Today marks the one month date that I've been in Athens working with Hellenic Ministries to compile and tag each of their assets.  The first week my body was hibernating as it adjusted to the 7 hour time change.  5 days before I left for Athens I came down with a really bad sinus infection that caused all kinds of problems.  My doctor gave me a powerful rocephin antibiotic shot and a steroid shot.  I also figured it'd be best to have tetanus shot since I can't recall having one in a long time.  They put me on Augmentin I went in to see him 3 days before I left.  They gave me an extra dosage of Augmentin in case it came back.  Everything cleared up and I seemed to be in good condition. Once I got to Athens it didn't take long before the infection came back and so i continued the Augmentin.  Then I began having trouble with my stomach and GI track.  I thought I had a bug or something.  Sunday morning I finally figured out that the stomach trouble was from taking the Augmentin on an empty stomach.  After church on Sunday it dawned on me that I'd forgotten to pick up and bring my thyroid medication.  I'm surprised I hadn't dropped before now.  Thankfully pharmacies here dispense things like thyroid and other items. I was supposed to spend yesterday riding the red double decker tourist buses to get a better feel for the city. Instead, I slept all day and was still tired. So that's how the weekend and start of this week started.

I finally made it to church last Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed it.  There are 3 english speaking churches in Athens.  Every one I've come across, both english speaking and native Greeks are wonderful.  It's nice to not feel pressured and to know they're more concerned about me than what I can do for them.  That right there is the difference between ministry work and for-profit work. The CFO, Stephen Calhoun, is an amazing brilliant man with a lovely wife and 4 great kids.  Stephen's background is finance, but instead of becoming a certified financial planner which was his 5 year plan, God began calling him to the mission field.  From Atlanta, GA originally, he and his family have been here working non stop.  Their children are enrolled in public school and both he and his wife have picked up the language.  Stephen is amazing because he is doing an excellent job for which he is not trained.  He's a great boss and the office is peaceful.  Stephen likes to laugh and I have found that most of the missionaries do too.  I've come across some brilliant people who have laid down their life (what they wanted to do) and have chosen to follow what God wants for them.  Most who are in the office daily work as if they are being paid a large salary, but each one of them has to raise their own funds for support.  Even Jonathan Macris the founder and CEO.

I don't like asking for money, but I must.  I've had three family members so far donate, one for $25 and another for $250.  I was truly blessed.  I have my usual expenses such as food and then there is my small but comfy apartment.  I'm learning to use public transportation.  For some reason it has been a bit intimidating for me.  I finally realised yesterday that the worst that could happen is if I take the wrong train and do a little extra sight seeing.  I can always take a taxi home if I really get lost.

I've been thinking about why should people donate to help cover my expenses.  I'm not the one out on the streets telling people about God's free gift of salvation.  I tend to be the one in the back ground making sure things are running smoothly.  My favourite part is if someone asks me about the Lord then I pray inside and try to answer questions based on the 25 years of women's bible study and historical biblical fiction books that I love to read.  I have two mentors that I can seek out their counsel if I encounter something i don't know.

It's been funny to see merchants reaction when I say hello and they realise I'm not local.  I've met quite a few people that way and have found how truly wonderful and family oriented this culture is.  My counsellor back home likes to teach about how many boyfriends she has and it's funny.  I've adopted her attitude and have started taking selfies with anyone I'm getting to know as a friend.  Most Greeks are fascinated to know where I'm from.  I usually answer Florida, and most seem to know where that is thanks to Mickey Mouse.  It seems like on every street corner here is a gyro place and they're really affordable.

Friday a few of us were trying to decide what to order.  I said my usual (chicken gyro with sauce, lettuce and tomatoes) but Andrew who is from Calgary had another suggestion; Chinese food.  As soon as he said they have Chinese food here, I jumped and said YES!!  The Chinese was excellent but it cost me 8 Euros, where as the usual gyro is 2 Euros.  I think the Chinese restaurant needs some competition!  It was good, but not sure it's worth the price. I will say that with all the stray cats prowling about, the Chinese chicken dishes are a good bet safety wise.  I know, ewww!  But hey, it does happen.

I'm finally feeling comfortable with the Metro (underground railroad).  Now I need to gain some understanding of all the bus routes.  On in the geek guys shared a new app, "Moovit" which is usable in any situation and shows you any of the routing systems.  I've yet to use it so far, but will need to use it as I go from site to site to follow some of the lists that have been made and update any overlooked.  The only travel I will be doing is going Crete where they have a church plant there.

Blessings,
M