In Genesis 26:3 God told Isaac to stay in Gerar, “stay in this land as an alien, and I will be with you and bless you.” So, Isaac went to the region of the Philistines and lived as a stranger. As we enter our sixth month on Crete, it is very obvious that we are strangers on many levels: socially; culturally; spiritually; and, linguistically. We trust that God is with us, as we strive to reflect His truth and values to those we meet and live among, on a daily basis.
These inspired words of God through Paul to Titus on Crete are still relevant for us. Titus 2:11-14, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14 He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works.”
In every situation, we strive to be aware of God and make a conscious choice to honor and thank Him. We enjoy listening to the bells of the sheep on the mountain and watching them from our balcony. On our walks through town, Deborah enjoys counting the numerous cats we spot on our path. We appreciate the beauty of the 30 million olive trees that are now flowering… but, they have sent my allergies into overdrive.
We greatly appreciate Beni and Sonila Leka. They introduced us to these Cretan disciples two years ago. Beni and Sonila visited us on April 3rd and 4th. We enjoyed walking with them by the sea. The four of us met with John and Kiriaki for coffee overlooking Heraklion and the sea. We had sandwiches and ice cream with Matoula and Katarina at our home. We also visited Fenia at the pharmacy where she works. While Beni was here he informed everyone in the congregation that I taught in the Bible Institutes in Athens and Albania. They are all excited to take some courses. We are currently thinking of three to four hours on three days a week beginning in June.
On April 10th and 11th we went to Athens to purchase a car. That was unsuccessful, but we greatly enjoyed the opportunity to stay with and again visit Beni and Sonila.
On Sunday, April 20th we met at the house of Katarina and Matoula for worship and to enjoy the Pascha (Easter) festivities of eating goat and many other Greek dishes. We had an amazing day of worship… eating… visiting… getting to know each other better… playing games… and discussing many biblical questions. Once again Deborah’s carrot cake was a great hit!
On the evening of April 23rd I went to the yard to harvest a few lemons. Our neighbor Sophia saw me and asked Deborah and I to go visit with her and Dimitri her husband. We met a couple who were there to congratulate them on the birth of their daughter Zoi. We sat on their deck visiting and laughing. Their friend Harris, a photographer, told Deborah and I that he really liked the sparkle in our faces. We took that as a compliment since our desire is to reflect God in our lives. Our neighbor’s impromptu invitation turned into a great 4-hour visit with pizza thrown in for good measure.
Grateful,
Steve and Deborah Stamatis
