to Paul-ina as she was witnessing to people on the street and telling them to, “read the gospel and get saved.” She is so full of excitement for the Lord but very mixed up as well; Wanting a sign from God and very into the Charismatic signs and wonders thing and does not think you can have eternal security but lose your salvation whenever you sin. It is very sad because all of her (and our) answers are in the Bible. I think the saddest part of our day tho was watching an older man ripping up the gospel he took from his letterbox. If he only knew what it was he was doing but, one day the Lord will remind him of that moment and he will regret that day.

6:00pm
After lunch at Cosmos we all went for a last hurrah at Starbucks. I think there are only 4-5 in Thessaloniki and we must have it them all, several times:) We saw a man with the biggest watch I’ve ever seen, it looked like a mini clock. We said farewell to Karine as she took the bus home and we drove back to the Logan’s to say good-bye and pick up more gospel of John to stamp.

9:00pm
At “home” packing and cleaning the mission-house. Hard to believe we leave in the morning. Angelo has been so kind and shared with us some of the wonderful times that he has had with all the teams and misses each one as they leave. I am so glad tho that he will have time to rest, study and do his laundry:) after we go. The next team comes the first week in May and Angelo heads home to Australia the second week. He has been a real blessing!! The Logan family are wonderful and the whole family look and act so at home here on the mission field. They were very kind to us and I so enjoyed our short spurts of time together.
I really liked our team; LauraM-Florida, DavidJ-Alabama, Elisabeth-Alberta and Me. I think we had a great time together; worked/played so well. Many, many laughs and wonderful memories.
So grateful the Lord allowed me to come.

Print PDF