one by one the days go by

For those reading this blog for the first time, please know I have a reason for writing.  Yes, posting blogs and interacting online is common, but know I am not a crazy blogger nor do I have a natural habit to journal.  However, the reason I choose to maintain this blog is for my family and friends, along with hopefully knew friends.  My goal is to help others understand and know what keeps me as busy as a bee these days.

Not to mention, allow others to see life through my eyes.

Four months have passed since my wedding day, and three since I officially moved to Athens where I've embarked on a new journey and adventure.  I must confess, I love the big city.  I love being able to drive around on my moped, because it's become so much easier to familiarize with the downtown area of Athens.  I may keep getting lost, finding myself in confusing and dangerous situations while driving downtown, but I love it.  My moped has spoiled me because I am completely over walking and taking the bus everywhere!

As for the reason for this very post - I realize it has been a while since I've shared my news.  Actually, my last time, I believe, was right after my return from England. As seen in my previous post, I got the privilege to enjoyed a week of training and discovering new things about myself and life.  Now, with my return home, I've settled into a weekly schedule.  Truthfully, it's a very wonderful thing to have.

Here's a look into my current main projects at Streetlights:

ANTI-BULLYING
Recently, the streetlights team has been forming and applying a new anti-bullying awareness package.  What does this mean?  Gathering data, figuring out how to approach this sensitive subject in Greek schools and coming up with the appropriate advance and message.  When the scheduling and all the information comes together, I hope to present our findings to the local schools and speak in classrooms about the importance of anti-bullying.  I am extremely exciting about this opportunity taking roots and the Streetlights team is coming along nicely, in concern to this project.  I have dreamt of anti-bullying being addressed in Greece, but have never thought or expected anything would come to pass.  However, it's amazing to see what is slowly set in motion.

YOUTH CAFE!
I'm very proud to announce that the youth cafe is set up and ready for action!  We have painted and set up the place and it looks absolutely beautiful, and definitely ready hold it's first activity nights.  The schedule for the Youth Cafe! is still being formed but my role is to oversee the whole project.  I am helping train other youth workers how to mentor but also how to run the group activities.  I cannot tell you how much I love my role for this project!  Especially, because I can see how my past experience and time as an Intern, at a church in England called Renewal, has affected me greatly and definitely has prepared me to lead in this very area.

MAMADOLOGIO (a.k.a. YOUNG MOMS GROUP)
I play an active role in supporting this group of young moms grow.  This past weekend, we finished a two-day seminar.  Our main speakers were two ladies from Australia.  Very wonderful ladies who took time to come and encourage the young moms.  They taught and trained a whole set of Greek mothers.  The time was very fruitful and therefore, I am excited to see this fruit continue to grow in the following months.

KYPSELI
The last but not least main project!  Kypseli is an area in Athens, very ghetto-like.  The Streetlights group has not officially began organized any active way to influence this area.  However, we have been in the stage of processing and planning our form of action.  The work-at-mind for Kyspeli is very simple.  We plan to go to the Kypseli square once a week (during the early evening) and come along with the many children who gather to play and spend time with them.

There you have it!  These are the main projects keeping busy Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm.  Of course, there are many other things that should also be taking up my time.  However, I am very blessed to work with a team such as Streetlights.  Especially, because our work is building a better tomorrow and future for all of us.

There is a thunderstorm of fire coming

Four days have past since I returned from my trip to England and I can already sense the ways I was affected by it. 

I stayed in a small town outside Birmington, at a place called "House of bread at the Mill" - it was a beautiful location in which apromaxetly 20 participants were there for an one-week course. Our outline was living with God, living with others and living with yourself. This whole week was facilitated by the Fusion International team. I must admit God choices the most incredible ways to shape us. Each time I think I've understood the hand manual a new addition is added. I entered this one-week course believing I would find solitude and refreshment but instead God challenged me to the core of my beliefs, in order to refine me in ways I thought not possible.

If not stronger I came out victorious. 

As I left England I felt an ache in my heart, I love that land and the work people do there and at times I think life there would be so much easier and delightful. 

However, as I rode the air-plane home my heart began to fill with excitement, even as I returned home my eyes began to fix on the true prize. I know I'm not called to ease but of a life of pure dependency on grace. All the goodness I have come to know and love in lands far away from my own home, I desire to see them take shape within my own people. Yet again I returned to a city where streets are blocked, protests are taking place and beggars overwhelm the people. This is sad because even though people would usually respond to such needs, the people of this city have become numb. It is very difficult to address issues such as the homelessness, child abuse (neglect, prostitution, and taken advantage of) drugs, red light districts, sex trafficking, bullying etc.when, people's homes are in danger of being taken by the bank. Upon thinking of Greece you naturally think of banckrupsy, but no one thinks of the new issues created such as ghettos, gags, drugs, sex trafficking etc. This is a dramatic change for Greece, anyone who has lived or stayed in Greece will become aware of one ultimate truth: family is the strongest bond. To Greeks family is everything, but through this economical crisses we see that  this strong bond begins to break/change the core of our nations beliefs. I can't even imagine how 2013 will develop but I know it's time to do things a little differently. It's time we begin to live differently.

Rudolph Bahro said, "When the forms of a culture are dying, the new culture is created by a few people who are not afraid to be insecure."

I (we) am called to a life greater than myself. What does it mean to be the light? When I walk into a house that I just bought what are my first actions? I firstly access my house, what is good and what is not. If my kitchen's pluming is not working, I am not going to keep living as if it is fine. I need to replace it. If I don't my house will flood and new problems will be created. So when I walk in the streets of my own town, I need to find what is not working. I need to understand what dangers are around me, how I can help. I no longer desire a vain life to which I spend my days finding nice things to do for myself. I desire to live in a refined world/City in which through struggles it becomes pure.