2013....An Adventure: Back in Switzerland....When Did That Happen?!?

As unbelievable as it seems to me, our group is reunited in Wiler for a last 10 days (6 now) together. I hope you were able to follow the school blog I posted the link for. I know it wasn't detailed but it gave a brief description of what we were doing! While in Athens we were involved with 4 ministries and we worked with them each week were there. I'll tell you a little about each:

Passage to Life: the was a ministry to the homeless and drug addicts of Athens. They held church services, welcoming everyone and feeding them afterwards. My favourite time with them was Thursday nights when we took food and tea to a local park where drug dealers and addicts hang out. We just handed out food and took the opportunity to talk to whoever came by (well, those who spoke Greek!)

Nea Zoi: this ministry did an outreach to the local red light district twice a week, as well as a midnight and 4am outreach to streetgirls. Unfortunately I wasn't able to be involved with the outreach but I was involved in the sewing ministry, set up to provide training and an income for girls out of the industry. My job was to look after 2 cute-as-pie African girls while their mamas sewed.

Refugee Centre: the centre helped mainly Afghan families and we worked with them for 2 weeks, doing practical things like cleaning, preparing meals, sorting donations and helping with the kids programs. As a part of this ministry we got to help at a camp for refugee families the last week we were in Athens. This was hard work, being the service team, but I loved how practically we were helping.

Mazi Brosta: this is a community development organisation. We only worked with them a few times; fence painting and participating in a community festival. This festival was one of our highlights: it was few hours packed with games, face painting, songs, balloons...anything that draws kids in! This festival was designed to bring families together and give the organisation a foot in the door to future programs, which is what happened.

It was hard to leave Athens, these ministries, and the new friends we've made. I know I'm still processing everything that's happened. I feel like I wasn't away for that long, but then I realise how much we did in the last 2 1/2 months....actually, we were away for a long time! It is nice to be back with the other team again, it's as if no time had passed. Funny how these times are so bittersweet - I am looking forward to coming home but I am dreading the goodbyes! Below are a sampling of photos from the past few months...check Facebook to see more!