Men's prayer group UPDATE

God continues to amaze me. Our prayer group meets on Tuesday nights and because it was raining I thought it might keep some of the men from coming. At this point, I would say I do not have a good feel as to who is really going to be "firm" in their commitment to come each week. The prayer group(or, planning committee) is still very much a work in progress so it's hard to predict who will come or not. At 7pm there was just 3 of us, but shortly after, 3 more men came...then, 2 more...then, 1 more. By about 7:30 we had 9 men show up and three of those were "1st timers." Praise the Lord for his provision in bringing these men to us.

There is one man in our group (an Iranian named Shahin; aka Tony) that has been so instrumental in bringing men to our group. In two weeks, he has brought to the group 6 Iranians who profess Jesus Christ as their Savior and have converted from Islam to Christianity.

I must say, due to the complexion of the group (3 Americans, 1 Nigerian and 5-7 Iranians)that communication at times is a bit difficult. The Iranians speak English to varying degrees...some good and some not so good. I did spend some additional time explaining to the new men about BSF. However, due to the language barrier in terms of "complete" understanding, it was probably helpful to "repeat" the basic information about BSF and our purpose as prayer group.

Tuesday night we did pray as a group for BSF and for some personal things as well. It was a great night to see these men...from so very different cultures, praying for a common cause...praying for the "good work" God has called us to do for Him. I find it amazing how I can feel such a bond and connection with complete strangers except to know that we are all "brothers in Christ" and that we are indeed, "united" in Christ.

Here are some of the prayer requests that we prayed...
1. MORE MEN... to join us in our prayer group. More men from different cultures (ie. Africans, Indonesians, Philippinos, Americans, Asians and GREEKS, etc).

2. VISION...to see the "big picture" of BSF and what it can be in the future and what it can mean for Athens. Pray that men will see the "value" of BSF.

3. GOD'S TIMING/WISDOM... wisdom to know when to begin presentations/introductions

4. STRENGTH/ENDURANCE/PATIENCE...any "good work" will require all of these; strength, endurance and patience. Pray for an encouraging and positive spirit in all things.

will write more later...
thank you for checking our blog and when you get a chance, please pray for our success.

Serving joyfully in Athens

Gary