Meet Eleonora!
She is super sassy and so giving of herself and I am truly blessed to be able to call her a sweet friend now!
On my first day in Greece, a treasurer from another team we would be living with for the month and myself, went out to do treasury stuff and to explore. We decided that every Monday we would take off from whatever ministry was planned with our teams and we would go to a coffee shop together and do finance stuff for our teams and that would be our ministry for the day. While we were out exploring, I needed to stop somewhere and buy a new converter. So, we stopped into this appliance store and this bubbly Greek woman came over to help us. We got to talking with this girl about how we were traveling for the year and I mentioned that my last converter got fried in Vietnam. Her response was, “Ugh, I hate you guys, seriously.” This was our first real conversation with a Greek and quite honestly, after that response, I was a little scared. So we finished up, left the store, and talked about maybe one day bringing her a coffee or a milkshake.
A couple of days later, a few of my teammates and I went grocery shopping and when we got back and were unloading in the kitchen, Caitlin asks, “Would you want to go visit Eleonora sometime?” And I respond with, “YES!! She has literally been on my mind ever since we went into her store and met her.” She said the same thing so we decided we wanted to see if she’d want to hang out and get coffee Monday after we finish doing treasury stuff. So, the next day, we walk into her family’s store, spot Eleonora as she spots us, and she goes, “Why hello girls! I’ve been thinking of you since I met you! Would you want to get a coffee or something Monday after I get off work??” We get so excited and tell her that was our exact reason for coming in to see her! We got her number and once we left, we decided that Eleonora was going to be our “one” for the month and we wanted to build a friendship with her… and that’s exactly what we did!
We hung out with her every Monday night once she got off work. Our last week in Greece, we each got to hang out with her one on one when the other was busy with something. She showed us where authentic Greek food was (perks to having a real greek friend haha) and we would go get coffee or wine with her sometimes. She welcomed us into her home and even made each of us a beautiful stone ring! I got to share some of my story with her and the struggles I’ve faced in my life and how the Lord has provided and also how he brought me to the World Race. Something one of my teammates said the other day was that, there is SO much power in simply saying the name JESUS to people and that even if we don’t get to have a full blown out conversation about Jesus or are able to share the gospel with them, even speaking the name out in conversation with them holds a lot of power.
Going into all of this, especially the first night we hung out with her, I think I put a lot of pressure on myself about how I was going to share the gospel with her and making sure I said the right things. I had to take a step back and realize that first and foremost, I needed to build a friendship with her. I decided that, even if I didn’t see her come to know Christ, that she would see Him through me and see that there is something different about me. We had a good conversation with her regarding religion and unfortunately she doesn’t feel like it’s something for her. I will definitely continue praying for her and I truly believe that the Lord can and WILL change her heart. She was SO open to listening to everything I said though about Jesus and how he’s changed my life and provided for me in so many ways.
Such a sweet friendship has come out of this and I will definitely be keeping in touch with her. She is one of the sassiest human beings I’ve ever met which made it so easy to be able to joke around with each other, but also such a giving and sweet person she is. She offered her help as much as she could to make our time in Greece easier. She even let me pay for her coffees a few times! (It wasn’t easy getting her to let me though) and in return she treated us to a coffee and triangles (best greek dessert ever) I firmly believe that the Lord placed her in mine and Caitlin’s path for a purpose.
I think one of the most beautiful parts about this friendship was that she pursued us just as much as we were pursuing her. It wasn’t one sided.
I hope that Eleonora knows just how much she’s truly loved and seen.
