Follow ETBU in Greece

The ETBU Cross Country and Track & Field teams returned to Texas on Friday evening from their TAME trip to Greece.  Junior Desmond Arratia provided his personal reflection of the final day in Corinth and Head Coach Natalie Bach-Prather provided an overview for the week. 
 
Desmond Arratia
 
"Thursday began with an early morning trip to Corinth and on the bus ride in, we stopped to see the Corinth Canal, before climbing to the top of the Castle of Acrocorinth.  We also were able to see the Archeological Museum and ancient ruins of Corinth, which is where the Apostle Paul would preach to the Corinthians that is highlighted in Acts.

Our next stop was at the Corinth market place, where we ate a very delicious meal and did some shopping.  We then spent our last gathering at the Streetlight headquarters and had a wonderful home made Afghanistan dinner.  We closed the night with an open conversation about our experiences for the week and working with our Streetlight friends."
 
Natalie Bach-Prather – Head Coach 

"This trip has been an incredible experience resulting in bringing our team together, enlightening and changing our perspectives, creating a space for hearts to awaken, and fostering a deep gratefulness for the many blessings we take for granted.  You hear stories about refugee camps and their trials, but it is completely different when you are face-to-face with the hurt these people experience.  

A few things really made an impact on our team. First, was the way these people care for one another... it's a love and generosity we are unfamiliar with, whether they were homeless and living in Athens, or living within a refugee camp, they still found ways to care for others and share what little they had with no complaints. The second thing was how these ministries showed Christ's love with the language barrier. The square mile of Keipseli has over 200,000 people with over 80 nationalities represented. Streetlights, the group that is working within this community, taught us how important a smile and a hug was to show love. These adults and children would just light up when we would play or hang out with them even if we couldn't share a single word.

Many of the athletes on our team were convicted about coming home and showing their walk with Christ everyday through their actions. The last thing that really hit home was how everyone we came in contact with including refugees, Greeks, Iranians, they all truly made the most of the moment they were in.

In August our team chose a hashtag, #MTM, (Master the Moment) and this was the most beautiful example of how to put that into action.  The trauma, grief, depression, and hopelessness that most of these people deal with on a daily basis would cripple most of us, but they do not wallow in it. Instead, they cherish the fellowship and still find a way to laugh and love, making the most of the moment they are in.  It was so special to see so many of our athletes have soul awakening moments throughout the week and it was very evident that God was working through our group to reach others as well as within our team in their own personal relationship with Christ. I am so grateful for this opportunity we had to grow as a team and to get to witness life changing moments."