Joel and Hannah at School

Having written an update on our progress in language class it seems only right to update you on the kids’ progress at school. I’ve uploaded some videos to our facebook group: Greece Is The Word – Clarks in Athens (see link on the left!). So, here’s a little taster of Hannah and Joel’s school experiences – purple for Hannah and dark blue for Joel.

Joel’s school starts at 8.15. He’s there for 4 hours and the day usually begins with drawing. He never really liked drawing and he still opts out of that activity sometimes. He likes drawing his family and Spongebob Squarepants!

The school is a Νηπιαγωγείον (Nipiagogeion), a compulsory pre-school for 5-6 year olds and optional for 4-5 year olds which is run by the state. Greek school intakes run on calendar years but the academic year is the same as the UK. SO, children start ‘proper’ school the September of the year they turn six. In Joel’s case, then, he’ll start September 2008, just over a month before he turns six. Instead of being one of the oldest in his year (like in the UK), he’ll be one of the youngest as his class will be full of kids born from Jan – Dec 2002.

The school is only 400 (Clarkie) paces from our front door and is at the bottom of an apartment building. There is a yard out the back where the children are able to run around. The two classrooms are small but big enough for the 15 or so kids in each class. It is very close to the primary school, where he will go next year, so we expect that most of his class will go up with him.

He is friends with Emilio, Dimitri, Panagiotis, Maikis and Yezan. His teachers are Kyria Litsa, Kyria Sonia and Kyria Maria (they job-share). Kyria Litsa, who we’ve had most contact with, says that Joel is very clever but he needs to learn to listen more and talk less. (Honestly, even in a Greek context his school reports are the same as his mother’s were back in the late 70s!)

He’s enjoying it and looks forward to going. Jonathan usually drops both kids off on the way to uni and both at the beginning and the end of every school ‘day’ there are plenty of “Γειά σου”s (“Ya sou”s: Hi and bye!) being exchanged! Joel is known as Τζοέλ, Jo-el, at school – sadly, it seems the Bible Greek version of Joel, Ιωήλ, isn’t well-known or used.

He is making some progress in Greek but we’re aware that his lack of language is impeding full involvement in the class. He has learnt to read in English over the past few months (started with Kate, some with me but mostly self-taught) and has been teaching himself (mostly) to read Greek since late September. Slowly, slowly he’ll pick it up, hopefully before he starts ‘proper’ school next September.

Hannah is also enjoying school. She’s definitely found the whole culture-shift very tiring. When we first moved here, 10 months ago, she had dropped her mid-afternoon nap months before. Since we’ve been here she probably naps 4 out of 7 days a week and she’s definitely been more tired since she started school.

Hannah’s school is a Παιδικός Σταθμός (Paidikos Stathmos), literally a Child’s Station. It operates both as a private nursery and as a Νηπιαγωγείον and is run by the Borough Council. If we weren’t students, we would have to pay. It’s up the hill towards the university and is set in its own grounds with two well-equipped playgrounds. It’s open from about 7 til 3ish, so Hannah could go for all that time and take a packed heatable lunch, but she goes from 830ish til 12ish daily.

Hannah also has three teachers: Vaso, Stella and Kyria Stavroula. We THINK that Vaso and Stella are the helpers and KS is the qualified one! Anyway, Vaso is Hannah’s favourite. She also has some friends: Benny (maybe Penny?) and Fay are the girls and a boy called Aphrodite (which is NOT a boy’s name – his REAL name is Evripides: Euripides, but that’s a bit tricky for H). There are about 15 kids in her class too aged 3 and 4.

We’re not really sure how she gets on from her perspective. Kyria Stavroula told Jonathan the other day that Hannah was doing fine and that she’s beginning to learn and will learn quickly. She was very enthusiastic and warm about her.

We know that Hannah is much shyer and more reticent outside of the house, and even more so away from us. We're not quite sure what to do about that, if anything. We pray that she'll be growing in confidence about who she is and be able to find her voice outside of the house!

Language Learning is tough...

It's over a month since we re-started our language study at the university. We thought we'd take a moment to describe our classes and how we're getting on. I'll be writing in navy blue and Jonathan will write in maroon.

In some ways I've pretty much picked up where I left off last year. My lessons are still between 3pm and 6pm but are now every day. This is the least popular time of the day for the language course, so there are only 4 classes: 2 beginners, 1 intermediate and 1 advanced. I'm VERY glad that I was 2 points off being in the advanced class as I've found the intermediate class enough of a struggle.

There are about 17 of us in our class and almost all have lived in Greece for at least 2 years, most more like 10. Consequently most people can speak quickly and understand most of what is said at whatever speed it is spoken. Most are in the class in order to improve their job prospects as, although they can speak quite well, they know very little Greek grammar and struggle to spell. (Did you know there are at least 5 ways to write the sound 'ee' in Greek? We have endless questions about this as people begin to see and spell words they have been hearing and using for years.)

I felt like I was, once again, drowning in language at the beginning: not understanding most of what was discussed but understanding all of what was taught. As a result of this and my previous experiences of Greek language learning I enjoyed the grammar parts of the lesson and the exercises (when I understood the words!) but completely shied away from speaking and didn't ask questions when I didn't understand. I spent ages in the evening with the dictionary looking up words I'd written down in class. This meant that, in retrospect, I understood the lesson but was not really equipped to take part.

My lowest point was when a very friendly and nice stand-in teacher, Vangelis, asked me to introduce myself and went on to ask me a lot of questions I wasn't quite prepared to answer. My name is top of the register, sadly, so I often get 'picked on' first. I cried. It was SO embarrassing and I couldn't stop. I didn't leave because I knew it would be even harder to go back if I had, so I just sat there. And every time I thought about it I cried again. Wrong. It was wrong. Still, it totally shot down any pride I might have had and helped me to realise how stressed I was by the whole process and how much I just needed to relax and trust the Lord. He knew and knows how this language learning business is going to be for me and we need the language. I got through the rest of the lesson and was ok about going back the next day. I still find the anticipation of the lesson a little stressful but once I'm there it's fine.

That was a couple of weeks ago. Now I'm a bit more confident about speaking, much less bothered about making mistakes and I have quite good relationships with at least some of my classmates. I think that, as we bond a bit more every week, we will help each other to improve. Most of my class struggle with the things I find really easy - correct conjugations and spelling are my speciality (I'm such a loser!) - so we help each other!

As we warm up to each other, the mood of my class is relaxing and improving. My class teachers have changed a little too, which helps (the most austere teacher has gone on paternity leave!). I have Giorgos Mondays and Wednesdays, Aliki (when she's there, family problems have kept her away for a fortnight) Tuesdays and Thursdays and Maria - who is the most gentle teacher! - on Fridays. We both get opportunities to talk about what we're doing here and so pray for us to take them wisely and use them well.

I've taken up watching the odd soap opera on tv (recommended!). I don't understand much of the language but get the gist and it's good for my general listening skills. I'm also reading through 1 Corinthians (VERY slowly) in my Quiet Times with Modern Greek NT in one hand and NIV in the other. I'm also reading Harry Potter 1 in Greek - again VERY slowly, painfully so, but the language isn't TOO difficult and it's good to see how sentences are constructed and translated.

I'm still amazed how, every week at church, I understand more and more of what is said: it might be that I recognise a word or tense that I've learnt in something that Giorgos says in his sermon or something that we sing. I'm encouraged by that and have not lost heart, although I think I was faltering a bit for a while.

I'm extremely glad that I like my classes. If class was onerous or I felt intimidated by it there would be a significant cloud over each day. As it is, I like my three teachers (Vangelis Monday/Friday, Giorgia Tuesday, Menelaus Wednesday/Thursday) and am beginning to get to know my class mates. Each teacher focuses on different things to an extent - vocabulary, verbs, grammar - so we're getting a good variety of input and homework. My spoken Greek is probably only better than one other person in my class - same as with Dawn's group, most have been here for a long time and/or are married to Greeks. They are beginning to be good fun too, and I'm spending more break times chatting with them. The Englishman's disadvantage is that they all speak English so it's way too easy to revert to English when the Greek runs out. I need real discipline to stick with Greek. They are patient with that, so I have no excuse really.

I've found that I have been a little less confident to speak and make mistakes compared to pre-summer. Regarding language study, my main prayer need is to be bold to open my mouth to chat about anything, and be convinced that making mistakes is fine and also a good way to learn. The great thing about Greeks is that they genuinely appreciate foreigners speaking their language, and if asked they will correct us when we speak.

I am on the 9-12 shift so I head up to the university ('up' being the operative word: it's a steep hill from our house to our department) after taking first Joel then Hannah to pre-school. As long as breakfast goes smoothly and I have my bag packed (with my three large books, bible, notepad, coffee flask and water bottle...) and we're all ready in time this is a pleasant journey. The kids are happy on the way and we chat about the things going on around us. Our journey always takes Hannah and I past the DVD shop with a Gollum model crouching by the pavement. She never fails to notice that he's grumpy because he lost his ring.

Like Dawn, I can't keep up with the others in the class in what I say but I struggle far less than some with what's being taught, and don't make the spelling or grammatical mistakes as much. It means that although I am and feel way behind, my language is being built on a good foundation of correct Greek. I really need to find a way to pick up a wide range of vocabulary AND USE IT. I need to watch the news (I can't quite bring myself to watch soaps) and more than anything I need to be in the company of (sympathetic) people speaking Greek around me and to me. I also need to be extremely disciplined in doing homework and looking up the words I don't understand in the evenings so that each day I expand the useful vocabulary. An obvious point struck me today - I need to proactively learn the words and phrases that I want to use, both in conversations with random people I come across, and with believing students that we begin to meet and plan with.

Another thing on my mind about my class is that by May when the course ends we will have spent many hours together and will have had opportunities to talk about many things. I am sure none of the others are Christians and yesterday I had my first mini-opportunity to talk about the gospel - well, the implications of it at any rate - with a French girl of Catholic background. It would be great to build real friendships with these folks and be a light each morning.

Joel's birthday

He was 5 yesterday. We had a relatively quiet birthday. There was no big party and so no need for 'clarking it'*, which was a relief at least.

We'd had a good family-focused weekend, with some preparation for his birthday, present purchasing etc. It has become a bit of a Clark tradition that you make your own birthday cake, so Jonathan and Joel got on with that on Saturday.

On Sunday Joel took some of the cake to Sunday School, we had a fairly quiet afternoon and evening at home.

Yesterday (Monday 22) Joel, Hannah and Jonathan went to school as usual. Joel took some of his cake to school. We had some presents and cards at lunchtime and spent most of the afternoon playing with Lego. (I, sadly, had to leave them to it and go to school!) Whilst I was away, Giorgos (George) Adam (our pastor) and his son (middle of 3) Dimitris popped in with presents for all 3 kids! I returned at 6ish. We have begun to make friends with a Canadian family who LITERALLY live around the corner and work for Hellenic Ministries. They are Heath and Meriko Miekle and they have 2 kids, Kiara (10) and Darius (6). Meriko and the kids came over for cake and stuff at around 6, so that's when we had candles and official happy birthday singing. Then it was just birthday bath and bed. Nice.

I don't think Joel related this year's birthday to last year's, so he was fine and really enjoyed it. He has also enjoyed the elongated nature of his birthday, with cards and presents still arriving! Thanks so much to all who have sent anything, we've all really appreciated it.

Below are a few photos of Lego we've made (mostly Joel - he's wired for this sort of thing, he's ALWAYS loved puzzles and putting stuff together and following written instructions...), enjoy?!

Joel, Giorgos and Dimitris enjoying Joel's birthday present - a early-reader in Greek.

Darius with Joel's birthday cake and other birthday stuff.

The House That Joel Built

Some of Joel's birthday vehicles!

* 'clarking it' - a term coined by some very good friends in Beeston. It means implementing big plans at the VERY last minute: quite a lot of 'stress' but very little anxiety, if you know what I mean! Was first coined on reflection of the way that we had prepared for (or thought a lot about but not done much in preparation for) Hannah's 2nd birthday party.

September turned out to be a bit crazy! Here’s a quick breakdown of what happened:

We originally planned to return on 11 September, but re-arranged our flights for the sake of the Joel and Hannah starting school at the same time as others in their class (10 and 3 September respectively). So, we returned on 2 September and Hannah (as you can see below) settled in fairly quickly, screaming notwithstanding! Joel started the following week, although, what with ceremonies and elections he ACTUALLY started on Tuesday 18 September.

On Monday 10 September I wrote the blog below and uploaded it on the Tuesday. My (Dawn’s) DAD had a minor heart attack on the Monday and was taken to a (not-so) local hospital. Over the next few days they ran tests and my mum commuted the 20 or so miles by bus or by lifts from friends (she doesn’t drive). I assumed that, because it wasn’t a big attack, they’d just keep him in, maybe do a minor ‘procedure’, monitor him and send him home. He actually needed a quadruple bypass operation and, after they’d run extensive tests, sent him to the London Heart Hospital in Westminster. Knowing that this was major surgery, we decided I should fly back before the operation and stay for a week, as the first few days after the op are indicative of how well recovery would go. I took Esther with me (couldn’t leave Jonathan with all three kids, and she’s the cheapest to take on a flight!) and flew out on Saturday 15 September. Dad’s operation was on the Monday and it all went very well. For a 74-year old he’s pretty fit and healthy(!) and has recovered incredibly well and quickly.
Esther and I spent some nights at my Auntie Debbie and Uncle Tony’s house in South-East London (thanks to cousin Becky for giving up her room!) and some night’s at my sister Nichola’s house in deepest darkest Kent. Mum (and sometimes Nichola and nephew Matthieu) were down the road at Auntie Sharelle’s. Auntie Debbie’s a child-minder and had the space to look after Esther and Mats every day, for which we were VERY grateful! I was insured on Dad’s car so we drove into the city every day. I love driving in Athens, so London was a breeze! Overall though, the week was exhausting - all the emotional and physical strain took it’s toll and I came back to Athens with a virus (maybe, in my weakened state, I caught it on the flight back!)…

My Dad’s now at home and continuing to do well. It’s definitely put a strain on my mum. She doesn’t drive and they live in a village. Dad would normally drive into town (a 5 minute car-ride) to do grocery shopping or run other errands. My mum gets the bus or fits in with friends’ schedules on trips to town. It’s pretty tiring for her, with all the responsibility and the worry and the walking! Please continue to pray for them. My Dad was especially moved by the knowledge that so many were praying and, in his ‘resting’ state, has spent more time reading the Bible.

The others survived without us, although Jonathan was weary and coming down with something when we returned! Hannah and Joel had both settled into a good routine and were enjoying school.

England was cold, so it was good to get back to temperatures in the high 20s, as you can see from this photo of Joel and Hannah as we prepared to nip out for some bread and milk one afternoon (with baby Little Lucie in her pushchair!)

Within a few days of our return Jonathan and I had our language placement tests, which we'd had no time to revise for. They went well, really. Jonathan's classes are 9-12 every morning, with about 200 students. He was put into a B3 class (intermediate advanced - 4 classes up from last year). My classes are 3-6 every afternoon. There are only about 70 students at that time, so there are 2 beginners' classes, 1 intermediate and 1 advanced. Thankfully, I'm in the intermediate (NOT the advanced) which is pretty much the same level as last year. More about all this later...

Schools, ceremonies and 'holy' water...

So, Hannah started school with hardly a hitch. Her school is up the hill towards the uni, set in its own grounds with a good-sized, well-equipped playground.

Day One: a highly organised operation by the staff at her nursery school saw children whisked away from their parents, a lot of crying but real cold-turkey stuff. Hannah howled. At hometime she was happy and said she'd enjoyed herself and was happy to go back tomorrow.

Day Two: Hannah decided she didn't want to go, but we explained that she had to. Hannah a little melancholy on the journey. Hannah cried a little, but in a resigned sort of way and was fine when I collected her, introduced me to one of her teachers, Vaso, whom she hugged as we left.

Day Three: H was happy to go, but still cried on parting with Jonathan - no howling, just sad. Much better than the first two days though.

Days Four and Five: She still cried, but was happily talking about friends she'd made when we collected her.

Monday, Week Two, Day Six: NO CRYING! She happily had her photo taken with Stella, another of her teachers (see pic!) and has been happy to go since then!

We have no idea how her language will develop, and are resisting asking her questions about Greek.


Joel's school is the ground floor of an apartment block. It's a little closer to our house and is only for those who will start 'big school' (which you do the calendar year you turn six) in the next two years - so currently has children born in 2002 and 2003. Yesterday we registered him without an problem and were told to return for 0930 tomorrow. We left assuming that today was Day One, which was sort of true...

Day One(ish):
So, Joel and I arrived and were ushered into the playground at the back of the building where one of the classroom tables was laid with a tablecloth, icon, bowl of water, a hand-sized crucifix and bunch of basil. The priest was standing nearby and many of the parents were nodding greetings or kissing him or each other.

When we were all gathered the priest encouraged the children to come closer (Joel wasn't interested at all and asked some interesting questions about why he was there!). He began his prayer, singing and speaking and whenever he crossed himself almost all of the adults and most of the kids joined in. It was clear that some were very familiar with Orthodox practice and some not so much. There were 3 boys completely ignoring the whole ceremony, playing quite loudly without intervention from their mothers. Joel and I prayed together quietly during part of this ceremony. At the end, he took the bunch of basil, dipped it in the water and held it, with the crucifix, sprinkling the kids heads and holding the crucifix for them to kiss.

Not ACTUALLY the priest who performed the ceremony! Ours was younger and not surrounded by country side, but you get the idea!

After the ceremony the Headteacher explained what would happen over the next few days (some of which I understood, but I stayed for clarification at the end anyway!) and today was just ceremony day. Having hyped Joel (and myself) up for today being Day One, it wasn't.

Day One (Two - Wed) starts tomorrow with a 2½ hour stint from 8am.
Day Two (Three - Thurs) is the same.
Day Three (Four - Fri) the school is closed for the national elections this weekend - see future post.
Day Three Take Two (Four - Mon) ditto.
Day Three Take Three (Four - Tues) when Joel will go in for the full 0800-1230 day.

Religious ceremonies will always be a part of the kids' schooling. This will be a good way to engage with spiritual issues with the kids, their friends and the parents, as well as a chance to talk more with our Greek Christian friends about their approaches and thoughts. Pray for us, that we'll be wise in these conversations.

It's good to be home

Birthday balloons! Esther was 1 whilst we were in England.

We've been back in Athens since Sunday night after 7 weeks of rather hectic Englanding. We thought we ought to blog a bit to catch you up. People were right to urge us not to travel around too much, and we intended to take that advice, but a combination of our natural instincts and some unforeseen circumstances meant we didn't. The other thing was that it was a long time to be away from home, and we reckon that next summer we'll have quite a different time of it.

Without going into reams of detail here's a quick summary of what we did:

The first week back (from 10 July) was Dawn and kids in Sussex with her family while I went to the IFES World Assembly near Toronto, Canada. This was a great privilege. The highlights were definitely seeing representatives of some of the newest movements, particularly those in the Middle East and North Africa, report on how things have started in their countries in recent years. What most struck me (not for the first time with IFES) was how God has worked through the faithful witness of normal people in tough places to save people and establish a witness for himself in many universities where there was previously nothing. This is a great encouragement for us in Greece! I think it's worth noting that Western Europe is still one of the most unfruitful places for the gospel on the globe, even compared to some Muslim countries. We ought to still be praying for workers to be sent into this most convenient (for UK believers at least!) of harvest fields.

Anyway, this is already looking less brief than intended. Mid-July to mid-August we were in Beeston with a week in the south east in the middle. People from Beeston Free ('home' church) provided us with homes and car and we had a great time catching up with the church family as a whole and many of our friends there. (The downside of a summer visit is that you miss some people away on their holidays of course, but such is life.) The week in the south east included three days in London (friends at Oak Hill one day, tourism the next, a funeral third) and time with Dawn's parents and sister and brother in law.

Hannah, Lucie (niece) and Joel, exploring at the Natural History Museum

We packed up from our final Beeston home mid August (oh - it was lovely to visit our friends the Pratts in our Thorndyke Close house: several people asked us about this and it was good. Reckon they've improved the place actually. There are even strawberries growing.) to go to Liverpool (my little bro and other friends) and Cheshire for a long weekend including a day trip to York before heading south west to see old uni friends and be in the right part of the country for IFES orientation at Monkton Coombe, Bath. Crazily, we managed to squeeze almost 24 hours at the UCCF Relay 1 conference at Quinta, Shropshire, into this. This 300 mile round trip was so worthwhile though: an opportunity to see the old place again, be part of Relay again, AND talk to the group about IFES in general, year-teams in Europe and our plans for Athens specifically. We hope to have a team here soon (i.e. next September) so we have sown the seeds in 60 potential minds! We also celebrated Esther's 1st (ever) birthday at the IFES conference (see pictures below below). The final act was a Clark family weekend in a youth hostel in Milton Keynes (as my parents are waiting to move into a new home) for dad's birthday.

Outside one of our favourite places: Café Concerto, York.

Those are the bare facts - what of our reflections this side of the scooting around? Well, seven weeks away from Athens was a bit long in some ways. It was lovely to be in England, and we enjoyed it from day one, despite the miserable summer at the start. However, from the off we were really encouraged that it felt as though we were away from home, and so it's good to be back. We were also encouraged by the people we saw - we are so glad for the friends, family and church we were blessed with before heading here in January. Finally, although there have been the occasional moment of melancholy this week (and despite having to put toilet paper in the bin again), we're glad to be back, looking forward to getting back into Greek, and anticipating spending more time with students this year.

We'll post again soon, with news on new school stuff for Joel and Hannah. We'll also try and get some more photos up. Our camera needs replacing so we hardly used it this summer and have to borrow other people's pictures.

The birthday girl - she has the family gormless look off to a tee!

'Super' Joel (he prefers 'Special' Joel!) in birthday party mode!

It's true, Hannah ate all the party rings (or at least licked a lot of them!)...

Happy Birthday to you ... (sing along!)

Thanks to Tim for shielding the candle.

Thanks to Lily for the birthday photos!

..STOP PRESS.....STOP PRESS.....STOP PRESS..

Esther Clark moves! She has been shuffling along on her lovely little bottom for most of the afternoon and enjoying the 'freedom' that provides! So glad that we don't have to think about Esther-proofing the house until our return in September (we fly to England tomorrow)...

..STOP PRESS.....STOP PRESS.....STOP PRESS..

Update on the kids

A few words about the kids and their prayer requests. Esther first, easy—she’s doing very well, coping with the heat, and continues to be one of the world’s easiest babies! She has 7 teeth, is known as the hvsuch koritsavki 'quiet baby girl' in church, remains sedentary (just learning to spin on her bottom, so we haven't had to Esther-proof the house yet!) and has a ready smile for anyone who looks at her! We pray that she'll shine like a star in the universe as she holds out the word of life (Phil 2:15-16).

Esther has seven teeth!

Hannah is bold, lively and strong-willed (I don't know where she gets it from!). Honestly, sometimes she's so an untamed, unrestrained and ungospelled version of me. That said, she's a lovely girl! She's bright and funny and affectionate, loves running around, drawing/colouring, and playing with the other two. We pray that she will continue to grow in grace and self-control!

Joel and Hannah on their sand-vehicles!

Joel is mild with occasional outbursts, friendly and inquisitive. Like Hannah he is strong-willed (but in a more passive-aggressive way) and is a bit of a mini-Jonathan. He's really good company. He's just started to learn to read and write and is at that stage where he has a real thirst for knowledge and understanding. We're really enjoying his progress. He loves surfing the net (facebook and the cbeebies website mostly!), reading (especially his new atlas) and spelling his name (especially on an unsupervised computer!). Joel is earnest in questions about God, so we pray that this interest will grow into understanding and that the Lord will open his eyes to the truth.

Joel (and Grandad, Gran and Hannah) outside his new school.

Hannah and Joel both start ‘school’ in September. We had thought they would be at the same place, but it turns out Joel is too old! This discovery was made the DAY AFTER registration for ‘proper school’ closed. We’re disappointed that they won’t have each other as they venture into the exposure of total Greek AND school culture, but we know that God is sovereign and he cares for them. We've pretty much made a decision about which of the 2 local schools Joel should go to, and need to register him on our return. We’ve had to CUT SHORT OUR VISIT TO UK as a result (We fly back September 2 instead of 11).

Hannah outside her new school.

We enjoyed being part of the Qerinov Scoleivo (Summer School) Holiday Club at church. Over 50 kids came, including 20+ from the neighbourhood! The theme was Kovntra sto Reuvma (Against The Flow) and we learnt about different characters from the Bible who did that. It was really good for the kids to go to something that was almost completely in Greek (there was a team from the US helping with some of the activities) – good practice for school and Sunday School come September.

All the kids, be-t-shirted (?!), at the Holiday Bible School.

Please pray for the kids as we spend some quality time in the UK and then return to Greece. It might be a bigger re-adjustment for them than for us, especially as school starts. Thanks. We’ve been continually struck by God’s Sovereignty (especially in relation to domestic and family affairs) and know that His plan is perfect.

IFES Debriefing

We spent the second week of June in Calafell, just outside Barcelona. We'd never been to Spain before and Jonathan was encouraged that, although he could speak no Spanish, he would have been able to say all that he needed to (to Spanish staff etc) if we had been in Greece!

Being on any conference with 3 small children limits one’s involvement(!) but we were able to spend some quality time with our IFES colleagues and with each other.

The highlights:
For the kids

• the Hay family (Brussels), Luke is 5 and Daniel 3. Joel and Hannah spent quality time with them!
• The beach AND the swimming pool where both grew in confidence in swimming and sand-something making (a boat!)

For us

• being able to relax and enjoy great company - good chats with colleagues
• good food (in abundance!)
• a great Eurovision-style fun evening on the beach
  
• and just being witness to God’s work through faithful workers.

I was particularly encouraged to meet some Relay Homestarters (1 year with UCCF, 1 with a different IFES movement) and see that programme in reality.

The setting, a hotel near the beach, was very comfortable and relaxing, and we (from Athens) enjoyed the relatively cool temperatures (top 20s) and sea breeze! Athens felt even hotter on our return!

We will see many of these guys again at IFES Orientation in late August—Team Leaders and those staying on for a second year.

The Beginning...

So here we are, in Blogsville, in Athens. Welcome!

For a wee while this is definitely going to be experimental. Jonathan and I might choose to express ourselves in different ways (and different fonts). I've been struck, through facebook, about how much I like to hear from people. So, here's an opportunity for you to do that.

We'll be attaching photos (mostly of people - if you want to see the scenery, come and visit!) and telling you a bit about what's going on in (mostly) sunny Athens.

Would love to hear from you.

And here are some photos of our children...

Hannah and Joel enjoying their smoothies (or at least their smoothy moustaches!)

Esther being 9 months and very lovely!

A miracle: All 3 photogenic at the same time!