Note: this is a post written by me with a SEBTS student named Sabrina Crawford which was originally published here.
Aphrodite.
Alexandra.
Nikoleta.
Dimitrius.
Pantelis.
Adonis.
Names like these may bring to mind an image of an ancient Greek god or goddess, or names marked by obscurity to the American context. But to those of us who recently traveled to the land of Greece, each of these names represents a person someone we personally met, someone for whom we had an opportunity to speak about the Name that alone brings hope.
Recently a group from Richland Creek Community Church in North Carolina (and our home church) with Stone Bridge Church in Missouri traveled to Thessaloniki, Greece, to assist our friend Eric and others in community development there.
The group included many high school students and a few college students. SEBTS students Sabrina Crawford, Ryan Edwards, and Laurie Pless participated as well, while recent grad Jared Via and new Dmin student Dave Miller led the trip in various ways. Eric, who lives in Greece and helped to set up our service projects, graduated from SEBTS a few years back. Doc’s daughter Hannah participated and kept the group on our toes with her ability to incite humor (and noise!) into our daily routine. No one on the trip will quickly forget her impromptu song “we are friends.”
What did we do? We served. We cleaned up parks. We cared for refugees too often neglected by others. We helped Greeks with their English. We came to serve and had ample opportunity.
When you look in Acts to see how the gospel came to the Mediterranean world the first time, you see the gospel displayed in many ways: through bold proclamation, miraculous deeds, authentic community, courage in the face of persecution, and in deeds of kindness to others, to name a few. So while we came simply to help others, while there we individually had opportunities to speak of God’s great love.
We (Doc Reid and Sabrina) wanted to share a little of our stories to give you a perspective from both a professor and a student regarding what God allowed us to be a part of in Greece.
Sabrina’s story:
As Doc Reid often says, “You cannot care about the many unless you care about the one.” I learned the meaning of that during my time spent in Greece. Our mornings in Thessolonikki began with devotionals led by team members. The Friday morning before our trip concluded was the morning after I met Nikoleta. Already I had a sincere heart for this young, brown-eyed Thessalonian girl that I could not explain. This particular morning, as Eric spoke about the wrath of God, my heart began to break. I suddenly felt a compassion that I’ve rarely experienced in this lifetime, the kind that will forever remain in my heart.
I have often wondered how Paul could express something like he did in Romans 9:1-5 with such confidence. Never has this passage so deeply resonated in my own heart than when I encountered the people of Greece. Certainly the burden that he mentions for the Israelites was a burden for those with whom he shared a kinship, much like brotherhood as they were born of the same law with a need for the same salvation. Maybe Paul knew a Nikoleta.
A rare humility shines in the sweet friends that I made in Greece. But not only humility; I quickly witnessed a hunger, a yearning for things that are real. Good things. Things like love and brotherhood and community. From the few short minutes of conversation during our first visit, it quickly became evident that God had been setting things in order for this meeting with Nikoleta. She and two others would become three new friends because of their willingness to allow me to enter their close alliance. They would entrust me with the stories of their lives and allow me to share about mine.
They listened intently as I shared how God changed my life through the power of the gospel. They sat with me for 3 hours in the grass on the waterfront, simply to learn, me from them and them from me. They met with several from our team and me the following night for a dinner that turned into coffee and conversation for another 3 hours. Finally, after our last, lengthy evening together, Nikoleta, Pantelis, and Dimitrius stayed up the whole night just to surprise me. They were waiting at the airport to see me off on an early morning flight that would take me back to America.
Though I was only able to share a few short days with Nikoleta, Pantelis, and Dimitrius, God gave us an affinity that will last a lifetime. Pantelis and Nikoleta continually commented on how unique the circumstances were in which we found one another. They themselves could not explain how they shared such affection with us after such a short time, repeatedly commenting on the peculiarity of such a bond. We were able to identify and affirm the Father’s hand in this. Our bond became a closeness that will keep us penpals, but it is more; this relationship will foster the passion to know more about the God who brought us together in such an unusually powerful way. Our cultures and geographical location may be different, but our shared need for the love of God bridges all differences.
Doc’s story:
I spend a lot of time (too much perhaps) sitting at a desk typing on a computer or chatting with students in the office or a coffee shop. Important things to be sure, but not involving physical labor. This week I painted, pulled weeds, and cleaned more in a few days than I will in a year or so it seems. All the investment of sweat, sunburn, and fatigue paid off when we offered a community block party in the neighborhood where we revitalized the park. Over one hundred residents came to the party, most in sheer amazement that Americans would come at their own expense and on their own time to clean a park in Greece. That night I taught a large number of boys some fundamentals of American football. They caught on quickly!
I also enjoyed spending time helping students practice their English. While doing that I met a young man with whom I developed a connection immediately. We talked for some time about philosophy and purpose. This thoughtful student listened as I spoke to him about the wonder of creation, the effects of the fall, and the need for redemption through Christ. Much of this represented totally new concepts to him. I gave him my email and he emailed me almost immediately, so I hope to stay in touch with him. On Thursday night many students met a group of us at Starbucks for a party. I introduced this young man to other students. What a joy I had to watch students from America sit down with students from Greece and talk for hours about life, customs, future, and the gospel. Well after closing time students remained outside of Starbucks, interested in further conversation.
But for me the coup de grace came on Saturday. First, we visited Philippi and the traditional place where Lydia, the first European convert, was baptized. Then we walked around the ruins of ancient Philippi, where Paul faced a beating and imprisonment for the gospel. I so enjoyed speaking there from Acts 16 and the account of Paul in that northern Macedonian city. Earlier that week in Thess I stood at Paul’s gate and read from Acts 17, where the gospel came to that city as well. I love history, especially the history of spiritual movements, and it doesn’t get much better than that.
That night I got to meet Sabrina’s friends Pantelis, Dimitrius, and Nikoleta. What a joy to read from John 1 in Greek (courtesy my Amazon Kindle) with a man from Greece, and to talk about good news. I immediately loved all three, but Pantelis, a young man full of life and hungry to know God, became my friend in particular. We talked about philosophy, good news, and great ideas. I explained why we still study the great Greek philosophers like Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle as we sat in Aristotle Square in Thessaloniki. We talked about the deadness of religion and the wonder of a new birth. I want to talk more with these friends through facebook as our worlds draw closer together around the greatest of all ideas—the good news of Jesus Christ.
We did what we went to do. We served. We worked hard, we taught, and we loved. And as we did this, we each had times to share that which matters most to us—someone greater than a Greek god—the Most High God, whose name is Jesus.
