The effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man availeth much (James 5:16).
The prayers of God’s people were very, very evident here today. Good crowd at the church meeting this morning. From left to right:
– Theodore, whom you will remember from the earliest reports
– Brother Joseph from Australia
– Terry, a street vendor from Nigeria
– Group from Deland (Aimee, Holly, Todd, David)
– Telemachus, who has a wonderful voice and enjoyed praising the Lord in song both before and during the service
– Man whose name I cannot remember, sells lottery tickets at the platea
– The Koletases (Brother John and the birthday girl, Sister Irene)
– Kiriathos, his story below
Kiriathos visited church for the first time today. He received a tract at the platea. This particular tract did not have the church address, only a website address. So he went to the website, got directions, and showed up at church this morning.
Stayed around for conversation after Brother Koletas preached a great message from Romans 8:28. Had some very good, sincere questions. The many things going on in his life and in the world around him have him in search of answers.
The conversation then moved to the Logan’s home, where Sister Koletas had prepared a delicious Greek meal. What a blessing it was to sit back and watch Brother Koletas, Telemachus, and Kiriathos go from topic to topic, from scripture to scripture for several hours after the meal was finished. And then WHAT A BLESSING TO HEAR KIRIATHOS BOW HIS HEAD AND ASK THE LORD TO SAVE HIM! Hallelujah, praise the Lamb!
The fact that Kiriathos received a tract, decided to come to church, heard the gospel, and placed his faith in Jesus Christ not only met the deepest need of his soul, it may very well be the answer to our immediate, short-term need for a translator for this project. Kiriathos attended university in Germany, where he studied German and English for the purpose of teaching German. Though not employed in the field at this time, he is a linguist. His English is very good. He will be calling later in the week to discuss the possibility of helping us in this way.
The Koletases will be flying from Thessaloniki to Athens Tuesday morning in order to catch their flight back to the states and return to their work in upstate NY. It will be very sad to bid them farewell. We have greatly enjoyed our time together. Their love for the Greek people would remind you of the love that Paul had for his kinsmen according to the flesh (Romans 9:1-3; 10:1). Brother John and Sister Irene have been such a tremendous help to this project. Please keep this fine couple in your prayers.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen (Revelation 22:21).
Photos 051-056 – At the church house this morning: beautiful sign out front; group photo; Brother Koletas preaching; fellowship afterward.
Photo 057 – Spoke with 14-year-old Alexander on the bus ride from the church house toward the village. It is technically illegal to “proselytize” youth 16 and under, so much caution is needed. But between his little bit of English and my little bit of Greek, I told him Jesus loved him and died for his sins, and encouraged him to read the Bible.
Photo 058 – the back seat of Brother Logan’s Toyota Corolla, where Joseph, Todd, Aimee, and I rode the rest of the way in to the village because the bus we were to catch the rest of the way would not arrive for another hour and a half
Photo 059 – The Logan’s dining room table where we enjoyed a delicious meal and afterward Kiriathos bowed his head and asked the Lord to save him!
