Dancin the night away, Greek style

Monday 5/25/09
We are back from Thessaloniki and loving our time back at Cosmo. It is our home away from home :). Last night we had a great Greek feast and danced the evening away with traditional Greek dances! I have a video of the whole thing! Today we went to the Parthenon and Mars hill! It was soooooooo cool. We also got to shop around Athens today and just be tourist. The other day we went to the Red Light district, let me just tell you be prepared, there will be a lot of processing :).

Some sad news, my camera got stolen :(. Trust me there were many tears, Someone pick pocketed me on the train. Thank God that I have so many wonderful teammates that have shared their cameras with me. Sorry guys! I tried to be careful, but the pick pocketers are EVERYWHERE!

Besides that, everything has been wonderful. If you read through the book of Acts, I have basically been everywhere in that book. It is a lot hotter here than we expected, it was about 90 today. I am looking forward to a little cooler weather. Part of our team left this evening to go on with their travels and we have one more day here. We will be leaving Wednesday morning to be back in Denver Wednesday night, I am guessing we will be at CCU around 10pm.

welcome to Greece!

Greetings from Athens, Greece...Or should I say the marble roads where Paul walked. Crazy!!!

Our time has been great! Absolutely crazy busy, but so good. I have been stretched in so many ways! I have not been able to go to the red light district yet, but will probably on Thursdays, please be praying for us. I can not tell you the depth of the impact it has on being around this kind of life style; so sad! We have worked at camps, soup kitchens and overall traveled the country. A little unorganized, because Greeks do not plan the way we do, but it has sure been an adventure. Tonight we went to a revival meeting at a homeless soup kitchen. It was sooooo good! I shared part of my testimony to a bunch of Greeks and refugees.

Tomorrow we travel to Thessaloniki to be there through Sunday. We are traveling by train tomorrow and then staying in dorms right by the sea! We went to Sunni Cap (A ruin of Poseidon's temple) the other day. It was sooo beautiful, I can't even tell you!!!

Please be praying for calm nerves as we work on the Red Light District. The feeling of fear has been trying really hard to take us over. Also be praying for continually unity on our team. We get along great, but we are not at the end of our trip yet :).

I have been growing so much in my time here and learning a lot about trusting the Lord with ministry. It is not hard to see that we are fallen people, desperately in need of the Lord, while over here. I can't wait to share it with you all!

Thank you for your prayers!

Here and hitting the ground running

Things here are great! We went to a Refugee camp yesterday and Hung out with a lot of Afghanistan and Iran women. It was sooooo crazy! SO many different Cultures around, you would not believe it! We worked at the Cozmo vision center outside today and are going to the Aegean sea tonight!!!! We will definitely be busy our whole time here, but it is great! I am sure I will sleep for days when I get back! It is so beautiful in Greece, the city reminds me of Israel and the land of Italy. Thought I would let you know I am here and having a great time!

Off to Greece!

Tomorrow is the day! Our flight leaves at 10 in the morning for NYC. Then off to Paris and then Athens.

If you feel lead to here are some things we need prayer for:
- SAFE and SMOOTH TRAVEL! We are a big group and our flight from Paris to Athens does not leave us with much of a lay over, so please pray for smooth transitions from flight to flight.

- OUR GROUP. That our team would be open and willing to hear the Lord through out the trip. That we would work together and remember to keep Christ first. That we would love on each other and bond.

- THE FIELD. We have a packed seclude, so please pray for our endurance and strength as we go out and be apart of all the different ministries.

- HEALTH. It is so easy for someone to get sick with all the changes, so please pray for good health.

-SAFETY. We are going to be traveling to another culture with many difference than our own, please pray that we are wise in all our decisions. Also, please pray for our ministry out in the streets, that our leaders would be smart about where we go. May the Lord cover us in all places!

- THE LORD'S WILL! Most importantly please pray that we would speak truth, hope, and love. May the Lord's will be done through us and with us. Please pray that we would truth Him and continue to give Him our ministry! That the Lord would guide us and give us the words and actions. That He would cover our whole trip in His love and will!

Thank you all so much! Can't wait to see you all when we return. I will hopefully be able to update this a few times while I am over in Greece. So if you are interested, please keep a look out for new post!

See you all the 28th!

In His love!

The blessings of Hope

With only about a month to go, our team has entered the final push. For me and many of my teammates, we were still in need of about $500 to finish the cost of our trip. Thinking through different ideas to get to our goal of $2600, we came up with the idea of doing a bake sale. Immediately I thought of Hope Fellowship, my parents home church.

As a team our goal has always been that if we have a fundraiser, we need to make sure it gives back the the community in some way. What better way to do this than a bake sale. We raise money and you get some yummy treats. With the help of my parents, pastor's Paul and Scott along with many others, I took on this project to raise the rest that we needed.

Last Sunday (March 22nd) we came to Hope with presentation ready and the hope that the Lord would provide. I appreciated so much the fact that Hope allowed me to explain to the congregation not only about our trip and what we are planning on doing, but also the crisis that is happening within the sex industry in Athens.

After taking orders we headed home to see what the week ahead of baking would look like for us. Starting Wednesday, the smell of breads, cakes, cookies, pies and much more filled the house. I was SO thankful for the help of my parents, I couldn't have done it without them. And besides, if you know my family at all, you know my dad's home made pies are going to be worth it :). A week later (March 29th), was our delivery day. Bake goods after bake goods, we filled the foyer with goodies.

As I walked away from church that day, I was overwhelmed by the generosity of the congregation. Not only did Hope buy their worth of bake goods that would provide for the rest of my trip, but much more. Our team has been so overwhelming blessed by this church and their hospitality and willingness to give. Hope is a huge part of our team now and a huge part of the ministry of Athens Greece.

Thanks to all of you at Hope! You will never know how the Lord has used you for our team!

Bowl for a Buck!

Almost our whole team!


Sportin' Our Togas!


He won our trip $500!



The man himself. Thanks Dad!



Some great supporters!

An update with only a few months to go!

Greetings with only about 11 weeks to go till I walk onto a plane and start a new adventure! Our trip planing is in full swing now and we have definitely hit the ground running! I am amazed at the blessings that myself and my team have experienced within only a few months. The Lord is good! I am happy and so very thankful to say that our team was the first team to meet the deadline for buying ALL of our plan tickets. We are officially going to Greece!!!! You all have blown me away by your support. THANK YOU! Your prayer and financial support has been much felt and much appreciated. I know there would be no way that I could even think about this trip without all of you!

A few updates:
* Pete from AMG international (Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel) has come in to Denver this week and it has been great to talk to him. He will be going on our trip with us. AMG was founded in the 1940's in Greece. Pete has been to Greece two other times and is very educated in the culture and happenings that are going on over there. AMG has been doing a great job of educating us on Greek Culture and getting us familiar with the land and people. Along with teaching us a few words such as YIA sas which in Greek means hi. Trust me, it is not said the same way it sounds. I tried :).
* Our team has been growing together as we have been preparing for this trip. In the next few weeks we will be involved in some of our biggest fundraiser. (Including a bowling fudraiser which my brother and dad are bowling in :) Please be praying for God's blessing on those fundraisers. But also that we will be able to bless the people around us that we are helping in these fundraisers. It has been fun to see God work and build our team closer and closer together as we prepare for our trip.
* As part of one of our fundraisers we are partnering with Jamba Juice in the Belmar shopping area. If you buy a drink from Jamba Juice between the days of Feb. 27-Mar. 1 20% of your entire purchase with benefit our trip to Greece.

I am continually amazed at how God is working through this trip! He amazes me at how He knows the desires of our hearts. If we walk in His will our desires match with His. I can not wait to see what the Lord does in Greece! I see how He shapes my heart a little more each day for the people of this ancient land. This is an exciting time and I am blessed to have you all walk with me in this journey!
I am hoping to have this blog be my journal of sorts for this trip. So if you wish, please be checking it before May and while I am in Greece.

Help with fundraiser!!

Hey all!

Some of you know this and some of you do not, but this summer I am traveling to Greece with CCU to work with prostitutes in Athens. Our team has a lot of money to raise as Greece is not close :). Our team was offered an opportunity to help out with judging the “Cup stacking Contest”. I know you are asking what a Cup stacking Contest is. Well if you have ever watched ESPN you have probably seen the people that stack cups on top of each other as fast as they can; the person that does this the fastest wins. It is a huge contest around the country and my team has the opportunity to supply the judges for this contest. If each person in my team brings five to ten people to be judges we get a lot of money for our trip. This is a HUGE fundraiser for us!

SO what I am asking is if you would come support me and my team by being a judge with us? The commitment would be one afternoon of training and April 18th and 19th all day. Food will be provided. (It is in the works to go to my house afterward for some good home cookin for all that help) AND the best part is that you get to be on ESPN, LIVE!

I understand that is kind of a long commitment and if you can not do it, I understand. But I would love it if you could take two days out and help my team and me! Besides, how many people have had the opportunity to say that they were a judge at an ESPN Cup stacking Contest :)? I would greatly appreciate any help!!!!

If you can, I need your commitment to this. Please let me know as soon as you can! You all are great! Thank you for your support!

Love you guys!!!!!

GREECE: UPHOLD THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS TRAFFICKED FOR SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

These are a few thoughts from articles on Amnesty International's website:

Index Number: EUR 25/002/2007Date Published: 12 June 2007Categories: Greece

* This report highlights the failure of the Greek authorities to identify and protect the rights of individuals trafficked for forced prostitution. It points to the gaps in Greek law that need to be filled to bring them in line with international human rights standards. Amnesty International is calling on the Greek government to encourage women and girls to report crimes of trafficking. It is urging the authorities not to make protection of their rights dependent on willingness to cooperate in operations against those responsible for trafficking. It is calling for assistance and protection laws and practices to be strengthened.

Date Published: January 2009

* Trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation
Greece remained both a transit and a destination country for women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation. Nevertheless, the number of trafficked women and girls recognized as such by the Greek authorities remained unacceptably low, and resulted in women being unable to exercise their rights to assistance and protection. The few who were identified were able to exercise these rights only on condition that they agreed to co-operate with the authorities in criminal proceedings brought against their suspected traffickers. This failed to recognize women's fear of reprisals and was at variance with the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, which Greece failed to ratify and implement. Women were also not receiving the reflection period afforded them in Greek law, the purpose of which was to allow women to make fully considered decisions about the extent of their co-operation with the authorities.

A few facts

- The number of women and children brought illegally into Greece and forced into prostitution is ten times greater than 10 years ago.

- Amnesty International says Greece does not offer an effective witness protection program or relocation to another country for trafficked women. According to Amnesty’s estimates, in 2000 almost 90,000 people may have been trafficked into Greece. The majority of these are believed

to have been women trafficked for prostitution.

- The homeless population in Greece is roughly 15,000 people

What this is all about (My Support Letter)

I hope that the holiday season is treating you all well and that you are enjoying the time with friends and family as the year comes to a close. I am finding more and more that the Lord’s plan for the next year is far beyond and more complex than I ever imagined. A few months ago if you had asked me what my plans were for the summer, I would probably have told you that I was planning on just staying at home and taking summer classes. Within a few weeks of that time, a door was opened where, yet again, I came to see that the Lord sometimes has a different path for me than I think.
Each year my college’s mission department helps students travel all over the world to serve people in need. This year, one of the trip proposals was to Athens, Greece. My first reaction to this trip was that it sounded more like a vacation than an opportunity to serve, but as I became more informed I came to understand the depth of people in need. Greece is one of the number one places in the world that deals with sex trafficking (slavery) and homelessness; and the majority of the people stuck in these conditions are woman and children. After hearing about the trip I could not get it off my mind. After prayerfully considering this trip, I signed up and was accepted.
As some of you know, my heart is in the Middle East and with young women. If there has been anything that college has taught me it is that I love to travel and that I love to see young women find their true worth and beauty. This trip to Greece combines both of these passions. This will be an experience of not only working and serving; but an opportunity for me to get my ‘hands dirty’ in an area where I feel called for my career. We will be working with a ministry in Athens that helps get people off the streets and into a vibrant and free life. Many of these women in Athens have either been sold into prostitution or were forced because that was the only chance they had; this is a form of modern day slavery. We also will be working with a soup kitchen and shelter as a safe haven and rehabilitation center for the homeless and prostitutes.
I had a very wise mentor say once that Christ is in the muck and the mire, not just in the pretty stuff. I am writing you because I am asking you to partner with me on this journey. Christ walked these streets of Athens and journeyed in discipleship with the prostitutes and untouchables; I hope to be just a glimpse of that attitude of Christ on my trip. The heart of a culture is beneath the tourist side; that is where we find the real soul and emotion of these people. The Lord is doing a lot in this ancient city and I hope to be a part of that in any way I can. I am sending you this letter because I want you to partner with me in this journey. I appreciate you and the wisdom and support you have given in the past years. I believe it is so important to walk through life’s journeys together. This is the journey that I believe the Lord is taking me on and I ask you to join me. Your prayers and support in any way are so appreciated! Along with this letter is a form to show you how you can support me in my journey.
I have a blog about my trip on Blogspot.com and I am planning on sending out a letter right before I leave and when I return. If you desire to support me financially, your donation can be tax deductible. Please return the form in the provided envelope with my student ID code (1209) on it so that your donation can be credited to my account. Along with touching lives over there, it is equally important for us to be knowledgeable over here, which is why I hope that you will join me on my experience. I cannot thank you enough for your support, in any way! You are truly a blessing to me and the road that the Lord is leading me down would not be the same path if you were not an influence on my life. If you have any questions about my trip at all I would love to talk! Again, thank you!