How many of you were fortunate enough to go to a Christian Camp when you were growing up? I know it was one of the highlights of my year. Of course it was fun to get away and enjoy swimming, games and being with friends. But it was also a time of spiritual growth as I worshipped and learned with other kids my age. I always went home encouraged to go deeper in my faith.

Now imagine that you are a refugee. You live in the middle of Athens in the area that most people avoid. You may sleep in the park or your family may be fortunate enough to share a room in an abandoned building with several other families. Imagine what it would be like to be offered a week or more away from all this.

This year Helping Hands will participate in three different camps. Two of the camps are in partnership with Hellenic Ministries. The first is a Camp for Single Men. We have many young men who fled their country seeking a better life and now they live on the streets of Athens and that life seems farther away than ever. Having a week away by the sea where they have a bed every night and three meals a day can make the difference between hope and despair. This is especially true when they are surrounded by Christian men who love them and spend time every day teaching them and answering their questions about Jesus. Last year in one of the classes a man spoke up and said “It is good that we are talking about all these things in the Bible but I just want to know how do I become a Christian?”

We also partner with Hellenic Ministries in a week long Family Camp. Families have a hard time here. Fathers feel ashamed because they can’t provide for their families. Mothers are tired and worried and often harsh with their children. Kids don’t know where they will be sleeping from one night to the next and often boys who are 8-10 years old are allowed to wander about the city alone. At camp they sleep in the same bed every night. Families have time to relax and play with their kids. There are times when the kids go to their own classes and the adults have time to study the Bible and ask questions without distraction. Once again they spend time with Christian staff who care about them and treat them with love and respect. What a difference this can make in their lives! We have had several Bible studies start because people began studying at camp and wanted to continue after they returned to Athens.

The third camp we are involved with is Kalamos Christian Camp. This is a 20 day camp for kids and there are several for different age groups throughout the summer. This is a Greek camp so the refugee children who go are kids who go to Greek schools and are beginning to assimilate into Greek Culture. This is a great chance for refugee kids and Greek kids to set aside cultural barriers and really get to know one another. It is also a chance for refugee kids to meet others their age who are already following Jesus and to learn more about the Bible for themselves.

As always there is a financial cost to these camps above our normal operating budget. For the two Hellenic Ministries Camps it will cost us 1500 Euros for staff to participate. The Kalamos Camps are 250 Euros per child and as I said we hope to send 20 children. Would you consider making a donation to help us provide this experience for our refugee friends?

You can give by check—make it out to International Teams and designate “Helping Hands – Greece”:

Mail To:

International Teams – USA;  411 W. River Rd. Elgin IL 60123-1570 USA

International Teams – Canada; 1 Union Street; Elmira, Ontario N3B 3J9 CANADA

International Teams – UK; P.O. Box 11; Brecon, Powys LD3 9WJ GREAT BRITAIN

International Teams – Australia; PO Box 1123; Baulkham Hills, NSW 1755, Australia

If you were prefer to give online, simply click on the appropriate link above.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INVESTING IN THE LIVES OF REFUGEES. Please pray for these camps throughout the summer— God is at work and we are privileged to be a part of it.

I am leaving you in God’s grace
With love and great appreciation for your prayers and support for Helping Hands

Nikos Stefanidis, Director

We’d appreciate your prayers in the coming weeks…

1 - Sanner Baby #3 is due in two weeks.  We’re very excited to welcome her!  Pray for Kristin and the baby’s health and safety.  Brett’s mom is coming to Athens next week, to help as we prepare for the baby’s arrival. She has been having knee problems, so please pray for an easy and painless flight.  Thanks for your prayers.  We’ll be sure to let you know as soon as the baby makes her appearance!

2 – As we prepare for the baby’s arrival, we’re also making arrangements to leave Greece.  We plan on moving in less than two months.  We hope to be back in the US either in mid- or late-June, depending on how long it takes to get all the necessary paperwork together (Greek birth certificate, Greek naming papers, US report of birth abroad, and passport… it’s a process!!).  A moving company is coming on Thursday to collect a few boxes that we will have shipped back to the US.  Please pray for us in the coming chaos!

3 – Moving forward, Brett’s heart is in teaching and serving in a local church.  We’re still looking for the right opportunity to continue in ministry once we return.  We’d appreciate your prayers… and news of any opportunities that you may know about!

4 - Please pray for Greece.  Elections will be held next weekend.  There is wide-spread dissatisfaction and anger.  The outcome of this election will no doubt effect Greece’s future – as well as the many refugees and immigrants within the country.  Please pray for Greece this week!

5 – At Easter, we celebrated the baptisms of 3 refugees from Iran.  We’re also looking forward to the baptism of an Afghan refugee later this week. God is drawing people to Himself here.  Please join us in praising His name, and praying for these young believers.

**AN IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING SUPPORT: Over the past five years, we have been overwhelmed by your faithful and sacrificial financial support.  Thank you!  As we transition back to the US, we will continue to draw from our support account at International Teams through the end of September (9/30).  We would deeply appreciate your continued support through the end of September.  This will provide the necessary funds for transitioning back to the US.

Speaking of support, Sanner Baby #3 will bring a special joy into our lives… and special expenses.  A special financial gift would be a great help to us during this time of transition and change.  You can give online here - http://www.iteams.org/us/action/give/ - simply designate your gift to “Brett and Kristin Sanner.”  You can also give by check.  Make your check payable to “International Teams” and send it to the address below.  Include a note that indicates that your gift is for “Brett & Kristin Sanner.”

International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin, IL 60123

One refugee came up to a teammate afterward:

“R” came up to me and gave me a really big hug.  She said she hasn’t really laughed or been really happy in over a year, but today she was.  She told me she laughed so hard today she cried, and it felt good to have happy tears.

Thanks for being a part of God’s work here.  Below are a few pics from the event… plus one of Kristin at 38 weeks!

Our teammate Donna works a station about making healthy food choices.

A young disabled girl from Afghanistan enjoying the beautiful day.

Everyone loves the swings!

Soccer time!

Unrelated photo: A bit of bowling... no other comments :)

Golden Dawn is unabashedly nostalgic for [fascism and Nazism]. Founded in the early 1980s by sympathizers of the military dictatorship that governed Greece from 1967 to 1974, Golden Dawn has always espoused a neo-Nazi ideology. Its symbol clearly resembles the swastika, and copies of “Mein Kampf” and books on the racial superiority of the Greeks are on prominent display in its Athens headquarters.

In the early 1990s, it capitalized on widespread opposition to the use of the name Macedonia by a former Yugoslav republic; a Greek region shares that name. And in recent years, Golden Dawn has muted the neo-Nazi talk and focused on anti-immigrant actions in downtown Athens, where the number of illegal immigrants, most from South Asia, Albania and Africa, has exploded.

The present conditions in Greece can provide the political extremes (whether on the right or the left) an opportunity to win support and sympathy.  Read the entire article HERE, and please continue to pray for Greece.  Also be sure to check out the corresponding video on the NYT site (or directly HERE).

DETENTIONS UNFAIR - Amnesty International has called on the government to stop police sweep operations to detain undocumented migrants, arguing that authorities are deliberately targeting vulnerable groups while denying many asylum seekers a fair application process. “It is especially concerning that those eligible for international protection also face being detained. Migrants and asylum seekers are not criminals and should not be treated as such,” said Jezerca Tigani, an Amnesty programme director for Europe and Central Asia.

MIGRATION FUNDING NOT USED - Meanwhile, a total of 250m euros is available to Greece to deal with the issue of undocumented migration but the country has only absorbed 40m euros of it, the citizen protection minister said on Monday. Michalis Chrysochoidis was speaking after a meeting with the European home affairs commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom. The commissioner stressed that efficient guarding of borders, a properly functioning asylum system, humanitarian action but also detention centres for those ineligible for asylum were necessary in order to deal with illegal migration.