THC ΕΓΚΑΙΝΙΑ-INAUGURATION

Following the birth of our first Hope Center baby, The Hope Center Ministries hosted an official inauguration and dedication of the maternity home in early December 2013.

Local pastors, those involved with the original design and construction of the building as well as other like-minded members of the Greek community joined us in celebrating the goodness of the Lord in His provision for this ministry.

Together with the Hope for Life Pregnancy Care Center, we shared the vision of this home built to host pregnant girls who have chosen not to have an abortion and need help. The girls will live at THC with house parents who will offer love, godly counsel and friendship in a Christian family setting.

Please continue to pray with us in this pioneering work:

• As we interview potential candidates for the house parent position.
• As we spread awareness about the sanctity of human life throughout Greece.

ΜΩΡΟ – BABY, Introducing the first Hope Center baby!

We are so happy to announce that a healthy baby boy was born to C, the first pregnant girl to live at THC on Nov 4th. Our hearts are so full of thankfulness to God for this new life and for the joy on his parents’ faces as they met their son and shared this joy with us.  



It was a long labor as we waited all through the night at the hospital with the expectant father  but by early afternoon the next day, we were able to meet this darling little boy for the first time.  


All are healthy and now they are settling into life together as a new family in their own apartment. We continue to visit them weekly and are encouraged to see their love and care for the baby and for each other.



Please continue to pray for this new family:

• for God to draw them to Himself and that they would respond 
• for jobs for them
• for finances to pay the hospital bill ($2,500. USD)

If any of you is interested in helping contribute specifically towards the hospital bill, you can use the give button on the link below and mark the payment for THC baby fund.  

www.hellenicministries.com        

ΔΙΑΣΥΝΔΕΣΕΙΣ – CONNECTIONS

This month has been amazing as we have watched God provide for us and for the pregnant girl living with us at The Hope Center in so many ways!  We are often overwhelmed, but are seeing Him so faithful in supplying all we need at just the right time.



This update would be way too wordy to describe each “connection” He’s made for us, so we will just highlight a few:



• A Greek social worker that meets with C weekly and is an amazing source of information and godly counsel for her and for us.


• A Greek girl who visits C once a week and does English classes with her.
• A visiting missionary couple that live and work in C’s home country who were able to talk to C about life back home.
• Two Greek midwives who are partnering with us. One has provided pre-natal instruction and the other informing us all about delivery and hospital procedures.
• A Greek doctor who has been monitoring C throughout her pregnancy.


• Heating at THC, finally we have an operating heating system just in time for the cold.



We are so thankful that we are not alone in this; God is showing Himself so strong and able. We are also thankful to our extended HM team, and to you-our international prayer and support team.



Please pray with us:

• For a good labor and delivery process, and a healthy baby for C.
• For the family that is being formed with C, her boyfriend and their son. Their needs for housing, work, and legal status which are tremendous.
• For C to see and to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
• For mental, physical and emotional strength for us to finish well through this process of our first girl.

ΠΡΟΚΛΗΣΕΙΣ – CHALLENGES

Life starts and is formed through time spent waiting, developing, and watching. That is where we are, watching and waiting for life to come to life. We have about 6 weeks to go as our first girl at The Hope Center (THC) gets ready to give birth.

This month has been one of many challenges as Mike, Peggy & Sarah are adjusting to living in THC maternity home, which is located in the midst of a very interesting Gypsy neighborhood.

We are offering help to a pregnant girl who has needs beyond our comprehension. Our desire to protect her confidentiality prevents us from mentioning too much about her particular situation, but you can imagine her need for love and security for her, her baby, the father of the baby and their future. Their concerns about work, proper paperwork, housing, and paying for the hospital are just the start of the list.

Another interesting twist to this story is that our girl speaks only Greek. This has created lots of stress and weariness in trying to communicate about sensitive subjects in another language but we also have had lots of laughs too.

Above all the challenges listed above, and the many more that we don’t have the space to mention, we have found that NOTHING is a challenge for God. He has met us at our every point of need and we have found Him FAITHFUL ABOVE ALL ELSE. There is no challenge that we cannot handle together with Him. He is SOVEREIGN and TRUSTWORTHY!

Please pray with us:

• To be Christ-like to all we encounter each day, in THC and in the neighborhood. 
• For wisdom to know how to help others and not create dependencies. 
• For the physical, mental, and emotional health for all of us living at THC. 
• For God to open our girl’s heart to know Him as Lord and Savior.

Did you know...

• Greece has one of the highest abortion rates, both when compared to other European countries and the US. 
• 250,000 abortions take place in Greece each year. 40,000 of which are carried out on young girls under the age of 16. Recently a local doctor told us that the static is actually much higher, closer to 400,000 every year. 
• Many girls have more than one aboriton. Repeated abortion is a "norm," a traditional form of birth control. 
• The law allows for abortion until twelve weeks of pregnancy, however some are allowed up to 19 weeks in the case of rape or incest and 24 weeks in cases of fetal abnormality. The United Nations says that people are still not fully aware of the new laws and illegal abortions are still common. 
• There is no shelter like The Hope Center in teh Athens' sprawling city of 5 million. 

We hope to change these statistics one life at a time!

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Life International Visit - Oct 2011

This past week the Hope Center team had the privilege of hosting Fran & Anne from Life International, an organization that mentors and equips ministries worldwide to uphold the sanctity of human life.

These two women are a wealth of knowledge and resources, and we spent the week gleaning from all their expertise about the opening and running of a maternity home. They also helped us develop our vision plan for other areas of needs under the Hope Center Ministries.

The building itself is nearly completed, however we realize that there is still much groundwork to be done to prepare ourselves fully for all aspects of housing pregnant women.

Please join us in prayer:

· As we seek God’s wisdom and timing for the opening of the home.

· That God will be preparing the hearts of the house parents and house assistant that He wants to live at the house with the girls.

· Regarding finances, we still need funds to complete the building, and then we will need to furnish it as well as providing for monthly operating costs.

God is so good! Looking back we can see God’s hand at work in each step of the process, and we are looking forward with much anticipation to see how God is going to use this ministry to touch and change many lives!

Psalm 32:8 The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”