Dear friends and family,
*Ahmad and Henk had a special time reminiscing over shared memories from Athens while strolling through his new home town in France. It was encouraging to hear how much of an impact his time in Athens had on him - the friendships that were built during our game nights and the value of sharing our lives and listening to each other. Ahmad misses our hiking trips a lot, since there aren’t any mountains nearby his new home!
We appreciate all the different ways in which you support us - through notes of encouragement, through giving and in your prayers. We could not do this without you!
Spring travels
We have had a busy season with traveling. The Refugee Highway Partnership conference was held in Poland this February, and as always it was a great time of connecting and networking with refugee workers from across Europe.
We were also able to visit ministries and projects involved in working with refugees and/or centered around art in France and England. In Paris, we visited a couple we are friends with who run a small cafe/walk in center for Afghans. In Oxford, in a neighborhood where people struggle with livelihoods and loneliness, we were able to see a One Collective project using art and beauty to help bring people together in a local mall. In Manchester we had the chance to connect with an Anglican church that has a large Iranian congregation. An unexpected blessing in France and England was to be able to reconnect with several refugee friends who left Athens two years ago!
Henk’s parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary! It was a joy to be with them in the Netherlands and celebrate along with extended family and old friends.
Visiting Henk’s family and celebrating Henk’s parents’ 40th wedding anniversary!
Athens and the camps
It seems like we write this every time, but it’s true: a lot has changed in the situation for refugees in Athens! We are having to be continually flexible and adaptive in our programs, while at the same time keeping our goal clearly in front of us: seeking transformation through the ways of Jesus by creating safe spaces for the teenagers for relationships, empowerment and discipleship.
Thankfully, we have been able to build good relationships with the guards at Ritsona camp who now recognize us and trust us to take care of the teenagers at our beach days. This provides the teens a welcome relief from the dullness of everyday life in the camp.
In Malakasa camp, the situation is more difficult. The teens have a hard time getting permission to leave the camp and we haven’t been able to connect with them consistently over the past months.
Prison Ministry
Henk is continuing to reach out to Farsi-speaking prisoners at the prison. The men struggle with depression, drug withdrawal and dependency on antidepressants, but continue to attend our group excited to participate, pray together and grow towards Jesus. We’ve also started sharing our highs and lows, which looks a bit different for these men whose life in behind bars, but provides an opportunity to learn to listen to each other and share something from our hearts.
In the past several months, a few of the men have been released. This is good news, but it also presents new challenges. They have no money, no friends or family and very few connections, and often don’t know the language and culture. There are no halfway houses in Greece as far as we know. We are exploring what it looks like to walk alongside these men.
Art Class reunions
Together with our Swiss coworker Sina, we are organizing two summer reunions for refugee girls and young women who came through the art class in the past years and have moved on to Germany and Switzerland. We hope to gather around 12 girls in Switzerland and 30 girls in Germany at two different group accommodation homes. We’re excited, but it’s also a lot of work and there are a lot of uncertainties going into it! We appreciate your prayers. Also, if you would like to make a financial contribution specifically for the summer reunion please click here.
Mehdi’s story
We are excited to work alongside with friends and ministry partners like Mehdi. Mehdi came to Athens several years ago as a refugee. He has decided to stay here, unlike most of his friends who have since moved on to other countries, and currently works at another ministry serving refugees in the city. I (Henk) have gotten to share in some epic hiking adventures with Mehdi and our friendship has grown deep over the years! It’s been encouraging to see Mehdi gain a vision for the work with teenagers and the importance of providing a safe place for fun, relationships and life questions.
Praise:
A few weeks ago, Henk was a part of organizing a retreat for refugee men along with a partner organization at a beautiful location outside of Athens. There was space for learning about the Bible, discussing life questions in small groups along with fun and relaxation. At the end of the 5 days, two young men made a commitment to follow Jesus! Pray that all the participants would continue their journey with Jesus, wherever they are at.
Prayer requests:
We are in a bit of uncertainty about what our future in Athens looks like and our roles on the team here. We appreciate your prayers.
We got to attend our friends Milad and Anna’s wedding (from Iran and Greece). Pray for God to bless their lives together.
Pray for the summer reunions, that they would be a good time of reconnecting and reestablishing friendships.