We are back to distributing bibles after a day of rest! Distribution went pretty well for our van! We split a large town with four other vans. People in the town were generally nice to us and those who didn’t want their gift just politely declined. However, our translators seem pretty tired and worn out. They take all the yelling from the Greek people because we can’t understand. One of the translators in the other van is around 13 and on her day off she just slept in her tent because she felt so exhausted from getting yelled at the previous day in the blitz.

Day 8. We had a lot of villages between the orchard vans and it was a tough day. Our van had a lot of bibles to hand out and it was really hilly. We were very worn out by the sun and the hiking. At the end of distribution a man in his cafe invited us in for free drinks and watermelon.

Then we met the other van before heading off to another village together. There were a lot of Greek men sitting in the cafe so Viky was able to share the gospel with about 7 people which was awesome, but she had some tough conversations so we were proud of her. The other van had a really rough day as well. The first village they went to, two of their members were being held “hostage” by some old lady’s. Other people were trying to push the van out of the village so they left as quick as they could. Then the second village the priest came up to them and started yelling at them, calling them heretics. The priest made them leave that town as well. In Greece, the priests like to have authority and when they see us come in even if we are handing out their bibles that have an orthodox stamp on them, they are still very angry. However, the last village went very well. There was another great cafe where our translators were able to share the gospel with a lot of people as well. A different group was taken in to the police and brought to the station, but their translator was able to share the gospel with the police officers through a phone call with her dad! One of the officers pulled the translator aside for more “questioning” away from the other officers, but just wanted to tell her he was intrigued and wanted to learn more so he gave her his number. Praise the Lord. Our last day is tomorrow and we have another blitz in a big city. This time it is everyone in one city though.

Today we had a day of rest after our big blitz day. After a later Sunday service so we could sleep in, our team drove out to a nearby island called Lefkada. We stopped by a little restaurant to have some authentic Greek gyros. They were amazing! Viky, our translator, told me I couldn’t leave Greece without trying them because “ime nostimo” (it is delicious).

We then continued on to some caves. We did some exploring and climbed up to another big room.

We then went to the beach and got some ice cream on the way to feed Krista’s addiction. Then we finished the day with some food back in Preveza! Overall it was a good day of rest and we are ready to do another blitz tomorrow! Also, I am sorry I am not staying updated! The internet has been very bad. I have also been having troubles getting the photos up. So if no photos show up, I’m sorry and you will see more when I come back!

Hello supporters! I was a guest writer on our teams blog for our third day of bible distribution! I am not going to write much here because I wrote the other one, but I am going to put share some pictures. Go check out my blog post atat this link! https://theorchardbalkans.org/category/greece/

Today we had another great day of distribution! Our van was only assigned to one village and we we had some mixed vibes in the village. Many people rejected it, but we also met a lot of people who were happy to take the Bible! No one was every angry with us. They instead just politely declined which was disappointing, but better than being yelled at or chased away. When we stopped for lunch the people in the shop showed us so much hospitality. They closed the doors and made sure the AC was on for us. Our translator was then able to tell them what we were doing and gave them a Bible too! That was a really encouraging moment for us all and we thank God for that! After lunch we picked up another village from our buddy van. The town was very rural and we went during the siesta so we didn’t see many people.

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We just quietly traveled through and put bibles on every home. However, me and Viky got chased off someone’s property by a dog. Luckily, it didn’t go any further than the property, but it growled at us as we walked away. Tomorrow we have a big blitz day where everyone will go in to one city! Our whole group is very excited! Thanks for keeping up with me on this journey and thanks for all the support!

First day of bible distribution was really awesome! It’s only been one day and we have had so many encouraging moments! I think the whole team was maybe a little nervous going in to our first town in the morning. As we drove the main rode, we got lots of stares from the Greek men as they drank their coffee and were talking with friends. However, once we started going to the houses, everyone was so welcoming and friendly! We met a few people who spoke English and we were able to explain more about what we were doing and what their gift was all about. I was handing bibles out with my friend Krista and not with a translator so we were just using all the Greek we knew and trying our best. We felt like we did a good job though. In the morning we were walking back from a street we had just given bibles out to and there were three Greek men standing in the middle of the street flipping through their new testaments and chatting about it. We were excited because they didn’t throw it away but actually were talking to friends about it. It is all about planting the seed at this stage and praying that more conversations will arise in the future! Today we distributed almost 1,000 bibles in the three villages we went to. Another long day ahead tomorrow! Also we got assigned a translator. Her name is Viky and she is really fun and helpful! Also I forgot to take a lot of photos during the day because we were working so here are just a few random ones.

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After a 5 hour delay to our flight and a bunch of “pity food” that O’Hare gave us because they wanted to calm the people, we finally arrived in Greece! To get to preveza, we had to drive vans all the way from Athens. We were able to see a lot of the countryside and coast which was kind of awesome because it was all so beautiful.

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We then had kind of a chill day on Monday. We woke up and walked down the road to see some ruins. It was a little morning adventure. We then got lunch down the street and it was incredible because we were right down by the coast.

We then went and did some final registration for O.J. and ate dinner at the camp ground as well. After dinner we all met together and the founder of operation Joshua talked and we all worshiped together. It was kind of incredible and just a whole different experience with the different languages. It was moving in a way and we were all unified and able to celebrate Jesus together. We met some awesome new people! Including some little Greek boys who taught us some Greek that we were testing out later at a local ice cream place.

The next day, we had orientation in the morning and learned more about how we were going to distribute bibles. We learned some Greek words as well! Ine Doro: a gift. The spelling is definitely wrong but that’s how you pronounce it. We then had a break so my group went to the beach and played some Monopoly deal. Later that night, we came back, had more worship together, and listened to another message. During the message we realized the ruins we visited the other day was a town that Paul was in!

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Tomorrow we start Bible distribution and we meet our translators tomorrow! Hopefully the melatonin kicks in soon because I still have jet lag.

Tomorrow I will be leaving to fly to Greece at about 5 pm and will be arriving in Greece around noon, local time. It is a ten hour direct flight and then after the flight we have a five hour drive to the town of Preveza.

Preveza will be the “base camp” for all the volunteers apart of Operation Joshua during the trip. The volunteers come from all over the world and I am excited to make connections with a variety of different people! Most of the volunteers will be camping, however my group will be staying in a local hotel. Which may seem lame, but it will be nice to get out of the heat after a long day of work.

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The first day or so, all of the volunteers involved will have orientation. I have been told it is very long, but very thorough as they cover a lot of topics. Once we are through with orientation we begin handing out bibles! Many people in Greece have never seen a bible in their own language and the goal of Operation Joshua is to change that. 12 years after they have started, about 25 percent of the population have received a bible in Modern Greek and that number is on the rise! The goal for this year is to bring the gospel to 100,000 people in the regions of Arta, Aitoloakarnania,  and Evritania. Each day our group will start off by receiving a map of our target towns and a bunch of bibles.

Then off we go handing out bibles in those towns, putting them on gates, explaining what we are doing to residents, and talking to residents if they are interested and want to talk more. At night, we meet back at the base camp in Preveza and eat dinner together with all the rest of the volunteers. After dinner, we have worship all together in multiple languages, I believe, and possibly hearing some preaching from someone who is there. That is basically what each day will consist of with one day off in the middle. More updates to come when I arrive safely in Greece!