what lies ahead...

Dear Friends and Family,

With excitement and humility I write to you concerning my summer mission trip back to Athens, Greece.

I previously interned with Helping Hands/Athens Refugee Center, working with Afghan and Iranian women and children—teaching Bible and English lessons, leading activities, and assisting with relief measures such as meals, showers, and clothing donations. The center had said good-bye to their Children’s Ministry Director one day before my friend, Charissa, and I arrived. We were able to offer our assistance in planning lessons and administrating the weekly tasks for this rather large portion of the center.

Keeping in contact with the members of the team, I have learned that the already under-staffed team has recently lost a few more members due to visa issues and an ailing mother in the missionary’s home country. However, the number of refugees in Athens has continued to grow. The team is feeling stretched and burned-out. Since I have a few weeks this summer before I begin work with the Episcopal Service Corp, I am willing and hopeful to return to Athens—to offer help in the day-to-day activities, and bring joy and rest to the team members. Already familiar with the center, I believe God has called me again to assist in his mission there, even for this short time from May 28 to June 27. Lastly, the center does not have a replacement for their children’s ministry director and I would be able to serve within this portion of the ministry again.

I am writing to you first and foremost to ask for prayers – for me, and for the trip, but mainly for the ministry and the refugees. May God grant them strength and peace in this time where extra help is limited. Second, if God so leads you would you consider contributing financially to this trip? The total cost is $3,200. Anything donated above this amount will be left with Helping Hands. Your generosity is a blessing to many people, and I thank you in advance!

Donations may be sent to Internationals Teams Attn: Receipting Dept. 411 W River Rd Elgin IL 60123 or online at www.iteams.us/give. Please remember to include Lindsey Boulais in order for it to be deposited in the correct account.

Thank you for all your support and encouragement. May God bless you!

With love...

Thank You!

I'm sorry I never posted my thank you letter sent to my supporters. I am thankful for each of you who followed my blog this summer and prayed for us, before, during and after the trip. Although it is late, I hope you enjoy a little taste of Athens and the refugee center.

Dear beloved friends and family,

It’s three in the morning here in Athens, the only time I seem to find quiet-filled peace. Sitting on the balcony I share with Charissa, I look out at the city. To my left is the sea, my right the mountains, and although it appears tranquil, Greece is home to economic despair, racial tension and political corruption. A country on the verge of bankruptcy, many Greeks blame the estimated 1.5-2 million refugees who live in the storage closets, street corners, park benches, and over-crowded rooms within Athens. Violence rages, political threats form, and the people who have fled their homes because of death and war are faced with conditions they have deemed much worse. Helping Hands, the ministry we served this summer, seeks to show Christ’s love through meeting the refugees’ basic needs and providing a safe place in a land wheresafetyseems non-existent.

During our first week in Greece, Charissa and I were blessed to work at a camp that served twelve Persian Muslim refugee families. Here, we taught Bible lessons and crafts to children, swam, provided meals, and simply lived life with the refugees. I was welcomed into a breakfast game of cracking hard-boiled eggs, saw the joy of my ten year-old friend as he learned to swim, and laughed and cried with a twelve year-old Afghan refugee. We did not know we would spend the majority of our time with Afghans and Iranians; thus, I did not research anything about their culture. That week at the camp I learned through observation, cultural mistakes, and was able to allow them to teach me about the countries they love. That week we formed lasting friendships with both the missionaries and the refugees.

The next five weeks, we worked at the Athens Refugee Center. A main focus of the center is to show the love of Jesus through relationships. During the week the number of refugees allowed in the center is limited in order to serve them in a better environment and to foster relationships. We served meals, gave away clothes, facilitated showering times, and taught Bible, English, and craft lessons. On Saturdays, the door was open to all refugees. These days were a little overwhelming but it was great being able to interact with children from numerous cultures.

Thank you for your valued prayers and donations. Due to your generosity and the low exchange rate between the dollar and the euro, I was able to leave almost $1,000 for Helping Hands. This money came at the perfect time. The ministry’s food cupboards were empty and there was no money in the budget for kids’ school supplies. Your money was spent on food, clothes, school supplies, and doctor visits. Additionally, you assisted two Greek missionaries working for Helping Hands, whose monetary support has decreased in the failing economy.

Soon, the sun rises, another day begins. The sounds of traffic and Greeks yelling drift up to our apartment. There are more hungry stomachs, sweaty bodies wanting a shower, and souls missing the comfort of a safe place. I know our material efforts only last a day, if that, but I earnestly pray that through our actions each refugee experiences the grace and love of Jesus, comes to realize Him as God and Messiah, and be welcomed into the greater Church. Thank you for joining me in this journey. I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity! If you would like to know more and engage in a conversation about anything that happened this summer, please contact me. I would love to share and to hear your thoughts.

May Christ’s peace, which transcends all understanding, be with you

Being Back

Hello from an air-conditioned room in humid, cloudy (still hot) South Dakota. After 26 hours of traveling, I am back. It was wonderful seeing my family again, not to mention getting fries with good ol' American ketchup! But a large chunk of my heart was left with refugee friends, teammates, and Athens itself. Many of my refugee friends did not come to the center during our last day, so I was unable to say good-bye. Working with refugees, there is always the possibility that a smuggler will call and the next day the family will be gone. Each good-bye could be your last. It was this way, this past Tuesday when N's family left. We came to the center to hear that his family had left the country, but no one knew to where or if they had arrived safely. This time, although I was the one leaving, it was extremely difficult to walk away knowing I will most likely never see these friends again. Even if I were to come back, these refugees will probably be in another country.


It is hard for me to grasp that six weeks have gone by or that I am sitting on my couch again in the U.S. I'm not sure if I seem different but I certainly feel it. Beyond the little habits I have picked up while in Greece (for example, using my hands to talk), I see life through a new perspective. I have realized the importance of simply being with a person, that you do not need to share a language to share love, and true hospitality goes beyond what you can give someone. You don't need to be a Christian to love; however, loving unconditionally can only come from Christ. I have been loved and lied to; I have laughed and cried. 


I pray that this trip has or will affect your life as well. If you would like to talk about or see pictures, I would love to sit down with you and a cup of chay or some nan and hummus and have a conversation. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers and concerns. May God bless you! Please know they were not futile but resulted in the Spirit moving in the lives of the refugees and in my own. My prayer is that now we will not stop in preaching the Gospel, that we will not grow timid in loving others, but rather that the Spirit will move here just as it is working in Greece.


"Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interest but each of you to the interest of others." - Philippians 2:1-4


May God's peace and joy be upon you,
L

LOOKING FOR WISDOM

As college graduation creeps closer and closer, the pressure to form an opinion on every burning theological issue rises within me. I can remember, last spring, looking up from my homework multiple times with my head swimming and my heart lost not knowing what to think about homosexuality or if Islam was wrong or just a Christian heresy? Processing and praying what a woman in ministry should look like. It is not that Northwestern was pushing me to find what I believe or even to accept what they think; in fact, many of my professors have encouraged me to continue asking questions and seeking, not to rush this exploring process.

But, my mind still wanted answers.

This pressure on myself to discover what I believe altered my devotion times. Instead of reading the Bible to learn more about Christ, to see the nature of God or to see the Biblical meta-narrative, I was picking apart each verse to try to find out what exactly the Bible says about some of these issues. I walked away from all this being confused, frustrated, and spiritually exhausted. How am I going to be able to minister to people this summer? I wondered and prayed.

Almost without realizing it, none of those issues have entered my mind since I have been in Greece. Being surrounded by people who do not believe in the Gospel curves your mindset into being focused solely on Christ crucified and sharing that with others. One of the biggest aspects of this trip as been learning to live in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, as John Wilcox encourages. Hardships are more bearable when focused on the glory of the cross. Becoming aware that the spirit of the risen Christ surrounds us every day brings comfort and peace. Everything of this world loses its nagging urgency when our eyes are focused on the light of our Savior.

"Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." - 1 Corinthians 1:22-24

Prayer Requests:
- That Chachi and I will be able to do everything that needs to be done during these last six days and discern between what not to do
- Safety for the refugees who are seeking Christ and that they will be able to see the power and wisdom of God
- As Ramadan starts this week, may all their fasting and prayer draw them closer to Jesus

Praises:
- How much love the team has showed us
- The hospitality of the refugees
- All that God has showed us about ourselves and about Himself

NOT WHAT IT SEEMS

The day before I left for Athens, I went to the public library to print off some last-minute items. I walked up to the reservation desk and grabbed a number for a computer. I grimaced as I realized the computer I had reserved was between two scraggly-looking men that had apparently not showered in a few days. Man up, Lindsey, be loving towards these people. You are going to spend your whole summer with people like this, you better get used to the smell. I told myself. However, once I reached the refugee center, I was astonished to have my preconceived notions of what a refugee would be like shattered. Here, I am not surrounded by bad body odor. The refugees care more about being with you, then what you can give them. Majority of the people I work with do not beg for my pity. Attiki, the district many refugees live in, appears to be well-kept. Two kids, who sleep in the park, come in with big smiles on their faces. 


It is so easy to slip into the belief that since everything appears to be okay, it is. They do not smell, thus they must have access to a daily shower. They do not ask for food or clothing; therefore, they must not need it. They say they have a house, so it is probably like the one I live in, not a small room that they share with another family. But when I stop to ponder their situations, I realize that each refugee I interact with, possesses a resilient strength that has enabled them to come this far and will, hopefully, carry them into whatever country they find themselves in next. The life of a refugee does not become magically easier when they leave their war-torn country. This week, I have come to realize that some of this people may never find the peace that they heard could be discovered in Greece or Switzerland or Germany. They will experience racial discrimination. There will be difficulties in finding work, their children are behind in school.


But as each of this people search for something better than where they came from, we fervently pray that they will find that in Christ, the Prince of Peace. That their hungry stomachs will be filled with the Bread of Life, that they will long for not a earthly home but for one that is eternal. May they be blessed in this life because of faith in God, not because of what they have or where they are.


"Blessed are the poor in the spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." - Jesus, Matthew 5:3


Prayer Requests:
- Continual compassion and discernment
- Emotional strength
- The ministry has many Muslims who are interested in knowing about Jesus or say that they love Him; however, they are not willing to give up the Islamic belief that Jesus is just a prophet and not God.

Praises:
- God has been providing generously for the ministry. We had no clothes or food to give away last week. A few hours after praying for God to fill our cabinets again, a team member received a call from a local boarding school wanting to donate two car-fulls of almost new and new clothes.
- I cannot communicate with many of the kids here, but on Thursday, I spent the morning playing with the younger children, following their lead of making strange noises as we played make-believe.

ANSWERED PRAYERS

As each week passes here in Athens, we are faced with new challenges and overwhelmed by new joys. This week, I have felt my patience thinning while serving people who don't speak English and who cannot understand my broken Persian.  Chach and I have been forced to find whole new ways to minister to people without the use of speech. However, our friendships with the refugees have continued to grow. Instead of saying words with the young boys at the refugee center, we spend the afternoon laughing over something silly. During a clothing give-away, my little friend H popped up by the shoe table with his hand in a boot like a puppet, saying 'Hello! How are you?' in Farsi. This past week, we have begun to teach an English class. I have enjoyed this, but it also presents a challenge since the male intern and I teach all men. Their culture treats dating and marriage a little different than ours and I certainly do not want to do something to make it appear I'm ready for a husband!

The weather here has been ridiculously hot. I'm talking no-covers-on-the-bed-and-you-still-wake-up-sweating hot, take-two-showers-a-day hot. Greek architecture relies on the sea breeze to cool down their concrete or stone rooms. One problem - there has been practically no wind. This only magnifies as you move further into the city, where many of the refugees live. Many women are only getting a few hours of sleep a night due to watching to make sure no one breaks into their apartment room, swatting disease-carrying bugs off their children, and trying to keep everyone cool. (Their husbands, if they are in Greece, sleep in the park). Our team gathered on Wednesday to pray for the ministry and one of the things lifted up was that the heat would break. That night, clouds moved in and  the wind picked up. We're talking shivering-you-need-a-sweater-to-be-outside cool. Praise God!

"Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me." - Psalm 50:14-15

Thank you for your prayers! They have not gone unheard.

Prayer Requests:
- Health, language learning
- That we could incorporate the Bible into every English lesson
- Team unity as another intern arrives tomorrow

Praises:
- The Cool-ness!!
- The joy and life we have experienced from the fellowship with our teammates and other ministries in Athens

FORGIVE AS THE LORD FORGAVE YOU

Week 2 complete! We spent it at the Refugee Center, working with women and children. It was great to see our camp friends again as well as meet other refugees. The challenge is now we are no longer working with solely Farsi speakers. Additionally, we met the rest of the Helping Hands staff along with their spouses. They're great! It is somewhat a mixed group of people but their is a deep, deep love for each other and passion for what they do (not to mention their unity through Christ) that binds them together.

Last Sunday we attended a outreach church for Persian refugees run by South Koreans. To get to the church, we walked past a row of brothels. Prostitution is legal here, and sons are often encouraged by their fathers to visit. It is estimated that one-third of the male population in Athens has used these services. Although, it was a Sunday morning, the open light was on and we noticed several men leaving the buildings. Let's just say my thoughts were not about how much Christ loves these men.

Every Monday, Hellenic Ministries (the ministry who ran the camp we were at last week) hosts a Love Meal for Farsi and Arabic speaking refugees that includes a Bible lesson. A few of us from Helping Hands came to help and to visit the staff. Before the serving began, the leader gave just the staff a devotional. He read from John 13 and talked about how that all people will know we are of Jesus by our love. Continuing on, he mentioned how hard it can be to love others. Rather than this getting easier, it seems almost as if it becomes harder as you go. A Sudanese volunteer and refugee spoke saying that we must love those that hurt us, even those who kill our mother and our sister. Something in his voice told me that was part of his story; however, there was no pain on his face, only joy that could come from the Lord. If this man could forgive something so violent that was done to him, there is nothing I have a right to hold against anyone else. My mind drifted back to the previous day. Was their love in my heart for those men who had just visited the brothel? From our brief pass-by, could it be possible from them to tell we are believers in Christ?

Forgive as the Lord forgave you - Colossians 3:13b

Prayer Requests and Praises:
- Health (we work with people who are often sick with little access to medical assistance)
- Language learning
- Those who have made a commitment to Christ at camp, may they continue on this path despite persecution
- That those whom we serve who came to know Jesus as a God above all other gods

Thanks!