[ impressions of athens : pt. I ]

   Imagine.

   Walking down the closed street into an area with people milling around.

   Some lying down, completely passed out. Except for the slight raising of the chest to show they were still breathing, they might as well have been dead at first glance.

   Others passing from group to group, looking for more.

   Small huddled figures grouped around fires, spoons poised and ready.

   Eyes that look at you and hold nothing.

   No emotion. No words. Emptiness.

   Animals, I thought. They're just like animals. All semblance of humanity has left them; they are just empty shells roaming around, looking for the next fix. This is the only thing of importance to them in that very moment.

   Shells.

   And yet, still human beings in need of food. Of a shower. Clothes.

   Hope.

   Granted, I have been around stoned people before. People from high school that thought it was pretty cool and fun.

   But walking into this place and seeing the prostitutes pass from one man to another, offering themselves in return for whatever, the homeless lying about, taking heroine in a way of escape or need, and the "normal" college-aged kids wandering around -- it brought me to a place of a different reality.

   The darkness seems to press into you on every side, physically and spiritually.

   We visited this place only twice. Elias and the team of men from the center go there regularly every week, offering hope through the natural way of food and tea, and through the message of Jesus. We all split up into pairs and walked around, handing out fliers for the Mercy Center, inviting people to meetings and trying to strike up conversation.

   The first night we went, I was standing around with a couple of my friends/teammates, and a young woman walked over to us and we began talking. It became very clear after a short amount of time that she was very intelligent and clever. Her views on the world were very up to date and she had a lot to say on the politcal situation.

  It spoke a lot to the fact that there are so many people walking around with so much potential held within them that's just being wasted on heroine.

    To hear some of the testimonies from the lads at the center that we had daily morning devotions with was such a joy for me. I love hearing people's stories, and to hear what God has done in their lives for the past 3-18 months was incredible.

   Coming from lying on a bench in a park area, having been on drugs for years, to others just receiving one of the fliers and deciding to come to one of the evening meetings at the Mercy Center -- they all have amazing stories. The majority of them, if not all, had been on drugs for 10+ years.

   First coming to the center, when we began our morning  devos with them, it was obvious that we were going to have to earn their trust. But of course, right? Taken the fact that they get teams regularly coming in and out for a couple of weeks, you're not just going to open up to anyone.

   By the end of the time, they had definitely become more easy going around, were more open for prayer and sharing, and were obviously filled with more of a deeper joy and happiness. And freedom.

   Hands down the best part was seeing a couple of guys in particular change so much through the two weeks we were there.

   I felt like such a proud mamma looking at them the last morning we were there when we handed out cards for each of them with words of encouragement inside.

   It's easy for us to doubt God's power when we live in comfortable lives and don't step out of our own worlds into someone else's. But when you take the step forward and go to a different part of the world and step into a completely different culture, you see things differently. You see God differently. And you see other people's lives differently.

   People expect to go on mission trips to bless other people.

   But in reality? It was the people there, especially the guys, that blessed me more. So much more than I imagined.

   Stick around for more.

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Interested in the Mercy Center?

Find out more here : www.passagetolife.org/