Several L.I.G.H.T. (Loving, Interceding, Going, Helping, Telling) teams from North Greenville University set out on the mission field during Summer 2007.
This amphitheater is part of the Acropolis, a location in Greece rich in ancient history.Mike Landrum, director of youth ministry and assistant campus minister, led a team of six women to Athens, Greece, where they ministered to Arabic and Middle Eastern refugees for eight days.
Nearly 5 million people live in Athens, Greece – a million of whom are refugees. The refugees call the streets, low-income housing or abandoned warehouses home.
“We helped people ranging from the ages of early 20s up to the senior adults,” said Landrum.
The team helped by sorting through donated goods, such as food and clothing, at the refugee center called “The Oasis,” providing child care for parents while they learned English and visiting refugees at their homes.
Landrum’s team included six North Greenville students: Katie Player, Melissa Pankhurst, Hannah Limbaugh, Leah Roper, Dedra Emery and Jennifer Collins; and faculty member Lara Eller, mass communications instructor.
“I mostly got to hang out with the children and entertain them while their parents were in class,” Katie Player said.
The refugee center’s missionaries, made up of two American families and a Greek family, introduced the teams to the city and the programs at the refugee center.
“The missionaries’ depth of commitment to reach out to people – with clothing, showers, food, teaching English, and having a Bible study in their language – was an impact for me,” Landrum said.
While the team worked with the missionaries each day to provide for the refugees’ physical needs, they saw God work in the refugees’ spiritual lives also.
“I saw one man profess his life to Christ while I was there, and four Muslims proclaimed the Christian faith and were baptized in the Mediterranean Sea,” Landrum said.
Hannah Limbaugh said the trip helped her realize how service and spirituality were interrelated.
“It was amazing,” Hannah added. “I truly learned what it meant to display Christ in your daily life and how important and foundational that is to our walk with Christ.”