Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Eurozone pressure comes to bear on Greece

(Photo by Kostastsironis)
Greece (MNN) ― Germany warned this week that further bailout funds won't be coming until Greece restructures its debt.

France added its voice, encouraging Greece to find a way to boost growth and jobs against a backdrop of austerity and mounting funding tensions in the Eurozone.

Tasos Ioannidis with AMG International says time is running short. "The goal of th
e Greek government is to complete the negotiations for the restructuring of the Greek debt by the end of this week."

Austerity measures were wildly unpopular when they were first introduced. However, as the crisis deepened, the hope of a bailout became linked with even further cuts. "The hope is through that restructuring and then through structural reforms taking place, by reducing the size of government and reducing the cost of labor in Greece, this will help the country move forward."

Bankruptcy threatens to tip the first domino of countries in the Eurozone.  As the scope of the crisis became clear, the attitude of Greece's people changed. This week,  the Czech Central Bank Governor suggested Greece withdraw from the Eurozone if they can't get debt under control. However, Ioannidis says, "The overwhelming majority of Greek people do not want to leave the Eurozone. More than 80% want to stay in the Eurozone, and they say they are willing to do what it takes to remain in the Eurozone."

The financial disaster hit AMG's St. Luke's Hospital in Thessaloniki especially hard. Since the government couldn't meet its obligations, the hospital ran into a severe cash flow and credit problem.   

It grew severe enough last Fall to threaten the hospital's existence. However, the team did manage to free up some funds and keep the doors open. Ioannidis says, "The situation is holding steady, basically. There are no new developments.

The government continues to be slow in paying its obligations for the insurance that it provides for people in Greece. So it's a month-to month struggle to meet our obligations to get the payments from the government."

The crisis in Greece has helped the local believers in three major areas: first, fully trusting God for their lives; second, depending on Him alone for daily needs; and third, becoming more active vehicles of the message of hope with words and deeds among their communities.

Ioannidis says, "As people have gotten more desperate, they are looking for something to bring hope into their lives. The answer to that, from our perspective is Christ. We see a lot more openness from the people who come to St. Luke's to hearing about the Gospel."

A local church, the Greek Evangelical Church in Thessaloniki is feeding more than 400 people every week, and they have exhausted every single local source. They contact AMG asking for help.

AMG's Fotis Romeos writes: "This is true of many local churches all over Greece as they seek to share the Gospel but at the same time serve the urgent needs of people in their communities. "

Ioannidis says not only that, churches are becoming more missions-minded. "A large group went to Tanzania providing gifts for poor children in that African nation. In the midst of the crisis, what we are seeing is that the local church is mobilizing to help people in Greece but also reaching beyond the country of Greece and helping others around the world."

It's the beginning of a year that promises challenges and triumph. "Pray that the churches would have the resources that they need as people come to them asking for help. We need to pray that lives that have been touched through the team that has gone to Tanzania will be impacted for the cause of the Gospel."

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