God is Faithful to Provide!

“Always, when you see people's testimony, you know God is working out there. It gives you confirmation that in the little things, in people's life. He's come through.”

CBN partner, Betty Kyriankidis watches the 700 Club every morning before heading into her 60 hour work week at the Greek restaurant she and her late husband opened 26 years ago.

Her generous nature and love for Jesus are obvious to all that meet her.

Betty reflects, “I think my desire to help people came when my mother and I, in the mountains of Kentucky, used to go into the coal mining camps and dress little children for church and take them to Sunday School. We just did a lot of ministries up there in the Appalachian and I learned about giving, and people really in need.”

Over the years Betty has loved CBN’s focus on evangelism and humanitarian relief. She started supporting CBN in 2003.

“Having a daughter that's worked for the Salvation Army, I asked her, 'If I wanted to donate to different ministries....' she tells me that Operation Blessing is one of the first to show up on the scene in disasters. And they were there till the end,” said Betty.

In 2012 following a long illness, her husband passed away. She found comfort through her prayer warriors at CBN. “When I was going through some rough times I would call The 700 Club. And we would talk, and pray, and we would cry together and pray together, and it was very instrumental in helping me.”

Several years later the restaurant faced tough times and she was advised to sell the business and cut back on her giving.

Thinking back Betty says, “We've been through some difficult economic things that happened. And I always just say, 'Well, we'll get through it. With God's help, we'll get through it. I don't know how right now. We have to be faithful to Him and He's faithful to us.'"

Betty took out a personal loan against several rental properties and her son came on board with fresh menu ideas. Together they worked hard and the restaurant more than recovered.

With a smile Betty says, “God is just blessing us, and especially during COVID and after COVID – now, we're hitting numbers that we never hit before. And I think it's due to-to blessings, you know, that we're giving. And we're still giving, as a restaurant we do a lot of community, outreach, organization, helping people, and also it's our ministry.”

For regular customers, the Acropolis restaurant feels like a family. Betty loves the ministry opportunities she has there, she also has something for the children that come into the Acropolis.

“I'm an avid supporter of Super Book,” says Betty, “I think if you get the gospel into children at an early age it's planting a seed. And I always have an extra one in my purse. And when a child comes in I say, 'I want you to see this little cartoon; it's good.'"

When people ask Betty who she supports she’s quick to let them know.

“I do tell them about CBN – and Operation Blessing. There's this one server I had; her mother gave her up, and I told her about Orphan's Promise, I said, 'Now, this should be close to your heart.' And I tell them about CBN in general, because they do so much for so many.”

Today the restaurant’s business has tripled since 2012 and Betty attributes it all to God.

“I've never stopped giving back to God. Because when you give – when you give to God, blessings come your way.”