Hearing fireworks in the night…

Καλήμέρα World,

It is strange to think that June is almost ending. I have been here for a month, and it still fills new and exciting, yet a little like home. These past few weeks, I have definitely felt more integrated with my team and they look at me as one of the starting funders. Recently, I just finished the draft of a website that soon shall be published and we are in the midst of finalizing our vision statement! This is a huge blessing!

Last week the church was occupied with VBS, so our workspace became a coffee shop.

One interesting fact I learned was he started John Paul Mitchell with only $700.

Last week I was able to attend an event that was part of the Hellenic Initiative of Greece. They are an organization that is helping young professionals transform business ideas into successful businesses in Greece. They are a private company that helps entrepreneurs bring ideas to life. They brought in Jean Paul Dejoria who spoke freely to anyone that wanted to come. He is the CEO of John Paul Mitchell, Patrón Spirits, and Rok Moblie. During this event, I was able to network with Greek entrepreneurs and understand what they are going through here. It was an amazing opportunity, and I am so glad I was able to attend. It helps me understand more of how people feel and think about the economic situation they are enduring.

In the midst of the last week, I decided to explore Europe since I am here. Even though there are tons of sites I still need to see in Greece, I decided that I would go visit some family in France.

Nice’s Promenade.

I took a weekend trip to travel to France for the first time and landed in Nice. I can absolutely say it was wonderful and so beautiful. I understand why people flock to the French Riviera. It was such a beautiful city and beyond blessed that I had the opportunity to go. If you ever get an opportunity, I highly suggest it! Plus try the original macaroons in old town Nice, a game changer.

 

Such a gorgeous view from my Aunt’s apartment.

As I am sitting on this balcony in the apartment I am living in, I am reminded of how in May this whole idea of working for Bluprint was just a thought. This idea of being in Athens in the summer helping a church start their nonprofit business did not seem possible, but God provides. My work does not feel like work, and I love what I am doing. It is finally nice to feel like I belong in the workplace. I still have so much to learn, though the opportunities God gives you in life, whether or not if they are the opportunities you want, be grateful. Being a Christian and saved by grace means you are meant to worship God in the workplace. I am thankful for where I am and what I am doing, even if it is not an internship that would catch an eye on a résumé. As luscious as spending a summer in Greece sounds, it was not an easy choice. I struggled with the idea if this was the right choice for my career. How would future employers view this internship? Though I am grateful I am here and was given the opportunity because, in the end, this is ultimately what God is calling me to do.

Colossians 3:23-24

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

 

Last night in Nice, the weather was beautiful for the evening!

 

P.S I swear I hear fireworks every night!

Wait, I can get coffee delivered?

Yassas World,

The Parliament, located in the heart of the city, is such a beautiful building.

It is so weird to think that it has been two weeks since I have arrived. It seems like I have been in Greece for a lot longer. I mean I cannot speak fluent Greek yet, but I have learned some. I have figured out the metro, tram, and bus stops but along with the help of google maps. People will even stop me and ask me a question in Greek on the streets, and I say, “δεν καταλαβαίνω, Αγγλικά?” Which translates to “I don’t understand, English?” After that, they find someone else to ask. By the way, you can have any food or drink item delivered to you for free (mostly). If anyone knows me, they know my passion for coffee. So thankful to finally live in a culture that it is acceptable to drink coffee whenever and wherever, and be able to get it delivered directly to you. It is funny how you can adjust so quickly sometimes, minus a few things.

 

Went with the Church’s youth group to Kalamos for the weekend. Explored the Eastern side of Greece and saw beautiful landscapes. This was the day where we were supposed to eat lunch around 4 but lunch did not happen until 6 pm.

Before I get into what I have been doing the last two weeks, let me fill you in a little about Greek culture. Being off the coast of the Mediterranean, Greeks tend to enjoy life; especially in the summer. First, they tend to be up decently early even though bedtime is not until like 1 or 2 am. Anyway, their breakfast normally consists of coffee, Espresso Freddo (ice) or some sort of Freddo coffee along with some sort of bread/pastry item. Then lunch is normally not until 2 pm or so. Lunch can be a 3 or 4-hour process, they eat and take their time. Then afterward, a nap is involved and after the nap, time to get more coffee. Most will head back to work around 5. Most will close up shop around 9 pm, go home, and prepare dinner. In the Glyfada region where I am located, it does not get completely dark until around 9:30 pm. So dinner is mostly consumed around 10 or 10:30 and of course, it is another 2 or 3-hour process depending on who one is with. In my American mindset, I love this idea. Though I am not trying to offend anyone reading this, so I will just say this is what I have noticed, what some of the locals have informed me on, and how summer is in the southern region of Greece.

This is when it starts fading to night. It is pretty wonderful.

 

As much as I can continue writing about the culture I am in, I want to discuss what I am doing here. These past two weeks, I have started projects, took a week of Greek lessons, and finally met with everyone on my team. The main project I am working on is a cumulation of ideas to help entrepreneurs and local businesses here in the Glyfada area. The Evangelical Church of Glyfada wants to provide funding, outsourcing, and training to local and future businessmen and women. These past two weeks I have started creating a website, weekly email templates, and have spoken to a few local businesses. It has been very humbling for me to be here because if I wasn’t the church’s ideas would still be ideas. Even though everything I have been working on is still in rough draft stages, I am just happy to help them start. However, there are challenges.

Bluprint is a nonprofit business that is sponsored by a Christian church, and the locals are confused by this idea. When speaking with them, they say they do not understand why a church would be starting something like this. Even though Greece is a Christian country, no an idea that a church would start an organization like this is “odd”. However, this gives us the opportunity to discuss why. God calls us to make disciples of the nations and being able to witness and explain why a church wants to offer this type of service, is humbling. Just being able to have conversations about Jesus is a rare thing in Greece, but it shows that people are curious. Also being able to do business with a mission focus is what I feel called to do.

Another challenge we are facing right now is finding entrepreneurs or people who may not even realize they have an idea. It is a difficult task because we are trying to find people whose ideas are unique, and that is just not common thought here. Most just want to open a coffee shop, a restaurant, or retail store. Also due to the economic crisis, a lot of people just need a job to make money and that is all they know. Except, if you have not realized from my post, Greece has more coffee shops, restaurants, or retails stores than one knows what to do with them.

First full week complete, which means dinner and jazz at the Acropolis! Of course, we invited our Greek teacher!

There is no long term thinking of people wanting to do what they are passionate about or creating something new. When one finds a job, it is job security for life, essentially. So creating these conversations often have proven difficult but I know God provides. So I am asking for prayers: prayers that God will provide quick responses, prayers for easy decisions, and prayers for finding solutions. Also prayers for the church I am interning with and for my team. Thank you.

 

Καλό βράδυ (Farewell) Friends for now,

Ashley

 

P.S. I am sure a lot may be wondering about the Greek lessons I have briefly mentioned in this post. Well, last week I had the opportunity to join another set of interns from Mission To The World and participate in their 2-hour Greek sessions. We learned the Greek alphabet and simple phrases. I can officially say I have had brief conversations in Greek, like ordering coffee or checking out at a grocery store! It is proven very useful. Plus, when I have been meeting with local businesses, it opens well when I can say a little Greek to them. I was thankful I got to join them in their lessons and learn some Greek. Also, these interns are 5 wonderful women from the states, who have become fast friends. As I mention, it feels like I have been here for a long time, it feels like I have known these girls for a long time as well. Though being in a culture that I am mostly alone in, it is so nice that I have these women to be in a community with. Trust God and He provides! It is pretty simple.

Greek Lessons in full swing! She is listening to us participate and is pleased to say she was happy with our end results.

 

Meraki

Greek Meaning for doing something with absolute devotion.

Yassas!

Or Hello in Greek. For one thing, it is still unbelievable on how I winded up in an Eastern European country doing an internship. I was born in Missouri and from a young age, I remember telling my parents that I wanted to travel. They would tell stories to my friends about how I told them that we needed to move and be somewhere more exotic. I had no idea where this passion would lead me and what road God would guide me down. Now, I am a Baylor MBA student who is trying to live this life that God has called me on.

A few years ago, I went on my very first mission trip to Honduras. I had always have had a passion for helping others but I was not sure what that meant for me. After Honduras and speaking to my friends on that trip, one said to me that I should pursue missions and that I had the heart for it. At that time I was not sure exactly what that meant or how I could actually accomplish that. I thought missions would be fun for traveling but I rub it off and thought that I needed a job that would provide an income. Little did I know that a few years later God would change my world.

How did I end up at Baylor and now Athens, Greece?

Well after working for a few years after getting my undergraduate degree in Organizational Communication, I realize that I wanted to know more. I felt a calling to learn more about business, and I wanted to learn how to run a conscious capitalism business.

God put it on my heart that I had to go Baylor. During my first semester at Baylor, I learned about this Business Mission trip to Athens. I knew immediately I had to go. Back in March, I came with a team of Baylor students and we partner with a church here in Athens to help develop ideas for the local community. After the trip, I found myself longing to go back. The church had so many ideas on helping refugees, local businesses, and how to help stabilize Greece’s economy but not very much help. The issue was they did not have very many business minded people. However, there were a lot of hurdles to be jumped and such a small amount of time I did not think it would be feasible. Though with Baylor’s MBA program, it is highly suggested to find an internship for the summer.

Baylor’s Mission Statment is, “The mission of
Baylor University is to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a
caring community.” This was one of the main reasons I choose Baylor and this internship in Glyfada, Greece would be following that mission.

At the beginning of May, someone told me that if this was something I wanted to pursue, I should go for it. I felt like I could not give up on my dream. So with the help of God and the inspiration of Baylor’s vision, I was able to purpose a business and grant proposal to get the funding for the internship. It is always incredible when you see God’s miracles fall in place and I just knew that I had to pursue this internship.

I have been in Glyfada for almost a week and I am so excited to work as an intern for an international nonprofit organization. I get to develop marketing and business plans, plan symposium events for local businesses, and work alongside local business leaders to help develop their business. Using the skills I have obtained in Baylor’s MBA program thus far will help me in this journey. Plus developing international relations with businesses and creating international sustainability, is something I am deeply passionate about. I am just so blessed that God called me to Baylor and that Baylor provided an opportunity for me to pursue my vocation.

– Ashley Willard

This was my first Greek Church service in Glyfada! It was amazing to hear and look forward to much more!