So we finally have managed to post some pics after quite a lot of frustration!!!
The crazy image of five incredibly attired women to the right would be our fantastic team! This was taken funnily enough whilst sorting a massive storeroom of clothes for the clothing give away! Some items we just couldn't resist!! (obviously we didn't expect our dignified refugee friends to wear them seriously!) But we had great fun with our fashion disaster parade!!
It was awesome to see the women and children so excited today when we gave out the clothes! It was ironic really as the crazy women in Athens were also shopping as the sales started this week - you just can't change the heart of a women no matter what country you come from!

The pic to the left is a few of us on top of the hill that Paul preached on - you can see the main Acropolis buildings behind us! We visited this awesome landmark on Sunday!
On Monday we went to Old Korith an man it was an adventure. Being crazy aussie ladies we thought we would hike up to the fort on top of a massive hill behind Old Korith! After a rather hot and long hike - it was 20 degrees and a 4km walk up the steepest cliff, ever we made it and enjoyed spectalcular views of Korith!! Before we embarked on our journey down we thought we better stretch and only made it 50m to the local cafe (shack on a hill) which offered us a wide variety of French potato sticks eg chips and frozen Greek Salad for quite a many euro!! We foundly named our lunch FAT STICKS!!
After hiking down we found Old Korith was closed an observed the ruins through the barbed wire fence!!
So we will leave it there as we start our celebration for Australia Day two days early at the Cotterells (the fantastic Aussie family over here) - we are all zinked up and tattoed!!
Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi!
Rock on!!
Mels:-)
P.S. 11 more survival tips!!
1. Ask if french fries inlcude mass quanties of olive oil drizzled on top!
2. When travelling on trains expect old greek men to throw odd lollies your way!
3. Also during train travel remember to validate ticket to avoid embarrassing confrontation!
4. Essential travel items include a tube of vegemite and a stick of green and yellow zinc.
5. Always indulge in: donuts, souvlaki, kebabs, euros, fried cheese, spicy cheese.
6. Allow excess room on pants to bring home Athens belly!
7. Be ready to encounter well groomed, fatty mc fat dogs posing for your photos - no seriously!
8. Don't take photos of teddies infront of Acropolis to avoid CRAZY clapping Greek speaking women coming your way and abusing you!
9. When stepping out your front door be prepared to suck in your Athens belly to avoid crazed ladies in car 20cm from the door.
10. And for some strange and unknown reason don't combine blue and smiling.
11. Always stare at the ground to avoid eye contact with crazy men.
Plus one more VERY important point - at the Refugee Centre avoid interaction with certain men to avoid becoming a second wife - even though your sure to receive your own apartment.

I think we were all surprised by how undeveloped and decrepit much of Athens is, but we're staying and working in the cheapest area. Seeing motorcyclists riding round with no gear or helmet, talking on a mobile, amidst suicidal traffic no longer seems strange, so we miust be settled into the Athens scene now.

Thus far we've been spoilt for food, hospitality and weather! It's been pretty full on with the Athens team six days a week.

A word of prayer is so appreciated:

- Divine appointments with refugees and other conversations
- Teachable hearts for anything and everything we need to "get"
- Practical integration of implications into "real life"

Depending on how much info you'd like, read or skip for more information in the headings below.

Till next time, love.

Cheers,
Clarissa
. . . on behalf of the Awesome Team Athens
(who will also answer to the five gorgeous girls, or other such things)


A bit more about. . .

- Tea House is where about 400 - 500 refugees come in for some respite from the streets. Here they find simple food, endless cups of tea, games of chess, movies, childrens activities, and friendship. Sometimes there are language classes, showers, clothing giveaways etc. It's generally a mad house but a lifeline to many people and a great place to build relationships. We help with all this three times a week.

- Persian fellowship is a church for believers and seekers. They finish with a meal. I hear about the very high price people have paid for their faith. It's not safe to explore the claims of Christ if you're a Muslim. People have been attacked by family or intimidated by others at Tea House. To create a safe place for people to seek, they keep everything low key, relational, leave literature out of the way so you can pick it up privately, and have retreats where you can get out of town and explore further in safety. There is a beautiful rawness and aliveness to a persecuted faith.

- Born in Brothels was a DVD about kids of prostitutes in the redlight district in Calcutta. We watched it as a team with two guests who are looking at setting up stuff for human traffiking. It was a potent reminder that you can't change on variable in isolation of others. Trafficking women and children and smuggling desparate people is extremely profitable business, more than the drug business, yet no one thinks it happens in their country.

- Before and after photos Twice I have helped register the hundreds of refugees that come into the Tea House. They present some form of idenitity paper and get a meal ticket. It touched me to see the "before" photos on their identity papers. Photos of another life when the men were sharp in suits, women posed proudly for a passport. All reflecting dignity, comfort, and control. Then I look at the person standing infront of me and take an "after" photo to register them. Some are aged beyond their years. Some are hollow and expressionless. Some betray their frustration. Others are amazingly accessible, animated, alive. They were like us. No one thinks it could happen to them. They still are like us. Normal responses to abnormal situations. Imagine if we could get past their African or Middle Eastern appearance to see him like my father. To see her like my mother. To see those kids as precious, instead of fruit of a problem people.

- Contrasts. I help serve a basic meal of one pitta bread, five olives, three peppers and a chunk of fetta cheese. Then I have choice, opportunitiy and means to essentially eat whatever I fancy. It's cold at night. I'm literally under three blankets and woke up in the middle of the night cold. I wonder about the refugees who are literally on the street whilst I'm in my bed. I have a way out. I have standing. Belonging. Power. All from a passport, a ticket home, insurance and loved ones who could bail me out if need be. Refugees live so precariously. Refugees can't get health care unless it's an emergency. So a refugee volunteer on the team is walking around knowing his apprendix is about to burst (already had one near miss) but can't access health care and has to wait till it's an emergency, which is life threatening.

- Sustainability. The team is made up of foreigners because Greeks don't seem to be engaged with refugee issues. How do you spend your team energy? Direct refugee work, which could consume every resource you have and still gape for more. Or capacity building and mobilizing the Greek community to engage with the needs and opportunities in their backyard. What mix of the two? In ten years, do we want this same model or are we aiming for a transition along the lines?

- Identification. What does it look like to reach out to, to go to, to identify with, to share with refugees? Any attempt to be like them is patronizing because even if I abandoned my passport, be homeless etc that’s a choice I controlled and no one chooses to be a refugee. So I can imagine I’d seem to be from another planet in their eyes. Just not sure how to minimize the barriers with integrity that is not tokenistic or just a knee jerk reaction.

- Trivia. Wine is cheaper than coke or juice. Butter for your bread is white. There are bus loads of swat teams for football games. Apartments come stripped of light fittings, ovens and the like. Toilet paper is hard to scoop out with the toilet brush if it takes more than a milisecond for you to remember you can't flush it. It is possible to make chips even fattier after deep frying - drown them liberally with oil!

Entry 2

IT TEAMS BLOG

G’day from Greece! Tea House is about to start, so we’ll try to keep it short, sharp and sassy, but so much has happened!

Saturday night we were spoilt for Aussie company and cuisine at the Cottrells – an Aussie family who’ve been working here five months. The irony is that the rest of the team have support but tremendous difficulties with getting visas while the Cottrells have no visa problems but need more supporters so they don’t have to go home at the end of this year.

We joined an international church Sunday morning with some of the team. From our visit, the diversity of people was the only notable difference from our local services. After international church, we went out for infamous Greek Kebabs at the Five Brothers at the Plaka. The local team assured us the service was rubbish but the food was fabulous – and indeed it was.

By comparison, the Persian Christian Fellowship was a difference church experience! Nader, a believer from the Middle East started this gathering of Farsi speaking believers and seekers. On this night, a film about a believer discussing issues with a Muslim man was shown, and followed by a meal. We helped serve this and then met some of the women believers. An Egyptian lady had to leave their family due to her faith and now lives in limbo in Athens.

Till next time!

entry 1

Kalamera!
Our feet have touched down in Athens . First impressions… well let us see…. We drive on the wrong side of the road! We quickly discovered that boardies and thongs are a no no this time of year. HA HA! But we have adjusted and changed into our winter woolies!
We have tasted some Greek fine cuisine… kebaps, awesome delicious ice-cream, yoghurts, strawberry juice, tsikhi, white butter and were grateful to have an awesome home cooked meal by the Cottrell family!
Our first day at the Tea House was full of suprises. We were a bit nervous and excited, but the team here made us feel right at home. Some of us worked in the kids room, some prepared food in the kitchen, and others spent time getting to know some of the refugees and hear their stories.
Kate met a lady from a place starting with B (oh yes forgot to mention just how precise were aren’t!). She was happy to share her story with Kate. She used to be an opera singer and is living in Greece to try and earn money to have eye surgery. She was very excited to discover that they were sisters in Christ and vowed to pray for Kate everyday. What an amazing faith and commitment despite the circumstances in her life!
Melissa spent her time in the childrens room, meeting kids that come from all over. She attempted some greek words but didn’t get too far! LOL. During this time she enjoyed playing with the kids and watching “bibleman!” One of the only words we all had in common. It was amazing to play with the kids and observe their interactions between one another. Some spoke different languages but still found a common ground in their play and managed to communicate with each other in a very special way.
By the end of our first day we were all exhausted and jet-lagged. That good ol hard working Aussie spirit had us working as soon as we set foot on Greek turf! Its great to see the way God has brought together such an awesome team of permanent missionaries here in Greece to work with refugees. They all have huge hearts for this ministry in serving refugees as many of them make Greece their first stop along the refugee highway!
We have created some rules of survival in Athens :
1) Always run across the road
2) NEVER flush the toilet paper
3) Always look both ways on the footpath
4) Eat what you can, when you can, whenever you can
5) Park wherever you want
6) No such thing as a one way street
7) 4am group toilet 0'clock
8) Wear your bike helmet on your elbow
9) Booty-licious bums amply covered for culturally sensitive activities
10) six light switches and 8000 steps to the toilet.
Well we better head off home….
Chat soon
Love Melissa and Kate

Summer Teams Training

Here is the Greece Summer Team having some well-earned food after the Amazing Race at Summer Teams Training.

Welcome to the Greece Summer Team blog!

Welcome to the International Teams Greece Summer Team blog. Here we will be sharing our experiences, updates and prayer points whenever we get a chance to jump on the internet. There might not be heaps of opportunity to update this whilst we are away, so if you don't hear anything we're fine... it's OK Mum - I'm fine!!!!
Photos to come...