Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Two Full Days in Rome

Our two days in Rome are drawing to a close.  There is so much to share, but not enough words.  Allow these pictures and their captions do the talking.


Vatican Museum tour including the excavations below where St. Peter is buried.


St. Peter's Basilica - Michelangelo's dome

Trevi Fountain - tossing in coins

St. Paul's Outside the Walls - we had a service to remember our baptisms 

The Colosseum - we toured underneath the floor and all the way to the rooftop

The Pantheon

Monday, June 17, 2013

Corinth and Arrival in Rome

Another amazing day. 





We began with an early morning bus ride to Corinth. Eleni took us to the acrocorinth for a hike to the top. What a beautiful scene. Then we had a great lunch overlooking the ruins of ancient Corinth.






Following lunch we entered the ancient city. There we saw the Temple of Apollo, the bema where Paul proclaimed the gospel, a shop which could have been Paul's while he stayed there, and many other important sites along the way. We also celebrated communion together as a part of a moving worship service led by Caitlin and Jim. The day in Corinth was capped off by a visit to the museum on the site highlighted by the busts of Julius Caesar and Augustus. 








We then drove to the airport for Rome. When we arrived, this was waiting for us.




Thank you for your prayers. Tomorrow begins two busy and tiring days. Please continue to pray for us. See you soon.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Happy Father's Day - Christian, Hunter, Matt, Tom, Rachel, Nathan

Christian: happy Father's Day dad. Hate to miss it but were having a great time. I love you everyone at home. See you soon

Hunter: Happy Father's Day Dad.  I wish you could be here on Samos to share this amazing view of the beach and whether. I love you and I will see the family in Rome in three days!

Matt: Hey dad, hope you are enjoying Father's Day!!!! Samos is gorgeous and simply breathtaking!! I miss you, I will see you on the 20th! 

Tom: Happy Fathers Day!!! There are so many places here that you could be taking photos. It's absolutely amazing here!! I will be sure to find a roman mug for you in Rome! I love you dad!! 

Rachel: happy Father's Day dad:) I'm sorry I can't be there right now:( I hope u and mom are having a great time at home!!!! Hope max is behaving:);):) I'm having an incredible time here!! I love it so much and I know that it is helping my faith grow so much everyday.  Dad, im thinking about u here and i am so proud of all of your hard work! u inspire me so much;)I miss u guys and I will see u soon! Luv u both:)

Nate: hey dad! Happy Father's Day. I realize its only 7 there so I hope you're still asleep. I hope the weather is nice so you can take the car for a spin. I know you want to. Europe is amazing. Can't wait to show you pictures. Love ya, Nate. 

Father's Day - Michensey, Tori, Sarah C., Sarah M.

  Happy Fathers Day Dad!! We are having an amazing time sitting on the beach having a  relaxing day before we fly to Athens tonight. Samos is probably my favorite place we've gotten to stay so far. Hope you're having an awesome day, love you! -Michensey 

Hellllllooooo daddy! I hope you're having an awesome Father's Day back in lame old Indiana! Today we are just chillin on the beach at Samos (rocky beaches until you get about 15 feet in and it becomes sand). Then we leave to go back to Athens and spend the day in Corinth tomorrow. I hope mom and Doug and Lager take you out for a nice dinner and you enjoy my gift for you. You're an amazing father and friend and I'm lucky to have you in my life. I love you and cannot wait to see you. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!! -Tori

Happy Father's Day,we are sitting at the beach eating lunch and looking for sea glass. We are in Samos right now and we will be flying back to Athens tonight.  Jim says hi. - Sarah C. 

Hey dad, happy Father's Day!!! Everything about Samos is incredible, the food, the people, the culture, and the history. I know you would really like it here, so one day Noah, Josh, and I will bring you here! ~ Sarah M.

Happy Father's Day - Erin, Lauren, Ali

Happy Father's Day to the best dad in the world! Wish I could be there, but this trip has been awesome and I've had an amazing time with some amazing people. It has been great to reconnect and make new friends as well. The culture here is so different but we have been embracing it with open arms, and the history is amazing! Miss and love you mom and dad and Sam. See you soon and love you to the moon and back! -Erin 


Happy Father's Day Bogey! I miss you so much and wish I could be celebrating with you today, but I can't wait to tell you all about what I've been doing here in Europe. It has been such an amazing experience to see Athens, Samos, Patmos, and Ephesus. I have loved being surrounded by a completely foreign and new culture and I'm so thankful that you and Mel allowed me and encouraged me to take this trip. Love you Dad, Mom, Teddy, and Grace and I'll see y'all soon! - Lauren 


Happy Father's Day H!!  I miss you all a lot but have been having a great time in Europe!  We have seen so many cool things and learned so much amazing history about all these places!  It's been a lot of fun to get to know everyone in is group and we have all had such a great time together!  Thanks for giving me the opportunity to go on this trip and I will see you when we get back!  Love you mom, dad, and chad! -Ali


Happy Father's Day - Christian, Hunter, Matt, Tom, Rachel, Nathan

Christian: happy Father's Day dad. Hate to miss it but were having a great time. I love you everyone at home. See you soon

Hunter: Happy Father's Day Dad.  I wish you could be here on Samos to share this amazing view of the beach and whether. I love you and I will see the family in Rome in three days!

Matt: Hey dad, hope you are enjoying Father's Day!!!! Samos is gorgeous and simply breathtaking!! I miss you, I will see you on the 20th! 

Tom: Happy Fathers Day!!! There are so many places here that you could be taking photos. It's absolutely amazing here!! I will be sure to find a roman mug for you in Rome! I love you dad!! 

Rachel: happy Father's Day dad:) I'm sorry I can't be there right now:( I hope u and mom are having a great time at home!!!! Hope max is behaving:);):) I'm having an incredible time here!! I love it so much and I know that it is helping my faith grow so much everyday.  Dad, im thinking about u here and i am so proud of all of your hard work! u inspire me so much;)I miss u guys and I will see u soon! Luv u both:)

Nate: hey dad! Happy Father's Day. I realize its only 7 there so I hope you're still asleep. I hope the weather is nice so you can take the car for a spin. I know you want to. Europe is amazing. Can't wait to show you pictures. Love ya, Nate. 

Father's Day - Chris, Kent, and Evan

  Happy Father's Day Padre! Tell everyone hello for me! I miss you guys. The trip has been awesome so far, and right now we are chilling on the beach in Samos. The gyros are soooo good. The weather is perfect, I may never come back! Just kidding, love you guys and see you all soon.
Chris

Hey papa Miiller. Hope you are enjoying your fathers day. I've seen so many cool things on the trip so far. I hope all is well in Indy. I will see you all soon with gifts and pictures. Stay classy Miiiiiiiiiiiiiller family. 
-Kent 

Hey Pops, hope you guys don't miss us too much! I miss you but we're having lots of fun here! The weather has been perfect everyday. Right now we are looking out on the sea from Samos. Everything has been amazing so far. I may just stay here for thenrest of the summer. Love you and Happy Father's Day dad!
Evan

Father's Day - Sarah, Nancy, Hannah, Kirsten, Ali

We love hanging out by the pool Samos! We just enjoyed gyros by the pool! 

Hey Dad! We love you and miss you! You would love it here-we're walking all over and seeing lots of cool stuff! Thanks for this experience. Happy Fathers Day.  Love you! Love, Noony Noo and Sarah Sue aka Sarah and Nancy 

Hey Dad! Europe is so awesome. I wish I could share this awesome experience with you and the fam. I miss you and can't wait to see you Thursday. I hope you have an amazing Father's Day! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to go on such an amazing trip! Love you! Love, Hannah 

HAPPY FATHERS DAY JIMMY!!!!!!!!!
I love and miss you and mom, although given the chance I would probably never go home, but you would love it here. I'm having an amazing time here in Europe (mostly, we spent the majority of yesterday in Asia). Can't wait to see you and go to Emerald Isle with everyone. Thanks for everything you do for me! Love you and have an amazing Father's Day!!
Love, Kirsten

Hey daddy!  I love ya sooooo much.  And miss the family lots. Let me say HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO YOU!  I hope it's spectacular.  This trip is absolutely amazing and I can't thank you enough.  I shall see you soon .  Gotta get a shovel for my cake.  Love ya!
Much love always, 
Ali or better known as alzigator28
   """"V.  ))

Saturday, June 15, 2013

The Cities of Selcuk and Ephesus

Today was an early morning. We caught our ferry at 8:30 for Turkey. That's right! Today we not only changed cities, but we changed countries and continents. We were met by our magnificent tour guide Nam. He first took us to the ruins of the Basilica of St. John. This is the site of a massive Byzantine era basilica built on the site where legend says the apostle died and whose body was never to be seen again.  This was the second largest basilica built in that era in that region - second only to Hagia Sophia.

Following our visit to the basilica we went to Isabey Mosque (the Mosque of Jesus). Nam gave us a brief history lesson on the mosque and Islam in the area.  We then had the distinct privilege of entering the mosque together. So amazing. 

The we went to a local restaurant where we ate home cooked cuisine made from locally grown vegetables by an amazing woman and her family. It was quite the surprise and quite delicious. 


Our final stop before returning to Samos was the ancient city of Ephesus. We walked along the marble streets, visited temples dedicated to pagan deities and political leaders, saw the ancient public bath, were awed by the terrace houses of the wealthy, stood in the shadow of the beautiful library, and visited the largest theater of the ancient world (25,000 seats).  This is an experience that none will forget.  All were moved by the sites and the stories of this amazing region.

We boarded our ferry for our journey home and were led in devotions by Karl. Then it was back into town for another tasty dinner in our small groups. 

And tomorrow, we get to sleep in! Thank you for your prayers. Check back again tomorrow.

Friday, June 14, 2013

The Jerusalem of the Aegean - Patmos

Today was an amazing day on the island of Patmos. There really is no way that words can explain the experiences had in the Jerusalem of the Aegean. 

Caitlin and our tour guide, Nicholas, set the stage by reminding us of what took place on this island. Then we decended the 49 steps into the Cave of the Revelation. It was there we came face to face with mystery and the palpable presence of the Divine.  The students voluntarily sat in the grotto for minute upon holy minute praying and contemplating the space in which they found themselves and the God who had met them there.  This was a truly holy moment, one that none of us will soon forget.

Upon exiting the cave we proceeded to the highest point on the island to the Monastery of St. John. Within the walls of this 11th century castle we wandered wide-eyed into and through the small but ornate church, the fresco covered chapel, the tiny hallways, and the magnificent museum full of icons and relics.

Following the tour of the museum it was time for a wonderful lunch complete with Greek dancing lessons.  What a fun way to cap off an amazing morning.

The afternoon was spent strolling through the streets of Patmos, taking our hydrofoil back to Samos, and eating dinner (and gelato) on the waterfront.


Another glorious day.  Thank you for your prayers.  Please continue as we prepare ourselves for Ephesus tomorrow.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Unexpected Delay/Unexpected Joys

We had an unexpected longer day in Athens today.  It was spent strolling throughout the city, climbing up to the top of Filopappos Hill, visiting the Temple of Zeus, shopping a bit, and eating a good lunch.  



We finally boarded a plane and headed for the amazing island of Samos. We were greeted by an incredible buffet dinner at Doryssa Bay Seaside Resort. Then it was off to our rooms and to bed for a short night of rest at Hotel Arethousa.

Tomorrow, we board the Flying Dolphin hydrofoil in Samos on the way to the mysterious and beautiful island of Patmos. Can't wait to fill you in on the wonderful details tomorrow.

Thank you for your prayers.  They have buoyed us. 

One more picture of the group in the agora at the base of the acropolis in Athens listening to Eleni.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Full Day of Wonder and Amazement

"I can't believe I'm here. I just can't believe I'm here." This phrase was heard over and over again today as our group spent the entire day walking through the streets and sites of Athens.  

Our first stop this morning was the Theater of Dionysus, one of the earliest preserved theaters of the ancient world.  It rests on the side of the acropolis.  It was constructed for perfect acoustics.  It seated somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 spectators.  We had choice seats as we listened to Eleni Elaine our surroundings.


Our next stop was the ancient auditorium constructed by Herod Atticus.  As we overlooked this massive structure, it didn't take much to imagine some of the worlds most famous performers on stage.  

Them around another turn we went and were face to face with the magnificence of the acropolis.  There is not much that can be shared to express the overwhelming power of the architecture and history encountered on that hill.  The Temple of Nike (wingless victory), the Erechtheion dedicated to Poseidon, and of course the Parthenon in all of its glory.  To think that these were the very buildings seen by the throngs of visitors from antiquity including the Apostle Paul.


We then visited Mars Hill, the scence of Paul's famous speech to the Areopagus found in Acts 17. This is where Paul appealed to the art, sculpture, poetry, and religious life of Athens to state his case for the Gospel.


Our day together also included two incredible meals of delicious Greek food and a visit to the new Acropolis Museum where many of the artifacts from the acropolis are now housed.  

What an amazing day.  What an incredible journey. 

"I can't believe I'm here. I just can't believe I'm here."

Thank you for your prayers. Tomorrow, we travel to the picturesque island of Samos.  

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Departures and Arrivals


After a long journey, we have arrived safely in Athens.  All 30 of us are excited and ready to start our adventure together in earnest.  Upon arrival in this magnificent city, we were met by Eleni (Helen), our tour guide.  She and Mateas (Matthew) took us for a guided motor coach tour of the city.  We saw the parliament building, syntagma square, the library, the gardens, the temple of Zeus, Hadrian's gate, and the Olympic stadium.



Tonight, we will walk through the plaka to our restaurant for our first foray into Greek cuisine.  Thank you for your prayers.  Please pray for rest tonight as tomorrow is one of the busiest and heaviest walking days of the entire trip.

Blessings.


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