We are excited to share Mehdi’s story and his vision for ministry to fellow refugees in Athens. We also want to update you on our spring travels and connections we made with like-minded ministries in England and France.
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The refugee situation in Athens and Greece has been changing, and the number of refugees arriving on the Greek islands has increased dramatically. Recently we had the opportunity to visit an island where many refugees first enter Greece. We have also been exploring exciting new ministry opportunities and connections, and we visited the Greek Christian Artists conference.
Picture Greece in summer, and most likely you’ll think of going to the beach. But for anyone who hasn’t learned how to swim, or who has experienced trauma associated with water, the sea isn’t a cool relief, but a deep unknown, too reflective of the uncontrollable dangers of life. With the encouraging words, “You can do it! I’m here, I won’t leave you. We can do it!” the teenage girls were overcoming their fears.
War was a constant reality in Zack’s growing up years, as his village lay on the front lines. As he and his brother struggle to find their way in Greece, I can’t imagine the vast chasm between the different worlds where Zack has grown up. How is he supposed to reconcile these conflicting experiences and messages that speak into his life, and find his identity in this confusing world?
As 2022 unfolds, we are dizzied by all that has been going on here since we last updated you. We want to bring you along on the journey we are on as we seek to join God’s work of holistic transformation in the refugee community of Athens, especially in the lives of teenage refugees.
More than a month has passed since Afghanistan fell to the Taliban. As the initial shock and media attention fades, we want to invite you to join us in continuing prayer for this country.
What do a Dutch-American, an Iranian, a Hazara-Afghan and a Pashtun-Afghan all have in common?
What a crazy time we’re living in, isn’t it?
All over the world our plans have been turned upside down, life has been disrupted, and each new week brings diverse new challenges.
Together with you, we were able to come alongside our refugee community during this vulnerable time. Here’s how…
This holiday season, we were excited to share our celebrations with some of our refugee friends; sharing both cultural traditions and the timeless truth of Emmanuel, God with us, in the form of Jesus being born as a baby. Some of our friends, however, spent Christmas behind bars.
One night, Somaye had a dream. Filled with excitement, she shared what she saw with her husband, and together they set out on a search for answers…
Last month we were privileged to witness three different miracles! This update focuses on Matt’s release from prison, the birth of baby Samuel and Nadia’s husband’s return.
As always, so much has happened since our last newsletter. We had time for a lot of extra ministry activities over the summer. Here are some highlights, especially from the summer camps where we saw God work in exciting ways…
We are excited to share about our experience of Greek Easter and the story of a brother of ours who volunteers with us regularly.
It’s March already, but nonetheless, Happy New Year from Athens! We are excited to update you on all that has been going on and that God is doing here. So much has happened, it's hard to know where to start. Back in December, we hosted Christmas parties for refugees. We have also had the privilege to get to know Amir and Lucy, a special Afghan family.
Warm greetings from Athens, Greece! We are excited to send our first newsletter from our new home. We are thankful for all God's provision and the ways we are getting plugged in to the ministry here, and hope you enjoy this glimpse of what our life is like.
Two weeks ago we arrived back in the Netherlands, the land of coffee, tea, and clogs. This is our last stop on our way to Athens, Greece. Here's a little about the last month in the U.S. and our plans to move to Athens next month...
This summer we have some exciting training opportunities that we’d like to share about which are helping to prepare us for the refugee ministry. We’re also getting closer to our departure date for going to Greece, and have just a few weeks left to meet with all of you.
Friday is the ‘tea house’ day where Helping Hands is open to everyone: refugees from all countries, Greeks and longer-term immigrants come through the doors. It’s a hectic day, and the room is a buzz with people everywhere. A line forms at the kitchen for tea and clusters of people gather around the tables. Warm tea is sipped over a game of chess and the chatter of old and new acquaintances coming together fills the room.
The doors of the Helping Hands center open to families already waiting at the door. “Salaam,” we greet them, and give them bags to fill with clothes while the meal is being prepared. Soon, the whole place is filled with the bustle of people and the scraping sound of hangars being pushed back and forth on the racks.
Dear Friends and Family,
At the time of our last newsletter, we just made a big decision regarding our planning for the year. We had received an invitation for Allie to come to art school in Greece during the fall semester, which we had been planning to do in the spring, and we had decided to accept the invitation. Not only do we see this as a preparation for using art in ministry, but Allie has long wanted to pursue her studies in art and we felt that now was the best time to do so before we are 'settled' and have more responsibilities. Praise God that the scholarships came through so that it was possible.
Very soon after that, we had to pack our bags and hitchhike to Pistoia, Italy where Allie’s art school started off for the first month. Hitchhiking is a cheap way to travel and at the same time have some adventures along the road and meet interesting people. After an overnight stop with friends in Switzerland, we arrived safely in Pistoia the second evening. Henk was able to stay there for a few days, but when the program started he hitchhiked back after trekking in the mountains for a few days. While Allie was learning about art history and practicing her sketching and watercolors, Henk was able to find some short-term jobs in the Netherlands and meet with some relatives and friends.
After one month, Henk flew to Athens where Allie and the rest of the art students also arrived the next day. While waiting for Allie, it happened that Henk was staying in a hostel just down the street from Helping Hands (the official name of the Athens Refugee Center), so he was able to visit there and experience the weekly meal program for Afghan refugee families. It was a great chance for him to get a ‘sneak preview’ on our visit there together in December! From Athens, we took the 4 hour ferry ride to Paros, where the art school is based.
Life on Paros
Allie has started classes in drawing, oil painting, book making and photography, with plenty of projects to keep her busy! She is very excited to be back on Paros after 6 years. The teachers have been very kind and welcoming to us both.
Prayer and Thanksgiving
- Thank God for providing for us to come to Paros
- Thanks for opportunities to speak and share in NL
- Thanks for a safe delivery of our niece Joy!
- Pray for a good testimony among the other art students
- Pray for a fruitful visit to Helping Hands in December
- Pray that God would provide a place to stay for us back in the States
Henk has been keeping busy doing handyman jobs for the school, learning Greek, keeping up correspondence, taking an online ITeams training and cooking for the two of us. He also participates in the weekly hikes and outings with the school.
It is nice to have a place to ourselves, which has not often been the case in our first two years of marriage.
On our trip to Syros for a Student Visa
Our next steps...
The program at the art school will last till the beginning of December. After that, we will go back to Athens and spend a week visiting Helping Hands. We will be there to experience the weekly program, plus a special Christmas event. We will also have time to get to know the team, learn about what our role will be, and get an idea of what our living situation will be like.
From Athens we will travel back to the States to spend Christmas with Allie’s family, which now counts an extra member: Marc and Amy’s baby Joy who was born November 1st! We plan to spend winter and spring there as we continue fundraising and prepare to join the ministry in Athens.
Click here for a video about the refugee crisis in Athens.
The makers of this video visited Helping Hands. Masud, whose story is told in the video, is currently involved there in reaching his fellow refugees with the Good News.
Finances and fundraising
We have been encouraged with the support shown. Many have signed up for our newsletter and prayer team, and some have committed to support us financially. Thanks so much! After our trip to the Netherlands, we estimate that we have reached 15-20% of our monthly goal, a big improvement since last time! However, we still need more people to join our team.
We are currently considered ITeams ‘volunteers’ as we are raising funds, which are being saved up on an ITeams account. When we start the work in Athens, we become ‘employees’ and we will receive our monthly ‘salary’ out of this fund. One-time and monthly gifts built up before we are in Athens will mainly go towards our one-time setup costs. We are currently living from our own savings. We are more than happy to get in touch with you about any other (specific) questions you might have.
In December we plan to return to the United States, and we hope to have more opportunities to share in Churches and Small Groups and individually. Let us know if you are interested in having us come and speak or meeting up for coffee or lunch!
At this moment, we don't know yet where we will be staying our first few months back in the States (from around New Year's till March or April). We are looking for a (very) affordable place in the Elgin, IL area. We have one or two leads, but if you have any suggestions or ideas, please let us know!
Don't forget to check out all the ways you can join our team.