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The 3 Circles

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 08:53:15 GMT

One of our primary ways to share the Gospel = 3 Circles

Traveling in Athens

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 12:35:34 GMT

How to Get Around the City and Come See the Hixons

Epómena stási Megaro Moussikis! Ah you like my Greek? That’s the one I pull out that impresses people, but it actually just means “next stop” Megaro Moussikis or some other metro stop (Ha). You hear it all the time on the Metro so no I don’t speak Greek just yet. But I wanted to give you some travel tips on getting around Athens and hopefully you can use some of them to come see us or at least have an easier time getting around the city. Athens is like most big cities … there are about 5 million people in Athens … where public transportation is robust and traffic and driving can be difficult. Let’s look at some ways to get around.

Metro

The Metro or Subway is our favorite way to get around, and the easiest. There are only 3 lines … green (line 1), red (line 2), and blue (line 3). When you pick a line the only thing you must decide is which direction do I need to go? Each line direction is determined by the last stop in that direction. For example, on the blue line one direction is towards the airport. So, when you get to the blue line you will always decide do I need to go towards the airport (not TO the airport but just that direction) or do I need to go the other way (in this case Dimotiko Theatro is not important because you just want to go the opposite direction from the airport). So the blue line is pretty easy. Trains run regularly and during normal daytime hours its usually 4-6 minutes and another one will come along. There are updated signs that tell you when the next few trains are coming. At night or on the weekends the spacing between trains increases and can be as much as 10-15 minutes so be aware of that.

Buses, Trams, and Trolleys

Hopefully you won’t have to mess with these, but they definitely can be useful. We ride the A5 and the 421 and the 418 buses on a somewhat regular basis. Google/Apple maps will help to plan out which bus you need and gives approximate times for those buses. There is another app called OASA which gives better estimates on when a bus will come and the intervals between those. Riding these is a mixed bag but better than walking!

Metro Pass

Fortunately, a metro pass is relatively cheap. Compared to say London, it is night and day on the cost. A month pass in London can be over $400. In Greece its 27 Euros. Here are a couple of tips. Your metro pass allows you to travel on any public transportation which includes the metro, buses, trams, trolleys, and railway. So once you purchase a pass you can ride any of those. A 90 minute pass is only 1.4 Euro. An all-day pass is 4.50 Euro. A 5 day pass is 9 Euro. Now, the one caveat here is the metro pass DOES NOT include the airport! I’ll cover that below.

Taxi

Taxis are everywhere. There are not as many as there are scooters and motorcycles but there are a lot. There is an app called FreeNow which allows you to reserve a taxi. The Uber app will also do the same thing so you can use either one. Or you can call for one as needed. They aren’t super expensive so this might be a good option in certain circumstances.

Renting a Car

Renting a car can be a good value in certain circumstances but for most people you don’t really need it. We had some friends (you know who you are – haha) who rented a car for a couple of days and never used it. They left it parked the whole time and just got around on the metro. In fact, if you plan to stay in the city center a car can be a burden. Parking is difficult. Most streets are one-way because they are so narrow. There are big 6-8 lane boulevards and a couple of highways but the vast majority of roads are narrow and small. If you need to get somewhere outside the metro area then a car can be a necessity. If you want to go to the beach or to Corinth or to the camps you must have a car or motorcycle. Rentals are not crazy priced. There is one at the airport that is very cheap. We rented a car one day to haul things to our new apartment and it was a good-sized SUV and it was around $65. But smaller vehicles can be rented for much cheaper and really are better when looking for parking. For me, the biggest obstacle is parking. Often street parking can be the only option and spots are often full. We had a friend who told the story of looking for 2 hours for a parking spot and never found one. So, if you don’t absolutely need one my recommendation is don’t rent.

Walking

Of course, the #1 way to get around Athens is to walk. In America my walking consisted of walking from my vehicle to my house or church or store. I didn’t walk much. I had to be intentional if I wanted to walk for exercise. Here it is a necessity. If you’re coming to Athens you should be walking 3-5 miles/day to prepare yourself for it. It is amazing how quickly the steps pile up just walking to the grocery store and to the metro and just living life. We average over 10,000 steps/day and its not unusual to walk over 15k or even 20k. Its great exercise but it can also be exhausting. Oh, and don’t forget those stairs. Ha. Most metro stations require several flights of stairs though in most cases they have escalators, but sometimes the escalator is only going down when you need to go up so off to the stairs you go (elevators are always an option for the metro as well). The good news is there are lots of great sights to see as you walk throughout Athens.

How to get from the Airport to the City (and to the Hixons’ Apartment)

The easiest way to get from the airport to the city center is by taking a taxi. But of course, this is going to be roughly $50 or so. A cheaper option is to take the metro into the city. The catch is that it is 9 Euros/person and that is a one-way ticket on the metro for as far as you want to go without getting off. If you get off, then the regular metro prices kick in. The line that comes from the airport is the blue line (line 3). This will take you down to the city center where you can get off at Syntagma or Monistiraki for the best feel of downtown. We are also located on the blue line before you get to the city center. Our stop is called Holargos. If you’re coming to see us, we will gladly meet you there at the metro stop and then it is about a 12-minute walk up to our building. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have a vehicle to drive you up. So, pray with us as we try to figure if we NEED a vehicle and how we will PAY for one. But for now, we are content making that walk down to Mesogeion Ave. where we catch the metro.

So come, come, come to Athens!! We can show you the sights and if you want you can join us in Ministry!!

Short Stories from the Field - Part 1

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:18:53 GMT

God is doing some pretty amazing things!!

One of the things I hope to do here is share some short stories about what has happened and what IS happening on the mission field where we serve.

This short story is about an encounter that an Afghan believer had with an Afghan family on their journey to the West. The person here in the story is a good friend who we love very much. We often call him our 4th son.

The story starts in 2018 as shared by our fellow missionary:

Hadi needed a vacation, so I told him to catch a ferry off the island and get away for a week. On the overnight ferry this happened:

"Jesus doing mericul praise the lord

Today I meet Afghan family in the ship I started to have conversation with them and than they asked what are u doing here in Greece I told them I am sharing the gospel with people and I can share the gospel with u if u want.they just look to each other and they laughed

, and they said for us is so much

interesting because this the 4h time Jesus want to speak with us, Jesus did many miraculs in our life .we meet Iranian pastor in Iran and he prayed for us and all the way opened for us.we come the turkey also one Christian pray for us and god open the door for us, and when we come to Moria we find bible in our tent .and now in this ship, god put u in our way and they say I think god want to speak with us seriously, so let's speak more so we had study until Athens, when we arrived in Athens I told them goodbye they call me and than say we want accept Jesus and they expected and they want to baptism I hope I can baptism them today.

Jusus is with us 100% he made this trip for reason.

Their testimony it was so powerful

This morning Hadi shared with them the command of baptism and they obeyed immediately. First they baptized the husband and then he had the privilege to baptize his wife! God is good

The rest of the story! The 2024 update:

Just found out today from Johanna (Hadi) this family ran out of money in Athens in 2021, called him and said they want to move back home. Now they lead a house church in Ir@n!

God is so good. This is not an unusual story. God is doing amazing things!!

PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THIS STORY!!

Living Internationally Versus Visiting

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 17:45:28 GMT

How is living internationally different than just vacationing or visiting on a mission trip?

“You lived in Jamaica? How exotic and exciting!” Ummm, not so much. People often ask, “What is it like living in a foreign country?” So I thought I would give you a short blog on just how different it is to “live” someplace as opposed to just “visiting”. For the sake of this discussion I will define “living” as anything more than a couple of weeks. In our case this would mean we have “lived” in Jamaica for four years. We also recently “lived” in Greece for a month (Jennifer also lived there an additional month). In April we will “live” in London for a month or so and then back to Greece where we will have an extended time of “living” there. We have “visited” at least 24 different countries. Some of them for just a day and one (New Zealand) for up to two weeks. But as we all know, living somewhere is very different than just visiting.

Mentally

When you’re visiting a place, you know in the back of your mind that you will be going “home” in just a few days. The condition is very temporary. Everything is often fun and cool and new and even if things aren’t great at least you can “gut it out” and make it. When you “live” in a foreign country and things get tough (as they always do), it’s more difficult to hang in there. It truly does require a daily reliance upon the Lord at times to see you through.

Reality

Sometimes when visiting another country all we see are the touristy spots or the very best the country has to offer. It’s kind of like dating someone versus being married to that same person (Ha). Often, you’re eating out every day and doing fun things or at least very different things than back home. When you “live” someplace the “newness” wears off. You begin to see the reality of where you are and you realize what seemed like an exotic location might in reality be much different. Instead of vacationing at a 4-star hotel, you’re now living in a place that may or may not be worse than what you left back home. When we left the US for Jamaica we sold our 3300 square foot home to move into a tiny little “apartment” with no A/C. Reality set in very quickly.

Family

It goes without saying that the toughest part of living internationally is that separation from family. Jennifer always says if we were in the US we wouldn’t see our kids and grandkids all the time, every day, and she’s right. But there is something about being separated by an ocean that seems very daunting. We are fortunate now to have FaceTime and other ways to stay in contact but even in Greece we will be 8 hours ahead and communication becomes more difficult over long periods of time.

Conveniences

As Americans we are spoiled. We have so many necessities and luxuries at the tip of our fingers. Jamaica and Greece share some similarities here. There’s no Amazon delivery or a Wal-Mart or Home Depot or Chick-Fil-A or Target!! While Greece has more “Western” items available, it is still very different when it comes to shopping. Greece is an upgrade in this area but its still nothing like living virtually anywhere in the US. Living overseas is a reminder when we come home just how great it is to live in America.

Routine

What does your routine look like? Coffee, then get in your nice car and off to work on good roads? Working out? Hanging out with family or friends? Small group at church? When you visit a foreign country for vacation or a mission trip you put all that on hold. Imagine moving there and now your routine looks nothing like it did. What seemed exotic and exciting now can sometimes seem like a burden.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. This is not meant to be a blog to generate sympathy. We have it so much better than missionaries from just a decade or two ago. Our inconvenience pales in comparison. And yes, there are good things about living internationally. Learning a new culture and language can be invigorating. Meeting people very different from us and eating different foods and seeing incredibly beautiful places are all part of the experience as well. But make no mistake, “living” is very different than “visiting”. One thing that living in another country can do is it can often drive you deeper into a dependence upon God to sustain you. Your walk with Him becomes more important and more real. And another thing that becomes even more important is when friends and family come to visit. You may not be able to “live” overseas but hopefully you will come “visit” us!!