Greetings from Igoumenitsa!

Four of our team members (Dave, Gina, Tim and myself) all arrived yesterday in Igoumenitsa, Greece. We checked into our hotel, and then started to get to know the owner/manager of the hotel named Pavlos. Tim was able to quickly bond with Pavlos by playing his violin for him. Also, Gina shared with his daughter Eleni the purpose of the trip. She was very excited and expressed that she wanted a Bible of her own. Later that night, for dinner, we ate at the restaurant inside the hotel. Some men from the area came to eat as well as to play traditional Greek music together. Tim played his violin for the people in the restaurant as they ate and Dave accompanied him on drums. Once they were done eating, they started playing some traditional Greek folk music and Dave and Tim were able to join in! It was encouraging to see the way that God used music to allow us to gain a platform for the Gospel with our host.

Today, we checked in at the campsite and base for Operation Joshua. We then helped out a little bit with some setup and Tim joined the worship band. Also, Griffin and Alex arrived from Athens and were able to get checked in. Tonight, all of the Operation Joshua participants came together for a time of introduction and worship. During this time, they went through all of the countries that are represented here for Operation Joshua. It was encouraging to see how Christians from all over the world have come together to spread God’s word. Jonathan, the founder of Hellenic Ministries, then gave an encouraging talk pointing out that we are all united as Christians by God’s presence within us and that as Christians, how we use even the bathroom facilities can give glory to God and be used for the advancement of the kingdom.

Tomorrow, we will have orientation, and then we will start handing out Bibles on Thursday.

Praises:

• Everyone has made it to Igoumenitsa safely with no major issues.
• For how God has called people from all over the world to minister to Greece the next two weeks.
• For how we have been able to connect with our hosts so far.

Please pray:

• That the Gospel will go out throughout the Greek people, especially the ones that receive Bibles.
• That we will be able to point our hosts, Pavlos, Eleni (his daughter), and family, to Jesus both through our actions, and through our word.
• For energy and strength for our team as we will have long days with lots of physical activity.
• That the team will keep our eyes on Christ and will continue to be gracious to those around us.

Ben