Joy in the Journey (Haz clic aqui para leer el boletin en español)

While in Washington this last month, I (Tanya) was invited to go on a hike with some new friends from one of the Set Free teams. I love to hike and was immediately excited, but the fact that it was an 8.1 mile loop seemed a bit daunting as I haven't had a lot of opportunities to hike since Ellia was born. When we arrived near the trailhead, the road was closed so we had to hike to the trailhead adding an extra 1.2 miles to our hike. This wouldn't be a huge deal except it's Washington and everything has an elevation gain and by the time I was at the trailhead I was not sure I could even start the hike much less finish it! I'm out of practice hiking and living in Florida I'm most definitely out of practice hiking up! The group I was with was fabulous about walking

slower or pausing to let me catch up and then pausing more so I could catch my breath. I kept apologizing for my (lack of) speed and they continued to tell me, don't worry we are all about the joy in the journey. What a blessing and great reminder! I love hiking for that very reason.Each foot step takes you to a new place to see a new thing and, while the summit was impressive, I took joy in learning the names of the plants and wildflowers, enjoying the sunshine and cool wind, and most especially having company to talk to and laugh with on the way! As I walked, the Lord was speaking to me about finding joy in our journey of partnership building. It would be easy to focus on the pain and exertion of the uphill climb of raising funds, but we are not in it just for the summit (when we have the funds to go). We are also in it for the joys each day brings! There have been so many joyful moments this month, times of great fellowship with new friends and old friends, times where the Lord came through to save us time and money. It's been a tiring uphill climb with raising funds, but there is so much joy in the journey!

The Journey We have been so thankful for the ways God is watching out for us and how He has a

plan! We left for Washington state to visit my brother with the desire to spend time with him, but also to share about our ministry in Greece. We went on faith as we had no

churches lined up to speak at, but God was at work. We spoke at three churches, even having to extend our trip by four days to be able to do that! We are now in Michigan for ten days and speaking at two churches here. God has shown up in amazing ways here as well, as we were able to stay with friends and use an extra vehicle saving so

much money on rental costs! What a joy to be able to worship with people from all over the country!

All this is a great encouragement as we wait on the Lord for the financial side of partnership building. Our support account is still right around 40%. We know God can do amazing things in His time and so as our savings dwindle and our short-term

lease gets closer to ending, we continue with faith because we have a God who can do much with little. In fact, we played around with the numbers and if the number of

people who regularly read our newsletter made a monthly commitment of only $20 per month (less than a dollar a day), we would be at 100% and ready to leave for

Greece! We think of the boy with five loaves and two fish and how God took a little and fed a multitude. Would you be willing to make a commitment to be part of church

planting and social justice in Athens this month?

Commit to Give

Did you get to see our video for World Refugee Day? Check out what God is doing amongst the refugees in Greece!

Prayer Requests

-Continue to pray for safety in our travels. We fly back to Florida July 9th and Rodrigo flies to Peru July 23 -Continue to pray for Rodrigo's family. His mother is a bit more stable but his youngest brother is in the hospital and has just been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease. -Pray for our time at missionary training and General Conference, that we would be filled and renewed as we listen, learn, and meet new people.

-Pray for Tanya as she stays with Ellia while Rodrigo is in Peru July 23-August 3rd.

Praise! -for God providing opportunities to share about the work in Greece -for a wonderful time with Tanya's brother -for financial savings as friends offer homes, hotel rooms, and extra cars for us to use as we travel.

Schedule July 7: Pulaski FMC July 11-15: Missionary training July 16-29: General Conference July 23-August 3: Rodrigo in Peru August 4: New Vision Church Miami Let us know if you would like us to visit and share with you, your church, small group, or family. We have availability in August.

It's All Greek to Me! At our Community Church Planting training last week, we looked at Luke 10 and how the disciples went in need as they didn't take basic necessities with them so the hosts could show hospitality. We brainstormed that lack of knowledge is one way we go in need so

others can show hospitality to us and invite us in. So, we are learning how to ask questions depending on others to show us the way:

Where is....? -- που είναι -- pou eínai the bathroom -- το μπάνιο -- to banio

the market -- η αγορά -- i agora the church -- η Εκκλησία --i Ekklisia

the apartment -- το διαμέρισμα -- to diamérisma the store -- Το μαγαζί -- To magazi