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In 1945 she returned to Greece where she worked with the Friends Refugee Mission and the American Farm School in Thessalonika in early post-war years. Later she opened her own therapy office in Athens until 1954. In March of that year her mother died and the office was closed. Sister Gabrielia left Greece and traveled overland to India where she worked with the poorest of the poor, even the lepers, for five years. She worked with Baba Amte and his family who built and organised village-communities for the lepers of India. She kept no penny in her pocket! Just trusted herself in His hands.
It was not until 1959 that she went to the [[Monastery]] of Mary and Martha in Bethany, Palestine, to become a nun. When she arrived she asked Fr. Theodosius the [[chaplain ]] for a rule of prayer. Fr. Theodosius was somewhat surprised to find that she could read even ancient Byzantine Greek. Fr. Theodosius said, "The great elders that we hear about no longer exist. I certainly am not one. You came here to save your soul. If I start giving you rules, you will lose your soul and I will as well. But here is Fr. [[John Climacus|John]]. He will be your elder." So for her first year in the monastery he set her to reading only the [[Gospels]] and St. John Climacus. (It should be noted that at that time the Ladder had not been published in modern Greek.)
She was three years in Bethany. In April, 1962, word came that [[Patriarch]] [[Athenagoras I (Spyrou) of Constantinople|Athenagoras of Constantinople]] sought to send an Orthodox monastic to [http://www.taize.fr/ Taize] in France. Sister Gabrielia went by way of Taize (she spoke fluent French from childhood) to America.
