Paros Summer Team - 2014

One of the highlights of my time in Greece has to be the mission trip to Paros. Twenty-nine of us made the four hour boat journey from Athens to Paros, an island that is one of those hidden gems in the treasure chest of Greek islands. Although tourism abounds, I am told it has remained fairly resistant to any dramatic change over the years and so still retains its Greekness. In the past, I've visited islands that have been overtaken by holiday makers which sadly can spoil an islands natural charms. Paros did not disappoint as we entered the port receiving a warm welcome from the scattered white houses that so typically define a Greek island. And so after a few days of orientation in Athens, we arrived ready to tell people about the Lord Jesus. There were of course many challenges ahead, but one of the joys of the trip was seeing such a diverse team team pull together. We had people from France, Malta, Peru, the Netherlands, Greece, Northern Ireland and not forgetting England.

In many ways our task was simple, meet people on the beach, have fun, strike up conversations, ask people questions about what they think about religion and Christianity, invite people to BBQs, to sum up you could say we hoped to make friends and tell people about the good news of Jesus. Praise God that we not only did this, but were blessed with many conversations that led people to hear the gospel, some for the first time. Many seeds were planted during our ten days on the island and who knows what fruit will bear in the coming years. For me this was my first experience of 'cold contact evangelism' i.e. talking to people about Jesus who you have never met before. It is really hard! Yet at the same time I was constantly being reminded that God is faithful and he is the one who works. In other words when you leave a conversation thinking 'I wish I'd said this' or 'That didn't seem to go very well', how good it is to know that it is not my words that save.

As well as speaking to people about Jesus, there was much going on in my own heart as I learnt once again about God's unending determination to change me, and show me that only He is to receive my worship. One of the joys of being in a large team is that you see a whole variety of people with a whole variety of gifts. It can be tempted to think 'I wish I was like ...' or 'I wish I had this gift'. Yet, time and time again I was reminded that:

..."God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 

                                                                                                  1 Corinthians 12:18-20

It was great to see many parts working together as one body as we hosted BBQs, spoke to people on the beach, and played with people in the sea. As the apostle Paul says, the body needs different members, without them it wouldn't be a body. I suppose the point is never think that you are not needed when it comes to belonging to the body of the church of Christ.

A highlight of the Paros trip for me was when I got talking to a group of Germans who were staying on our campsite. We ended up playing a game of 'Dutch Blitz' which is a brilliant card game (for someone who doesn't really like card games this game was a welcome revelation). Towards the end I got talking with one of the guys and had the most open conversation about the war and eventually the gospel. He was around my age and spoke of the shame that many Germans feel over the war, especially people his age, and also shared his experiences of growing up in a Protestant church. His experience was very much one of 'doing things' to be a Christian, e.g. being baptized, confirmed etc. Knowing the Bible stories but nothing more. Yet as we explored the gospel further it was clear that for all his church involvement, he had never considered the wonder of knowing a restored relationship with the living God. As we opened up the gospel of Mark, and looked at Jesus willingness to die on the cross for us, his death that brings us life, his resurrection that brings hope, his claim to be God that leave us with a decision to either reject him of follow him wholeheartedly, it truly was a special moment.

There were many more things to give thanks for after our ten days on Paros, many things to be encouraged by yet also many things that brought feelings of sadness. At the end of this trip, I learnt even more that God is working, to fulfill his purpose in our lives, and he will use us to work out his purposes in the lives of those around us. Who knows where all the people we spoke to will be in a years time. Who knows, maybe even they will be used by God as instruments to share the gospel of his redeeming love in Christ.