Anastasiou Zinni 35, oukaki GR11741 el. 0030.210.9234071 www.beee.gec.gr / www.symparastasi.gr / beee@gec.

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September 2013 Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, Greetings from Greece! We cordially wish each and every one of you rich blessings from our Lord Jesus Christ in all your ministerial endeavors for Gods glory and kingdom. We want to share with you how God has been working in our church and community: Meals for the homeless/refugees During spring and summer we continued to serve approximately 1000 meals/month at our Churchs yard. We only had a break during August. Those attending include low income Greeks, immigrants (Eastern Europe, Balkan countries), refugees, (Afghanistan, North African, Sudan, Egypt, Syria, Iran). Their religious background is also diverse: 30% Eastern Orthodox, 30% Catholic, 20% Muslims, 20% non-religious. National unemployment rate is 30%. Many in the Koukaki community our neighborhood- are pensioners on small income. When it comes to immigrants and refugees unemployment is almost at 100%. We continued to visit several homes once a month providing very basic thing such as: milk, sugar, flour, canned food, olive oil, etc Evangelistic Bible Studies The Bible Study with those attending the meals continued steadily on Thursdays 1-2 p.m. The number of people attending the Bible Study is steady (approximately 10) and a couple of them have started attending our worship service more consistently. There was a second evangelistic Bible study with teenagers from our neighborhood every Wednesday at the Youth Center. Twelve teenagers for two hours spend time with the Bible discussing issues relevant to their age. Christos (far left in the picture) was in charge of this group. A few of them joined our Churchs basketball team to the annual sports tournament of Christian youth groups in April. Games at the playground During the schools post-Easter vacation week, we were at the local playground, playing with the children, cultivating relationships with them and with some of the parents. We have seen that consistency and persistence in the life of our community bears fruit in the long term! Vacation Bible School This year we celebrated our 10th VBS. The Lord brought to us 80 children, half of which came from our neighborhood! We are blessed to have such

wonderful opportunities to continue ministering to them. Our Church sponsored several children from the neighborhood to attend our Churchs summer camp. We pray that some of them will start attending Sunday school. Symparastasi Coffee House Our coffee house is open twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays 6-9 p.m.) We offer coffee, light snacks and is a safe place for neighbors to come for a time of rest and fellowship. The Coffee house operates at three levels. In the basement we offer clothing and showers (Tuesdays 1-3 p.m.), as well as laundry machines. The ground level is the main room where we gather for fellowship.

The balcony is used as a reading room and for Bible Studies. We pray that this will be a community center where people will be able to come and find "food, freedom and forgiveness, where people will not only have their physical needs met but their spiritual needs as well, a place where we can make disciples. Project for Women! Last Spring we launched a pilot program offering courses on Greek and English language, as well as basic computer skills to women. Six women from our Church and the First Evangelical Church taught approximately 35 women in groups of six. Most were immigrant women. Lord willing the project will be repeated in October. Please pray with us, as 1. We thank the Lord for His faithfulness and for the privilege to use us for His kingdom! 2. We ask from the Lord to give us more personal hunger and thirst for His presence, His Kingdom and righteousness. We need to continue growing in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 3. We ask that the Lord give us more fruit! More people to disciple, more people to commit their lives to Him. 4. We are directing our thoughts and vision to the purchase of a building that will be our own and we will be able to gather all the different ministries into one place: feeding, coffee house, showers, clothing, women and children, Internet access, English lessons, Bible lessons, youth ministry and a guest house. 5. We are praying for more people who will serve full-time. Ideally we pray for a couple who will come to live and will love the neighborhood, form relationships, disciple new believers in the faith!! Prayerfully in Christ On behalf of the Elders and the congregation of The Second Greek Evangelical Church of Athens

Rev. Georgios Adam , Pastor