Mike and Maria Long

Maria & Kali returned Greece, Gina & Christi started Spring Arbor University, Mike?

What a month of travels, ministry, and friends!  August is over.  Summer has ended. September and the new season has begun.  With tears, two children were left at Spring Arbor, MI for studies.  With tears, Mom and the youngest got to return to Greece and home.  Their trip included a 11 hour lay over in Zurich airport.  Fortunately, there are day rooms in the airport and they rested before arriving in Thessaloniki on the third day of their trip.  Mike continues to minister in churches and meet friends.  He(I) returns on Sept 30 from Chicago and arriving Oct 2 in Thessaloniki.

The greatest news this past month is the two huge answered prayers.  Gina's medical bill for extensive dental restoration was miraculously reduced from over $30,000 to around $10,000.  Thanks to Janet Sussenbach and her connections at the Columbus, GA Christ's Community Church.  Christian doctors offered special rates and Scott Dickey helped out to get a vehicle for the extra travels.  Currently, Gina is still moving teeth around, and plans to begin the 6-8 implants next year.  We are rejoicing for a payable solution.  This is an extra mile project called Dental Expenses (code WE453660). The other great answer to prayer is that a friend of Gina from her summer ministry at Gull Lake Camp has responded to our need for a supervisor for Kali's schooling.  Angela travels to Greece on Sept 10 to live in our home and to work with Kali to finish her senior year of Northstar Academy Online High School.  WOW!  God came through for us in a big way and just in time.  We are rejoicing, jumping up and down, and high fiving!  God always comes through in our time of need.  Count on it.

People have asked how fund raising is going.  We are stilling $10,000 behind on Greek Country Shares which is the ministry funds for Thessaloniki Church, Bookstore, and Leadership Training.  These funds need to come in over the next several months.  We are praying for 100 persons to give $100.  Maybe you are one of those persons. The Greek country shares uses the code WCS403.  Gifts can be made electronically through www.fmwm.org or by mail to:  Free Methodist World Missions, PO Box 535002, Indianapolis, IN 46253-5002

I have lots of travel left for the month of Sept.  It is on my own so that I don't have to drag the family around with me.  They are great troopers, but one month was enough.  We basically lived out of the car traveling to churches on Saturday, ministering in two churches on Sunday, traveling back on Monday, then traveling again on Wednesday, and back on Thursday.  Home base has been my brother's in Chicago and my father's in Winona Lake, IN. Here is the travel and ministry schedule for September not all confirmed:

Sept 7 am Kokomo, IN and pm West Morris Indy, IN

Sept 14 am Vincennes, IN and pm Robinson, IN

Sept 15 Huntington, WV

Sept 16 Jesus Center Daytona Beach,FL

Sept 17 @ 5.30 pm Lakeland, FL

Sept 19-20 Pastors and Leaders Conference St. Pete, FL

Sept 21 am Fayetteville, GA and pm Pleasant Grove, AL Birmingham

Sept 22 Church of God office in Cleveland,TN

Sept 23 Family Church in St.Louis, MO

Sept 24 Olive Branch Chapel, Chicago, IL

Sept 28 am Griffith, IN and pm Michigan City, IN

Sept 30 Mike returns to Greece

Thanks for the prayers and support

State side ministry begins after marathon trip

At 3:35 pm we arrived at Chicago O'Hara airport after over 40 hours of sleeplessness.  Wednesday, July 23, began with whole list of last minute tasks.  We finished packing after midnight, showered, and headed for the airport at 2.30 am.  All of us fell asleep before take off at 4:40 am and again before breakfast at 5.30.  Arriving in Zurich, Switserland, we had coffee and waited 6 hours for our next flight.  We talked, walked, read, and ate again lunch before taking off for Chicago at 1.00 pm local time.  It was worth the hassle to unite with Gina and family finally.  From 8:00 am Wed until 5.00 pm Thursday plus 8 hours time change, we had survived over 40 hours of on and off rest to arrive back.  Praise the Lord, we are here in the states.

Ministry begins this Saturday when we have the joy and privilege of marrying Julie Vanderpool in West Lafayette, IN.  Her family was one of the core group in the Warsaw FM Church back in 1992-94.  It will be a reunion and special celebration. This Sunday, we will be ministering at a close by supporting church in Boswell, IN.  Next Sunday, we will be at Winona Lake, IN.  Then we are off to Georgia.

Here is the current schedule.  Please contact us so that we can meet up.  Gina's mobile is 517 416 1669.

July 24 depart for Chicago and arrive 1535 same day

July 25 depart for West Lafayette for wedding at 4.30 pm

July 26 Wedding Julie Vanderpool

July 27 am Boswell, IN and return in the afternoon to brother’s in Chicago

July 28-31 Long Grove, IL Chicago

Aug 1-3 Winona Lake, IN

Aug 3 am and pm Winona Lake, IN

Aug 4-9 Columbus, GA

Aug 10 am at Olney, IL and pm at St. Francisville, IL

Aug 13 Ft. Wayne, IN

Aug 17 am at Attica, IN

Aug 24 am Mooresville, IN and pm Indy First, IN

Aug 31 am Anderson, IN and drive the evening to Spring Arbor

Sept 1 Christi and Gina start University

Sept 2 Maria and Kali return to Greece at 1910

Sept 7 am Kokomo, IN and pm West Morris Indy, IN

Sept 14 am Vincennes, IN and pm Robinson, IN

Sept 17 Lakeland, FL

Sept 19-20 Pastors and Leaders Conference St. Pete, FL

Sept 21 am Fayetteville, GA and pm Pleasant Grove, AL Birmingham

Sept 28 am Griffith, IN and pm Michigan City, IN

Sept 30 Mike returns to Greece at 1910

Pray for us as we travel and ministry.  May we be the voice of God and minister His power and grace wherever we go.  Thanks for your support.

"Cleared of all charges" for the little church on Mitseon Street

The lawyers were nervous about our case because the Thessaloniki Housing Authority had lost the application for verification of compliance to housing codes.  Should we risk going to trial without the document?  The attempt to postpone was denied.  The only hope was for our testimony and pictures to convince the five member panel that the court demands were satisfied.  I prayed for mercy and grace from halls of civil justice.

I took the stand (bema) and looked up at the panel of judges.  First question was to my lawyer.  "Does he speak Greek?"  Witness's name, Long, is not Greek.  Second question.  "Do you take the oath?"  Witness is not Orthodox.  After a quick barrage of question, witness may sit down.  Then the announcement, "Cleared of all Charges, next case."  Thank God they believed my account and settled the suit against our little church that were filed back in 2003.  A neighbor did not want an evangelical church in his apartment building so he filed a complaint about non coded construction just to make life difficult.  Maybe the church would leave.  Despite the disfavor then in 2003, the church grew in numbers and moved across the street to a bigger space and the favor in the community is growing.  May our street Mitseon become as famous as Azusa someday as a spiritual place that draws persons to God's presence.

The cost of the trial was around $1,000.  If the Lord puts it on your heart, go to www.fmwm.org and follow instructions to donate on-line for Greece country shares. Or send donations to FM World Missions, PO Box 535002, Indianapolis, IN 46253  and designate gifts for Project #: WCS403.

June 30 Court Appointment Hopes to End Harassment

Monday, the suit against the old church location hopes to settle matters from complaints  against the church in 2003.  The Christ Community Columbus, GA team helped satisfy the court's demands for the property.  So pray that on Monday, the court will accept conditions and clear our name from the mess.  Prayers for favor in the neighborhood are helpful as the church tries to draw neighbors to Christ.

Last Sunday was fantastic.  Pastor Peter Jenkins was in Greece for holiday with his family.  He drove up from his hotel and ministered.  It was great after Pastor Richard Taylor from the same church, Renewal Christian Centre, UK ministered mightily the previous weekend.  May the waves of blessings continue to pound on the hard walls of the old Thessaloniki heart and revival come to this Biblical city once again.

The great news of the week is that we finally replaced the old Jeep from Kosovo ministry days,  It served it's time in the Lord's service, but now is being replaced by a Seat Alhambra 7 seater.  It is a 2002 model, but in excellent condition with low mileage.  Thanks to a gracious gift from supporters, we were able to purchase it and praying for a buyer for the Jeep.

Thanks for praying and supporting. If the Lord puts it on your heart, go to www.fmwm.org and follow instructions to donate on-line. Or send donations to FM World Missions, PO Box 535002, Indianapolis, IN 46253  and designate gifts for Project #: WCS403.

Breakthrough in Thessaloniki on Pentecost Sunday

Last Sunday night was like pentecost except for the loud wind and flames of fire. Our Balkan Thessloniki church and Pastor Richard Taylor from Renewal Christian Centre in UK hosted a multi-church Breakthrough conference on Pentecost Sunday in a communist party labor union meeting hall. It was the third service over the weekend and there was a growing feeling that it was going to explode. Leaders and congregtions of the Swede lead Greek church, the Armemian Greek church, the gypsy Greek church, other Greek churches, and many from Bulgaria united together in seeking spiritual breakthrough. As worship began, God took over the service. There was a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Gypsy lead worship took the service to the highest in volume and in praise. Richard preached mightily. The pastoral team of 10 multi-church ministers prayed for persons. The power of God touched all. Tears and shouts of joy filled the meeting place. The feeling was unanimous. The Spirit had truly done something significant and there was breakthrough. Over 200 persons were truly blessed and now we are expecting the impact to begin to bring results. The Swedish pastor, Tommy, asked, "Had something like this happened in Thessaloniki before?" Everyone said, "Not I know of!" Except when a man named Paul came to town a long ago and the city was never the same again. Praise the Lord and pray that lives will truly be changed.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

Like a storm 36 guests hit us in Thessaloniki and just left

Just two weeks ago we wrote about the water flooding the church basement.  Over the past week several teams (two of our own and one from a partner church) have flooded our guest services with over 50 visitors.  One team was ministry from Virginia.  One team was a work team from Georgia.  One team was here for education purposes from Spring Arbor, MI.  It has a couple of great weeks.  Many new friends.  Lots of food.  Plenty of work. Full and overloaded, but rewarding.

This fuzzy picture is of the 16 Spring Arbor University students eating upstairs in the church.  They learned about Greek culture and history for three weeks and spent 8 days with us.  Gina helped send them from her school and Christi will join them this fall.  They got a big dose of Greek life.  We pray that it was a blessing for them all.  We were glad to have them here and look forward to them coming back again next year.

The heros of the day was the team from Christ Community Church in Columbus, GA.  They saved us.  Our work efforts had run out of energy and the project was not done yet.  17 persons arrived on Monday May 26 and by Saturday May 31, it was all done ready for the next team from Spring Arbor to arrive the next day. They painted, tiled, drywalled, cleaned, moved, attached finish board, dismantled two rooms, hug the  sign, and worked really hard. They were fun and flexible. Here are some of the pictures of the busy five days. 

Thanks Lord for sending the right people at the right time.  Bless them.

This weekend Pastor Richard Taylor from UK is coming for a three meeting weekend.  Many churches are invited and we hope 200 people will come out.  The theme of the meetings is Spiritual Breakthrough.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will do exactly that in lives, churches, and cities.  check out the website: http://mikenmaria.typepad.com/breakthrough/

The last two Sundays have both had first time visitors coming forward for prayer. Theodora's daughter, Martha, came for prayer with tears in her eyes.  Bethlehem's father came forward with hearing problems.  We prayed for his salvation and his hearing improved.  He is all smiles now, instead of grumbling. Good things continue to happen at the Thessaloniki Balkan Center of Anagenesis.  Thanks for praying and supporting. If the Lord puts it on your heart, go to www.fmwm.org and follow instructions to donate on-line. Or send donations to FM World Missions, PO Box 535002, Indianapolis, IN 46253  and designate gifts for Project #: WCS403.

Sudden Outpouring hits Thessaloniki Church

Worshipers were greeted at church Sunday morning with a surprise outpouring.  It flooded the basement and gave visiting ministry team lots to attend to during the morning service.  Renovations to the basement in preparations for summer teams were sabotaged by a borken water pipe.  Damage in minimal. Spirits are high.  Bodies are tired.  There is growing sensation that a spiritual pipe is about to break and flood our hearts.  May there be a fresh soaking of souls with God's goodness and grace.

Three faces have joined the portrait of the Thessaloniki group of believers.  Anni is a seasoned believer with the gift of prophecy.  She is like a mother drawing strays and struggling younger ones to the Lord and the Father of our faith.  Lefteris is the homeless man taken under the congregations care.  His hard heart has melted and a smile is always on his face as a true change has come over him.  Theodora is a customer of our bookstore and lives in our neigherhood.  The bookstore worker and church leader, Daphne, persuade her to buy a Christian book, "Good Morning, Holy Spirit".  While Theodora read the book something clicked inside her and her spiiritual search became clear.  She has confessed salvation and seeks prayer for her unbelieving husband. Remember Anni, Lefteris, and Theodora in your praise and prayers for the Thessaloniki church.

Today, Monday May 26, we are waiting for a team of 17 from Christ Community Church in Columbus, GA.  They are coming to explore missions and help with the remodeling work at the Thessaloniki. They depart on Sat. May 31.  Sunday June 1, a group of 19 students from Spring Arbor are coming learn about Greek Culture for College Credit.  They will stay a week. The big event is Pastor Richard Taylor ministering on June 14 and 15.  We are praying and expecting spiritual breakthrough.

All these happenings are part of the Greece Country Shares (CSA). Please pray for Greece Country Share needs.  The annual need is $12,100 and yet only $1350 has been contributed. If the Lord puts it on your heart, go to www.fmwm.org and follow instructions to donate on-line. Or send donations to FM World Missions, PO Box 535002, Indianapolis, IN 46253  and designate gifts for Project #: WCS403.

10 New Faces at Church after a week away

After being away for 10 days in the French Alps at a Missionary Retreat, it is a special surprise to come back to the Thessaloniki Church full of life and God's presence.  There were 10 new faces.  Great spirit.  Reports of God's touch.  Reconciliation from the previous Sunday.  One of the unexpected faces was Lefteris who was a hard hearted homeless person that was our first guest sleeping in the church for a week.  He had cut all his hair and appeared totally different.  He was shining from transformation inside.  He had become a totally different person and he took communion for the first time because of the change in his heart!  Wow!  Maybe we should be gone more?

Our whole family met with the European FM missionaries from May 3-10.  It was a time of fellowship, relationship building, prayer, and renewal.  The group picture above is from the 1860 church in Chamonix.  Can you pick the four of us out of the group?

We are working hard to finish the basement of the Church.  In two weeks, 19 persons from the Columbus, GA team will be staying on May 26.  Then, 19 students from Spring Arbor will be staying on June 1.  Then, guests for Spiritual Breakthrough meetings with Richard Taylor on June 14 & 15. The Thessaloniki Church is part of the Greece Country Shares (CSA).  Please pray for Greece Country Share needs.  The annual need is $12,100 and yet only $550 has been contributed. If the Lord puts it on your heart, go to www.fmwm.org and follow instructions to donate on-line. Or send donations to FM World Missions, PO Box 535002, Indianapolis, IN 46253  and designate gifts for Project #: WCS403. 

Thank you and love from the Longs

Radiation Evangelism

Two weeks ago radioactive medication was injected into my veins and the flow was monitored through my kidneys to verify that they are functioning properly.  The results were very positive. The kidneys appear perfectly normal. The doctors are amazed both at the recovery and how active I have been.  The illness put us seriously behind on pressing projects.  We have been working night and day to get caught up.  We have just a month left to prepare to host a team of 19 from Columbus, GA.  The project is getting over the hump.

After the radiation treatment, the instructions are to avoid contact with other persons.  Remain two meters or 6 feet away from others.  Sleep must be in separate beds.  The radiation left in the body's system can effect others.  Would it not be amazing if the resurrected Christ had the same instructions for each believer that he dwelt in!  Like radioactive material his existance in each believer would effect all those coming within two meters.  His presence would just ooze out and directly touch passer-by's.  If believers would spread out, the whole world could be covered and sin destroyed in every corner.  Tomorrow is Easter here in the Orthodox part of the world.  My prayer is that Christ would so radiate in all believers to draw others to him within two meters of each broadcasting point.

Unfortunately, a homeless person that was the first person to be cared for in our church guest area did not seem to be effected by Christ radiating from the members of our church.  Friday night after a special crusade service, he was sleeping outside our door on the sidewalk.  We took him, fed him, gave him a place to sleep, and a shower.  He washed cloths and received our care as different persons from the church took turns sleeping at the church.  The hardness of heart that leads a person to end up on the streets would not break to open his life to faith in Christ.  Pray for Lefteris.

In contrast Alan Mellinger, Leonidas, and myself received radiation ministry at Renewal Christian Centre.  Together with 5 ministers from Bulgaria, we soaked in the power of the Holy Spirit over 5 days at the end of March and the beginning of April.  Wow, the presence of God is irresistible.  Not only that but amazing divine connections are developing between UK and Bulgaria.  Pray for this special relationship.

Please pray for Greece Country Share needs.  The annual need is $12,100 and yet only $550 has been contributed. If the Lord puts it on your heart, go to www.fmwm.org and follow instructions to donate on-line. Or send donations to FM World Missions, PO Box 535002, Indianapolis, IN 46253  and designate gifts for Project #: WCS403. 

Thank you and love from the Longs

Surprise Visitor at Bookstore after Midnight

After midnight on Tuesday, a car crashed into our bookstore.   

The neighborhood came out to check out the mess.

 

Nobody was hurt, just a bunch of broken glass.