I'll try to keep this short :)

Brothers and Sisters -

How do I even begin to envelop this past week with written words? It has been incredible. Thank you so much again for your prayers - there is so much need in this city. I still can't get over how blessed I am to be here in Athens, staying at the ONLY Bible College in all of Greece and sharing the building with amazing people from all over the world.

An odd mixture of bleak cynicism and passionate hope perpetuates the city. The older generation seems to be Eastern Orthodox by default and tradition; the younger wants nothing to do with God, the Church, or the State. And scattered here and there you find genuine and solid believers in Jesus Christ who cling to him with all their hearts. Statistically, they are said to make up less than 2.5% of Greece. But the ones I have met have so much faith that the Lord will continue to spread His Name throughout the country despite human opposition.

A couple nights ago we were able to go to a youth worship rally, which took place on the roof of a building within easy view of the Parthenon, one of the greatest images of pagan humanism. It was an incredible thing to be able to listen to familiar worship songs being sung in Greek and let them echo over the city.

Our work with the New Life ministries has also been a blessing. We're going back tomorrow and last week I was able to enter 2 different brothels and have conversations with the prostitutes and madams in each, with the help of a translator. New Life has an office that helps the girls find different occupations in the city and aids them in any way possible. I was really moved by what I saw there and want so much for these girls to know freedom, tangibly but most importantly spiritually. Please pray for them and for the ministry.

Last night, the pastor and his family invited our team over to their room and cooked us dinner. It was delicious - I'm still not tired of Greek salad :) I loved getting to talk with them and hearing their stories of God's faithfulness was really encouraging.

My team is still working together really well. Thank you for your prayers for that too!

I hope everything is great back home and would love to hear from you :) Feel free to email anytime - rachie008@hotmail.com.

Thanks for reading :) and for your encouragement and support. I'm so excited to see what's going to happen over these next couple months.

"Then all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the mighty one of Jacob." -Isaish 49:26