Greetings loved ones! We hope you had a Merry Christmas and we wish you a Happy New Year! Each of you, receiving this, is someone who we are so grateful for. To our family, friends, churches, prayer warriors, each one of you means a great deal to us. Thank you for partnering with us and being a part of this great and wonderful journey God has us on. Here’s an update on what’s been going on for us. Evangelia has been very involved with the church’s choir and just had two great performances, one at the Children’s Christmas show, and one on Monday at the Christmas Day show. These shows are some of the bigger evangelistic events the church puts up every year. To see the Children’s show click the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08zbY364Kak&t=628s . During the year, Evangelia stays busy with homeschooling the girls who are doing well academically and growing in their love of learning. Gabriela Zoé is 9 1/2 and in the 4th grade. Her artistic/fitness outlet is ballet, which she is enjoying very much and is growing in grace and poise. She is always busy creating whether it is using paper, lego blocks, musical instruments, paints or even plastic bags. Her latest more structured art form learning has been learning some basic creams and processes in baking, with her crowned achievement of making creme brûlée…she is a little chef indeed. Agapi is 6 and officially started school in 1st grade. She is a very focused learner and she is learning how to read and makes amazing connections with the new words she reads. Observing her understanding grow, and the delight in her face when she does is a joy. For her fitness needs she started gymnastics and she is loving it! She is one fearless and daring little girl that amazes us at her independence and fierce love for those around her. She is also enjoying coloring and making creations with her play dough and she started learning the recorder. She has lost 3 teeth as of the writing of this letter. I have been trying to get her to sing All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth, but to no avail… ;) If you would like to see a video I did with each Gabriela Zoé and Agapi you can follow this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/SwJm4IOPSQ0IDzwX2 Stephen has had several events that have make it a very special year. First in April a team of 9 people formed that go once a month outside of Athens to share the good news with the different smaller towns. This month we took Christmas cookies with us and wished people a Merry Christmas and the people received them with joy as well as the blessing cards we gave them. We began some good conversations and exchanged some phone numbers. We are praying that as we saturate these areas with prayer, songs of worship to God, and these blessings that doors will open and more people will receive Jesus. Speaking Greek! Yes, Stephen is progressing in his language learning and it has shown up in MANY different ways. Within the last few months he has had conversations in Greek with locals and that could not speak English. A couple of weeks ago he preached his first message in Greek to the teenagers and a men’s bible study group. You can see it here: https://larkinsingreece.weebly.com/messages. Lastly, at the Christmas show he had a speaking part of an angel. The whole family is so proud of him. One of the greatest joys of his week is when he gets to sit down with his current group of young men. One of the guys that he started to meet with two years ago recently confessed to him that that year at summer camp when they met he was giving God one last chance. Now two years later he has come alive, caught on fire for God and while he is doing his studies on an island away from church he is starting to have his own conversations about God with the young people he meets. Another young man found courage to start his own bible studies with his friends. For a several months Stephen met with a group of Iranians he met at the church during an event with the church for serving the community. They started to meet to go through a discipleship group on how to start discipling themselves and start bible studies. Since then a some of them have either relocated to different countries or different parts of Greece taking the gospel with them. God has been opening the doors to share the gospel to others as well. Through an unfortunate event that required the insurance, Stephen had a conversation with the insurance representative and they have become friends and are meeting to talk about God, and he had a testimony of giving God a chance. Pray that this seed of faith in Jesus will not be stolen by the enemy but that is will grow and bear fruit. Stephen also had a conversation with a furniture mover about God and will follow up with him as well. He gave them both Bibles and is really excited as some of these newer conversations are all in greek. Pray for more opportunities like this and that these people will choose to follow Christ. Looking into the future, there is a group that wants to start a church in their neighborhood in another part of Athens and Stephen is really excited to help them with this mission. This is why we came, to help with discipleship and to raise up leaders and churches. Please keep our family in prayer. We have committed to coming to Greece for at least 3 years and three years is almost over. It really feels that the work is really just beginning and new opportunities are opening up for us. Please pray for wisdom from God as to what is next and how to take it to the next level. We will be back home this summer for furlough, and we are looking forward to seeing many of you in person. We love you. May the Risen Lord Jesus bless you with His joy and peace. If you would like to sign up to receive this email newsletter also you can click here: https://www.facebook.com/larkinsinGreece/app/100265896690345/ 4th Marathon completed in November!
Dear Friends, Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ from Athens. I would like to highlight for you the evangelistic trips we have had around Greece. It is a group of 9 mostly young people led by pastor George. Our first three were in Karditsa, Tripoli and Kalamata. In the month of April we went to central Greece for a two day trip and visited a sister who lives in Volos and then went to Karditsa, which is at the heart (kardia) of Greece, thus its name. We did evangelism at the main square of each city sharing the good news with whoever would listen and we also met with two small groups of believers in two different areas and we worshiped together and encouraged each other. 7 people gave their hearts to Jesus on that trip. Two people stood out to me, one of them would not talk with us without finding out if we were orthodox or not- he told us that his faith is “ortha” which means right (where the term orthodox comes from) and he said “I am right” before he walked off unwilling to listen. We also got to talk with an older man, Thomas, about the gospel and he was receptive. If you think of Thomas pray that the seeds sown into his heart will bear much fruit. My partner Konstantinos and I talked to a group of three young men who were in the army and they were very receptive. Please pray that they will continue to seek the Lord and that the Holy Spirit will bring back to their memory the things we talked about and make the decision to follow Jesus. We celebrate because a teenager, George, prayed to receive Christ in his heart. Please pray that they will stay connected to a group of believers so they can grow in Christ. In the month of May we went on a one day trip to Tripoli (Three City), which is in southern Greece. Every time before we start talking to people we pray that the Lord will lead us to people. As we started to go give the “good wishes” to people we were met with hostility. We were expecting it to some degree because as we had learned a little bit about the history we knew that the people of that city are very proud. One person walked away reading it and then walked back and forcibly gave it back. Though this was one person that was the overall feel from the people in general. When we saw this we all got together and under the direction of pastor George we started to worship and knelt to the ground to adopt the opposite spirit of humility instead of pride. When our worship time was over we went out again this time not telling them that we have a ‘good wish’ but rather with something to think about. The atmosphere had changed and people started to gladly receive them and it opened the door for conversations and 5 people received the Lord there. The last trip before summer break was in June. We went to the southern tip of the mainland in Kalamata, Kalamata olives anyone? In Kalamata we decided to worship and walk through the farmer’s market and talk to people. One of the people we got to talk to was a man who had recently lost his wife. He was grieving and at first he did not want to talk to us thinking we were Jehovah’s Witnesses and after that he did have a strong desire to steer the conversation to politics. Regardless we were able to share the good news of Jesus and pray with him. Please pray that this man’s heart will be touched by Jesus and the Holy Spirit will remind him of the things we shared with him as well as send others his way that will encourage him. At this last trip of the summer 2 received the Lord, and others accepted that we pray for them regarding their problems. We are planning to do these trips a monthly occurrence so please keep this team and trips in your minds and hearts. In His mission, Stephen and Evangelia. Thank you for being a part of our team both prayerfully and financially. We cannot do this without you. 100% of Every Donation Goes Directly to Reach Greece! For those who would like to give or to setup monthly giving click on the link: https://www.foursquaremissions.org/donate/people/larkin-stephen-and-evangelia/
Then follow the prompts for donating online. For checks on the memo line write: "Greece Led By Larkins" and make Checks out to: Foursquare Missions International PO Box 26776 Los Angeles, CA 90026 Dear Friend: Happy Easter! May our Risen Lord be with you and fill you with new life. We pray that you are well. We had the joy to celebrate a new family tradition that we learned from The Church On The Way Santa Clarita as we celebrated the Passover. Our kids loved the food and talking about how Jesus fulfilled everything from this wonderful holiday. They asked if we can do this every year. :) In this newsletter we would like give you some updates and to highlight the 10 week evangelism/ discipleship training Stephen is doing with a group of 8 guys. The Lord has been stirring their hearts and they have been sharing Jesus with friends. A couple are starting their own bible studies and it is exciting to see God move in the hearts of these young people! A few days ago one of these young men got to share some of his faith with a teacher who was very interested as she was asking the whole class about what they will do for the Easter week and what they believe. Check out our website, where you can stay up to date with us. We post videos from messages and Stephen's thought for the day. http://larkinsingreece.weebly.com/messages or you can subscribe to the new podcast: www.youtube.com/channel/UC3ZikNTndu0OOd3CGL7uyDw We are continuing to serve at the playground at the church and have the joy to see several families come to the Palm Sunday Children’s show at the church. One of Gabriela Zoé’s friends came with her mother and sister as well. It was a really blessed time where the Gospel is clearly presented by the kids, teenagers, young adults and the church choir that Evangelia is a part of. On the family front Evangelia was blessed to attend an all paid for retreat for missionary ladies that took place here in Athens and she was encouraged and made connections with ladies that are serving in Athens. Also Gabriela Zoé celebrated her 9th birthday on March 4th! We can hardly believe how fast these kids are growing. They are doing well in their studies and getting involved at church and finding creative ways to give and show love to others. We are so proud of them. Prayer requests:
How can we pray for you? You can reply directly to this email or fill out our contact form at: http://larkinsingreece.weebly.com/contact.html . We want to stay in touch. We are grateful for your thoughts and prayers and are praying for you as well. Thank you to all of you who have been praying, giving and partnering with us in the things the Lord wants to do and is doing in Greece. If you have thought of taking the next step to start giving we want to invite you to join our team and partner with us further. If you have not thought of it would you pray and see if that is something the Lord would have you do?May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you, Stephen, Evangelia, Gabriela Zoé & Agapi Thank you for being a part of our team both prayerfully and financially. We cannot do this without you. 100% of Every Donation Goes Directly to Reach Greece! For those who would like to give or to setup monthly giving click on the link: https://www.foursquaremissions.org/donate/people/larkin-stephen-and-evangelia/
Then follow the prompts for donating online. For checks on the memo line write: "Greece Led By Larkins" and make Checks out to: Foursquare Missions International PO Box 26776 Los Angeles, CA 90026 If you would like to sign up for this email newsletter click here: https://www.facebook.com/larkinsinGreece/app/100265896690345/ Dear Friend:
Καλά Χριστούγεννα! Merry Christmas wishes for you and yours. May the Lord richly bless you this coming new year with His peace and joy! We love and appreciate you! Stephen, Evangelia , Gabriela Zoé & Agapi Dear Friends: So when was the last you've heard from us? Oh right at the close of VBS and the beginning of the school year! It's been a while and thank you for thinking of us and praying for us all along the way. Personally we started school and then took a few days to be with the family and rest, it was much needed and an answer to prayer since we would not have been able to do this 'get away' on our own. And with renewed zest we have jumped into this new season. Evangelia continues to school our girls and to teach English at the playground. She is doing two levels this year. In October, we did for the first time a mini fall festival with our English class, we carved pumpkins and talked about how Jesus takes out the yuckies from our heart and puts His light in us. It was sweet to see these unchurched kids get excited to have the light of Jesus. In November we shared a Thanksgiving meal with the kids and their families, and sure they got a mini condensed version of the history of this American holiday, but we focused it on being thankful and thanking God for everything. Please pray for the children and for their grandparents that were there with us for both of the events to remember the simple truth shared with them and to be thirsty for more. Stephen completed his 3rd marathon on November 13th. He is continuing his Greek school 5 days a week. Now he is able to make puns in 2 languages… :) For those of you who speak Greek you can read at the bottom for one of his jokes. He is also continuing to teach Bible studies and is discipling 4 young guys each week. He really enjoys putting together what he calls the “Thought For The Day” in which he shares through video some things that God has taught him in a practical way for these young guys. He hopes to be able to communicate these entirely in Greek soon as well. You can watch some here: http://larkinsingreece.weebly.com/thought . He also loves to read/ listen to great Christian books. If you want an impactful book check out John Bevere's new book: Driven By Eternity. It is a life changing book. Youth Ministry: Picture from recent game and a recent message. To watch the message click here: https://goo.gl/photos/tmrPxbJmRjJDTtf48 Mobile Missions Press: We are working on printing a book for new believers entitled 8 Steps to Becoming a True Believer by Pastor Jeff Whiston from City Impact Church in Round Rock Texas. Currently we are in full force for the Christmas outreaches sponsored by the church. The children’s/teenager’s program tonight, December 11th, and the adult production with the story from Creation to the Birth is on December 25th. Please pray that many will respond to the invitation to come and once they are there to accept the invitation to follow Jesus. Gabriela Zoe has in her heart to invite lots of friends so please pray for those kids and their parents as well. How can we pray for you? You can reply directly to this email or fill out our contact form at: http://larkinsingreece.weebly.com/contact.html . We want to stay in touch. We are grateful for your thoughts and prayers and are praying for you as well. Additional Prayer Points:
Thank you to all of you who have been praying, giving and partnering with us in the things the Lord wants to do and is doing in Greece. If you have thought of taking the next step to start giving we want to invite you to join our team and partner with us further. If you have not thought of it would you pray and see if that is something the Lord would have you do? Thank you for being a part of our team both prayerfully and financially. We cannot do this without you. 100% of Every Donation Goes Directly to Reach Greece! For those who would like to give or to setup monthly giving click on the link: https://www.foursquaremissions.org/donate/people/larkin-stephen-and-evangelia/ Then follow the prompts for donating online. For checks on the memo line write: "Greece Led By Larkins" and make Checks out to: Foursquare Missions International PO Box 26776 Los Angeles, CA 90026 Merry Christmas! We love you all very much, may The Lord bless you richly and increase your influence in this dark world.
Stephen, Evangelia, Gabriela Zoé & Agapi P.S. we have created our own website finally. You can connect with us here: http://www.larkinsingreece.weebly.com and it has links to reach us through our blog, Facebook, etc... Check it out. To sign up for this email newsletter click here: https://www.facebook.com/larkinsinGreece/app/100265896690345/ LARKINS IN GREECE Dear Friend: What a wonderful whirlwind it has been the last few months. In May and June we were blessed to visit many of you back home in California and even to attend the Foursquare convention. We are so grateful to see so many of our family, friends and churches while we were there. We are so grateful to the Lord for orchestrating things so we could come, that trip meant a lot to us, and now we are happy to be back home. You can check out some highlights here: https://goo.gl/photos/csb5ygom9wrTbwfz7 . Mobile Missions Press: We have printed 100 copies of Enjoying Your Journey with God in Greek, a prayer seminar workbook and have a few other books ready for printing. VBS: This year we get to teach some of the lessons, lead games and crafts every Monday for the Center of the New Generation. We are so excited to see an increase in attendance of kids from the neighborhood including some of our friends from the playground. It is just incredible to see them memorizing scripture and getting God’s life giving Word planted in their minds and their hearts. Please pray that those seeds will grow and bear fruit. To see more pictures from VBS visit: .https://goo.gl/photos/1NjxsEmo7Y16xKLWA . Youth Ministry: Stephen helped with the teenagers and young adults as they blessed a local school for a week of painting and beautifying it. We continue to do some of the teaching on Saturdays. In July we helped at the teenagers camp leading games. To see some pictures from the teenagers camp visit: https://goo.gl/photos/SJLY37RcUvu9gqgw6 . The next week we went to the young adults camp where Stephen spoke about being fishers of men through the Holy Spirit. If you want to see pictures from camp or to watch the message visit: https://goo.gl/photos/1NjxsEmo7Y16xKLWA . Some testimonies from the past few weeks:
How you can pray for us:
We love you all very much, may The Lord bless you richly and increase your influence in this dark world. Stephen, Evangelia, Gabriela Zoé & Agapi Connect With Us: To sign up for our email newsletter go to https://www.facebook.com/larkinsinGreece/app/100265896690345/ Thank you for being a part of our team both prayerfully and financially. We cannot do this without you. 100% of Every Donation Goes Directly to Reach Greece! For those who would like to give or to setup monthly giving click on the link: https://www.foursquaremissions.org/donate/people/larkin-stephen-and-evangelia/ Then follow the prompts for donating online. For checks on the memo line write: "Greece Led By Larkins" and make Checks out to:
Foursquare Missions International PO Box 26776 Los Angeles, CA 90026 To all our beloved friends and family: This past Sunday we visited Pastor Jim and Alice Tolle at El Camino Metro. It was a wonderful time joining with them and celebrating Mother’s Day. There was a live mariachi band and an incredible atmosphere of love and honor for the mothers there. We were totally blessed to be there. Also, we have created our own website finally. You can connect with us here: http://www.larkinsingreece.weebly.com and it has links to reach us through our blog, Facebook, etc... Check it out. :)Also, we have created our own website finally. You can connect with us here: http://www.larkinsingreece.weebly.com and it has links to reach us through our blog, Facebook, etc... Check it out. :)
Dear Friends: Last week we celebrated Palm Sunday & were part of the youth portion. Our girls participated too: Agapi had a speaking angel part and Gabriela Zoé played the recorder and was one of the Mary's mourning for Jesus and singing. |
Evangelia teaching the youth Who is the Holy Spirit? from the Alpha Course. | Stephen teaching at the youth. Here's a clip of one of his latest message from the Alpha Course. |
The Mobile Missions Press has continually been used for reaching the 11,000,000 goal. Here pictures of the books we've printed or preparing to print soon. A book by Pastor Jeff Whiston 8 Steps to Become a True Christian, Lioness Arising by Lisa Bevere, Enjoying Your Journey With God by Daniel Brown and a journal similar to the Life Journal in Greek that we have created, and some other books that are almost ready as well.
On a personal note, Gabriela Zoé celebrated her 8th birthday last month and we are so proud of our sweet smart 2nd grader. | Agapi is in Pre-K and is really enjoying her school as well as her sister loves reading many of her books to her. |