Five Kernels of Corn

Sorry for my extended absence from my updates...the past couple weeks have been busier than ever! I feel like I have SO much that has happened and just can't fit it into one post. This may be long, but I want to update you on as much as possible.

Last weekend, I went to London with Catherine, Paul and Andrew on my team to renew our Visas. It was such a wonderful, refreshing trip...and I could actually read all the signs!! We used this time to meet with a friend of Paul's, Josh, who works for a church in the city. The church is "church.co.uk" (also their website) and does amazing things for the community where they are located. We got a lot of ideas from this church that we hope to bring back to our student ministry in Athens. One focus they have is going into the community and asking what needs they can meet, and using that to share about Christ. We are looking beyond spiritual needs of students here and trying to see if there are practical needs we can meet as well...and use that to build relationships to share the Gospel! Pray for creativity for this to happen!
Our last day in London we took a trip to "Borough Market" (picture above) and had one of the best cups of coffee ever from Monmouth Coffee Co....and despite the cold weather, had a great morning trying great food, and speaking in English. We ended the day with a traditional American Thanksgiving celebration (complete with making paper turkeys, feather headbands and pilgrim hats!) There were about 22 people and TONS of food! I found it slightly ironic that we were celebrating with almost all British people, but they loved it. It was a great preview of the real Thanksgiving to come.

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This week, back in Athens, I met with a girl named Carolina (aka Caroline) for coffee and some Christmas shopping. I met Caroline one of the first weeks I was here, but have just started getting to know her better. She has already told me she is at a phase in her life where she is "searching" and is even interested in reading the bible together and discussing scripture! Our time on Tuesday was just an enjoyable afternoon getting to know her better, but I hope to start doing some bible discussion soon...please keep her in your prayers!

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After a long wait and lots of preparation, we finally had our Athens Thanksgiving on Friday!! We started the day with a "Turkey Trot" and a "Punt, Pass and Kick" competition on the Polytech campus. I enjoyed the competition, but for those of you who know my athletic abilities, this was not my shinning moment :)

My real personal accomplishment was making my Mimi's cornbread dressing for the meal. This is an item that I have never been without on any Thanksgiving that I can remember...it is by far my favorite part of the meal and I could not imagine this day without it! I actually made my own sausage and it turned out better than I had expected. Mimi must have been helping me from Heaven ;) The rest of the food was amazing as well...but just such a different experience from any Thanksgiving in the States.

We were even able to watch the Macy's parade and the A&M/UT game (which we will not discuss). I truly enjoyed this day, and it made me even more thankful for my team here...God has blessed me so much through them! I did miss my family though and was sad not to see them on this holiday!

One tradition I am sure to carry on in life was to put five kernels of corn on our plates, and each say five things we are thankful for. I loved hearing the little boys say their things...which included "Superman" and "Wii Basketball." I thought I would share my 5 with you:

1) God's faithfulness in my life...he never forgets about us and has a plan for my life, even when I don't know it.
2) My wonderful family...they are always so supportive of everything that I do and I could not be more grateful! (Also thankful for their trip to Athens over Christmas!)
3) My friends from home who make sure that I am not forgotten...I am thankful for every postcard, letter, email, and package I have received here...they mean more than I can express!
4) My Greek friends...God has blessed me with some enjoyable people I really like spending time with. My desire for them to know Christ increases every day.
5) Marta...my roommate and friend. I am so blessed by her and thankful to live with her! She is also an amazing cook, and helps me so much :)

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So overall, the past week has been one of the most enjoyable ones this semester! There are many, many more things I am thankful for, and I could never list them all! God has been incredibly faithful to me here in Athens, even when I miss home, want to call my friends, and am sad about missing weddings, showers, and fun nights College Station. His blessings outweigh everything, and I am reminded of that daily.

I love you all and thanks for your continued prayers and support...I would not be so thankful without them!! Blessings!

Happy Birthday Will!

TODAY is my brother, William Robert Jarvis', 19th birthday! For those of you who don't know, he is a freshman at the best University in the World, Texas A&M...fighting Texas Aggie class of 2012! (whoop!) It's amazing the amount of Aggie Spirit I gain AFTER leaving College Station. This entry is dedicated to him, and the celebration of his birth. This is Will, below...
And us at his Westwood graduation! I'm sorry I can't send a gift or a card, but this is the best I can do right now! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Hope your day is full of joy, blessings, and lots of cake!

Love, Paige

"Christ-Bearer"

A couple weeks ago I met a freshman girl named Christina. While I was at a coffee shop with a group of Greek students, she met up with the group late and ended up sitting next to me. I wish I could say we had an amazing spiritual conversation, but that was not the case. We talked mostly of shopping and her boyfriend, but she did mention she was fearful of a lot of things in life. I had the opportunity to tell her of a time God delivered me from fear in my own life. She seemed genuinely intrigued and I knew I wanted to meet up with her again.

When putting her number in my phone I had to list her as "Christina Mill," for I had met her at Millennium Cafe. I also had 3 other Christina's in my phone, all with their own small descriptions. I have decided this is the semester of Christina's!

Sunday afternoon we were able to meet up at Starbucks (both of our favorite places to get coffee...my chai tea latte was especially good that day!) I had prayed the Spirit would lead our conversation and that God would be brought up in a natural way. We began to discuss normal things, and she asked why I chose to come to Greece. I had the opportunity to tell her that I prayed and asked God where he wanted me to go and felt he had led me here. "To meet me!," she responded (if only she knew!). She was blown away that I actually prayed and read my bible, saying she didn't know anyone who did those things. She later said "maybe I need to start reading the bible too." I also asked if she would want to get together and discuss scripture and she enthusiastically agreed, adding, "that would be something very new for me." I can see that she is searching for more meaning in life and was so thankful that God revealed Himself to her through me.

I love that the name Christina means "Christ-Bearer." My prayer is that she would be a bearer of Christ and that God would use her to reveal himself to others! Please pray for her and the other Christina's I have met. Pray their hearts and minds would be opened and that they would continue to see Christ shine through my own life. Thanks!

The Votes are In!

...and not the American votes, as you are probably thinking. On Monday and Tuesday we did a survey on the two college campuses and asked Greek students who they would vote for if they could vote in the US election. We got info from them, such as their school, major, Greek political party, favorite football team, etc. We then gave them a link to a website that posted the results last night. The website had articles about "Real Change" in our lives through Christ and a link to everystudent.com (a Crusade site).

Out of over 400 students surveyed, we had a total of 21 for John McCain, if you were curious. The outreach was a great way to make the gospel quickly accessible to hundreds of students and we are counting the number of hits it gets each day! Pray this is a successful experiment!

As for the real election, it is strange to be in foreign country when so many changes are occurring at home. It will be odd to come back in July and have completely new governing authorities. I also realized today that I have no idea who controls the country in which I live right now...I am just so disconnected.

As we talk to students about politics, it is evident that they are extremely discontent with their own government. The majority of students are involved in a political party on campus (somewhat of a social club as well) and they openly discuss political issues. They hold councils and debate frequently, but do nothing to make serious changes. If we ask a students if they have hope in government, they say "no." If we ask what they are doing to change things they say "nothing." If we ask what can be done, they say, "there is no hope."

My prayer is that students would find hope for their lives and their future...not in government, but in Christ. They need something to believe in, and God is the only hope that will ever satisfy. I need to remember that myself many times. We cannot place our hope and trust in other people, they will inevitably fail and make mistakes. God has a hope and a plan that is far superior than that of any political figure. He is in control and will always follow through on His Word.

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him." (Psalm 62:5)

"The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him" (Lam. 3:25)

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." (Heb. 10:23)

"In his name the NATIONS will put their hope." (Matt. 12:21)