70s and sunny

I haven't been the most diligent in updating you with our time here. So I would like to give you all a better glimpse into our experiences through some photos. Fyi: the title has been our weather here of late. Perfect!! In the last week though it has reached up to 90. No complaints though - it has been beautiful weather thank the Lord!

Here we are in transit...making the most of our numerous layovers:
9 hours at the Boston airport stretched our nerves thin! :) But we found ways to deal...

Here are some of the guys at the ARC - Sam is the younger one. Ryan, Josh and Marty spent some good time with him getting to know one another and just loving and respecting him - things he does not often receive as a refugee from people in Greece. You can see a bit of the ARC in the background too - that is the main room where we serve tea and share stories. These two weeks have been Farsi speaking days so most of the refugees are from Iran or Afghanistan. We have been trying to juggle our Greek, Farsi and English! Their eyes light up though when you just attempt to enter their culture by saying Salam koobi (Hi, how are you?) Though the refugees who come to the ARC are on the more relaxed end of Muslim culture, most still adhere to the rules of women covering their heads and the separation of men and women. Women do not make direct eye contact with the men and sit on one side of the room, with men on the other side.

One of the refugee families invited us to the park to spend more time with them. Christy in the blue t-shirt on the far left is one of the Helping Hands team. Miriam is the mother on the left in the black outfit and yellow headdress, the little girl is Sahar on the right in the blue dress and one of the little boys is Muhammad - the one being held beside Sahar. Miriam (and her whole family!) is so generous and quick to share what she has - her food, her time, her smile. She was so disappointed when we could not stay longer. It is amazing to me their bright countenance and their open hearts when what they have been through could have easily made anyone cold and bitter. Though they may not yet know our God, His grace shines through their lives regardless! I pray one day they would understand it and know God's love for them.

If you're wondering what we're staring at - there was a circle pond with tons of turtles in it. We may or may not have rescued the animals... Just momentarily! :)





A typical trip into downtown Athens -->
It's close quarters - good thing we love each other!
We meet in the mornings at a bus stop near the guys' house and the girls' apartment. We take the A4 bus to the first red line metro stop then take that about 6 stops to Omonia. I can tell you now that I would trust my life to our designated navigators - Ryan and Emily. They are amazing! The common description for Omonia is the "armpit of the city." It is a short walk from the metro stop to the refugee centre (the ARC) unless we stop at the bakery and we're trying to eat warm pastries with melty chocolate! Mmm! Yes, I am trying to make you drool - it's all part of the vicarious experience. :P

I think overall we have enjoyed Greek food - gyros was a good first step into the food culture, then souvlaki (meat kabob), Greek salad, spanokopitas, pastries, of course baklava! Oh and we went to a Sahar, a friend's house, for authentic Iranian food and the Cottrell's house for a taste of their Australian dessert. Our team shares a love for ice cream so gelato shops have been a regular stop. :)


The guys at Delphi:
The girls were at the ARC the day the Kenn took the guys and Ebi to Delphi for a chill day.
Fridays are women and children shower days so the girls had fun letting loose with the women dancing while waiting for their turn in the shower. They took off their headdresses almost immediately upon entering the ARC and only put them back on if getting their photo taken. We had a blast painting fingernails and toes. Haha it only got trying when some girls would persistently wipe off the polish and want a re-paint job...3..5..8 times!

One last photo for now. This is the view from the guys' house. They are staying at Kenn and Lisa Dirrim's house - leaders at the ARC. They, along with Stacie and the whole Helping Hands team, have been extremely helpful in teaching us the culture as much as they can so we can relate, communicate some, and TRY not to offend! We have all accidentally shown our palms to Greeks and given a thumbs up or 'okay' sign to the Farsi speaking refugees...all of which are equivalents to the North American middle finger. We're a work in progress! :)















There will be more to come! Keep praying for us - for strength and patience. Our days stretch into the night and we have been running short on sleep sometimes. We have one week left and much more planned so we need God's grace to continue pouring into us so we may overflow his love among our team, with the Helping Hands team, the refugees and anyone we meet throughout our days.

Love you all!!!