Note: I have pictures to post with this story, so check back soon… WiFi wasn’t working well enough for me to upload them, but I wanted to go ahead and post anyway. Stay tuned……….
As he placed another bowl of fresh figs in front of us and scrambled back out to the garden to pluck some ripe grapes off the vine, we couldn’t help but to look at one another, asking: “How did we even end up here?”
Pastor Niko didn’t speak one word of English, but his perpetual smile radiated the joy of the Lord. He loved us well, inviting us into his little “Garden of Eden” (as we liked to call it) and serving us a myriad of freshly picked fruit as we sat in the shade cracking open hazelnuts and giggling at the sheer goodness of the Lord.
Pastor Niko runs a small church tucked away in the Jewish Quarter of Berea, Greece. It’s located across from a synagogue built in the exact same location as the synagogue Paul preached at almost 2,000 years ago (Acts 17:10-15). The synagogue serves as a “museum” of sorts now and receives hundreds of visitors each week. The synagogue doesn’t have a bathroom, so Pastor Niko opens up his tiny church’s rest room each day to tourists and visitors. He loves using this opportunity as a moment to share the Gospel with visitors so he keeps his church stocked with Bibles in every language. Because he doesn’t speak any English, he communicates mostly with signs and his beaming smile.
This man spent his life’s savings purchasing the church and adjoining office, and this ministry is so near and dear to his heart. As we sat around the table that now was filled with boxes and boxes of pizza and soda that he had ordered for us, his son-in-law shared that their church had been praying for help for two years. We couldn’t help but smile as it sunk into our hearts that we, The World Race, were the answer to that prayer.
That morning when our Unsung Heroes team piled into a van, we had no idea where we’d end up. The Holy Spirit had guided our connections and conversations in the days before as our search for contacts unfolded, so we knew God had our road mapped out for us. But little did we know that we’d end up in a town with so much incredible (Biblical) history, chowing down on the BEST pizza ever, trying figs for the first time, learning how to crack open hazelnuts and exchanging testimonies with the most awesome family ever. I couldn’t help but thinking to myself: “Man, my heart is SO full right now.”
God is so good, and I’m amazed by Him and His ability to bring together those searching to give and those praying to receive.
Unsung Heroes is a ministry within The World Race that seeks out future partners and contacts for Adventures in Missions.
