Insights into ministry in Greece
![Greece.jpg](/l/en/library/download/urn:uuid:87868ff9-0a28-490b-9219-c0df26384ff7/greece.jpg?scaleType=6&width=555&height=310)
Irish ECMer Anna Crawford gives a look behind the scenes regarding what it is like to work in Greece.
Working on the island of Samos was an adventure, a stretching and challenging experience, but so rewarding. It was an unknown to me especially as I didn’t know anyone on the team serving in the purpose -built refugee camp.
- It was stretching because I had never driven on the right-hand side on hilly slopes.
- It was challenging because I had never planned Sunday services or done the teaching each Sunday.
- It was deeply fulfilling because I got to have weekly member care (pastoral care) conversations with each team member and have an input into their lives.
- It was fun cooking meals twice a week for an international team.
- It was humbling to be part of a team who always made sure I was included in any impromptu activities…I was never made to feel my age.
- It was eye-opening to see this group of young people so eager to serve the refugees.
- It was also familiar - the member-care situations, the training I gave on cross-cultural issues, going into the refugee camp and seeing the desperation in some people’s faces.
- It was also dehumanising - the long, long process the refugees have to go through to get any type of visa.
So what’s next?
I feel ready to do a longer stint. So, I plan on being in Athens until early December.
- I will be staying in an ‘open house’ run by a young Swiss Christian worker who has different people staying in the apartment and offers meals and hospitality to those in need. It will be an interesting experience for me and I am looking forward to it.
• Threads of Hope (https://threadsofhopehellas.org) - I will be volunteering with this project (training women who have been rescued from trafficking and prostitution) twice a week.
• Petalouda Project - I will be teaching English (TEFL) to another key leader, Ivan, possibly one day a week. The Petalouda project works with the Roma community on the outskirts of Athens. One of the aims of this project is have a church plant initiated.
- Kypseli church plant - I hope to attend this very strategic church plant in the centre of Athens and contribute where I can with my basically non-existent Greek.
Thank you for the way your prayers carried me through my time in Samos. I was very conscious of God’s nearness throughout my time there.
Find out more about Anna’s ministry here
Archive > 2023
December
- December - 31 - 2023 12/31/23, 11:30 PM - Happy New Year from ECM!
- December - 19 - 2023 12/19/23, 10:15 AM - Connecting with the Global Church
- December - 12 - 2023 12/12/23, 10:00 AM - Connecting across Europe
November
- November - 28 - 2023 11/28/23, 12:39 AM - Christian or Kingdom?
- November - 20 - 2023 11/20/23, 4:20 AM - Why Pray for Mission? | Sam Boog
- November - 14 - 2023 11/14/23, 9:55 AM - New book dealing with rest and recovery
- November - 08 - 2023 11/8/23, 12:59 PM - Christian leaders gather from across Europe
October
- October - 27 - 2023 10/27/23, 10:44 AM - A Great Book: "Church Planting in Europe"
- October - 24 - 2023 10/24/23, 2:28 PM - Insights into ministry in Greece
- October - 17 - 2023 10/17/23, 1:08 PM - Sharing the vision for European ministry in… Uruguay?
September
August
- August - 25 - 2023 8/25/23, 12:44 PM - News from Ukraine
- August - 16 - 2023 8/16/23, 2:01 PM - A Summer's Story
- August - 04 - 2023 8/4/23, 11:09 AM - Wild at Heart, a Testimony
- August - 02 - 2023 8/2/23, 5:07 PM - "Camino Antiguo" Guesthouse in Spain
July
- July - 21 - 2023 7/21/23, 3:19 PM - Trauma Healing Small Groups in Slovenia
- July - 14 - 2023 7/14/23, 3:06 PM - Church Planting in Slovenia
- July - 06 - 2023 7/6/23, 2:54 PM - Equipping a New Generation
- July - 03 - 2023 7/3/23, 2:02 PM - Mum & Baby Club in Spain
June
- June - 28 - 2023 6/28/23, 4:00 PM - Life and Ministry in Times of War
- June - 06 - 2023 6/6/23, 11:05 AM - United in Prayer, discover Mahabba
- June - 02 - 2023 6/2/23, 1:34 PM - Camino Guesthouse in Spain
May
- May - 25 - 2023 5/25/23, 5:54 PM - Elena's short-term mission trip to Romania
- May - 22 - 2023 5/22/23, 3:23 PM - Greenhouse Repaired!
- May - 15 - 2023 5/15/23, 11:00 AM - Freedom in Christ: a testimony
- May - 08 - 2023 5/8/23, 12:42 PM - The Irpin church: a testimony of love and service
March
- March - 15 - 2023 3/15/23, 10:04 AM - Angry and Grateful
- March - 13 - 2023 3/13/23, 9:37 PM - Living through the war
- March - 07 - 2023 3/7/23, 10:07 AM - Let's walk!
February
- February - 24 - 2023 2/24/23, 11:34 AM - They were living in a 15m2 hut...
- February - 02 - 2023 2/2/23, 5:57 PM - The war has torn down many houses, we are building them up.