The Blessing of A Long Journey Home!!!

This past Friday a small group of us went to visit a summer camp that is run by the churches; and as usual for the summer we were accompanied by a boy from the community center. It is unbelievable the relationship that we have formed with this young man and the joy he brings to our lives. I have began to find out that the more he spends time with us the more I like and respect him.

This particular day was a breakthrough and an answer to so many of my prayers. You see after we left the camp we all went for a walk along the coast. It was a great time of just talking, laughing, and skipping rocks on the water. But it was the ride home that brought joy to my heart. Two of the boys live in the same place while the boy and I live in another. So they dropped us off at the train station and we continued our long journey home. In order to get home we have to take the train and the metro and it takes about 45 minutes. During this time in a combination of Greek and English for the first time in two years he began to tell me about his family and stories from his life. It is the first time I have had meaningful conservation with not only him but with any of the kids from the center. I have not been able to communicate with them and have been praying for this moment for a very long time now. So praise God for the construction and incredibly slow speed of the green line.

An Afternoon With Two Young Kids....

Last Thursday, like every other Thursday, I was returning home from Greek lessons at about 1:00. As I came around the corner I hear my name being yelled. I look up and find my neighbor, who is also a kid from the community center, leaning over his balcony waving at me. He was so happy to see me and asked if I wanted to come over to his house. Of course I went and spent about an hour talking with him, his little sister, and his mother. After this time had passed he wanted to come to my house and visit there so both of the kids came up for about two hours. During this time it was such a great joy for me as I had them both in my house. They played many games on my computer and had some ice cream. We played baseball in the house, which is probably not a good example by me but we had a great time none the less.

The best part of our time together was when the young boy figured out that he could type on my computer in Greek. He asked me if he would type something and of course I told him yes. I have this little children's book that is in Greek (for me to read of course) and he wanted to type what it said. So here is what we did. I would read the book while he would type what I was saying. Two things were happening here. He was learning how to spell and to use his accents correctly while I was learning to read better. When I would make a mistake in my pronunciation he would correct me.

God can use anything to build a relationship with the people around you.