Project Thessalonica

Thanks to the good grace of God and the mild Greek winter climate, there were large numbers of people walking in the city square this week. We ran out of the literature we had brought with us, not expecting such a large crowd. The box of gospels of John and the many stacks of tracts were gone in about an hour. The sign continued to get attention from those passing by. Many of them read the Scripture for the first time in their lives. We were hindered vocally today by the many musicians in the streets. For some reason the Greek population has no problem with open-air loud amplified music. It is only the natural voice of a preacher of the gospel that turns things upside down and bothers the mind. We press on with the publication of the word of God in spite of the hindrances of the world and our own language deficiencies. It is God that must give the increase. We are just the sowers.

Telemachus and Kiriakos remain faithful to the church services. Another man who had come several times in the past, Leonadas, came back to church this week. Pray for him as he needs to be saved. We were also privileged to have an 84 year old Greek man, Costas, visit us on Wednesday night. He has been saved for many years and worked for the evangelical churches in the past. He encouraged us not to stop our witnessing even though it was a hard task in this nation. He was saddened at the lack of fruit after so many years of his personal attempts to give the gospel to his own people. He seemed genuinely glad for our efforts even passing along some of the tracts he had used through the years.

We are still awaiting the next team which should arrive the week of January 28th. Until then, we have been playing catch-up on house and vehicle repairs, personal needs, etc. before the long uninterrupted sprint of 18 weeks of evangelistic teams.

Still brightening this corner of Greece for the Son of God!

Many thanks to all of you who remain burdened and praying for the field of Thessaloniki. We continue to go to the streets, pass out tracts, distribute gospels of John, and hold services. Telemachus (pictured with our family below) has been very faithful to church and also to our public evangelism. He has a great love for music and is extremely talented in voice. Kiriakos continues to come to church and regularly translates the services even though he has many needs. Bright and his wife have also come back to church, but we are waiting on many others to see the need to sit under the word of God. Our phone continues to ring, and we are trying to follow up on the contacts. The economic situation here is deteriorating. There are more people begging on the streets, more Greeks contemplating suicide, and a general sense of misery pervades society. The majority of the people are now in dire straits financially. We get more calls and conversations about this than anything else. It is very hard to discuss the greater aspect of spiritual and eternal things with people that are consumed with the problems and cares of this life. We desire wisdom from God to know how best to gain their attention on things of the soul.

We are now team-less here in Thessaloniki, but it was a blessing for all of the Logan family to be reunited back in Greece to continue the work. Bro. Joseph has now headed back on the long journey to Australia. Before he left, we were able to enjoy one more time of freedom preaching together in the center and handing out gospels of John. It is a joy to be able to witness publicly unhindered by any earthly authority. Praise God for the continued open door.

Upon arriving to church for our Wednesday Bible study, a letter had been delivered by the post office to the church. A 50 year old disabled lady from a town 30 minutes away wrote that she had picked up a gospel of John which had been discarded in the square of Thessaloniki. She requested in her letter that she be sent a whole Bible to read and included her desire for someone to visit her. It is amazing to see how far and wide the seed of the word of God is able to reach even when it has been discarded! We will attempt follow-up.

We need prayer right now concerning our ability to communicate with the people until Bro. Angelo comes back. At least three phone calls have been received to which we were unable to speak with the callers because of the language issue. Kiriakos did translate for the service on Wednesday, but his time with us is uncertain. He also admitted his elderly father into the hospital this week. Continue to pray for him and also Telemachus as we ascertain the extent of their relationships with God and seek to help them spiritually.

Thanking the Lord for a new year with the same mission.

So hard to believe our course of service in Thessaloniki has come and gone so quickly. Bags are packed. Mission house is cleaned and tidied. We leave for the airport at 6:15 in the morning.

Enjoyed spending our last day here at the church house. Failed to get a photo, but in attendance were: Kiriakos, Telemachus, Terry, Stellio, Bright, and his wife (whose Hungarian name escapes me). Disappointed that some others did not show but very thankful for those that did.

Good song service, with hymns both in Greek and English, then Brother Logan preached a stirring message from the account of the storm on the Sea of Galilee at the end of Mark 4. Points included: the ship and the storm as a picture of our lives, often filled with things that result in our destruction; our greatest need for Jesus to be in the ship; the question not being whether Jesus cares about our problems but whether we will go to Him for help; the importance of not only going to God for help but exercising faith in the person of Christ; that peace and calm only came when creation responded to the rebuke that was spoken by Jesus Christ.

Enjoyed some good fellowship before and after the church service. Telemachus’s musical ability and knowledge of Greek hymns could prove to be a real blessing. Two examples today. Before church, I was playing “Blessed Assurance” on the piano. With a smile on his face, he started singing along (in Greek) and told me he hadn’t heard that song in 30 years. After the service, when I was playing, he wanted to know if I knew the song that went along with the passage from the sermon – “Master, the Tempest is Raging.” I did my best to remember the music, and he sang along with that as well.

Speaking of Telemachus. He is 75 years old. Has had a triple bypass surgery (not clear on when that was). Said his doctor has told him that if he wants to live, he needs to walk 7km (over 4 miles) a day. Well, he normally rides the bus into church, but this morning, he walked from his home in Thermi to the church house in Thessaloniki. That’s 12km, or 7.5 miles. Left his home before 9:30 to make it to church by 11:30. (And had a spill on the way in.) Praise the Lord for such dedication. What excuse has kept you out of church recently?

So good to have Kiriakos back at church again. Did a fine job translating. Brother Brent had good opportunity to speak with him over lunch. He is very discouraged after being out of work for 2.5 years as a result of the financial crisis in Greece. Has a lot of questions, and a lot of honest doubts. Brother Brent was able to encourage him to seek first the kingdom of God; that the only way to be fulfilled in life is to focus not on the temporal but on the eternal and to make the purpose of life glorifying God. For example, the Apostle Paul was content, though he was in prison, because his contentment did not depend on his circumstances, but on Jesus Christ. And He never disappoints. Simple truths to articulate and understand. We so often have difficulty accepting them and putting them into practice.

Please continue to pray for Kiriakos and the many others here in whose hearts the Lord is evidently working. Pray also for the Logan family, the rest of which flies in tomorrow. They are all very eager to return to the work and will be going it alone for the next little while, as the next team does not arrive for another four weeks.

Thanks once again to all those who prayers have been evident, not just for our course, but for the duration of this project. Such an amazing thing to see God’s hand at work. Such a blessing to be a small part of what He is doing in this city.

Fare ye well.

Cold and rainy morning in Thessaloniki. Much less than ideal for public evangelism. But the people were out, going to and fro. And the Jehovah’s Witnesses were out peddling their hellish watchtowers. So we got out with our gospel tracts and Gospel of John booklets. Stood mainly in the corridors on either side of the platea and at the bus loop along the north end. Spent a couple hours and got out a good bit of literature.

Highlight of the morning outing was a phone conversation with Kiriakos. He looks forward to joining us for church again tomorrow.

Brother Brent spent the afternoon making phone calls, trying to reconnect with those who had been visiting before he left. Did reach one couple who were excited to hear from him and promised to be in church tomorrow.

The rain was falling in Nea Rysio as we left for our last outreach effort at the platea, but it stopped by the time we reached the city. The crowds were steady, though the streets were not as packed as they have been in previous days. Were still able to get out our customary 1,000 or so tracts in the space of a couple hours.

Pray for Xarambalos and Ares. These two young men stopped when they were handed a tract. They spoke some English so we were able to engage in conversation. As I attempted to explain the tract and the gospel to Xarambalos, he told me this story. A friend of his had been to America. When he returned, he sat down with Xarambalos, and they discussed the Bible for an hour and a half. During the course of that conversation, Xarambalos said he lost track of time and missed an appointment. He said since that time, he has been thinking about what his friend told him, and searching for the truth.

When I gave him a tract with the church address, he said he knew where it was. Both said they would join us for church tomorrow. Please pray that they do, and that the Holy Spirit works in their hearts as they hear the gospel plainly preached.

Anticipating a great day at the church house tomorrow. Hard to believe we’ll be sending our final report from the mission house tomorrow night. No way to express our thanks to the many who have prayed, labored, and given to make this work possible.

Photos 098-101 — A quick trip to the Roman Agora before the morning outreach.

Photos 102-103 — False Witnesses at the platea this morning.

Photo 104 — Brother Todd in conversation yet again.

Photos 105-106 — Our final evening outreach.

Cold, damp, foggy day in Thessaloniki. Hard to believe that our time here is winding down. It’s always an honor to serve the Savior. Has been a special blessing to have the opportunity to take part in this project.

Spent another good morning at the Roman Arch (more properly, the Arch of Galerius). There are several things that make this a good spot for evangelism. In addition to the few we mentioned previously: (1) It is a popular meeting place. At any given time, there will be several people just standing around and waiting. (2) The Orthodox church in the backdrop makes for an excellent preaching prop – e????s?a de? s??e? (church does not save). (3) A couple of nearby bus stops make for great spots to get out tracts – something to pass the time while they wait for the next bus. (4) The friendly shop owner at the bakery across the street makes some excellent bougatsa.

For the past few days, we’ve been using the Greek Chick tracts donated by Bluegrass Pike Baptist Church in Danville, KY. Brother Logan was once told that Chick tracts will not work in Greece. We have had quite the opposite experience. Several times today, we had people come up to us and ask us for the tracts. Some wanted a couple extra to take to their friends. (Did have one person ask if I had done the sketches personally.)

Not only did the tracts go out well, it was not an uncommon sight to see people open them up and start to read them through. (“Chick tracts get read.”)

Also distributed a few New Testaments. One young man sat down and immediately started to read it. Watched for a few minutes, then engaged in a quick conversation just before his party arrived to meet him.

While we were at the arch, we received a call to the number listed on the tracts. A lady was asking what time the church services started. I did the best I could with Greek, and she did the best she could with English, but she eventually got frustrated and hung up. I sent a text message to the number with the service times, but not sure if she will be able to read it. Do pray (1) that she will make it to the church services; (2) that all will be put in place for Angelo’s soon return; (3) that the Lord will somehow help us handle these situations in the meantime. Brother Brent said this evening that he would like to do some more letter-boxing, but the problem – if you can call it a problem – is that it generates calls. And at the present, we have no one able to respond to them.

Will leave you with a number of blessings from the evening, then a few pictures from the day. (1) Praise the Lord Brother Logan arrived back in Thessaloniki safe and sound. (2) We were able to pick up his van from the shop, which will be very useful for the weekend. (3) A tremendous blessing to have him lead us on the evangelistic effort at the platea tonight. (4) Also treated the group to some delicious Greek food at a well-known local restaurant. Suffering for Jesus in Thessaloniki!

Photo 090 – Many standing around at the Arch of Galerius.

Photo 091 – Holly with the sign. Aimee with tracts. Stack of free New Testaments.

Photo 092 – Brother Todd, almost always has a gospel conversation going.

Photo 093 – Brother Joseph and Angelo. Trying to convince him that the poor need the gospel more than they need food. And that taking care of them is a good thing to do, but not the way of salvation.

Photo 094 – Brothers Joseph and Todd both had their passports checked by police today. Didn’t seem to be singled out. The police seemed to be approaching people somewhat randomly in that area today.

Photo 095 – View inside of the rotunda just behind the arch (to the north). Glad that Jesus died “once for all” (Hebrews 9-10) and is alive forevermore (Hebrews 7:24-25; Revelation 1:18).

Photo 096 – Brother Brent preaching Jesus at the platea.

Photo 097 – Have had many stop to read the signs. Not an uncommon sight today for people to stop and read the tracts. God’s word will not return void (Isaiah 55:10-11).

We had wanted to take advantage of the slow days in town to make a trip out to the ancient ruins at Philippi, but we called ahead and found out the area was closed both the 25th and 26th. Made the trip this morning instead.

Stopped by the auto shop to retrieve the GPS from the van. Ended up wishing we had gone with the printed directions, as the GPS took us on a very adventurous, circuitous route through the countryside. We eventually got close enough to Philippi to get directions from a couple locals (neither of whom spoke English). Finally found a sign for Philippi as we were pulling out of the parking lot of Lydia’s baptistery.

Enjoyed seeing the ruins of the ancient city. Thrilling to think of what transpired in this town 2,000 years ago. Read portions from Acts 16 and the epistle of Philippians in the theatre. Sang hymns in what they call the prison of St. Paul. Walked through the Roman forum, and tried to imagine it as filled with people, just like the platea this past couple weeks.

A worker at Philippi was extremely helpful and gave perfect directions to the nearby highway that goes all the way into Thessaloniki. Enjoyed taking in the beautiful scenery on the trip back to the mission house.

Worked a good evening shift at the platea and distributed 1,000+ gospel tracts. Also took down the Acts 20:21 / Romans 1:16 sign, which many stopped to read. Greatly missed having the Koletases with us. Truly enjoyed laboring with them. And having someone able to speak to the people in their native tongue obviously made a huge difference.

Do pray for Holly. Our after-church meal at a Greek fast-food restaurant (ironically named Goody’s) put her out of commission for today. She’s rested up and ready to go tomorrow. We plan on another shift at the Roman arch in the morning, then we pick up Brother Logan in the afternoon.

Thanks again for your continued prayers.

Photo 084 — at the theatre

Photos 085-086 — the jail at Philippi

Photo 087 — Aimee by the Roman forum

Photos 088-089 — taking the gospel to the streets

Slow day yesterday. Spent most of the day at the mission house resting, cleaning, doing laundry, etc. Did venture out into the city in the evening for another visit to the Trigonion Tower. Got some nice photos (075-076). Found a few people out and about and distributed some tracts.

The highlight of the day was a text message from Kiriakos confirming that he’d be at the Bible study Wednesday night!

We weren’t sure what we’d find today when we made our way into Thessaloniki. Decided to camp out at the Roman arch with tracts, a banner, and a few boxes of New Testaments. (photos 077-078). (1) Not expecting nearly as much action at the platea. (2) Wanted to throw off our Orthodox friends from Monday. (3) Pretty cool to preach somewhere you expect the apostle Paul must have preached. (4) It’s close to the universities, and we thought this might give us a better chance at having conversations in English.

Made it out a bit earlier than usual. And found out why we don’t normally wait a little later to head out. Took about an hour for things to get going. Did take some time to obey Mark 16:15 (photo 079).

Our strategy worked, and we were able to have a number of good conversations in English (photos 080-081).

The need for a Greek speaker was keenly felt in several instances. In others, it was a blessing not to know what was being said. I was able to make out a few times we were called heretics or devils and told to get out of Greece.

Had another Luke 8:12 experience today. I had approached an older gentleman with a Greek greeting and a tract. Made the little bit of conversation that I could about the tract, then offered him a free New Testament, which he gladly received. Before long, a large group showed up. Apparently, this man was the leader of the group. After some photos at the arch, he told everyone about the New Testaments, and they gathered around the boxes to take one. But after seeing the church stamp in the front cover, some ladies spread the word (not Orthodox), and many of the New Testaments were returned.

After a quick lunch break, we walked down to see if we could climb up the White Tower (closed) but found a good number of people walking along the coastline, so we got out a good number of tracts there (photo 082).

Between Monday and today, we’d had a number of people promise to show up for Bible study. Unfortunately, they did not show. Hope they will keep the tracts and drop in at a later date.

Telemachus and Kiriakos both arrived early. Praise the Lord! Kiriakos came – and translated – despite coming down with a bad cold this week. What a huge answer to prayer!

After a good song service – in English and in Greek – and a word of testimony from Brother Todd (photo 083), we took a trip down the Roman’s Road, as (1) that was the next section in the lesson on Witnessing from the Bible Foundations book; (2) I figured it’d be a great Bible study for Kiriakos, a new believer; (3) we were expecting some lost people to be in the service.

Emphasized the fact that though the believer is assured of heaven, we have been left in the world to be witnesses for Christ (John 17:15-18), and the message we have to preach is truly a simple one (2 Corinthians 11:3).

A blessing and a prayer request regarding Telemachus. The blessing: before the service, he told me, “As long as I am living, I will be here every Wednesday and every Sunday.” The prayer request: still very unclear as to his salvation. After the Bible lesson, he expressed his gratitude both for the lesson and for Brother Todd’s testimony. Then added his concern that he must not be one of those whom God has chosen. Had the opportunity to address this misunderstanding and encourage him that (1) no sin is too great for God to forgive, and (2) it’s never too late to receive God’s forgiveness.

What a great God we are privileged to serve! Thanks for your continued prayers.

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!

Great start to the day. On the ladies’ bus ride into the city this morning, this man (photo 043) stumbled in and pulled out of his bag a copy of the Gospel of John, then flipped through it for several minutes. Must have received this through the letter boxing efforts in the villages around the city. Praise the Lord!

In addition to the tracts and banners, we brought several boxes of Greek New Testaments to distribute at the platea this morning (photos 044-045). The boxes — and Brother Todd’s handheld sign — are marked δωρεάν, or free. “Freely ye have received, freely give” is what Jesus said (Matthew 10:8).

Another great day in public square, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many thousands out and about once again. More tract distribution. More preaching. More good conversations. Most of them today in Greek (photos 046-049).

A bit more of a normal day out on the streets, by way of opposition. These experiences are quite familiar to all those who regularly participate in public evangelism.

First, there’s this lady (photo 050). Not sure of her name. But she stops by on a daily basis to inform us of some new, crazy reason why we are wrong to do what we are doing. Just one of millions who claim the name of Christ but have a God and a Jesus that exist only in the realm of their imagination.

Another man pulled his scooter up onto the sidewalk to receive a New Testament. Engaged in conversation for quite some time (despite his wife’s many nudges reminding him she had somewhere to be). Stood firmly on the authority of his religion and its traditions, regardless of what the Bible actually says.

Another elderly lady not long after stopped to yell at Sister Aimee: “Get out of Greece!” And something to the effect that our Western religion has ruined their pure, Eastern religion and is the cause of the current state of affairs in Greece.

Then there was a middle-aged lady quite visibly upset with our activities. After passing by, she stood to the side and began voicing her complaints to those around. A few minutes after noticing her, I handed a tract to a college student and engaged him in conversation. This happy soul rushed over, said something — who knows what — but it got him pretty upset with me, then she escorted him away to safety. Stopped just down the way to turn around and give me a couple of rude Greek gestures before disappearing in the crowd.

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3).

Returned to the village after the first evangelism session today in order to rest and make preparations for tomorrow. Again, please pray for those who have promised to be in attendance at church tomorrow. Pray they will come. Pray the Holy Spirit will prick their hearts as the word of God is preached. Pray they will be drawn to our wonderful Savior and find eternal life in Him!

Fare ye well.