The Doctor’s Specialty

When anyone considers ministry in a foreign country, he must “count the cost.” I was born with a congenital heart disease (Tetralogy of Fallot) that required open-heart-surgery when I was 17 months old. This condition has not limited my life all that much (I do have some limitations, but they are not things I’d do at this point in my life anyway). When considering foreign missions, it was something that I tried to think through. After sensing God’s call to minister in Greece (a modern country with modern medical facilities), my doctor was confident that I could find decent care here. It’s been difficult to find a doctor that is qualified to treat an adult with a congenital heart defect here in Greece (there is a big difference in a pediatric cardiologist treating children and a cardiologist that treats adults with congential diseases). This is where the story begins. A couple of Wednesday’s ago, Emily and I were out on our weekly “Daddy Date Day.” We went to a Greek fast food restaurant that has an indoor play place. After some time passed, a little boy and his parents joined us in the play place. The father explained that he was a cardiologist (are you paying attention yet?) that deals with adults with congenital heart diseases. He then went on to explain that one of his specialties was Tetralogy of Fallot! I couldn’t believe how God was working…one that specific day, at that specific time, I met a doctor that has a specialty in MY heart disease (the chance of being born with this condition is 0.0003%. I’ve not had any problems with my heart for several years and nothing major since my operation…but it’s nice to have a doctor close in case of any emergencies. Think God is not interested in our concerns? I’m now convinced more than ever!!!!

2008 Is Off To A Shaky Start

Literally! At 7:20 am, we were jolted from our sleep by an earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale. The epicenter was approximately 75 miles to the southeast of Athens. It lasted for about 40 seconds. Our apartment literally shook back and forth giving us quite an adrenaline rush to say the least. Thankfully, we suffered no damage to the house. The news reports that there was only little damage in Kalamata (the epicenter) and no fatalities. We’ll let you know if anything else develops.

Kalanda

There is a Greek tradition that takes place every Christmas Eve and New Years Eve called kalanda. Kalanda (κάλαντα) is the Greek word for carols. It’s a time that kids go around to the houses in their neighborhood singing Christmas carols in return for money (small change), sweets, and/or cookies. As we prepared to move here, we tried to learn about the different traditions, but there is only so much you can know without experience. So, it’s Christmas Eve 2004 and we’ve only been in Greece for 3 months. Emily was just a week old and we get a knock on the door early Christmas Eve morning. I answer it and find three Greek kids with small musical triangles standing at my door. After an awkward moment of silence they start singing a Greek Christmas carol! At the time, I didn’t understand the words of the song and I thought to myself, “How could anybody be so low as to send their children to beg?” You see, there are a lot of beggars on the streets of Athens and I thought they were trying a new tactic to get money (because it was known throughout the neighborhood that we’re Americans and all Americans are rich beyond belief). So, I sternly command the kids to “Get out of here” after they sing. Then I closed the door amazed at how low some will go for money. About 10 minutes later we get another knock at the door and my mind starts to wonder why all the beggars are sending their children to our door on the same day. To my amazement and shame (for telling the kids to leave me alone) I learned that this is a tradition that happens every Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. Man did I feel like an idiot!!! Oh well, sometimes you learn a new culture by making mistakes!

10 Years And Counting…

This week marks an anniversary of sorts. It was 10 years ago this week that God touched my heart with a burden so great that it compelled me to surrender my life to the work of making disciples and planting churches in Greece. It was during my freshman year in college that I was initially introduced to the spiritual need of this country. This had a profound impact on me. A week or so before Christmas, after much prayer and soul searching, I surrendered my life to work in Greece full time. At the time, I was working at the Boys & Girls club. Late one Thursday night, right before closing, I got down on my hands and knees in the locker room that I was cleaning and said, “God, if you want me to go to Greece, then open the doors and I’ll go.” During the invitation time on the Sunday night before Christmas I made my decision public to the church. This all happened in December 1997. Upon returning to school from Christmas break, I purchased a big (4x6) Greek flag to hang in my dorm room to continually remind myself of my calling. Ten years later, I’m setting in my home (in Greece) with my wife of 8 years, my 3 year old daughter, and twins on the way, sent by a great church…doing some last minute preparations for the Bible study that we have started! God is truly good in that He has clearly lead us here by opening many doors…to develop devoted followers of Christ for both local and global impact. Honestly, I cannot see myself doing anything else with my life…PERIOD.

Christmas Program and 3rd Birthday Party!

Yesterday was a first for our ministry here. Brandie's children's class performed a Christmas program for us! The girls were so cute dressed up in their red dresses and nice shoes. Brandie and the girls worked very hard over the past few weeks learning their lines and new songs. They sang “Away In The Manger” and “Joy To The World” and Brandie read Luke 2. They also had a line a piece to say. They didn’t freeze up…but performed like Brandie had envisioned. I then delivered a special Christmas message from Matthew 1:18-25 entitled “The Baby In Mary’s Womb.” It was a great time for us to reflect and respond to the challenge to rest in Christ Jesus during the busy Christmas season!

Immediately following our “Reflection & Response Time,” we switched from Christmas Program mode to Birthday Party mode to celebrate Emilys 3rd birthday. She’s been SO excited about her “birthday party, birthday hat, birthday candle, birthday song, birthday presents, birthday dress…” Anybody who’s spoken to her the past couple of weeks knows how excited she was as that is all she's talked about. She had a "Princess Party." Emily is facinated with the Disney princesses. So, it was pink and girly. We had a great time as Brandie made soup then we ate cake and ice-cream. She then opened all her presents from her friends & family! There were so many!!! We are so blessed to have friends & family that care for us so much!!! I want to say a special “THANK YOU” to everybody that helped make this a special day for Emily.

Emily's Christmas Program Dress

Emily and Melanie singing "Away In The Mananger"

Emily's Birthday Dress

Soup, Cake, & Ice-cream For All!!!

Katarina

On Tuesday night, we received a phone call from a Greek lady named Katarina. She lives on the Greek island of Samos. Two months ago, she had a miscarry (she and her husband have two boys aged 5 & 3). The doctors on Samos do not know exactly how to help her. She pulled some strings with a friend of the family to be seen by a doctor at the university hospital here in Athens. She called the other night to see if she could stay with us for half a day. The boat from Samos arrives in Piraeus at 6:00 am. She just needed a place for her and her sons to stay until after lunch yesterday. We had a great day fellowshipping together. She is saved and was raised going to an evangelical church in Kavala, Greece. She’s married to an unbeliever and is a constant witness to her husband and his family. She is literally alone on the island of Samos as there are no Baptist churches or any other kind of churches (except Orthodox). So, please pray for her and the situation with her baby. She will see the doctor on Friday and she promised to update us after the appointment. Also, pray that she will be a great tool in the Father’s hand to reach people with the gospel on Samos!

Email Updates!?!

We want to keep all of our ministry partners updated with the latest news. If you would like to receive our email updates, please email us at thecrabtrees@thecrabtree.org. Have a great weekend!!