Project Thessalonica

Good day all:

We had a really good time yesterday on our Philippi journey. The ruins were interesting to see, and so was the place where Lydia was baptized (Acts 16), but the real joy was in witnessing and tract distribution.

Our first encounter was with a catholic nun who approached Bernard to inquire where he is from. As it turned out, the nun is from Baltimore, Maryland. The other nuns are from Ukraine and Argentina. The conversation went very well until Angelo and Bernard began to witness to her. Angelo told her of his glorious conversion, and she told of her hope which is in her works and Christ. Bernard asked her if her faith is in the scripture, tradition or both; she said both. You would have thought she was sitting on an ant pile, the way she began to squirm when she was being witnessed to.

After we departed the water side, we ducked into the adjacent Orthodox church which, as far as we could tell is there for show only. After that, we traveled to Kavala to eat lunch. Kavala is a very beautiful town on the mountain side and on the sea coast. We ate lunch in a divinely appointed spot. We invited the man and woman who run the business to sit with us and talk. They were happy to accommodate us. Once we exchanged pleasantries, we began to tell them of our great God and savior, Jesus Christ. They were very glad we had come by and told them, for they had never before heard such things as were expounded unto them that day. Although I do not recall their names, God knows who they are. Please pray for them.

After we departed Kavala, we stopped for gas about 40 kilometers down the road. We remembered that on the way to Philippi we had seen many small villages and how we would really like to go and visit one of them. Well, after we filled the tank, we up the mountain to a very quaint little town. As we drove up the narrow one car street, we passed by the town’s people who were out in number. Once we reached the top of the town, we could no longer refrain ourselves; we had to give those people the gospel. Therefore, as we descended Dan and Bernard jumped out gave gospel tracts to all the people who were out and about. What a grand time we had doing that!

Good day all:

Yesterday was Sheri and Audrey’s first time at the square. We all enjoyed our time there preaching, singing and distributing tracts. We have decided to use some new tactics: we begin at the end nearest to the water and spend several minutes there before moving to the next section up. We do that until we reach the top of the square, and by that time we are there for about three hours.

Greetings once again from Thessaloniki,

Today we were able to distribute over 1000 tracts in a huge parking area.

Before we did this, Angelo needed to resolve an issue regarding his visa situation. He did receive some good news. He had a meeting with Soulis, a lady who works for the municipality of Greece. She has been a great help to him, e-mailing the consolate in Sydney for him, giving him her personal number, and even pushing him to the front of a very long line. She’s helped bring some ease of mind to him. Please remember to pray for this situation, knowing that it could turn any way, depending on who is handling the paperwork.

Remember also the Logan family as they have been waiting for a long time for an answer about their visas and cannot be out in public until it is resolved.

Please continue praying for these men and their families. We can see the weight of pressure that is lying very heavily upon them. We need to seek God for them that they would have strength of mind as well as wisdom in regards to the church than God has already begun in this city. Both men don’t complain, but being here for a bit more than a week, it is easy for us to see that the task is daunting. We are exhausted after being out on the streets, going to run errands for the church, but unlike them, we don’t have to make follow-up calls and visits, prepare messages and interpret the work. Other than these things, there is much for them to do. Please pray.

Γεια σας τύπος Χριστιανοί (hello fellow Christians)

Χαιρετίσματα από Θεσσαλονίκη (greetings from Thessaloniki). Today, we had a great time doing a walk-about tract distribution. We left them on cars, trucks, bikes, walls, phones, ticket booths, and gave them to many people people. In all, we walked for two hours. We wanted to go longer but had to get back to the church so that an a/c unit could be installed. While we were there, we made good use of our time and cleaned the building and performed some maintenance.

The city of Thessaloniki is a fair size city, land-wise. We estimate it to be about the size of Gainsville, Florida; however, people-wise, it is much larger. The average building in the city is at least five stories. The first floor is comprised of businesses, and everything above that is residential. There are many people here!

Pray for wisdom on the behalf of Angelo and Brent. These men have their hands full. Angelo has been told conflicting information with regard to having to serve in the Greek army. The law is that he must serve, but he has been told by one person that he will not have to serve, and another has told him he will have to serve. Let us bring the matter to our great God. Please pray for Angelo.

In case people wonder, Angelo does four things: sleep, eat, study, and witness. Our day begins sometime around 6 or 7am, on the street from 10 or 11am until 2pm, then eat and study until 2am on average. At this rate, he is going to burn out very soon, unless God intervenes.

If you think Florida is hot, visit this place. It is hotter than a fire cracker on the fourth of July. I was praying earlier and telling God that we are trying to reach these people for him but that we are not sufficient for the task. Well, we may not be but he is. God used Paul, and he can certainly use us, if we will obey him and go. The more I think about Jesus’ command, to preach the gospel, I see the simplicity and how any believer can do it.

Pray for us. Yours in Christ, brother Bernard.

From Daniel:
Today, instead of having a day off, Bernard and I decided to take the brand new sign and show it off as we walked up and down the square. We had some good conversations. Though many people stared at the words (Ephesians 2:8-9) on the front and (Romans 6:23) on the back, many more people rejected the tracts. One man did stop us and asked for a Bible.

This morning, the three of us went for a jog, and Angelo had a very good conversation with the clerk at the dry cleaners. Then while Angelo and Brent spoke to some men and women from the scriptures, Bernard and I did a very enjoyable mini smack-down.

Altogether, this day turned out busier than others, but it was enjoyable in our busy-ness.