Report from Thessaloniki, Greece (July 2017)
We have been endeavoring to live a normal, vital church life here in Thessaloniki for three years now, and we believe that the Lord is making slow but solid progress. We now have about 10 adults and five children meeting regularly on the Lord’s Day. Three of the adults are local Greeks. They are older saints but are enjoying a fresh new life with the Lord among us.
Lately, we have been preparing for some unprecedented events that will be taking place this summer and fall, the first of which is the upcoming young people’s conference in Poland. Many can testify what an impact this event has had in the individual lives of the young people and the Lord’s recovery in Europe as a whole. For the first time from Greece, four families will attend the camp with a total of 16 people. We believe and are petitioning the Lord that this will be a big step toward His gaining a deeper foothold in this country.
The second event is the upcoming ITERO in Leipzig, Germany, and the subsequent blending trips and regional conference in Thessaloniki. These have the potential to have a profound effect on the presence of the Lord’s recovery in the Balkan region. There are very few churches in this region, and the saints are small in number and very spread apart. Our hope is that through these opportunities there will be much blending and encouragement among the saints here. Several brothers from the region will be participating in the ITERO for the first time. Following the ITERO, many saints from around the world will be visiting the cities of Athens, Greece; Sofia, Bulgaria; Split and Zagreb, Croatia; and Tirana, Albania, for several days of fellowship and further enjoyment. Afterward, these visitors will converge in Thessaloniki for a two-day conference. Surely the Lord desires to use this to further His move in the Balkan region of Europe!
With all this in mind, we ask you to pray for the Lord to do all that He desires in the following matters: • That all 16 participants in the young people’s conference in Poland will arrive safely and be open to receive all the speaking and enter into all the fellowship. • That all the brothers who attend the ITERO will be built more together by being in the same speaking and in the rich fellowship. • That the myriads of practical details and needs for the blending tours and regional conference will be met for the full pouring out of the Lord’s blessing on every attendant. • That the results will match what the Lord has released in the heavens for His move in Europe, and in particular the raising up of many more lampstands as His shining testimony in this region.
Over the years that we have been here, the Lord has been faithful to provide us with much traffic from the saints. We are strengthened and encouraged with all the saints’ visits, whether by a gospel team from the FTTA, saints in transit from one place to another, or young people just wanting to come and be with us. We surely benefit from the healthy flow of life in the Body. We are always supplied when we realize again and again that we are not here by ourselves. We stand because you are standing with us. For this we praise and worship the Lord for His Body!
With much love in Him, A couple serving in Thessaloniki
source: lordsmove.org
