Waiting.... Waiting.... Waiting ... WAITING

So today is the day! I finally come home.... well almost. I leave today yes, but I am staying in london overnight and then flying at 10:30 AM tomorrow morning and will get back in the states at about 2-2:30ish. CRAZY, but let me tell you the wait is killing me. having a flight at nighttime is DEFINITELY not a bright idea. Because when the other interns leave at different times and you are left alone, you get kinda bored. Right now I am waiting in the airport and don't leave til 9:10.... my flight was suppose to leave at 7:10 which will get me into london probably around 11:30 pm or so. Which now resorts me to buying time until my flight.... here is what I've found...

As you can see waiting does me no good. BUT as for Greece I will miss you. I will miss all the wonderful people I got to work with, and most importantly I will miss every Refugee that touched this little heart of mine. I'll continue to pray for each of them. Please pray for the team. There will be lots of people leaving to raise support and get their paper work taken care of, so they will be short of hands which is no bueno. And pray for my roommates; Tiffany and Jessie, with the next steps of their lives as for me. Hello adventure here I come. Thank you so much for staying in tune with this blog and supporting me with not only your contributions, but also your prayers! Thank you thank you thank you. God truly did bless this time while I was here. So thanks again! May God bless you today and days to come!

OH pray for safe travels today and tomorrow for me :) THANKS

-Callie

The End Is On The Horizon

The final week is here. Actually the last 4 days is here. We have done 3 of the 5 parties. Two more left. And it is getting hard to say goodbye. Tuesday was probably the hardest. The women from the Shower Day, came with all of their families. This was the first time I saw everyone in their family, and it didn't make it any easier. Tears were shed, hugs were given, and kisses on the cheek and thanks for blessing each others lives were exchanged. I am going to miss them all. Which makes these last couple days SO hard. As much as I have looked forward to coming home, at the same time I haven't looked forward. What makes this hard is knowing what the next step might be, I know there is something big I am going to do but after that, what is next. And knowing I might never see these people again until the final days makes it even more sad. But at the same time, I will look at the pictures I have taken, I will recall the times I have experienced, and I will have a joyous time going down memory lane. I love these people with all my heart, and I bet you would too. The Christmas party includes, Family pictures! (with a fire place backdrop) and A christmas tree, a Program(which includes singing, puppets, and a sermon type thing), food, and presents. Such a joyous occasion seeing their eyes light up, allowing fellowship, and having them all together for once. Such a beautiful picture. As time gets closer, and goodbyes come my way I have to reflect on this trip. Have i changed any, and if so in what areas.

I believe I have changed, but unfortunately I can't pinpoint the areas for you at this moment. God has shown me lots, has allowed me to experience different sides of ministry, has allowed me to give everything my all, and has allowed me to see pain. What it means to be a humble servant is on the eyes of the beholder. But all I can say is that I have been truly blessed and feel honored to have been picked to come. Now too look forward to culture shock. I wonder how bad it will be, I guess i'll just have to trust the Lord to get me through it. No worries :) ANYWAYS Today we are having a family over for some presents, pizza, soda, and fellowship. Tomorrow is my last English class :( and a christmas party. Saturday is the last time with the team and Last Christmas party. Sunday is packing and cleaning of the apartment. And Monday I will be on my way back Fly to London at 7:30 PM next morning fly at 10:30 AM and reach the Lonestar state! It is coming faster than expected

Thanks for the prayers! Keep them coming for strength and for safety! Love you guys :)

CHRISTMAS PARTY 1

So Yesterday was the CHRISTMAS PARTY for the kids. AND ONLY the kids. It was such an awesome experience. There were 4 stations the RED, BLUE, YELLOW, and GREEN teams could go to:
1.) The Craft station: which included a Nativity scene with stickers you could put on. (The kids LOVED the stickers).
2.) The Cookie Station: where they were able to decorate cookies. WHICH my girls saved for later :)
3.) The Game station: Where they had to knock down the snowman (made out of boxes) with little balls. It had a tin hat and everything :) (AND I MADE IT which made it super cool ;) )
4.) The Toy Village: Where the kids were able to pick out their own toys.

The party went better than expected about 40 kids showed up from ages 7-12 boys and girls. We had fun times. Myrna who is on our team dressed up as an elf, and told the Christmas story in a way they could relate too. I know the kids had a great time. You could see it in their eyes. And what the neatest thing about it was that the parents weren't there at all, and our whole team got involved. Which was the coolest thing to see. WE sang a song that was called He Is The Light, and by the end of the day ( and after the 1,000th time we sang it the kids LOVED it and knew it word by word. There was even a little girl that said a little poem TWICE that said something like " Jesus was born to die for all our sins, 3 days later he rose again, and he is still alive today." SO neat. The coolest part was the toy village. Not only did they get to get 1 toy but they were able to get 2 big ones and 1 little one, and by the end of the day they were able to have 2 more. SO COOL. What I realized though, is that the women are more stressful than the kids to me. They are the ones that are pushy, and these kids have gotten to a point that they actually listen. The women don't. And they can be really hateful at times. I dunno I guess I am just drawn to the kids more so.

One thing that was the sweetest thing was one of the little girls that was in my group when she came up to me she said "Caroling Caroling (since they can't say callie for some reason it sounds like carorling lol)" but yeah she shuffled around her bag and pulled out this little ring. I thought she was just showing it to me but instead she wanted to give it to me. So i tried to let her keep it but she was persistent, and gave it too me anyways. The little girl has only come a few times, and she gave me her ring. I am going to miss these kids so much. I have tried to put off the thinking that I am about to leave and that I'll might never get to see them. BUT it's really hard. On monday it will be 1 week until I leave. Today is my last shower day. And I have to say goodbye. I think that is the hardest thing for me is saying goodbye. I mean I am coming back to the life I use to, the life of leisure, the life of materialistic things. And leaving everything I have become so accustomed to. I am sad. And as I said the other day. If I was Mary Poppins I would just stuff all these people into my bag, and try to help them find a good life. Sigh I must be off I have to go get ready for my last showers day :( It's not going to get any easier from here on out. Better start with the sadness now. But in the midst of that I must MUST must make every moment count. EVERY moment.

November 19,2010

I forgot to mention this little incident that happened this day. It was a Thursday, and we were doing women shower. I decided to help out Donna in the kitchen this day. She was cooking lentil soup (which is DELICIOUS BTW). As it was coming to a close ( well the cooking) Donna realized that she forgot to get Yogurt, so she asked if I would join her to go to the market real quick ( it was about a block away). So we trucked along talked about little things here and there, and as we were about to turn on the street to get back to the ARC she got a phone call from Christy.

Little do you know, the ARC is stationed in Omonia. Omonia is NOT the safest place to be at all. AT ALL at all. And although the police are on the corners, doesn't make it anymore safe than you would think. Unlike the police in America, the Greek police just stir up trouble. Lets just say its "every man for himself".

ANYWAYS after the little summary of Omonia .... So Christy called and Donna freaked out, and was asking so where do I go where do I go. At this time I am clueless but I realize something isn't right. so we decided to try to go the back way and not turn on that street and go through this little market on the next block. She was telling me that Christy told her that a mob (YES A MOB) was heading our way so we booked it. As we were about to turn on our street a man stopped us and said, "what are you doing don't go that way you will get hurt you have to find another way." Donna responded," BUT our place is LITERATELY right around the corner." So he was like OK and made sure we got around the corner alright. When we were about to turn into the entry way we noticed this HUGE gate was locked. We panicked and tried to get in. NOT only did we still have food on the stove, but we had to get into where it was safe. So we attempted to go around the corner and try to get in the back way. as we were coming around the corner a group of people started running our way, and we ran into this little hospital. I DIDN"T feel safe even though I was in a barred room I didn't feel safe so we got out got to the other gate. It was lock and to our rescue was our team leader he let us in and we went upstairs. I went on the balcony to see what was going on. THE WHOLE STREET WAS FILLED WITH REFUGEE MEN. up to where we were. they started chanting something in farsi, and started turning over trashcans, beating random people, and setting the trashcans on fire. before that they were beating on the buses and flipped a car.

I wondered what got them to that point. What pushed them to that limit. ALL i know is that God was watching over me. He has this whole time. Was I a little afraid? Yeah, but I knew God was going to take care of me. His story for my life isn't over yet. Which makes me excited for the future. Has there ever been a time that you just knew God was watching over you? Yes it may not be as drastic as mine, but if you just open your eyes you might just see the little blessings he throws your way.

I just thought I would let you in on a little thing that happened not too long ago.I can't believe I forgot to tell you guys! Sorry about that :/ ANYWAYS tomorrow is the KIDS CHRISTMAS PARTY and I am SUPER excited Super super SUPER excited may the Lord bless our time tomorrow and may the kids just truly get to experience a little bit of happiness for once. :) til next time have a marvelous day!!

The Last Stretch

This trip is coming to an end. An end extremely fast. And I am super sad. Not only have I realized how much I am going to miss the people here, but I am also going to miss my team. The Lord has blessed me in so many ways. He has taught me what it truly means to be humble, to appreciate what I have, not to judge right away, and taught me little truths in the midst of my time here. One of the questions on our debriefing slip is "How have you been changed from you time here?" How have I been changed.... you know what? honestly I do not know. I can't pin point the change. I know it has happened. I can feel it. But to say exactly what that change is... its very hard to say. I want to apologize to each of you for the lack of updates I have done on my time here. I have had SOME time but not alot, and I should have put that time into blogging to you. BUT here is a little update. The next two weeks (my last two weeks) will include LOTS and LOTS of stuff. We will have several Christmas parties not only just for the kids, but also for families, singles, and others. This is going to be such an awesome experience! I am a leader for one of the groups at the childrens team GO RED TEAM! I am super stoked! I helped make the christmas decorations!
This is what is around the invitation that I spent some time. I am so excited about this party. About 50 new kids will get to come. We will have a couple different stations! 2 Crafts, a game station, and a present station! The kids are going to get to pick out their own gifts. We will also have music, and a puppet show, and they will get to have chicken nuggets and french fries. I am super stoked! This will be so great for the kids. We gave out the tickets at a shoe give away that we had. We had size 25-34 for the kids with 400 shoes that we were able to give away in 3 different colors. Red, Blue, and Black. I think that was such a neat experience for me. Getting to take the shoes that didn't fit the kids and place a new pair that fit them perfectly, and see that little smile brightened my trip so much. It reminded me of how Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Even though protested saying that they should do it. He did it. He did it to show how much he loved them. In the same way God allowed us to do the same. Maybe I didnt get to wash their feet, but I gave them some shoes that could last a long time just for them. sooooooo cool.

I am sad. My last post didn't come up. Deseh a girl from my english class sang for me and jessie one day, and I wanted you guys to hear her beautiful voice. It made chills roll up my spin and gave me goose bumps. AND she was sick that day! God gave her such beautiful voice. I will work on getting up don't you worry your little head :). WELL I must be off! Me and my roommate Tiffany are going to Monestraki to shop for her family. I may get a little something myself. So tahtahfornow.

This is it. This is the time to make each moment count. And you know what? I will. I will do everything with a 100% attitude! May the Lord bless you today and bless you for the prayers you have sent my way this whole time. Thank you for all your support! I love you guys.

-Callie

Rome, italy

Saturday morning at 11:30 am me and my roommate Jessie embarked on an adventure of a lifetime, yes Greece is but we were able to get a plane ticket with the money we saved on our own and by a round trip ticket to Rome. Only 2 days to spend there we were determined to see all we have heard about and wanted to see and more. We had yummy pizza right when we got off the plane, saw the Vatican/ sistine chappel/ sorta st. Peters, the fountain de trevi, Spanish steps, parthaon, ate at a yummy little resturant where I had the best lasagna I have ever had in my entire life, gelato yummy yummy gelato, saw the colossium, ceasars palace, the roman bathes, and exploring exploring exploring. This trip has been eventful, relaxing, breathtaking an more. All I can say is if you ever get a chance to experience Rome do it! It is totally worth every penny well I must go have a blessed day :)

The Life Of A Regugee

The life of a refugee right now is what you might be looking at, at this moment. One might be living on the streets one, one might be sharing an apartment with 20-30 people (a small apartment), one may be sleeping in the park/under cars/in a box, you name it. As I have talked to you before in letting you know why the refugees have come to Greece, hopefully you will see what the refugees are dealing with right now.

These people come to Greece to find hope, get away from violence, get away from threats, or just to leave. These people come here thinking that once they come everything will be just peachy! But once they walk that 48 hr trip they are sadly mistaken. There is a video that I recently watched that broke my heart. It's called A battle for Attica Square. Attica Square is a little park inside the little portion of Attiki. Refugees would fill this park and finally the people of Athens residing in this area got Angry. Here is the video (it's about 20 mins long, but this is what is happening as we speak)





The people of Athens are hardening their hearts to these people, yes people might say"Well they are coming into their country so you can't really blame them". My response to that is ,"Well they are still human." Since that video was filmed, the violence has gotten worse. Now not only are they beating the men, but they are beating the women. Not only that now that the men are trying to go get food for their families, the people are waiting for the men to leave and are BEATING the children and women. Seriously who does that?! There is such a need right now that can be so hard for us that are serving, because unfortunately we can't stop the violence, and we can't give all that they need because we don't have the means for it.

Yesterday as I was at Team Fellowship, and I heard from a few teammates something that recently happened possibly 2 days ago. In the newspaper it read that there was a a fire in a Mosque in Attiki. Not only was this disheartening it gets worse.... as there was a fire, they blocked off the windows and doors trapping in about 40 people, and the police that were standing there did NOTHING. When a man went to try to help he was stabbed and blamed saying that he tried to stab a cop.

What is this world coming to. I mean I know there is evil, but when you are just murdering someone because of what they believe its awful. So you want to know what the refugees are dealing with? They are dealing with fear. Complete and utter fear. But even though their is fear there is hope. As I have gotten to know some of the women They still have their dreams of succeeding. One girl named Dessie wants to be a lawyer for her people. One girl wants to be a Engineer. One little boy wants to be a Doctor. And you know what. I believe at some point they will be able to do it.

God is doing so many great things, but this was just a little view into the life of what a refugee has to deal with, what we as a team have to deal with while they are dealing with their trauma, and what to be praying for. Sorry for my little rant, but I felt you might want to know not only what is going on in my head, but what is going on during this time.

Even though there is so much sad things going on, in the midst of all this, the refugees find a little glimpse of happiness, a little glimpse of rest and a little glimpse of safety when they walk into the doors of Helping Hands.

Keep the safety of the team and the refugees in your prayers please, AND thank you :)

The Past Few Days

The past few days have been eventful. On Monday, Brett and Illir went to the parks and gave out 65 sleeping bags for people! Which is good because it is getting really chilly! I know we all wish we could give them to everyone but sadly we can't :(

Tuesday was a success! We made friendship bracelets that said Jesus Is My Friend and one that said Jesus Is Your Friend. I believe we are going to go back to feeding on tuesdays. But only for families. On friday's it will be for single men, and they will rotate the ticketing

Wednesday we had prayer day and then a clothing give away for the women and children, unfortunately we didn't have enough mens clothes :/ BUT the prayer day was awesome! Susie asked me to help with the music so I picked out 5 songs and she picked out 10 and we played three different times. The prayers were awesome, and it just put me in a great mood the rest of the day. We were able to pray not only for our team but also for the refugees and the refugees who are and are not Christians. We read Psalm 145. GREAT passage :)

Thursday instead of having women's showers it was Oxi (or Ohi) day :) Which if you would like to learn more about Oxi Day click here Basically its a day where they have parades but not NORMAL parades, no sir, Their parades include ALLL the school children marching down the street in their school uniforms. No floats, no balloons, just cold children walking. Sounds like a blast to mee! lol Well unfortunately my Oxi day was sadly interrupted when the stupid bus wouldn't come to our bus stop! We waited an 1 hr and 1/2, had no cell phone with us, and when we were able to get a cell phone to call the people we were going to go hang out with, we wrote down the wrong number. SO with all that said, we missed out on FAJITAS ( :( :( :( ), we missed out on a video about oxi day( WHICH i was excited about btw!), we missed out with fellowship, we came home and instead of Fajitas i had pasta.... AGAIN ugh and watched the Good Shepherd(which is really confusing) and Everybody loves Raymond. Lame Lame Lame day but its ok!




This is what I didn't have :(

And Finally Today FIRDAY. Me and Jessie woke up pretty early and went to a museum, came home and got in our pj's and watched American Sweet Heart, I am about to read, anddd at 5:00 we are going to have our normal routine and go down to the ARC and teach English to a couple girls.

All in all its been a good week, a blessed week, I think my next post will be about the refugees and what kinda environment they are in, what kinda of mindset they are in, what they have to deal with, and what some of their hopes are. I will be posting a video ... That will probably make you cry. Please keep your prayers up, pray for the friends that I have met that are living in the streets, its getting to be about the 50's and raining lately. There is such a need right now and its getting hard for us, because the need isn't our call:/ as much as we would want it to be, It's the Lords. So please pray for our strength, our courage, our mindset, our rest, and our peace of mind. Thank you Supports! I know I don't update this enough, but your prayers and all you have given have helped out so much! From the heart of this little texan I say thanks :)

PS THE RANGERS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES WOOT! (even though I won't even be watching it anddddd I don't really like baseball, gotta support our team ;) ) have a blessed day !

Even On A Cloudy Day

The littlest things can make you smile. Saturday was just one of those rough days. I haven't really had one yet, but this was beyond lame. But even in the midst of the long rough day, seeing a little baby smile as you bury your head in its belly makes your whole cloudy day turn bright. It's like finding the little blessings in the day. Although Saturday was rough, it just made me realize maybe I am more stressed or haven't fully processed everything I have seen and done since I have been there. But no worries everything is fine and dandy. And I am having a blast. And learning so much through my team mates, the refugees, and the Lord. During my off time I have been in the process of reading two books. I just finished Scouting the Divine (Which I must say was really neat I recommend it!), and now I am in the process of finishing Through Painted deserts. One thing that stood out to me was the question " Are you content where you are in life?" hmmmmm am I content. Truly content... I believe I am, and that's where you have to ponder to yourself. Am I really content or am I just saying that. I know I am content. Even when the stress gets to me, it doesn't me that if I die tomorrow I would have fulfilled everything I wanted in life and still be happy.


Sorry for my random ramblings :) But yes ok everything is going great here. The refugees are really learning alot, and really understanding it. Right now it's sad because it's getting cold, they are being threatened by different cultures, and they are being kicked out of places to sleep. The one thing that kills me is that it seems like no one wants them. I WANT THEM and so does my team, but we can only do so much. Please pray for the safety of the people. And that they might see a glimmer of hope in some way or another. Well I am out! Sorry for the lack of updating :( I feel like a horrible blogger! I will work on that, as well as many other things I will work on. Thank you so much for your prayers and support! I am learning so much and having a blast seeing how God is working through me in different ways :). I think the next blog I am going to show you some of my FAVORITE foods I have been eating :) all are very yummy! have a blessed day all! talk to you very very soon :)

The Eyes into my work :)

Me being sneaky, because I have to be careful with putting these up, I decided to use my phone. So I apologize for the not so good quality. But finally here are pictures from work. These are the people we work with during the week. These people are who we shine love to each time. These people, these children, these families... Give me hope. And if I can make at least one person smile or feel wanted then that is all that matters. But here you are now you see who I am working with :)

The little blessings

Sometimes we look past the little blessings in life. Sometimes we wonder how God will use each one of us, to influence a person, to be apart of A story of some sort. Sometimes, more often than not, God uses our weaknesses as well as our strengths. And what is the most surprising of them all, is when He uses the things you thought he would never use to bless some. You don't know how God will use you. You don't know if He will use you today at all. All you have to do is be willing to allow Him to use you in whatever way, whenever, he wants to use you. It could be scrapping poo out of a turkish toliet(which is gross), it could be helping a little kid stick stickers on a butterfly, it could be teaching english to women or men that have a desire to learn, it could be from a smile, a simple hello, a pat on the shoulder, a simple glass of tea, or a heart to heart conversation about the Lord. He uses each of us in different ways. I have recently been reading this book called "Scouting The Divine", by Margret Feinberg, and it was neat to read about the Bee's. Without each bee the beehive wouldn't survive. Just like the church. Each person brings something unique, something important, something special to the table. Without each person it wouldn't work. It doesn't matter if you are EXTREMELY strong in your walk or just hobbling along God can use you. In powerful ways. Today I was blessed by a 12 year old boy named Nur Muhammad (He goes by Nur) This boy amazed me. His english was superb, he was sweet to everyone, and he was funny. We played Tic-tac-toe and the dots game. And at first I let him win, but he soon caught on and BEAT ME ugh lol. but the coolest part of getting to know him was his background. He came from Afghanistan, took english classes while he was there, his mom and dad are still living there, and he is living in a small apartment with his brothers and sisters/aunt and uncle/ and cousins. The most beautiful sight i saw from this boy was when he drew this cross, in the middle of the cross he wrote in Farsi,"I love God, and God loves everyone" he then decorated it and cute it out to look like a kite. This boy blessed me today, with the simple actions of beating me at games but the simple phrase for the world to see. It's about 11 o'clock and I have had a very long day. Thank you for the prayers and just remember don't be discouraged if you don't feel like you are being used. You will be surprised at who is watching and how you are blessing them. Talk to you guys later BYE

Oh updates updates

I am really bad with updating my blog. I went from writing everyday to writing once a week, sorry followers. ANYWAYS this week has been very eventful! Let's start with Saturday: I helped with English classes, got to meet new people, and found that more people wanted to learn. Sunday I went to a church that only spoke Greek,but had English translations. We also had communion(and that had actual wine which was weird :X) AND THEN I went to the Acropolis! which was VERY cool! [if you are wanting to see pictures from my time here... here are some more http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018299&id=163500626&saved#!/album.php?aid=2018299&id=163500626 ] I thought you'd enjoy seeing everything! Monday we had a day off and I just rested, edited photos, and looked up Phrases in Farsi!. Tuesday was a great day! WE had the Farsi outreach program, so I helped out in the children's area which was really neat! I also taught english to not only the teenage girls, but I decided I would help the older women that wanted to learn! After that the women had a bible study, and I helped out with the Children's area! 3 Children asked how to become a Christian, and the women finally understand that they can only go one way, that they can go the way of Mohamed or the way of Jesus, now it's time for them to Choose! And I finally got one of the little twins to be open with me! SHE WAVED I was so happy!. Wednesday was Team fellowship and team meeting ( which was fun) Thursday I was exhausted cause I only got 4 hours of sleep BUT it was fun because it was the women's showers. and Today is the day I chose to rest, and also figure out more Farsi words so I can better the english Class. All in all this week was great! I can't believe we have already made it through the first week in October. God had really blessed me with awesome people who watch out for all of us, but also for blessing me with supporters like you. Thank you so much for the prayers! I hope all is well where you are at, and may God bless you the weeks to come! until next time :)

Hmmm....

Sorry I couldn't think up a cool title for this. Friday was amazing. I went to the women's bible study (of only 5 ladies) and we went over Matt. 13. It was so neat to see how the women got it! One woman was talking about worrying, and that was when Matt 6:25-34 came to mind. So I told her after I read this passage, "Do you understand? If the Lord will take care of the birds of the sky, and the flowers of the field surely he will take care of you. So there is nothing to worry about. Yes we all worry, but if you believe that Jesus is God, there will be a peace to you. And in the midst of those troubles and problems you will become so strong. So when you begin to worry, read this, and it will give you hope." It was so neat I got chills. And you know what? She actually got it! She understood! I was so excited! God is really working a number in these women and their families. Then we walked to one of the women's house and had tea. She was so welcoming and kind. It truly was a blessing. Then yesterday we had Tea room . I was able to teach 2 girls English. And then I was able to talk to Arifa. It was neat I was able to talk to her about the Lord, even though it was difficult(because I don't really know how much English she understands), but I am sure I will have other opportunities. ALSO her mother wants to learn english, sooooo I am going to help her too. Who knows what will happen through all this. ALL I know is I wish I knew more Farsi. That would be EXTREMELY helpful. Next time I go to another country That is what I will do. I will get Rosetta Stone and learn the language lol. After the Tea Room I went to My Mentors house and me and my roommates had Couscous, a sorta Greek Salad, Humus, and Ice Cream. Then we played a game called Pounce, which is sorta like Nert's. It was competitive and I lost but it was such a great time. Today I shall be going to a Greek Church, going to the Acropolis, and then clean clean cleaning :) SOOOOOO this has be the past three days for you! Thanks for the continued support I love you all! Have a blessed day!

Hello everyone :)

So yesterday was really neat! What happens once a week the women and children have a shower, and another day the men have showers. Yesterday the women got to shower! It was a really neat experience. Each family took turns in the shower, the children had crafts, and had lunch. But what really made me happy was getting to play some songs for them. I sang "Before The Kind" and "This is the day (in farsi). I have been in the mood to play the guitar ever since I got here, which is weird cause I never really was in the mood back home. Welllll I met this little girl name Sojeya. She was 12 and absolutely a darling. She asked if I could teach her how to play the guitar, and you know what? I did! Then when we went in the other room to do crafts, She made me a paper flower!!! AND then taught me how to make them!



She was a darling! But I thought to myself, it was soo neat to see that not only could I teach someone something new, but they could teach me something as well. Soo neat.

Well today I will be going to my mentors bible study, and after that, I will be heading to Attiki to visit the Refugees in their homes. This will be such an amazing experience. I must say these women are the sweetest people I've ever met. So happy about life, in the midst of such struggles. I just pray that I can learn something, be humbled, and truly broken in the midst of helping them, that I could learn something so beautiful from these wonderful people. Thank you all for your support and prayers! It's such a blessing! May God bless you on your day today :) talk to you soon :)

Today was so good.

So so good. Unfortunately I didn’t get to talk to Arifa but no worries I have all week. Today was the Farsi outreach program. They had a meal, tea, a sermon, and music. Today I was able to work in the children’s room. The children learned about the prodigal son and the importance about that. After that they were able to make a cross. The children are just so full of life and happiness. It amazes me. I was told today that the parents will give the best for their kids, that they will make them look acceptable more so than they would themselves. Such a sacrifice. After the outreach the women had a bible study. Today they talked about John 8. What was crazy about the bible study I realized that out of the 10 or 12 women, only one was a Christian, the rest were muslim. What the women can’t get past is the trinity. The women believe as Christians we believe in 2 gods. Which is not true we believe in 1 God. God is really stirring at their hearts. What fascinates me about muslim women, is that they hide themselves with the scarf, hide their beauty, but even though we believe differently, they are the kindest women I have ever met. Beautiful inside and out. They are just trying to find a way. I was captivated by this one woman today. During bible study she took off her scarf and let down her hair. She was relaxed, she was asking questions, and she was listening. It was beauty to the core. Another woman who is about 22 or 23, single mom of 4 children, she seemed to be asking all the questions but in a polite manner. What many people don’t know is that when a girl in turns 12 or 13 they are supposed to be married. Which means this girl was only 13 when she had her first child. My mentor Tasha asked me if I would like to teach English to her. ( Maybe my calling is to teach these young women English so they are able to understand us who come for a short amount of time.) This is why I am here. Today just clarified this even more so. Lets just say The Lord is Good and He is moving in a miraculous, beautiful way. :) Here are some pictures for you guys I’ll post more tomorrow for Mykonos and Santorini! I hope you have a marvelous night/day :)

Again sorry :(

I have been away from my computer for the past 5 days. Me, Jessie, and Tiffany had the 5 days off while the rest of the team were in meetings all this weekend. So what did we do on our endeavors wellllll We decided to go to Santorini, and Mykonos (which are two little islands surrounding athens. I liked both of them,but if you think Santorini is all that the pictures say it is. Well then you are sadly mistaken. Yes there is a volcano, but pictures are VERY deceiving. If you decide to go there stay near the beach, it is very quiet and peaceful(and it has amazing food). Mykonos is what I pictured Santorini to be like. The white buildings, more touristy. Mykonos was easy to get around, and the beach was gorgeous. Ill be posting pictures probably tomorrow. Why? because we just got off a 5 hour boat ride, had to call a locksmith, have to shower, and have to wake up early for work.


I promise I am not here for adventure and site seeing, we just haven't been able to work lately. We did have a prayer meeting for 4 hours on Wednesday, that was really neat. We were able to worship as a team and present our request to the Lord. Tomorrow we have the tea room ( where there will be food and tea for the refugees) And I might be teaching english :) Thanks for keeping me in your prayers! They have been well worth it. Okie dokie this smelly gal is off to bed nighty night or good afternoon where you are :)

Ps. I got to ride a donkey in santorini.. was it worth it? I haven't decided yet lol ok that is all see you tomorrow WITH PICTURES! :D

I am so SORRY

That it's been so long since I've done this. The past 3 days have been crazy! Went to a neat church called ICF and it felt like home to me. (Except the pastor was from Kenya) But at least I understood him. Then that night I went over to Myrna and Kent Morley's house and had burgers and played some games. Monday all of us went and explored Ancient Corinth. Ken on our team was our tour guide and did a fabulous job. I saw Ancient Corinth in pictures, but I also got to see all the places that Paul stood or was at. It blew my mind, that I was walking on the same road Paul walked on. I saw the port where he shipped out to Rome, which is now underwater. And I also Saw the 1st century Church. I realized I haven't had alot of time to process everything but STILL it was so cool. Today I went to work, and my new friend Arifa, Almira and I helped teach some other girls how to speak english. I feel like God is really going to give me a chance to love on these girls in some way, I just don't know how. Well keep me in your prayers and thank you thus far! This trip has been amazing. Here are a few pictures :)

ARC

Athens Refugee Center is the place I was at allll day. I absolutely loved it! At first I was really nervous, because out of everything I was talking with the women there... annnnd all of them spoke Farsi....Unfortunately I do not! haha BUT that is alright I met a 15 year old girl name Alefria She was really the only one who spoke a little english. She was really sweet I hope I get to learn more about her the next time we have the tea room. What the tea room is, its a chance for the refugees to get off the streets and have a break with tea and the men play games and the children are taken care of which means the women get to relax. It was awesome. Then i switched shifts with Tiffany in the kitchen and served the tea with two of my teammates Ken (who is from California, and who will be our tour Guide of Corinth on monday) and Almira (who is from Russia and loves to clean) It was an amazing day today I am really really glad I am here.... and I am really really tired and sore but it's all worth it! Now I am off to bed! Hope you all have had an amazing day! tahtahfornow

Hello again here is day 3 athens bound

Today was great. Me, Jessie and Tiffany (My roommates) went to organize toys for the refugees, and went exploring. There was a storage unit in a certain part of town and you know what? We were able to find our way to it! How exciting is THAT! Welll after we did some awesome teamwork me my roommates decided to take this time and learn how to get around not only our neighborhood which our place is on korinthias street, but we were able to get around syntagma ( which is basically where I think you would want to go shopping, lots of designers and not for that much either which is a plus.) I've become a coffee drinker... I guess thats a must here? Tomorrow we have our tea room where all the women and men and children will get to get some food and tea alll day from 10-4 and just have a place to relax other than the streets I'm really really excited ANYWHOO,... I must be off got to get up early tomorrow and last night was not one of my best nights of sleep. Talk to you tomorrow :)

Hello From Athens!

Well today is day two (actually it's nighttime right now), and lots has been accomplished so far. I went on the metro station and figured that out. Learned that pick pocketing is big here but not to worry I had my eyes and hands on my purse. I met the team last night after a LONG LONG LONG flight but got 7 1/2 hours of sleep which is great! I have learned that i don't like olives (YES I tried them) but yes I don't like olives. I have had a gyro so that was tasty. Basically the first two days have been getting us accustomed to things around here. Here are a little things you need to know about Greece that I have learned thus far:

1.) The sidewalks are not for sidewalks they are for parking, planting trees and animals
2.) If you plan on walking people will not move out of the way or say excuse me
3.) Greeks are stingy with money and very stubborn. They will not back down for anyone.
4.) I know how to say no lol
5.) When using the toilet, you can not flush toilet paper you can only throw it in the trash can.
6.) Try to go to sleep at nighttime (even though the city doesn't sleep lol

Well that is all for now I am sleepy and have to get up early so goodnight all love you guys soooo much! thanks for the prayers... Please pray that I start getting things better, This has been somewhat overwhelming since I have never lived in a big city. So I kinda get scared but once I get it I will be bettter it just is really overwhelming. WELL tomorrow I am going to get to Organize toys to give away for Christmas and I will get to hang out with more of the team! Ill be posting pics of my apt. soon! Thanks again guys. Now for me to sign out :) tahtahfornow!

TODAY is the DAY

Yep I am on my way to good ol Greece. Everything's packed, everything is in order, and now all I need is to wait to board the plane and head on my way to this wonderful place I'll be staying for the next 3 months :). Sorry this will be a short post, but my pops is ready to leave and is rushing me! i'll post a new post when I get there to let all of you know I will be safe! Pray for my safety and pray for the adventure of a life time! Love you all and thanks for the support! So I am off tahtahfornow

:)

Very Very VERY Excited!

SO just a little update on the life of Callie before Greece. I have officially 7 days til I leave for Athens. A WEEK! which is SUPER exciting. I am almost done packing, just little things here and there, and then I'll be on my way to a new country, a new continent,. a new adventure that I have never embarked on. Over this summer I have been put to the test of trusting, been through trials, and saw amazing things happen. This summer I feel like I've grown alot in preparation for this trip. And I am stoked about all the things that will come about while I am there. I am ready to submit all of me for the Lords will, and I am excited for what He has in store. Yes I have gotten nervous, yes I have been in cruise control with my excitement most of the summer, but now that it's finally here, that it is actually happening... I am overjoyed, and honored that He would even pick me to do this wonderful experience. Now is the time for me to ask... Will you continue to pray for me this week? Pray that I get all I need taken care of, pray that I stay focused and enjoy the rest of my time home, pray that my team over there is doing amazing things, and pray for the safety of me and my teammates! Thank you so much! I will definitely put a picture up soon of me all PACKED :D! and then when I get to Greece. I'm excited to take you on this journey with me! Thanks again for all the support and prayers! Yall have really worked wonders in my life!

ANYWAYS I am off. Little things here and there that need to get taken care of! Have a blessed day!

:)

Hello Again!

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to give you all a heads up. I am officially going to Greece! Thanks to all of your help this opportunity is actually happening. I have my ticket, and I am set to leave September 14-December 15. YAY! Only a month away, and lots needs to be done. I have clothes all set, time to get to more packing, making sure little things are in order, and prayer prayer prayer. I apologize for not updating this recently, but unfortunately things have been pretty crazy in my neck of the woods. There are two other girls that will be arriving during the time I'm over there. One is Jessie Lipp, and the other is Tiffany Brown. Please pray for all three of us as well as the rest of the team. God is going to do some amazing things during our time over there. And I can't wait to show you and tell you all about how awesome Greece is! Thanks guys for keeping up with me, yalls support, and your prayers! I really appreciate it! Well I am out to go study my Manual. Have a marvelous day!

Through Him
Callie

Update Update Update

Hello everyone! All my wonderful followers!

I just wanted to give you a little update on everything that is going on, as I get prepared to head onto Greece! Papa is really providing (Papa, as in our Heavenly Father). As he is getting me ready mentally, physically, and spiritually for this experience, I wanted to let you know thank you for all the prayers and contributions you been bringing my way. Without all of you, and our Father, none of this would be happening. And for that I want to say thank you! Thank you for everything you have done for me, and continue to do. I'm almost at my goal only a little more, and then the packing, buying the plane ticket, catching up with my team begins. I want to thank the people at International Team for being so helpful. Thank you for some of the members in my team that I have been talking too, I can't wait to finally meet you guys. I will let you know when the exact days i will be leaving and returning and will let you know what a little more about what I'll be doing over there!

Here is a little Greek that I am learning right now, that is in my ATHENS MISSION HANDBOOK :D

Hello. Goodbye: YA-sou. YA-sas
How Are You?: TI KA-nis?
I'm fine: ka-LA
Thank You: ef-kha-ri-STO ( the "kha" sounds like you are coughing up a hair ball, and "ri" the r is rolled [which i have a problem doing haha])
Good Morning: KA-li ME-ra
Yes: ne
No: O-khi
Me. You: e-GO, e-SI


So there is a little Greek for you, a little update, and tune in soon for the next little bit looking my way :)

A Little Info On The Ministry!

I have told you a little bit of what I am going to do over in Athens, but that's mainly because that's all I knew at the moment. Digging into International Teams website I have been able to pick up some more INFO! Ready for the 411 on Refugee Ministry?

Ok!

Here is a few of the many things that the Team offers:

1. Shower Ministry
2. Tea House
3. Language Classes
4. Clothing Room
5. Seekers Bible Study
6. Intensive Biblical Studies
7. Lending Library
8. Bible/ Literature Distribution AND video presentation
9. Ethnic Fellowship
10. Russian Tea Room
11. Special Outreaches (for Women, Children, Families, etc.)

"I.T./Athens is striving to be a strategic off-ramp on the Refugee Highway by creating multicultural communities of Spirit-led ambassadors for the Kingdom, partnering with the local church to minister to the holistic needs of refugees, nurturing them and sending them out as dispensers of hope.

More than 1,000,000 of Greece's 11,000,000 residents are refugees and ethnic minorities, most of them living in the greater Athens area. They include Albanians, Poles, Iraqis, Iranians,Ukrainians, Filipinos, Kenyans and Ethiopians.

IT missionaries work with Greek churches as well as international churches and ethnic fellowships to reach these people. The team is involved in evangelism and discipleship, video presentations, teaching English, leadership training, retreats, prison ministry, hospitality, clothing distribution, and a Tea House ministry. They also have begun housing and shelter ministries."- from http://refmin.iteams.org

This is just a little info so you can understand more on what I will be involved with. Below you will see a link that you can click, and explore what their Refugee Ministry is ALL about! (and you'll probably get more of an understanding then what I have given you ;) haha)

WELL that's all for now :) THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!

Until next time,
Callie :)

  http://refmin.iteams.org/

The Beginning of a New Chapter

Hello All!

Thanks for coming and checking in on my blog about all the fun things that will be happening in Greece. If you will notice I will have a link in the side bar that will give you an opportunity to donate, as well as see more information about the mission and what I will be apart of. During the course of the next couple months I will give updates on what is happening before, during, and after the trip. But this blog is going to be mainly on the things that happen during the time I am over at Greece. Sorry if you are looking for something deeper ;). On the side bar I will have videos, and a slide show of pics that I shall be taking while I am over there. ANYWAYS I hope you will enjoy this journey of mine, and again thank you for stopping by! Keep the prayers coming :)

With Love,
Callie