"The Eagle has landed"

We have landed in Minnesota, after 2 1/2 weeks we're on American soil! :-)

It's been a long day of traveling. We were picked up at our hotel at 7:00 am(midnight ML time) by our new "special friend" Marcello. We left Rome at 10:30 am, Amsterdam at 5:00 pm, and arrived in Minneapolis at 7:00 pm. Now we just need to drive home, and jump in to bed. :-)

While I "have the blog", I want to take this moment to say "Thank you!" to God for all that He's done and continues to do to draw people to Him; both here and around the world, and for using us to help advance His kingdom.

I also want to say "Thank you!" to a number of you who have helped to make this trip possible. 

~ to our church leadership that understands the importance of "missions" in our church.

~ to our church family that has supported us through both prayer and finances.

~ to our family members back home that have had to sacrifice so much to "fill in all the gaps" while we're away.

     We love you all, and are deeply grateful.

Sincerely,

Mike Nelson

On behalf of our whole team,

Daniel Nelson

Matt Crowell

Josh Stoesz

Bruce Swanson

Brittany Swanson

Bailey Swanson

Weekend in Rome!

By Bruce

 

 

On Friday we got to Rome around 11.am. An exhilarating taxi ride with "Marcello" was in store for us . What a treat it was to have such a personality driving us to the hotel. Marcello was a stereotypical Italian GQ dude . He spoke very broken Englisha with a blitz of hand motions during the drive, and topped it all off with a bigga ola smila that was very welcoming. This dude could win any nascar race driving his van. Over half of the time we are weaving in and out of traffic, he was facing backward speaking and motioning to us. (what a great time for prayer) About 30 minutes later we arrived safely and invigorated by the first of two once in a lifetime trips; both from and back to the airport. Our very capable and always on top of "special price for a special friend" Mike had negotiated a deal to good to be true. 30% off the first trip and 60% off the return.

 

After a few moments of checking in, a time of settling was in store for the team. Once settled, a period of exploration was next. Always on call Mike "the  negotiator" was scoring a bus pass deal for the team which was both a savings and very convenient. The area we stayed at was literally grand central station. A central bus terminal and train station were only one block away. ([people everywhere!) Both Saturday and Sunday were spent wandering and touring, and of course the girls got some shopping done.(imagine that!) The sun was shining both days and with great joy, the open air upper deck of the bus was used. What an amazing finale to an incredible trip of meeting new refugee believers from Iran and serving and laughing with them, to unwinding in Rome.

Thursday

Our Thursday in Corinth by Brittany

 

Today we headed off to visit the ancient city of Corinth and visited  some of the very places Paul was at in the Bible. It was amazing to see and understand some of the things he wrote about in 1 & 2 Corinthians. We had a Christian tour guide named Costas who was very informative and brought a lot of things to life. We saw and learned many things that we will hopefully have a chance to share with all of you at some point!

 

 

 

Our group at the site of the Bema seats

 

We spent most of the day at the ancient Corinth and even made it up to the castle! It overlooked the whole city! 

 

 

We went back to the center for our going way party in Farzad's apartment and it was very sad. Or at least it was for Bailey and I. Everybody else managed to keep dry eyes. There was food, a time of sharing, a birthday cake for Farzad's daughter and dancing. Iranian dancing is something to behold. Usually its just the guys doing there own interesting thing, but Bailey and I  actually got to be part of it this time as well.  It was really quite something.

We took group pictures and then left. Leaving was truly heartbreaking as we had become friends with the guys over the 2 weeks. But even more than that, I think it was hard because we have no idea where they are all going to end up or how things end for them in this life on earth. They have no passports and no country to call their own. Their futures look wildly different then anything we can imagine. But we can keep in contact with some of them and we can pray for all of them.

One thing Farzad said after we said our goodbyes and sang together in mixed languages, is that this is what heaven must be like. And that is the only thing that made leaving easier. Is that knowing that we will see those guys again.

 

 

Just a note. We do have many pictures of the group working and just hanging with the men at the center. But because we do not know all the background and stories of them we are not putting them online for their safety. We will have them at the presentation on the Sunday our team is sharing.

 

 

 

 

Other things.....

The picture Daniel, Bailey and I painted in the kids room!

 

 

Monday

Sorry! We missed Monday! Thank you for bearing with us all as we attempt to keep this blog updated!

Moped Monday!!!!!

    Today was our day off from work! We took a ferry from the Athen port to Aegina an island of the coast of Athens on the Aegina sea. There our team split up into a couple groups. My dad and I both rented mopeds and josh rented a 4-wheeler, we rode around the island and saw a massive old church and some really awesome ancient ruins that were very well intact!!! Than we went down to this small old, almost all abandoned beach town, and ate at a small cafe where there were six older guys competing in a backgammon tournament!! From there we drove back to the port area on the island than drove along the coast beautiful coast!!!! There we met up with the Swansons and all 6 of us drove around. After a while Josh went back to the port, and the rest of us went back up to the old roman ruins to take more pictures. We took the ferry back to Athens than ate at a small cafe to end the night!! Thanks for all your prayers while we are on this trip!!

~Daniel~

Wednesday portrayal

From Matt

As we near the end there is anxiousness to get as much time to be with everyone at the center. It feels like we just got here in Athens and wish this was just the beginning. Throughout the whole day I really felt God's presence. We finished the walls and the painting in the basement. Brittany, Bailey, and Daniel painted a beautiful mural for the kids as the basement is their place to play during the service for the adults. The kids are full of energy and at times hard to handle. But, some of them really love the word of God and they do anything they can to remember it. Some wrote on their hand and others asked for a Bible which they had to hide so that it would not be taken from them later. The big difference today was prayer. Many at the center have physical ailments and praise God that some of them felt better. Also I observed some women praying before the service. There were a lot more people at the service than the last two times. More people that can hear the gospel. The fellowship we shared together after the service was great. There was so much love, and joy, and peace. We were a big family united by Christ Jesus. We ended the night in prayer and there was   great joy, and peace, and love. Thank you to everyone for the prayers that have been lifted up to a great God. It makes a difference.

Tuesday

Tuesday by Bruce

Today was national independence day for Greece. Almost all of the shops were closed today for the holiday. The exceptions were predominantly albanian run coffee shops. The coffee shops that were op.en were full of greek orthodox parishiners. The normal breakfast time is somewhere near 8 oclock which may seem a little late but considering most nights we don't get back to the room between 10 and midnight it is early enough. Today after breakfast the bible study with David and the refugees was about the leper. I never really understood how much peace, love, patience, and faith in general he must had to be able to worship God under such a stressfull situation (having leprosy a virtual death warrant). But yet came to Jesus on bended knee, asking if it be His will to heal him. It would have been so easy and maybe even easy because of our natural sinful nature. (atleast with mine). Jesus then replied that "it is My will" the man was then healed after being touched by Jesus. Wow, what a demeanor this man had!
After finishing bible study the work day began, finishing framing up doors and sheet rocking and a variety of painting in different areas. To really appreciate the challenge of framing a door here you must know that the only plum lines in the building are the one's we made. It is not uncommon to have a variance of 1.5 inches from top to bottom. The walls are bowed and there is no lumber to use. A generally 2 by 2 u shaped channel is what is used for studs. We must drill into the concrete walls to secure our base for framing. One of the other challenges is not having a functional consistent leveling tool, so when in greece build your own make shift plum line.(thank you Jesus for gravity!) All in all good progress seems to be being made .Maybe not by U.S. standards but under the baseline of a "slippery " schedule, meaning: the schedule is subject to change at any given moment. We are in fact getting things done.
Getting back to our bible study, it was a very timely topic. (Go God ! ) Thinking about the hardships of the refugees, even the leper had bigger problems than they do! They are people without a country or papers, but the leper was destined for a painful miserable life. Now there is something to think about the next time "my life" is so hard.
This has been an amazing oppurtunity to show God's love to group of guys that have fled there country, and most who have been jailed and or shot! (that is a whole new level of bad day!) The appreciation of our sincere caring for them and accepting them (and being accepted) as fellow brothers in Christ has been an incredible experience. . We look very much forward to sharing the experience as best we can after returning.

Sunday March 23rd

This morning we were "off" because they're church service is in the evening and we'll be working at that. So some started preparing the noon(2 pm) meal, some rested, and some went exploring downtown. Today is an "American Meal" because they wanted us to share some of our American culture with them.  Fortunately we have Chef Bruce on this trip! :-) With him at the helm, we made Pot Roast with carrots, and potatoes.  After lunch we cleaned up and then set things up for tonight's service. Some of us stayed at the center and played Backgammon with the refugees living there.  Backgammon by the way is their national game, and everywhere you go you see people playing it. Around 6pm people started showing up for the church service. that is our signal to head to our "stations". Some of us are upstairs helping with the adult service, and some are in the basement working with the kids. After the service, EVERYONE gets fed, which is quite an undertaking. When they are all fed and have left for the night, we clean up again, and set the table again, but this time for us(all the people that help with the nights activities - usually there are about 30-40 of us). After all of that was done we celebrated Kim's birthday(great Europe Missions representative) with cake and much singing. It's been another full day here in Athens!
> ~ Josh

Saturday

Saturday by Brittany

 

 

The view from a hotel balcony 

 

Wow! The week has passed by so quickly! The last several days we have been working mainly on the kids space downstairs. The space needed a lot of help and we have made progress cleaning, organizing, plastering, painting and installing doors. Making it safer as well as more pleasing to the eye. The plastering that happened was a huge help. There were several large cuts in the walls as well as huge holes around fans and windows. Like, holes big enough for a small animal to crawl through. They are all filled and painted over now.  I am excited  as we have painted the room completely now and are tentatively planning on a painting a Noah's ark mural and verse on the wall.

Today has been very busy and our team has been all over the place helping with various projects. As I mentioned painting and putting in doors for most of the day but some people made it out of the basement to play soccer with refugees and continuing to build relationships there, while others went to the market to assist in buying/carrying the groceries for the next week. There are about 10 guys that are at the center currently, and the center director needed many hands to carry the pounds and pounds of food required to feed them all.

 Dad, Bailey and I helped out with the Albanian English class for an hour in the afternoon and then we all participated in the Albanian church service that night.  Kim shared his testimony and played guitar in the service  while most of us were needed to help with the children's program. I am positive the kids here have three times as much energy as kids in the USA. Or at least it seems like it.

 

There are so many details that I could go into about our day but you will just have to ask about it when we get back!

Life in Athens

Life in Athens

From Mike

     I am going to attempt to tell you about our neighborhood here in Athens. It's very similar to most neighborhoods in this city. The roads are half the width of our roads in Mountain Lake, barely wide enough to allow two cars to meet going in different directions. They are also not square, but more like many spokes going in different directions on multiple wheels. The buildings are all 3 to 8 story structures that are connected directly to the one right next to it, so each block is a solid  collection of cement. The street lights are on wires that run directly down the middle of the road with side supports running out to the side apartment buildings. There are no yards at all, the only green that you see is on personal balconies, where people have many different types of potted plants. Cars are parked in every direction both on the street and sidewalk. Mopeds seem to outnumber automobiles, and both are traveling by here constantly. People are out and about walking everywhere from the market to the neighborhood trash receptacle, never giving any thought to it not being convenient, as we would. There are neighborhood bakeries, grocery stores, bars, and cafés on nearly every corner(there are no Walmarts to be found.) This is definitely a simpler, laid-back, less hectic way of life, then what we are living in the United States.

     Each day we take multiple trips back and forth from our hotel to "the center"/222 Ministries. It is approximately 1 kilometer away. We cross a busy road and go past a subway stop along with many storefront businesses along the way. We have befriended some of these business owners and call out to each other every time we pass. :-)

     Once we arrive at the center, every day is different. Each  day starts out with devotions, but from then on the activities vary. Some days are more construction based, others are spent working with refugees and churches that meet at the center. One thing that remains the same is that we are serving these people in every way that we can, showing them Christ's love. The verse that keeps coming to my mind is, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40 NIV)

     There is so much joy in serving. I see it in all of the team members; in their attitudes, in their voices, and in their actions, and I feel it in my heart.

     Thank you for making this trip a possibility.

In Him,

Mike

     

     

Thursday

Thursday by Daniel

 

 We went to the center at 8:30 for a devotional, at about 10 o'clock we went to the basketball court and played soccer. While we were there we met people from Bangladesh, Syria, and Greece.  Some of us got to know them and the person from Syria came back to the center with us and got to see what we were doing there! Both times playing soccer we met strangers who we than got to evangelize to!

 

   At about 11 a.m. we started working, we have been plastering the walls and trying to make the walls as smooth as possible. We are making a chalkboard on one wall and to make the other walls safer and look neater.

     We than ate lunch at 2 prepared by Kim and Amir (refugee at the center). Today was Josh's birthday so we got a cake from the bakery and gave it to him after lunch. From 3-6 was out time off, I stayed back at the hotel and slept while so whent to the markets, and cafés.
        At 6 we went back to the center and set up for the Iranian New Year Party! At 7 was the change over from last year to this year for them. One of the guys at the center, got to skype with his wife who he hasn't seen in 1.5 years. They got to spend the changeover to the new year "together".  At about nine things settle down a little bit and we finally got eat supper.


~Daniel~

Wednesday

Wednesday Thoughts by Brittany(again)

 

Here I am again writing the blog that everyone is supposed to help with. The guys have an aversion to sitting down and writing this I guess.

 

We are finally starting our usual routine for the day.  Our day looks roughly something like this:

-Wake up and eat breakfast at the hotel,

-Go to the mission for a group Bible study

-Work at the mission and cook lunch(which isn't until 2pm by the way)

-Free time from 3-5

-Go back to the mission and work 5-10

 

Our daily schedule is very flexible and today after the Bible study we went to the open market. It happens every week and  it takes up at least 5 blocks, but maybe even more. Fresh fruit and vegetables were everywhere and piled extremely high. The variety of different kinds is just incredible- there were 16 kinds of olives at one place.  

After our little field trip we went back to the mission and the guys got started on either cooking, organizing the basement or plastering the walls and fixing holes. Bailey was in the hotel sleeping her sickness away and I practiced piano for the later that night.  Oh! I forgot to mention our group sang Wednesday night and will also be singing Saturday and Sunday during their Church times.

 The closet and storage area was a disaster! It is much more functioning now!

 

Josh and Mike finishing up cleaning what used to be a disaster area.

 

 

I forgot to take before pictures, but the process of plastering the many holes has begun in the children's room and the stairway.

 

So that night they had their supper Ministry for the people at the Mission. They have worship, a sermon and then they feed everyone. There are probably about a 100 adults and 25 kids. The kids are absolutely adorable but crazy as well. It is incredibly hard to work with kids for an hour and half when you can't speak their language. While most of us helped with the kids, a few worked in the kitchen and Bruce shared his testimony.

 

A couple of things to highlight are the bakeries and the intensity of the work here.

First, the food here is incredible and depending on what route we take on our walk to the mission we pass three bakeries. It is a phenomenal thing. Everything is fresh and handmade by the families who own the shop. It's fantastic.

 

Second, our work here is not what we really expected but it more difficult than we anticipated. Originally we were meant to renovate a new kitchen and dorm building for the refugees. But due to government red tape and papers it has not happened. So we have been fixing things at the old mission building, but more than that we have really had time to invest in relationships with the guys here. Well, not so much Bailey and I, but the rest of our team has. Just a note here, the gender difference is quite baffling. We are constantly on edge trying to decide if it acceptable to address someone or not. With the native Greeks it is fine, but in the mission being alongside Iranian, Persian and Muslim refugees it is hard to know whether you are going to offend someone by shaking their hand or even addressing them.

The guys we have gotten to know are incredible, we have heard some of their stories and have even started teaching one of them how to play piano.

What we are doing here is really challenging. We have discussed this and our team agrees it would be much easier to do hard construction work than to establish relationships with someone who doesn't speak English. Pray that we do not feel frustrated with feeling unaccomplished. We are not doing what we set out to do, but we are making an impact in a different more relational way.

 

One specific prayer request is for our guys impact on the life of a specific man with a  6 year old daughter here. In short, the daughter has been neglected and abandoned by her father. The man is trying to make it to another country and decided he has a better chance to make it to safety if his daughter is not with him. He has agreed to hold off on his decision until the mission leader is back from his trip.

Here are some pictures that I(Brittany) have so far! All from Monday on our tour of the city.

 

 

 

Daniel climbing rocks Monday at Mars Hill

 

 

Bailey in front of the Parthenon

 

 

 

 Bailey and Bruce overlooking Athens

 

 

Mike and Daniel

Bailey and Daniel

 



Tuesday

thoughts on tuesday by matt

Finally adjusting to the new time zone and to the different lifestyle. Had a great day of ministry both in fellowship and in serving. We had breakfast then we headed to center for devotions with everyone that lives and works there. It was a really neat time of discussion.

Also as we forgot to mention earlier Farzad the centers leader had an accident where he fell and hurt his back. He went to the hospital monday night. He was back tuesday morning and was well received by the whole group. Later he had to leave for a convention in turkey. Pray that he has a safe trip and a blessed time. After devotions we played soccer with the guys from the center. It was a very meaningful time for them and for us. After that we did some work and more fellowship. Brittany and I went grocery shopping which was different style of shopping. We had to walk and visit a couple of small markets. Lunch was prepared and we partook. After lunch we did cleaning and organizing. Some chairs needed to be fixed and closets organized. That brought to bible study with everyone from the center. After bible study we had Dinner. We cleaned and washed dishes. Then the guys who lived at the center were celebrating for the new year to come. We all had a great time. That wrapped up our time at the center. It was a very full day of ministry as we headed back to the hotel for much needed rest.

More pictures to come. We will add  them soon.

Monday

Hi this is Brittany again! Bailey was supposed to write today but since she is feeling a little under the weather I am talking over. 

Well, today started out just fantastic! I walked down stairs...who am I kidding? I took the elevator down and right now down next to the desk was my suitcase! I was so happy to change out of the clothes I had been wearing for the last three days.

Anyways....today was a slow day. Both for us and the city. Another slow day for us as we try to shake off the jet lag and overall tiredness. Everyone in the city was back at work and as we wandered through the same streets as Sunday there was maybe a eighth of the people has there had been. Our trip to the watch the changing of the guards of the unknown soldiers was pretty interesting. The group started as a leisurely walk, stopping at a lovely bakery and just enjoying the weather. But slowly whoever was leading the group realized we were going to miss the guards routine and kept picking up the pace. It ended in more or less a power walk and sprint to catch the end of the show. It was really interesting and we even got some pictures.

We then split up to explore the same area we had been in Sunday afternoon, only this time without the mass amount of people. Since the shops were less busy, we spent a lot of time talking to the owners and other random people we met.  People here are surprised that Dad(Bruce) has five kids and think they look younger then he actually is. Typically people look older because the hard times have weathered them more. But come on, he doesn't look that young. I hope it doesn't get to Dad's head by the time we leave. One particular store owner we talked to commented on how blessed Dad was to have five kids.  He said he wished he could have more but he just couldn't afford it because the government like to take his money. I'm sure this is the case for many here, but it was heart wrenching to see the pain in the man's eyes as he said this. The people we talked to and the stories of life as we have never experienced it is so eye opening.

The servant hearts of everyone is just unbelievable. We come in on a mission trip to serve, yet I have never been treated so well in my life. They men here at the mission treat everyone here with the most serving attitude and even more so for the women. Bailey and I have fared quite well. I have never been served so much tea and had so many doors opened for me. It goes so much against the Persian culture  it is hard for them to watch women work. There are two brothers in particular who bend over backwards just to make sure we are comfortable. It is amazing to know some of their story and to see how God is being glorified in their lives. We actually have to make a forward effort and refuse to be served in order to do things for ourselves. It has become sort of a challenge for us to see if we can quickly eat, take care of our own dishes and start to collect plates from others before someone does it for us.

It was our last  resting day and  tomorrow we are going to jump right into a full day of work. I feel that in the last 48 hours I have experienced a lifetime of moments and conversations. The conversation and things I have seen have opened a new set of questions and things to discover.

Our First Day in Athens!

Our first day in Athens! (Brittany's perspective)

Waking up in a new country is a odd thing. The car horns sound different and everything smells different. There is a possibility the smell though is from our traveling clothes that are laying in the corner of our room. Our trip here seemed to be never ending. It feels so good to finally be here!

Our day began later, as most of us slept in, and then we had breakfast as well as a team Bible study. We read through Acts 17 and talked about Paul at the acropolis. And then we got up and headed to where he actually stood. Of course, we stopped at many shops and stores in the flea market on the way. It was so crowded and noisy. There were tourist shops, sketchy antique shops, people selling fake name brand clothing and then one fantastic painting shop! I feel in love with all of this guys paintings. I don't know how many of his pieces I will come back with but it will be more then one. Oh! And then we stopped to eat and it was wonderful. I don't think there will be any food here that I don't like. We made it to the top! Looking over Athens was incredible!

The weather so far has been wonderful and warm. The hike was beautiful and we enjoyed our time in the sun very much. Being a little sunburnt definitely beats getting frostbite in Mt.Lake.

We continued our hike up Mars hills and saw all the ruins. We wandered around there for most of the afternoon. It was so odd to watch couples and families stroll around the ruins with so little interest. Realizing that this is just a normal Sunday afternoon is mind blowing. What is a once in a lifetime experience for most of us, is just a typical walk in a park for the people who live here.

 We made it back to the mission before suppertime and helped them prep for the upcoming party. The Persian new year is the 20th and they were having a sermon and supper for everyone. And by everyone I mean EVERYONE! We must have set places for at least 100 people and I'm sure there were at least 150 in the building. And that's not including the kids. The building was very full. It was like a crash course into the culture. I was hesitant at first as I was in the basement helping with the kids, but it turns out kids in any culture are basically the same. You still  have the trouble makers, the psycho ones, the sweet ones and the quiet ones.

Oh and then the ones that just love you.....

Both Bailey and Daniel had a little tag along by the end of the night.

The end of the party turned into a dance party. Dad(Bruce) dancing with his new found friends was definitely a highlight. I wish I had a picture but I don't! I am truly sorry, it was kind of fantastic.... not to mention very funny. After everyone had left we cleaned and then all the people working got a chance to eat. And thus, concluded our day.

 

 

This first day was really amazing. Exhausting but amazing. I have only heard a few stories, but the lives these refugees have lived is like nothing I could have imagined. The pain and the struggles they have faced is heartbreaking. I have been blessed greatly to live in America and to have the family I have.

 

There is so much more that I could write about, but I will stop for now and hopefully the team will let me write again!

 

Thank you all who helped in making this trip possible! And thank for your prayers!

~Brittany 

Team in Paris

 

Our layover in Paris!

We've arrived

(By Josh)

We apologize for the late posting, but we have done a lot in the last few days.

  When we got to Paris around (10am Paris time) we got in the gate and had to go across the Paris airport to security, and there was a long line and we had to leave in 20mins to Athens. We soon found out there was a back up at security so we missed our flight by 20mins. After we got through security we found out another flight was going to leave in 8 hours. So we decided to go site seeing in Paris. We took the subway in to the city and saw the Eiffel Tower and some other sites in downtown Paris. After a few hours we headed back to the airport, and at about 6:00pm (Paris time) we left for Athens not getting there until about 10:30pm. When we got to Greece, Brittany's luggage didn't come with us.  So they are going to find it and send it to us. At the airport we met Kim and David and took a 45minute trip to our hotel. We finally got to our rooms at about midnight! It was nice to finally arrive at our hotel...we are very thankful for safe travels!

~Josh

The Trip Begins!

The Greece Team ready to leave.  From left to right - Bruce Swanson, Bailey Swanson, Josh Stoesz, Daniel Nelson, Mike Nelson and Matt Crowell (not pictured is Brittany Swanson).

The bags are packed, weighed and loaded into the vehicle.  The team has been prayed over for protection, safe travels, good health, and God's working in and through their lives while on this trip.  Goodbyes are said and they are off on this "adventure" that God has in store for them.

Information

Welcome to our Blogsite

Our group of 7 will be flying to Greece on a Short Term Mission Trip, March 14-31.  We will be going out with Greater European Missions who is partnering with 222 Missions working in downtown Athens to help with their construction needs, and also teaching English, computers skills, and Math, and doing some Food/Clothing Distribution.  We will use this blog to keep you updated.  Thank you for keeping us in your prayers, and be sure to check back often.

 

Our Group is from the front from left to right Brittany Swanson & Bailey Swanson. In back

from left to right Josh Stoesz, Daniel Nelson, Bruce Swanson, Matt Crowell, and Mike Nelson.