By Doug Dixon
This was my first ministry trip to Greece. I was blessed in several ways on this trip. First by serving to provide logistical support for a conference of Middle Eastern Pastors and leaders that were meeting at the CosmoVision Center (CVC). These leaders came from throughout the Middle East and Europe to encourage, learn, and grow together. They were also working on versions of the Bible in the Pashto and Dari languages for Afghanistan. We provided support for meals and childcare for the children that were with their families. We were blessed to hear stories from several of the participants of how they came to Christ and made their way to Europe from their countries of birth.
Second, by the hospitality of the staff at the CosmoVision Center. Fotis and George Romeos, Stephanie Kozick, and Mihalis Litsikakis were amazing hosts, providing direction for the ministry activities at the CVC, but also opportunities to see some of the Biblical sites nearby, and a tremendous Greek dinner at the Romeos home at the end of our week. They welcomed and encouraged us, as we hope we were an encouragement to the staff at the CVC.
Third, specifically by the teaching of Mihalis Litsikakis. Mihalis brought a message at the multi-national church service on Sunday night. This message was about how God can use us to impact the lives of individuals, one person at a time. We may become discouraged at times if we are not involved in large events that impact great numbers of people. We may feel that we are not doing enough. But Mihalis wanted to encourage us to know that God is using each one of us in a unique way for His glory. We may not even know the impact of some of our efforts in this life.
Later in the week, Mihalis took us on a tour of Thorikos in southern Greece. This ancient city was a prosperous mining town with a large, stone theater (built in the 5th century BC), elaborate grave sites, and an industrial center for the extraction and processing of silver. A large population of slaves used to work the mines and do the incredibly hard work of extracting the silver ore. The silver was found in narrow veins, and children were used to dig out these veins and extract the silver ore. These children had a tremendous impact on the prosperity of Thorikos. Later, the silver that was mined helped pay for the boats used in the Battle of Salamis that resulted in an unexpected Greek victory that saved Athens. Mihalis used the example of these children to compare to the impact that we make in the kingdom of God through our many small and unrecognized efforts. We need to remain faithful and leave the results to God.
I appreciate the opportunity to go on this ministry trip to Greece and would welcome another change to serve the staff at the CVC.
