Good Bye to Greece

Our time in Greece is drawing to a close. On Thursday morning we’ll fly out for a two week vacation. We’re continuing to see the Lord work and it’s been both marvelous and humbling. To see how God uses you, especially as a broken vessel, brings great gratitude.

I think of the Apostle Paul who wrote in Acts 20:18-20, “And when they had come to him, he said to them, ‘You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews;’”

I like how Paul speaks of his own humility. I think we often believe we shouldn’t speak of our own humility. How humble can we be if we speak of our own humility? Isn’t that pride? Aren’t we being proud about our humility?

But if Paul refers to it maybe there’s room for us speaking of it too. And that’s how I feel right now. Looking back at the six weeks here in Greece is truly humbling. To see God’s work and know that He used us is humbling because we don’t deserve to be used. We are inadequate yet God uses our imperfect efforts. We believe that lives were truly changed because we were here. And we’re hoping it’s the Lord’s will for us to return next Fall.

Thank you for praying for us. I won’t be able to write on my blog until after November 12th. See you then!

If the Door Doesn’t Open

About six weeks ago, as we were on the verge of leaving for Greece, I wrote on my blog that it felt strange that we didn’t know a lot about what we were going to be doing. We knew we were scheduled for a Marriage Seminar but that was it. It was also strange because our planned six weeks in Greece would be the longest we had ever ministered elsewhere. We’d ministered in foreign countries for two weeks but never longer. What would we do for six weeks in one place?

Well, now that our five weeks on the Greek island of Zakynthos is over, it’s fun to look back to see God’s hand in so many ways. Of course, our trip isn’t over. We leave this evening for Athens where we’ll spend five days following God’s lead. Then we head for vacation for two weeks.

Through our missionary friends, Taki and April, God has used us in fun and mighty ways. We’ve experienced village life--Greek style. We’ve spoken at a Marriage Seminar to 40 people. I’ve taught a Middle School Sunday school class for four Sundays. I’ve led a women’s Bible study for three Tuesdays. Larry and I shared the Gospel with a married couple. We’ve given, most likely, over 40 hours of soul care counseling to different people. We’ve made wonderful friends. We’ve learned a few Greek words. We’ve been content without driving. We’ve been treated wonderfully by everyone. We’ve never felt bored.

And we’re thinking the Lord wants us to come back again next year and do it all over again.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that God knows what He has planned? Ephesians 2:10 is such a wonderful promise: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (NASB).

Maybe you’re unsure about God’s plans for you. Maybe you’re doubting He even wants to use you. Maybe you feel you must know the next five steps of His plan and He has only revealed the first. Maybe...(you fill in the blanks).

Let me testify that God knows what He’s up to. He is eager to use you. He may only reveal the first step but if we obey and step out, the next step will be revealed.

I’m thinking of the opening for the television show of “Get Smart.” (You may not want to reveal that you’re old enough to remember this show, but considering the recent movie had a similar scene, you can just say that’s how you know what I’m talking about). Remember how Max walks down the corridor and door after door opens as he gets to them? The doors aren’t open before he gets there.

I think that’s how the Lord operates most of the time. Just one door at a time. Oh, wait! I think I remember that Max walks into one of the doors because it doesn’t open. And maybe that’s how you feel right now. You’ve smashed your nose into the door and it’s not opening. I actually feel that way right now about our current book project.

But you and I must claim Ephesians 2:10. God knows what He’s doing and He knows the individual works that you and I are supposed to do. Just rub your nose and wait until the door opens or another one does. I’m assured of God’s faithfulness even more because of coming to Greece.

Beware! Wild Beasts!

As I thought of my last post about unearthing the boulders, rocks and stones of sins in our lives, I was reminded of Deuteronomy 7:22, “The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you.” (NASB).

The setting is that the Israelites are about to go into the Promised Land and God is telling them how He’s going to do it. I’m sure the message was very confusing; after all, wouldn’t God want them to inhabit all the land right away? Hadn’t He been promising them the Land for a long time? Why the process of “little by little”?

His explanation? “The wild beasts would grow too numerous for you.” If all the Canaanites had been killed at once, there wouldn’t have been enough Israelites to fill the land and the wild beasts would have filled the unoccupied land.

I think God has the same message for us as we think of clearing the boulders, rocks and stones from our personal lives. If He wants us to be in a process of clearing our field, what “wild beasts” would fill us if the clearing was done all at once?

First, a lack of dependence upon God. This beast thinks, “I’ve cleared everything so I don’t need God anymore.” But being “in process” keeps back the wild beast because we must rely upon God. When we struggle we recognize our need of God.

Second, pride. This beast thinks, “I’ve cleared my land, why can’t everyone else? If only they were as good as me, they wouldn’t struggle.” What an ugly beast. Being “in process” keeps back this beast because we recognize that our progress is because of God’s work through us, not our own. And whatever progress we make is for His glory, not ours. As a result, we can be humble.

Third, lack of knowledge. This beast thinks, “I’ve cleared my land and have nothing else to learn.” But being “in process” keeps back this beast by teaching us more and more of God’s ways for changing our lives and passing that knowledge onto others. Second Corinthians 1:3-4 tell us, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” You are most effective in helping others by continuing to clear your land.

Are you glad you’re still in process? Well...that’s most likely a stretch to think because struggling is not fun. But there are advantages of continuing to clear our land. Rejoice! You draw closer to God in dependence, you will stay humble, and you’ll learn more to share with others. Maybe this will diminish the pain of hauling the boulders, rocks, and stones over to that wall.

Picky, Picky, Picky

(Prayer Update for our Ministry here in Greece: Pray for continued ministry to those who came to the Marriage Seminar. Especially pray for one couple with whom we had the privilege of sharing the Gospel with them and we're praying they'll want to meet with us again.)

If you’re a reader of my bog, you may have thought, “Oh, Kathy, why are you so nit-picky about every little sin? Lighten up! Don’t take it so hard.” If you have, I can certainly understand. But consider the metaphor that our Greek friend, Taki, shared with us.

He told us how fields are cleared here in Greece. (If you’re new to my blog, please read some of my earlier posts about why my husband, Larry, and I are in Greece.) When the Greeks want to plant a crop, they begin clearing the field by taking out the obvious big boulders first. Those big boulders are then used as the foundation for the stone wall around the field. Then after the large boulders are cleared, the smaller boulders are dug out and placed on top of the big boulders on the wall. The process continues until the small rocks and stones finish off the top and crevices of the wall. Of course, at times, large boulders are again found as they dig deeper but little by little, the field is cleared of obstacles and prepared for planting.

I’m sure the connection to digging out the sins buried in our lives is obvious. When we become Christians, most of us are willing to ask God to make us more patient or loving. And really, those are challenges we’ll most likely be working on all our lives. No one “arrives.”

But the longer we’re Christians, the more we should be examining and digging out the small stones dealing with motives. Jesus says we’re not just sinning when we commit adultery, we’re adulterers for even lusting in our hearts (Matthew 5:27-29). The big boulder represents working on not saying something hurtful. The rock is desiring to not even think it. The smallest stones represent having godly motives of love that wants the best for the person from the beginning. And a field with the least boulders, rocks, and stones yields the greatest crop of the fruit of the Spirit.

The interesting thing about clearing our field is that the more holy and spiritually mature we are, the more sensitive to sin we become. The more holy and spiritually mature we are, the more we see little rocks and stones. And the more holy and spiritually mature we are, the more we are grieved by those rocks and stones. Thus we are humbled to grow in our dependence upon the Savior and Spirit.

J.C. Ryle writes that none of us will achieve perfection on this earth. He comments, “On the contrary they [the most eminent saints of God] have always had the deepest sense of their own utter unworthiness and imperfection. The more spiritual light they have enjoyed the more they have seen their own countless defects and shortcomings. The more grace they have had the more they have been ‘clothed with humility.’” (Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots).

Where are you in the process of clearing your field? Don’t be discouraged if it seems like you shouldn’t be finding any large boulders any longer. The deeper the Spirit digs, the more will be unearthed. See it as God’s cleansing work. It’s when you’re no longer seeing the boulders, rocks, and stones that you should be worried. Rejoice that you’re identifying that which prevents you from growing ever closer to the Lord. Be humbled but not discouraged. Your field will yield greater fruit.

Why Do We Do What We Do?

Several posts ago, I wrote about my idol of being seen as magnanimous and compassionate. As April, our hostess here in Greece, and I were driving along downtown Zakynthos this morning (she was driving, I was in the passenger seat), the Holy Spirit suddenly gave me an insight about an incident that happened decades ago.

In those days, I had a friend named Margaret who was a single mother with two sons the same ages as my children, around 8 and 10. We did a lot together and Margaret had a difficult life, working full time and trying to raise her sons without any positive help from her ex-husband.

Margaret was rarely without her boys except when she was working, and I felt sorry for her. I volunteered to take care of her boys overnight and was thrilled with the idea that I could give her such a wonderful gift of being alone or to go out with friends.

When she came the next morning to pick up the boys, she went on and on about how much she missed her sons and couldn’t sleep since they weren’t with her. She most likely thanked me at some point (I don’t remember) but what I do remember is how hard it was for her to be without her boys.

As I listened to her, my heart hardened. I thought, “OK, then, you must not want time alone. I’ll never take care of them again.”

It seemed very reasonable at that time. She didn’t want to be without her boys so there was no reason to take care of them. Cause and effect. But what came to me this morning as I thought of my recent blog is that the reason was deeper than that. Her lack of thanking me profusely and not having the desired effect (the effect I wanted for her), really was more about me not being seen as magnanimous and compassionate (and a related characteristic: helpful).

I felt like the proverbial balloon with the air let out. I’d looked forward to hearing of her amazing time alone or with friends that would make me feel good that I had blessed her. With the emphasis on “I”! I would be the source of her gift of blessing, not the Lord.

But could it be that He had a different “gift” for her? Maybe He wanted her to feel like she missed the boys in order to minister to her in a completely different way than I could imagine. I thought I knew what was best for her but why would I think that? Am I God that I could see her heart and her need?

As I began typing this blog, I sensed an additional message from God’s Spirit. I was thinking I was ministering to her real need but her real need was something else.

Margaret not only worked a full time job but she delivered newspapers to homes every morning (or maybe it was six days a week--I can’t remember exactly). Early on those mornings, around 4am, she woke her boys up and got them into the car where they continued to sleep. Then she picked up her pile of newspapers from some delivery point and drove through neighborhoods throwing newspapers onto multiple driveways. Then she would go home, get the kids ready for school, and go to her workplace. She kept up this pace for years. Years!

I was amazed at her dedication. I knew I had an easy life with a husband with a good job. So when the day came that she called me with a request, I should have had a different response.

“Kathy, I saved some money to go on a two week vacation but I need someone to deliver my newspapers for me. Would you do it?”

Now I’m the queen of not being able to say no, but this request was easy to say no to. The inconvenience and lack of sleep I would suffer was just too hard to swallow. I’m sure my excuse sounded reasonable: “Larry works the swing shift and has to sleep in in the mornings. There wouldn’t be anyone to get the kids ready in the morning.”

I distinctly remember the pause before she said anything. I truly believe she thought I would help her. I felt bad. Was my hardened heart still affecting me?

She did find someone eventually to cover her deliveries, I’m glad to say. But it wasn’t me.

The new insight? I already felt selfish so the new insight is that I didn’t love Margaret “well” because I thought I knew what she needed. I thought she needed a night without her boys, but she really needed someone to make a vacation possible. But the cost of loving her well was too much for me.

Caring for her boys overnight didn’t really cost me much yet I thought the reward of being seen as magnanimous and compassionate would be huge. Delivering the newspapers would cost me too much in comparison to the reward. And maybe since she didn’t express appreciation for the first favor, maybe I feared I wouldn’t be rewarded as I should for the second.

The past is the past. I can’t change what happened. I can’t even ask for Margaret’s forgiveness. She is in the Lord’s presence. But I can repent of my idol of being seen as magnanimous. And I can seek God’s glory regardless of the cost.

Where is there an opportunity for me to love “well”? Where can I have an opportunity to love sacrificially without regard for how I’m being “seen”? Where can I love without expecting a particular reward?

My Father who sees in secret will know. And my Father knows best what a person needs. I pray I can be available for whatever He desires for me and someone else whom He wants to bless His way.

Do you often consider your motives? Are your choices to love for another person’s welfare or for your own desires? It’s an important thing to evaluate.

Life in a Greek Village

We are ministering on an island called Zakynthos, a six hour drive from Athens (which includes an hour-and-a-half ferry ride.) The village of Lithakia is specifically where Taki and April live. It’s really been a fascinating experience to be among the people. We have ministered in many places around the world but this is the longest we’ve been in one place and it also feels like we’re a part of the village life. For instance...

At 4:30am, the roosters start crowing. We are staying in a 700 square foot cottage and our neighbors have chickens, roosters, and a pig. Nearby are a pen of turkeys and a dog that loves to bark--that is, the dog likes to bark.

We live at the top of the town, thankfully only 200 feet from the village well where we get our drinking water--along with the people of the town. From 9am to 1pm, the spigot is turned on and we take our large water bottles over to be filled. But don’t feel sorry for us. There is running water in the house for bathing and washing dishes from a underground well.

The Greeks wake up early, take a siesta from 2pm to 5:30pm when everything closes, and then re-open until 8 or 9pm. Then they eat dinner and stay awake until midnight or the early hours of the morning. We’re grateful that our host family has been eating dinner around 5 or 6pm. We’re usually in bed by 9pm or 10--unlike everyone else.

Olive trees are everywhere since the main cash crop is olive oil. But there are also grape vines. Yesterday I saw an old cart being driven by an old man in a tractor, hauling what must have been a ton or two of grapes still in bunches. The cart must have been pulled by a team of horses only a few decades ago--it looked that old. I kicked myself because I didn’t have my camera with me. But you’ll notice my photo of an olive tree that is most likely 2,000 years old. To think it was a young sprig when Jesus walked on the earth is an amazing thing.

The people are friendly and we’ve learned the Greek words for some phrases like “thank you,” “good morning,” “good evening,” and “goodbye.” I’m sure those who see us walking the third of a mile to Taki’s house every morning and home every evening are curious as to what we’re doing. They are used to seeing tourists driving ATV quads through the town on the narrow roads, but an American couple walking back and forth I think is unusual. Nearby at the beach, hotels and resorts host tourists but now that it’s October, the tourist season is almost over. The resorts will shut down completely soon.

Most of the people work 1-2 jobs (sometimes 3), seven days a week, throughout the tourist season (May-October). Then during the winter, they’ll work on their own farms or live off their summer earnings. We see a lot of gardens as we walk along and April explains that the food in the stores is local produce. If it’s not the season for cantalopes, there are no cantalopes to be bought. April and Taki eat a lot of food from their own farm, including chickens, turkeys, eggs, pork, and vegetables.

Since April is American, she celebrates the American holidays. The turkey on their farm hasn’t yet been told he’ll be Thanksgiving dinner. Larry and I are city folk, but when we wanted to do something to try to help on the farm, about the only thing we could do was pick the last of the garbanzo beans in the garden. It really was a lot of work to pick the beans off the stems and then break the actual bean out of the pod for a soup that evening. But I wonder if the soup tasted even more tasty because we’d had a hand in making it happen.

Families stay in an area for generations. In fact, we’ll notice houses that look like the roof is the beginning of a second story. Steel rods jut out at the top as if construction workers will be there the next day. But that’s just the beginning of a second floor where the next generation will be living in time to come.

Most of Taki’s relatives live nearby. His own home (which he built) is an extension of his mother’s home. She lives upstairs and his brother lives downstairs from her. Other brothers and cousins, aunts and uncles live on the same street or within close walking distance. He likes to joke that everyone in the village is a near or distant relative, like 10th removed.

Enjoy the photos. I hope they give you a little taste of village life. We’re enjoying it.

Introducing Taki & April Korianitis

Let me tell you about the amazing couple we’re working alongside here in Greece. Five years ago, when Larry and I were invited to go to Poland to speak, we asked around for other opportunities to minister in Europe while we were there. Our pastor, Marvin O’Dell, suggested we contact Taki and April Korianitis who our church supports and who he knew personally. We did contact them and for a week in November, 2006, we appreciated the opportunities for speaking they opened for us.

Over the next five years we kept in touch with them and knew we wanted to minister alongside them again. This trip was designed for us to be in Greece longer so that we could have more opportunities to support their ministry.

Taki and April have an amazing story and a passion for God’s work. In December, 1988, Taki, who was born and raised in Zakynthos, Greece, decided to visit the United States for six months, visiting his uncle.

Around the same time, living in the same area, April Cacioppo came to know Christ at the Faith Baptist Church in Somis, California, where Marvin and Theresa O’Dell then pastored.

Taki and April worked at different businesses at the same shopping plaza and met at the restaurant where Taki worked. April was enchanted by this Greek man who was learning English. He seemed so sweet and innocent. She explained to him that he shouldn’t ride his bicycle on the freeway. No wonder people had yelled at him.

Taki was drawn to this pretty girl who gave him attention. April invited him to church and their first date was attending her church’s Bible study. Taki, who had been raised in the Greek Orthodox Church, was surprised at the appearance of the inside of the church. There weren’t any icons or priests. No gold relief decorated the church. Only a cross. Taki concluded, “These Christians must be very poor.”

April and Taki were married in 1989. Taki was fascinated by the different perspective of Christianity and over time and through lots of discussions with Marvin, came to Christ. Taki joined the US army. After serving, Taki felt God’s call to go to seminary and then return to his native Greece to represent Christ.

He knew that back in his home village, it had been announced without his permission that he was returning and would become a priest in the Greek Orthodox church. His family was ashamed about his new “religion.”

Taki may have felt the call but April’s heart, as she confesses, “was rebelliously unsure. I didn’t want to have anything to do with living in Greece.” After living there for four years, the Lord changed her mind. “When I finally was able to un-attach myself from my church family at Faith Baptist, I could surrender to the Lord’s will.”

Taki and April have now lived on the Greek island of Zakynthos for 15 years. Their ministry among the Greek people is very difficult because the Greek Orthodox church and its teachings are a part of the very fabric of Greek culture. In the Greek mind, to become an evangelical is to divorce yourself from being a Greek. Taki has been maligned on the radio by the local Greek Orthodox Bishop and even blamed for an earthquake. The sowing of the Gospel message is on hard ground but the Korianitis’s persevere. They provide both an English speaking service and a Greek speaking service on Sunday. There are many people from England who live in Greece and Zakynthos Bible Baptist Church attracts them with solid biblical teaching.

Taki and April don’t just pastor a church, though, they wear many hats. Taki cares for his family’s farm and constructed his own house and other buildings. He is a talented musician and songwriter who teaches a variety of instruments including the mandolin.

April is a homemaker of four children ages 20, 14, 6 and 4. But two other children wait in heaven. A little girl, Anastasia, with a malformed heart died in utero after six months. And a little boy named Stavros lived for two hours after birth. He was Downs Syndrome also with a severely malformed heart. April’s faith and trust in God have stayed strong and as a result she ministers to others with wisdom and encouragement.

It’s a privilege for Larry and I to co-labor with this committed and wise couple. If you’d like to check out the church website, it’s www.zakynthosbiblebaptist.com/ (click on the English flag).

PRAYER UPDATE:

Thank you so much for praying for us. The Marriage Seminar is this Fri, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. The "Greek way" is not to sign up for anything so we have no idea how many to expect, but flyers have been distributed in the area and there are newspaper announcements in two newspapers. Taki and April have invited many people. Please pray that the Lord prompts people to come and that especially if they are not Christians, they will be receptive to coming and to the material presented.

Thank you for praying for the Middle school girls for the Sunday school class. Only two of the three attended this past Sunday and it's very hard because of the language differences. Please pray that I'll have wisdom in reaching out to them.

I met with April, the pastor's wife, and another gal Anita, this morning for our first women's Bible study. We studied Hosea and it was significant.

Thank you so much for supporting us with prayer. We continue to enjoy our time here and know the Lord is working. We appreciate you!

When We Rebuke Jesus

Remember the story of Peter rebuking Jesus? Recently, I re-read it with new eyes.

“From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Matthew 16:21-23.

Don’t you just love Peter’s perspective? He thinks he knows better than Jesus. What pride that would motivate him to take Jesus aside as if he were some wise sage and could be an advisor for Jesus! What pride to think he’s qualified to rebuke Jesus. The pride. The arrogance. The...

Oh wait. I’m just like Peter. When my children were little, I tried to protect them from any and all dangers. I didn’t want them to be needy or hurt. I thought I shouldn’t ever get angry at them or make them feel bad about themselves. If it did, their source (me!) wasn’t coming through for them and providing the self esteem they needed. I turned out to be a very angry mother which destroyed that plan. But there was one benefit: I learned my children need to be needy so that they will need God. They need God--not me--because I sure don’t have what they need. I don’t know better than God.

Oh wait. I’m just like Peter. As a lay counselor I can begin thinking that my style of counseling is the only way that people will change and grow closer to God. Hello! The mighty Spirit of God has been working in the lives of believers for 2,011 years without my help! I don’t know better than God.

Oh wait. I’m just like Peter. In so many ways. And Peter’s kind of thinking spawns ungodly and untrusting reactions like

• co-dependency: thinking I’ve got to come through for someone
• rescuing: thinking I’ve got to protect someone
• anger: believing I know the goal someone else should strive for (and if they don’t I’m upset)
• discontent: believing I know what will bring happiness.

Yes, there are so many ways that I’m just like Peter. Lord, help me remember that I don’t know better than you!