The Journey There

On June 18th, our team of 8 set out for Athens, Greece. Right away, we experienced God’s providence at work: after storms forced a wait on the tarmac in Charlotte and a missed connection in Munich, our rescheduled flights gave us unexpected time to explore Munich, including the Glockenspiel and the Munich Cathedral.

We arrived in Athens early on June 20th and used our first day to rest and reconnect with the Pangrati Project team—Pastor Emmanuel and Bethany Tsoutsas, and Sean and Liz Thelen. The primary goal of our trip was to assist them with their "Happy Camper" Summer Camp (VBS), but ultimately, we were there to help in any way we could. We kicked off our time with a family festival in a nearby park, with the goal of showing love to the neighborhood through games like cornhole and ring toss, face painting, and candy!

Happy Camper Summer Camp

A few things to note about the summer camp: of the 24 children who attended, only 2 were members of the church. The other 22 live in the neighborhood. This is an important point and explains why this outreach opportunity means so much. In Greece, sharing faith with children requires explicit parental consent. In a culture where Christianity is often met with indifference or opposition, it is incredible to have so many parents willing to sign waivers for children to go to a camp where they will learn about Jesus!

This was the third year Pangrati Church has hosted the camp, and the second year Westminster Presbyterian Church has participated. Half of the participants attended last summer and were returning again this summer. It was such a sweet surprise to remember them and to have them remember us! Seeing these children building meaningful relationships, feeling safe, welcomed, and valued, was an overwhelmingly clear image of God at work. Each day at camp, we all sang songs, heard Bible stories (from creation to restoration), created crafts, played games, and enjoyed snacks—just like our VBS back home.

Moments of Wonder: A Global Church

Beyond camp, we visited ancient Corinth and Mars Hill—incredible experiences reading Paul’s words where he stood. We also visited the Voula House, a refugee home that Westminster supports in Glyfada. We shared food, stories, and laughter with families who have fled the Middle East and are searching for a path forward.

While in Glyfada, God reminded me of the large and small nature of our world. We were being prayed over in English by a Greek pastor, with his prayer being translated into Farsi for the families with us, all while looking out over the Aegean Sea, where Paul himself had traveled so many years ago. When Paul first traveled to Greece, he was bringing the gospel to the ends of the earth. Now it has reached us here! Some 5,500 miles away and across the ocean! It was such a wonderful reminder that we are all the same beautiful, broken creations of a loving God, regardless of time, place, or language.

How to Pray

Praises

• Divine Protection: No one suffered any major injuries.
• Divine Provision: Despite travel delays (for us), visa hurdles (for Thelen family), and balancing ministry with family life (for Tsoutsas family), every detail fell into place.
• Returning Campers: Many children returned for the second year, including those who had behavior struggles and older kids who might have otherwise felt they were "too old" for the program.
• Older kids: a teen Bible study has developed organically with the youth who hang out in the alley by the center. Some of these boys have even asked for their own Bibles to read from.

Requests

• Space & Funding: The Pangrati church needs a larger venue for both church services and special activities. Please pray for God’s provision.
• Future Planning: Many children are from immigrant families and speak English better than Greek. Pray for wisdom on how to best reach all backgrounds efficiently.
• Perseverance: Pray for the leaders as they engage in the "long, slow obedience" of ministry; the cracks are beginning to show in hardened hearts, but it is a long journey.
• Voula House: Pray for the families to be reunited with their loved ones and to come to a saving knowledge of God.

Celebrating Christ's Love

One last encouragement: During Summer Camp, we finished each day’s singing with a song (translated): “I shout ‘wa, wa, wa’ and ‘la, la’ and clap my hands. Christ loves me! Oh, oh, oh, yeah!” The lyrics are so simple yet so true! No matter what, these kids went home singing these simple and marvelous truths.