Prayer moves mountains!

Last night we were invited to a prayer rally in Omonoia Square. It was an invitation asking all believers in Athens to come together to pray in unity for Greece and for a breakthrough in the crisis going on in this country. It was an opportunity to humble ourselves together, confess our sins, seek His face for this country and for it's leaders. I believe that this Unity in prayer is key to God bringing lasting change. I was so excited to be a part of such an event and pray that these rallies continue to happen more frequently. There was an awesome turn out and I believe that God moves mountains through our unified prayer! Please pray in agreement with me that we continue to unite together in Athens in prayer.


The earnest prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].  James 5:16b amp
  
Omonoia Prayer Rally: 
http://plixi.com/p/92421098

A Stranger in this Land

My first week in Athens has been filled with many experiences, all of which I am grateful for. At times I have felt out of place. Like an alien from another planet, a stranger........a fish out of water. I don't understand their alphabet, can't speak the language yet or read the street signs. I don't know where I am going when I get on the bus or the metro, & they don't have a Walmart or a Target here! But then God reminds me that we are all, as followers of Jesus, "strangers & temporary residents on this earth" Ps 119:19a. Hebrews 11 talks about how Abraham, by faith, obeyed God, left his home & went to an unknown land.  It says that "they were aliens & strangers." Reading over these verses reminds me that I'm in good company, I'm not the only one that has ever felt this way and I won't be the last. I am reminded God is with me. His word is my comfort & my guide, whatever my circumstance.

We have been visiting different areas of the city, meeting people, looking at buildings, talking to the different ministries we will be partnering with & visiting churches. It has been both exciting and saddening. The people we have met in the Christian community here have been wonderful, very welcoming, helpful and gracious. I am so thankful to be building relationships with them & to be able to call them family. As I have walked through the city I have seen many things that are distressing, sad, and remind me how vulnerable people are though. There was an addict shooting up right in front of us as we walked down the side walk, a drug deal went down just steps away from me, there are prostitutes and homeless on the streets. The peoples eyes are filled with emptiness. There's no hope, no peace, no love, no Jesus. That is why we are here! To bring the love of Jesus which gives hope, peace and brings freedom!

I am humbled and honored to be used by God here in Athens. I pray that he continues to work in and through me and equip me to do all that he wants me to do here. Please keep all of us on the Celebration Athens team in your prayers. We have alot of work to do for God! I will also keep you in my prayers.                              
Love & blessings,  Tracy

We made it!!

I can hardly believe I am waking up in Athens Greece this morning! A little chilly but I'm praying that the sun will come out and warm things up! I am so in awe of all that God has done over the last few months. It has been nothing but His love, grace, mercy and miracle working power that has gotten me here. I will continue to walk in faith, trusting him to lead the way. I am excited to get to work serving the people here in Athens and sharing his love with them so they can experience all that he has for them as well!

We are currently staying at a Bible College here in Athens. They have taken us in and welcomed us like family! I am so very thankful for Ms Helen and I can't wait to get to know the students here. The grounds here are beautiful with a garden, walk ways, outside sitting area, & volleyball courts.  Waking up this morning I'm excited to get out and do some exploring! Pictures will follow =)

As I venture out on this journey I am continuing to trust my heavenly father who has encouraged me that nothing is impossible with Him! Please continue to keep us, the Celebration Athens team, and the people of Greece in your prayers.


Ephesians 3:7-8,  By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling others about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.

God is so faithful!

I am still having trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that I leave on Thursday morning for Athens! So many things are rushing through my mind right now, all that I still have to do, praying that I don't forget anything, all the people I want to see before I leave, what I should pack to take with me and what I should leave behind........the list goes on & on. It's exciting but a little scarry. I feel like I have so much to do and so little time........but isn't that really how life is? In life we have so much that we could be doing for God but we think we have all the time in the world to do it. When we're young we think we have a whole life time to accomplish things, when really our life is but a vapor. Truly there is so much to do and so little time! Our time here on earth is very short compared to eternity. I am so grateful & honored that God would want to use me. My prayer is that I am able to do all that He has called me to do while I am here on planet earth and when I see Him, he says to me "well done my faithful servant".

God has done so much in the last year as I have been preparing to go on this journey. He has open doors of opportunity, closed doors that needed to be shut, made a way when there seemed to be no way, drawn me closer to Him, and helped me to grow both spiritually and as a person! He has been so faithful through the good times and the rough times! Without Him I can do nothing! But I know with Him I can do ANYTHING He has called me to do!

Please continue to keep me, my family (Mary who is a ywam student & Katie who just moved back to Ohio and got married) and the Celebration Athens Greece Team as well as Greece in your prayers.  Prayer is powerful & God moves mountains though faithful prayer.

Thank you to all of my partners! I love and appreciate you all and continue to pray for you and your families daily. If you have any particular prayer requests please email me and let me know. If you are not yet a partner with me in this mission but would like more information please email me at tlitzer@gmail.com. I would love to share with you all that God is doing.

Antío gia tó ra, goodbye for now. I will share with you again soon!

Love & Blessings,

Tracy

Psalm 16:8-9 "I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad and I rejoice. I rest in safety.

Exciting Things Are Happening!

God is moving throughout the world and I am so excited to be a part of what He's doing!  Recently the Celebration Athens team had the privilege of meeting Nico Bougas who is with Hellenic Ministries. Hellenic Ministries is doing wonderful things in Athens and throughout Greece & I am excited that we will be partnering with them. They reach the communities in Greece by serving love meals to refugees, reaching youth through worship events & sports camps,  evangelistic outreaches, and missions. A new ministry that has been started and has touched my heart, as a registered nurse who worked with infants & young mothers for more that 9 years, is The Hope Center that they are in the process of building/renovating. 

(an excerpt from their web site) In Greece more than 250,000 abortions take place every year, of which 40,000 happen to girls under the age of 16. Many women have had more than one abortion. The act of having an abortion not only kills the baby, but it has also been discovered to cause long-term psychological and emotional damage to many women as well as to the men who are involved.
With no shelter of its kind in Athens, a sprawling city of 5 million people with one of the highest abortion rates in the world, there is great need for a crisis pregnancy center/home. Our desire is to provide counseling and encouragement for girls to give life to their unborn children and not to seek an abortion. We want to offer ‘Hope’ and a safe refuge for girls to stay in during their pregnancy. We plan to help girls get set up in their new life with their baby after they leave our Center, or if they choose to consider adoption, we aim to help them with that process by offering legal support. Our prayer is that God will meet each girl in her place of need during her pregnancy, and that she will find refuge in Him and a way to walk forward in strength. 

I have been in touch with Sarah who is in charge of The Hope Center and I can't wait to meet with her once I get to Athens. I know God is in the midst of all of the many divine appointments that each of us on the team have encountered.  We continue to take steps of faith, trusting and believing God for big things! He is a big God and nothing is impossible for Him!

I am believing God for my finances to be in order so I can be on the ground in Athens sometime in March. As it quickly approaches it is my prayer that if you are not already a partner in the mission with me, that you'll search your hearts and ask God what your part might be.  I am excited to be the hands and feet of those partnering with me here in the states, as I make myself available to serve those living in Athens ministering hope so that God can touch and change there lives.  Please continue to pray for the Celebration Athens team, Hellenic Ministries and those working on The Hope Center.  Check out the link below and get to know Hellenic Ministries


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcQYl7jcD9U


Love & Blessings

~Tracy~

Thankful Heart

"I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers." - Philemon vs. 4

In this verse Paul sets before us an awesome example of how we are to be praying for our brothers & sisters in Christ with heartfelt thankfulness. It shows us that prayer is not just bringing God a list of our needs, but coming to Him on behalf of others as well. During this time of prayer & fasting and preparing for Greece I have been reminded of how thankful I am that I have an amazing family & friends, an amazing church & church family & generous partners in the mission. I just want each & every one of you to know I thank God for you daily & lift you up in prayer. I pray in this coming year that God's direction, favor & blessings overtake each one of you.  I can't wait to see all that God not only does in Greece as we reach out & help refugees that have no home, unwed mothers & those rescued from trafficking as well as sharing the love of Jesus to all we meet, but what He also does in each of my partners lives as well. I am believing God for big things in 2011! With God nothing is impossible!

Let your life be one that lights the way!

Kali̱méra! Good day everyone! We at Celebration Church are in a time of prayer & fasting called "Awake 21 right now."  It's a time where we set aside the first part of the year to disconnect from the world, all that distracts us, & connect with God. It's always an amazing time where God reveals things to us in special ways.  God loves us so much. He wants people to know just how much He loves them. Many times we talk about this love, but don't necessarily grasp the depth of that love, or we even take it for granted, especially in our normal day to day activities of life. Sometimes we forget that the little things we are doing daily are not only "big" in God's eyes, but they are big in the eyes of others as well. There are always people around us watching us, what we say, what we do, how we act.

There is an old Newsboys song........shine, make them wonder what you've got, make them wish that they were not, on the outside looking bored..... I used to think this was just a christian cliche'. I never heard anyone say "hey your different, I want what you have" even though we talk about it all the time. Well, during this time of prayer God totally blew my mind! I had an experience with someone that didn't seem to like me very much, that I was around on a day to day basis. They came to me and took me aside to share with me something they were experiencing.  They told me that they were sorry for many things that had happened between us and that they felt their behavior was coming from the fact that they were uncomfortable around me. The reason, they shared with me, they were uncomfortable being around me, was because I had something that they didn't. They said that they now realized that they needed it, but weren't sure where to start. 

What I had was Jesus! I was SO honored that God used me with this person......not by me doing anything "special,"  but by living my love for Him out loud every single day in my normal every day life. I never even stopped to think during my work day, that my life could have been speaking to someone. There are times when we have divine appointments & we recognize that, but just during the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, at least for me, I never thought I could be ministering to those around me without even knowing it. God so blessed me and revealed to me just how much He not only loves me, but those we aren't necessarily thinking about that are around us everyday. We have opportunities every moment, of every day, to share His love without saying a thing, but just by being living epistles. By living our love for Him out loud in all that we do. That to me is amazing!!

So I am writing this to remind everyone, including myself, that even when we feel like we aren't touching anyone's life, making a difference or being used by God, in our work place or school or home. Remember that the world is watching us. Those around us are watching us.  The things we do, the choices we make, they say who we are & who we live for.  Live the way you believe, you never know who God may be ministering to through your life.

awake21.org