Project Thessalonica

Berea/Athens

We took an hour drive to the city of Berea. We found a memorial to the apostle Paul and his visit there.

We all preached at this site and tracted the area. We did some mailbox stuffing, and determined that the Bereans are no longer more noble than those of Thessaloniki. Doubtful if even a few search the scriptures daily.

Pictures 1 and 2 – at Berea memorial to the Apostle Paul

We took a day trip to Athens and visited Mars Hill. We all preached there and beheld the beauty of a city wholly given to idolatry. What an honor to proclaim God’s word.

Pictures 3 and 4 – at Mars Hill

The translator, Nesti, arrived from the island of Zakynthos. We enjoyed a good day of ministry together.

Please pray as I preach tomorrow and Nesti translates.

Please pray as Nathan travels back to USA tomorrow am.

We have had an exciting and eventful several days.

We continue the gospel witness to the people of Thessaloniki at the city center and on the streets. After the open air times, we walk around holding the sign and handing out tracts to the people we pass.

We set up the sign in an obvious spot as we shop and eat and do restaurant evangelism…we have made friends with many bakers and baristas and restaurant waiters… J

Picture 1 – The Newcomers singing on the square.

Picture 2 – Nathan preaching.

Picture 3 – Carrying the scripture signs by the Aegean sea.

Picture 4 – A chat with a priest… doesn’t he look like the statue behind?

This priest stopped by to talk. Most of them that pass by give a look of disdain. This man spoke little English and we spoke little Greek. He seemed curious and interested. He is seen holding a chick tract. Acts 6:7 says that a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. Can it still happen today?

Some people that we talk to are disgusted with the priests and the hypocrisy of religion. Thessaloniki is a city full of young adults. It has been rated as one of the top party cities in Europe. We give precious seed to so many inquisitive young adults. This generation is rejecting religion and is deceived to think that every man can do what is right in his own eyes. They need to reject religion for the truth of Jesus Christ!! According to our new translator, with this new church in Thessaloniki, that makes a total of 5 Bible believing Baptist churches in all of Greece.

We went out on the street the last two nights…great time of witnessing and preaching. Saturday eve we ventured out without Angelo…made it home without incident. Everyone is curious about the scripture signs. Many stop to listen as the Bible truth is proclaimed publickly (Acts 18:28). Oh, for God to do a work here as He did in Acts 17:4. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude,!!!

Picture 1 – The policeman from the previous day stopped by and asked how everything was going. We chatted for a while and took this picture. Who knows, God may use this contact in the future.

Picture 2 – I discussed Bible truth with this Greek man whose dog’s name is dog.

A street musician saxophone player met us as soon as we arrived on the street on Saturday, wanting to know more about our conversation from the previous night.

A devout orthodox rebuked us for daring to tell him anything.

Picture 3 – we meet all kinds here…none probably as strange as us! (Acts 17:20 For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears)

Picture 4 – These two precious street beggars need Jesus.

Conversations, seeds planted, and God promoting continues. The prayers of the saints are effectively felt and desperately needed!

Natalie and Nathan arrived safely.

There was 1 new visitor in a beautiful church service Sunday.

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We are in awe of our mighty God today! He showed Himself so amazing! Beginning our day begging for God’s help and mercy and souls to be touched, we prayed from II Thessalonians 1:10 that God would be admired and our testimony of Him be believed. In the middle of prayer, the cell rang…it was a call from one who received a tract given out yesterday…wanting to come to church.

Arriving downtown at noon, we tag team preached and group sang. On about the second season of preaching, a TV news team began filming. They filmed all 4 of us preaching while asking many questions to the ones not preaching. They interviewed Bro. Paul and Bro. Angelo…intrigued that God wrote to their city. They filmed a close up video of the Bible opened to the books of Thessalonians.

People were unusually responsive and receptive. The prevailing prayers of God’s people were effective!

After the quiet time zone, we resumed the preaching and tracting for several evening hours. Newly saved 73 year old Telemachus came with us, witnessing and holding a Jesus saves sign. Hallelujah! A policeman stood and watched the preaching for nearly 5 minutes. He stated that Thessaloniki had never seen anything like this. The officer said, Thessaloniki was getting shaken up and needed this! Amen to that!

Paul witnessed to a Georgian Russian man who wanted a KJV Russian Bible…addresses were exchanged. Another lady came up and said, I need God. Emails were exchanged after witnessing to 2 military men. Many asked questions and took tracts. Some showed interest in church attendance. All in all God received much glory, and eternal souls received much to consider!

Through a wild scenario of God’s moving and intercession, we befriended and witnessed to this 80+ year old lady who is owner of this and 4 other restaurants in Thessaloniki. We exchanged contact info.

Continue to pray for Bro. Angelo and the visa issue as he leaves the country next week.

Picture 1 – The fish lady who gave us the bad news.

The mission teams stay in a town outside of Thessaloniki. This morning we visited the weekly open market day (Acts 17:17). We purchased some good fruit and witnessed to some of the vendors. We stopped and chatted with this seller of fish. She spoke some broken English like many Greeks do. She promptly congratulated us on the results of the American presidential election. (The mission house phone and internet connection have been out so we were unaware of the results.) Sickened by the news, we held in our puke to be a good testimony. She then told us that she would be glad to come over and cook for us any fish that we purchased. I told her that Gene and I were married. As Angelo listened in, he realized that she thought that Gene and I were married…to each other! (no wonder she was pro-Obama) Angelo corrected the misunderstanding and gave her a good gospel witness.

Spiritual lesson – remember that people hear from their philosophical and cultural understanding. How we need the power of the Holy Spirit to speak to the soul!

Pictures 2 & 3 – Coffee evangelism

I like a good cup of coffee, and coffee breaks are great witnessing opportunities…amen! These are men at 2 different coffee shops reading gospel tracts. At a downtown Thessaloniki shop, the waitress’s name was Lydia. We were able to tell her of a world famous Lydia from Philippi. She listened with interest and promised to read the gospel tract when she got a break.

Picture 4-5 – Street preaching

Again, the pure word of God was proclaimed in the city market square. We all took turns preaching where perhaps the apostle Paul once preached. Here is another Paul lifting up his voice like a trumpet… missionary Paul Hamilton…amen!

Many gladly receive tracts, many refuse with disgust. Some want to chat, some are curious, a few stop and immediately read the good news. Truly much seed has been planted since June! Continue to pray for God to break up the fallow ground!

Picture 6 – Telemachus

As the brethren previously mentioned, this man was saved a few weeks ago. Well, praise the Lord, he was back to church on Wednesday. (He has not missed a service since his rebirth…amen) Telemachus testified that he wants to remain in this church every service until he dies. He said that he wanted to be baptized. Oh, how we must continue to pray for someone to get the call to come over and help these dear souls!

Hello to all and thank you for your prayers. The following two pictures represent the last two days of our missions trip. The first picture is that of a man name George. He approached Angelo and began to tell him his testimony. He stated that just two months a little American girl, which was Lydia Logan, had handed him a gospel tract as he passed. He took the tract and read it that night. God had apparently been dealing with his heart for some time as he, by his own testimony, called out to God for salvation. He told Angelo that he now has perfect peace in his soul before God! Please pray for George as he now needs instruction in the word of God. The second picture is that of Avra. This lady trusted Christ not too long ago and is eager to learn God’s word. She showed up for our last day of evangelism and sang a song with us before we left. Continue to pray for her and her growth. Many thousands of tracts went out during the last two weeks. A good number of people stated that they would look up the church info and possibly stop by. It is our prayer that such is the case. Thank you all for your prayers on our behalf. All arrived safely to and from Greece. Lord Bless.

Greetings! Sunday’s church service went well, we picked up a young woman with her child who has been coming for the past several weeks. Jayson preached from John 1:4 “Christ is life.” Early this week we hit the streets for most of the day. We ventured into an area where we normally don’t go to and we’re happy we did! Jayson spoke to a man from Holland named Ricardo for about 2 hours, he had many questions and was very curious, he seemed interested and was satisfied with the answers he received. Brother Angelo and Wade spoke to a man named Telimatha for close to an hour and a half. He said that he was going to commit suicide yesterday. He is 74 years old and is extremely guilty over his past sins. He promised that he would be in church on Wednesday and he held true to his word. He told us he looked for us today for 5 hours before he walked another hour to the church service tonight. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself. Brother Wade preached about the three reasons for gathering together as a local church from Acts 2:42. After the service Telimatha said he was so happy that he met us and that he “wants to be around us every day.” Praise God, he no longer has a desire to commit suicide. Brother Angelo challenged him about his soul and his need for Christ; we are praying this man will soon be born again. He told us he would meet us tomorrow on the street, please pray.

Greetings from Thessalonica! The past few days have been extremely busy as we have been fervently evangelizing. Yesterday we finished letter boxing the entire area of Perea! We managed to cover over 1,000 houses in two days time. We met a little friend along the way (a stray dog). He followed us for a good half hour as we drove from house to house. We thought he was going to follow us home and become our mission dog, but he finally stopped following us when he found some other people that he hoped he’d get his next meal from. On Thursday our car got stuck in the mud but thankfully it was right around the time that school let out, so we recruited some teenagers and pulled it out. We finished the day by stamping Gospel of John booklets and stuffing them with tracts. Today (Saturday) we hit the street all day long it was raining for most of the day but thankfully there were still a lot of people out. We probably distributed pretty close to 1,000 Bible tracts! There were some ladies who stopped and spoke with Wade and wanted to know where our church was, she said, “I need to find out more about this.” Please pray for them and for all of the people who received tracts today; we prayerfully hope to see some visitors in church tomorrow.

Today has been very busy. We began our day with a few hours of prayer and Bible. It is easy to see why Jesus rose “while it was yet dark,” as it can be very hard to begin with proper fellowship with the Lord if one waits till everyone else begins their day. We spent some time taking care of temporal matters — regaining lost bags at the airport and changing our dollars into euros. Immediately following we went to the town center where previous groups have preached, and continued their efforts. So many took tracts and many more stared at the signs that were being held. When I can I will attach the pictures that were taken. I did meet a young man that was saved and already attended a “Bible-believing” church. Many stopped us to ask about the information. Many are steeped in their Greek religion. One man looked at the back of the tract and wanted to know more. He asked for a tract with our phone number. We look forward to hearing from this man. A few elderly ladies called us heretics and some thought we witnessed for “Jehovah.” We plan to finish putting literature in mail boxes in the next couple of days. Please pray for wisdom as to how to handle the crowds as there is a huge celebration in honor of an orthodox saint. We will also be here during Halloween so the witnessing efforts could be somewhat tricky. We had church services tonight with Avra. She speaks both Greek and English so an interpreter was not needed. Brother Jayson preached on the four types of prayer from 1 Timothy 2:1. She took careful notes and enjoyed her time. A couple that used to come to the services ran into Angelo today on the street. They stopped coming to church because they were living in sin and could not handle the preaching. After speaking with Angelo this afternoon they agreed to be in church this Sunday. Please pray they will. Lord bless.

The past several days have been very busy. On Friday we were able to go back to the city of Perea and place more Gospels of John in mailboxes. Probably 95% of the city is complete! We had a great day there going up and down the hilly area of Perea. Joe Tillman was our workhorse as Angelo and I took turns driving the car to keep the team supplied with Gospels of John. On Sunday we had an incredible service. We had a total of 14 in attendance. There was one man there from Wales who was born again. He was in Thessalonica for a convention and has a conviction about traveling on the Lord’s day. I was able to preach on Luke 16. The Lord really seemed to be present as He was dealing with hearts. Before we ended the service there was several questions by those in attendance. One lost man who usually leaves right after the service is over, stayed around asking more questions. Bro. Angelo was able to deal with this poor lost man. We are praying that he will get saved soon. We are truly encouraged by what The Lord is doing in Greece. Please continue to pray for the ongoing effort.