Letting Others Serve

Our short month in Greece is what the World Race calls an ATL (Ask the Lord) month. We don’t have a host that we’re working with or a designated organization to stay with. We were simply asked to pray about where our team should go and how we should spend our days. My team ended up staying in Athens with a group called Streetlights. Streetlights provides aid to Afghanistan refugees and has a community center where they can form relationships and meet other refugees.

While we have the chance to help out at the community center on weekdays, we’ve been using most of our time to do other forms of ministry. We usually start with slow mornings, do our team Bible study, and then use the afternoon to do whatever ministry we chose for the day, whether it be intentional prayer time, walking around our square and talking to people, going to a coffee shop to blog, or painting rocks to place around the neighborhood. We’ve had some really beautiful moments and encounters and learned some valuable lessons about how to Sabbath, adventure, and do ministry all at once. It’s incredible how the most amazing God moments happen as you’re just going about your day while staying open to the Holy Spirit’s promptings.

A few days ago, my team and I took an overnight trip to Aegina. On our second day, Cass and I rented an ATV and explored the island. It was absolutely incredible, and we got to see God’s beauty and intentionality through the amazing views. However, there were some bumps in the road and not just literally. Twice we couldn’t get the ATV to start and needed to ask for help.

It was a bit embarrassing, but we laughed it off. As we drove along the coast at the end of the day, however, the Lord brought it back to mind. I told Him how interesting it was that we came to Greece to help others and here we were receiving help. He answered me gently. Helping others is good for you. It’s not just a blessing for the person you’re helping, but for you as well. When you serve others, you’re taking one step closer to being the person you were meant to be. Today I let you serve others by allowing them to serve you.

I was blown away. By needing help and being bold enough to ask for it, Cass and I allowed others to take a step closer to the person that they were meant to be. We were able to hold up a mirror to them and show them a reflection of Christ in themselves. It’s truly incredible to see how we can have ATL moments in such beautiful, humble ways.