General Observations from Kerry Buttram
September 27, 2006
Athens refugee ministry has been a great experience from several angles (IMHO). One has been the opportunity to build relationships with brothers and sisters from across the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia. Many have come through tremendously tough circumstances. Most are separated from their families and some would have serious threats on their physical well-being if they were to return to their homelands. It is a privilege to reflect the love of Jesus at such a critical time in their lives.
God brought an unexpected blessing to our team. We got to serve alongside another short-term mission team. They are not from North America but from Egypt! Their congregation sends out many teams and long-term workers to places like southern Spain (partnering with another US congregation serving North African refugees) and about 7 or 8 other locations around the Middle East. Egyptian Arabic is (I’m told) understood by most other Arabic speakers because they produce and distribute so much TV and film. This team of Egyptians came well-prepared to speak one-to-one and know how to establish a friendly relationship with refugees, many of whom are lonely visitors to this city. The neat thing about this Egyptian congregation is their desire to partner with other worshiping communities from around the world. They came to Athens at the invitation of a local Greek church. Helping Hands was a natural fit for some of their ministry time here and we got to be in on it!
Several on our team have noted the potential that an unending stream of needy people passing through (or stuck in) a mega-city like Athens can have on the physical and spiritual health of those serving them. The staff of Helping Hands/International Teams is constantly confronted with this reality. I wonder if it is something like a wound which never heals. On the other hand, we’ve had opportunity to see quite a few whose lives have been powerfully transformed by the gospel of Jesus. So there is healing and hope along with the tough times. I’m really glad our team has been able to participate in so many facets of this work. The long-term missionaries are real. We’ve seen and heard some of their joys, heartbreaks and trials of faith. Perseverance is a word which comes to mind when I think of them.
Finally, I’m thankful for the community that has developed among our SF team. We are learning what it means to serve and love one another as we love and serve others. That said, it is a messy business. I naturally tend to think of my own “needs” first. I filter everything through the lens of “me first”. Thankfully, we are a community of grace! Living in close quarters these eleven days has reminded me that God often shows up to do things we did not plan on him doing. He often chooses to do this through the most humble of means. For instance, how could it mean that much to a man (who has no job and is an “unwanted alien”) for a few of his new friends from South Carolina to look at pictures of the products he once made in a factory in his homeland? Just offering our friendship in a concerted way has been a big encouragement to him. It is a humbling thing to be used to bless another in such a mundane sort of activity as this. Serving as a community of Jesus-followers powerfully communicates the love of Jesus to some of our refugee friends. The Spirit of God can use our meager efforts done in community to reinforce what our friends are hearing and reading. I’m thankful that this kind of thing doesn’t require an overseas trip! I think there are many people in Greenville who will be reached most readily by a community of people serving one another, loving others and living out the gospel (imperfectly as that may be). Thanks, friends, for sending this community.
Thank you for praying! Please keep doing so. By the time you read this we will be starting preparations to return to SC. We will have one more Tea House on Saturday. One big request: more long-term workers for this ministry! (Arabic-speaking men would be a great help right now!) Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 9:37-38 (NLT)—“The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields.”
-Kerry
Athens refugee ministry has been a great experience from several angles (IMHO). One has been the opportunity to build relationships with brothers and sisters from across the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia. Many have come through tremendously tough circumstances. Most are separated from their families and some would have serious threats on their physical well-being if they were to return to their homelands. It is a privilege to reflect the love of Jesus at such a critical time in their lives.
God brought an unexpected blessing to our team. We got to serve alongside another short-term mission team. They are not from North America but from Egypt! Their congregation sends out many teams and long-term workers to places like southern Spain (partnering with another US congregation serving North African refugees) and about 7 or 8 other locations around the Middle East. Egyptian Arabic is (I’m told) understood by most other Arabic speakers because they produce and distribute so much TV and film. This team of Egyptians came well-prepared to speak one-to-one and know how to establish a friendly relationship with refugees, many of whom are lonely visitors to this city. The neat thing about this Egyptian congregation is their desire to partner with other worshiping communities from around the world. They came to Athens at the invitation of a local Greek church. Helping Hands was a natural fit for some of their ministry time here and we got to be in on it!
Several on our team have noted the potential that an unending stream of needy people passing through (or stuck in) a mega-city like Athens can have on the physical and spiritual health of those serving them. The staff of Helping Hands/International Teams is constantly confronted with this reality. I wonder if it is something like a wound which never heals. On the other hand, we’ve had opportunity to see quite a few whose lives have been powerfully transformed by the gospel of Jesus. So there is healing and hope along with the tough times. I’m really glad our team has been able to participate in so many facets of this work. The long-term missionaries are real. We’ve seen and heard some of their joys, heartbreaks and trials of faith. Perseverance is a word which comes to mind when I think of them.
Finally, I’m thankful for the community that has developed among our SF team. We are learning what it means to serve and love one another as we love and serve others. That said, it is a messy business. I naturally tend to think of my own “needs” first. I filter everything through the lens of “me first”. Thankfully, we are a community of grace! Living in close quarters these eleven days has reminded me that God often shows up to do things we did not plan on him doing. He often chooses to do this through the most humble of means. For instance, how could it mean that much to a man (who has no job and is an “unwanted alien”) for a few of his new friends from South Carolina to look at pictures of the products he once made in a factory in his homeland? Just offering our friendship in a concerted way has been a big encouragement to him. It is a humbling thing to be used to bless another in such a mundane sort of activity as this. Serving as a community of Jesus-followers powerfully communicates the love of Jesus to some of our refugee friends. The Spirit of God can use our meager efforts done in community to reinforce what our friends are hearing and reading. I’m thankful that this kind of thing doesn’t require an overseas trip! I think there are many people in Greenville who will be reached most readily by a community of people serving one another, loving others and living out the gospel (imperfectly as that may be). Thanks, friends, for sending this community.
Thank you for praying! Please keep doing so. By the time you read this we will be starting preparations to return to SC. We will have one more Tea House on Saturday. One big request: more long-term workers for this ministry! (Arabic-speaking men would be a great help right now!) Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 9:37-38 (NLT)—“The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields.”
-Kerry
posted by Joe at 11:02 PM
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