The First Glow of Love

2019

By Kelly Mehee Shin

Refugee participants and ministry teams from Europe, Korea, and the United States gathered for the first four-day Greece Glow of Love program in April 2019.

PREPARING THE FIRST GLOW OF LOVE

When Fred and I moved from Türkiye to Greece in January 2019,
one of our first hopes was to create a gathering where refugees
could step away from the pressures of daily life and experience
Christian community, rest, and encouragement.

During the following months, we searched for a suitable place
where participants and ministry teams could stay together
for three nights and four days. At the same time, we invited
ministry partners from several European countries, Korea,
and the United States to come to Greece and serve alongside us.

The preparation required many practical decisions, but our purpose
remained simple. We wanted refugees and ministry teams to share
the same space, worship and pray together, listen to God’s Word,
eat at the same tables, and experience four days of genuine fellowship.

FOUR DAYS OF SHARED LIFE

In April 2019, refugee participants and ministry teams gathered
for the first Greece Glow of Love program. For three nights and four days,
everyone stayed at the same location and shared the rhythm of daily life.

Each day included worship, prayer, messages from God’s Word,
shared meals, and time for personal conversations. The program was not
designed only around scheduled sessions.
Some of the most meaningful moments happened around the table,
during walks, or in quiet conversations when people had time
to listen to one another.

As participants and team members spent time together, the distance
between those who came to serve and those who came to receive
began to disappear. We were no longer separate groups.
We were becoming friends, brothers and sisters,
and a community learning to carry one another’s stories.

LOVE MADE VISIBLE

Many participants carried memories of danger, separation, loss,
and an uncertain future. During these four days, they were given space
to rest, laugh, sing, pray, share their stories, and simply enjoy being together.

Love was expressed through ordinary acts—preparing meals,
sitting beside someone, listening without rushing, praying for a family,
offering encouragement, and welcoming each person with dignity.
No single activity defined the gathering. It was the accumulation of
these small acts of care that made the experience meaningful.

People from different nations, languages, and backgrounds worshiped
and shared life together. The name Glow of Love began to reflect
what we were witnessing: the love of Christ becoming visible through
hospitality, fellowship, and faithful presence.

A BEGINNING, NOT AN END

When the four-day program ended, the relationships did not.
We continued walking with people we had met, listening to their needs,
praying with them, and learning more about the realities of refugee life
in Greece.

The gathering showed us that a short-term program could create
meaningful connections, but lasting ministry required long-term
presence. People needed more than occasional events.
They needed friendship, discipleship, biblical teaching, and communities
where they could continue growing in faith.

As we listened, we also recognized the need for leaders who could
serve refugee communities from within—people who understood
their languages, cultures, struggles, and hopes.
The first Glow of Love did more than begin a new program.
It helped clarify God’s direction for the next stage of our ministry:
investing in refugee believers and helping prepare future leaders.

REFLECTION

When we look at the group photo from April 2019, we see more than
the conclusion of a four-day program. We see one of the first
confirmations that God had prepared a place for us in Greece
and was already opening relationships for the ministry ahead.

We had moved to Athens only three months earlier. We were still learning
the city, building connections, and discovering the needs around us.
Yet God brought together a place, refugee participants,
and ministry teams from several nations at the right time.

The gathering also reminded us that refugee ministry does not belong
to one person, church, or country. It grows through the shared prayers,
gifts, resources, and faithful service of many members of the body of Christ.

The first glow of love was not produced by a large event or
an impressive program. It appeared through people worshiping,
eating, praying, listening, and living together.
That first light became part of the path God used to lead us toward deeper
discipleship and the development of refugee leaders.