Dear Family and Friends
Greetings from
Greece
! God has been so faithful and he has poured out his love upon me this last month. The time has seemed to fly by as each day is filled with new experiences and wonder.
Although my time in
India
was shorter than planned due to my visa expiring, it was definitely an experience. It reached 44 degrees C (about 120 degrees F) during the day and no matter how much I drank, warm water never seemed to quench my thirst or re-hydrated me. We slept in tents in the dirt field, praying that the wind storms, rain storms, and the wild dogs would stay away. The orphans were amazing! There were only about 80 children living at the orphanage as 220 had found other places to go because of persecution. Many of the kids at the orphanage have families – they either can’t afford them or simply don’t want them. The kids we were with had no family left to take them in. So, we painted their rooms, taught them games, taught them English, told them Bible stories, did crafts with them, cut their hair, got rid of scabies and lice, and I worked on organizing the storage room – a lot of work in a little time.
More than anything we were blown away by the faith of these little kids. They got up at
6 am
every morning for worship and prayer. They all met 3 times a day for prayer, worship, and Bible study. They memorized scripture every week. When the orphanage ran out of money, they prayed and fasted for the people who were persecuting their leaders and for the freedom and safety of the men who care so much for them. What an experience to see five year old boys on their faces in prayer! (
update ~ we just found out that the police are trying to close down the orphanage again.. please keep the kids and the men who take care of them in your prayers!)
After
India
I spent a few days in
Cairo
,
Egypt
. It was a time of relaxing and catching up on things. I didn’t do much touristy or ministry stuff as I will be back in Egypt with my whole team the end of August.
When we first learned that we would have “time off,” between India and Bosnia, it was an unexpected blessing that I didn’t quite know what to do with. After 5 months of giving of ourselves everyday, God knew that we needed to be recharged if we were going to finish this task he set before us. If you check out the others’ blogs, you’ll see that we have scattered across the European continent, and God has me, Casey Wells, exactly where he wants me .. in Greece!
Right now I am traveling throughout
Greece
with two friends from the group: Tauna and Ashley. Our desire is to retrace the places the apostle Paul (St. Paul) went ~ Corinth, Athens, Thessaloniki, Kavala, Philippi, and a few other little towns. It has been an amazing time!
The other day we were in
Philippi
– we saw where Paul was put in prison, stood in the agora where Paul and Silas were flogged, saw the ruins of two of the first churches, and stood in a theatre where Christians lost their lives to the animals. The emotions and thoughts that day were overwhelming. We spent much of the time in silence pondering the wonder, tragedy and beauty of it all. If it were not for those men and their faith, we would not be standing here today. Missions would not exist. My life would be completely different.
I will be in
Greece
until the 15th of June when I will travel by ferry to
Italy
and then take another ferry to
Croatia
, and then a bus into
Bosnia
, arriving on the 17th. We will be in
Bosnia
for two months, and I will be reunited with my blue team. I am looking forward to seeing them all again and “getting back to work.” We haven’t been told yet exactly what our mission is in
Bosnia
, so continue to check out my blog for updates, and for the pictures I keep promising!
PRAYER REQUESTS: It’s now half way through our adventure and many of my thoughts are focused around home. The last five months have been amazing and the things that we’ve seen and done have been beyond remarkable! Being away from home and church life is beginning to take its toll on all of us.
*Please pray for strength, encouragement, and endurance to continue.
*Pray for us as we continue to travel, for opportunities to share along the way and for our ministry in
Bosnia
.
*As you know, I am still short of funds for the trip: pray that they will come in and that I will not grow discouraged.
*Pray for continued vision and direction in my life as I figure out God’s purpose in my life, now and in the future.
Thank you so much for your love and support.
Please feel free to email me with letters, prayer requests and or questions. I love hearing from you!
Until
Bosnia
,
Casey
