Day 8 - Two Cities in Two Countries - Vatican City and Rome

Today, we visited . . .
the Vatican Museum,

the Sistine Chapel (no photos allowed),
St. Peter’s Basilica,

St. Peter’s Square,

the Spanish Steps,

Trevi Fountain,

the Pantheon,

and capped the evening off at
Piazza Navona for dinner

and Giolitti’s for desert.

I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Thank you for your prayers. We are looking forward to one more really full day!

Day 7 - Sunrise in Samos, Sunset in Rome

We woke up early in Samos and saw the beautiful sunrise.

We boarded two planes, flew over the sea and several islands, and finally arrived in the Eternal City, Rome.

After a short period of rest, we headed out to two spectacular sites.
Santa Maria della Vittoria which houses one of the world’s most beautiful sculptures - Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. It is breathtaking. The entire church is almost more than one can take in. As two students said, “The attention to the smallest detail was overwhelming.” “Every square inch of the church was covered.”

Then we walked down the road to Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri - a basilica designed by Michelangelo inside an ancient Roman bath. The scale of this church is awe inspiring.

We capped our evening off with communion together in the hotel. Our celebrants were Deacon Alaina Slack and Deacon Abbie VanMeter. It was a spiritually moving way to end our first evening I. Rome together. 


We look forward to what tomorrow may bring. 
Thank you for your prayers. 

Day 6 - Samos - Beautiful Island, Beautiful Day

The day was spent on our beautiful island home of Samos. This island is rich with history, and it’s impact is still felt throughout the world.

Pythagoras is from this island. His understanding of the world and his mathematical formula are a significant part of how we see and engage the world.
Aristarchus is also from the island. He is a lesser known mathematician and astronomer. He was the first to postulate that the sun was the center of the universe and not the earth. He was also the first to plot the planets in their correct order based on their distance from the sun. He lived in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE.
Samos also has the largest Temple of Hera in the Greek world. It was one of the largest temples ever constructed.
Samos once boasted the largest navy in the ancient world.

We had the opportunity to tour the tunnel built in the 6th century BCE which was designed to bring water from one side of the island to the other. It is a magnificent engineering feat to dig from both sides of the mountain simultaneously and meet in the middle. They were only off from being perfectly aligned by 3 cm in height. It took over ten years to construct.

We then took inthe beauty and mystery of the Panagia Spiliani Monastery and Church located on the mountains of Samos. One of the sanctuaries of this monastery is found in an ancient cave which became known as the Cave of the Nymphs in Roman times.

After a quick visit of the fantastic Museum of Pythagorio we had an amazing gyro lunch at the greatest gyro stand in the world, Robinson’s.

The students had the afternoon to relax and swim in the pool. They are an amazing group. It is an honor and privilege to be with them. We are looking forward to what is next!

Day 5 - Patmos - the Mystery - The Jerusalem of the Aegean

Some mornings, you get on a boat.
Some mornings, you travel across the sea.
Some mornings, you journey to a mystical place.

And when you arrive, everything changes.

You visit a monastery.
You meet a monk.
He is transformed by the interaction.
He allows you to visit the relic room.
Few visit the relic room.

You stand in the presence
        of the remains of Chiristodoulos Latrinos of Patmos and Wonderworker
        who established the Monastery of St. John the Theologian.
You stand in the presence
        of the remains St. Thomas the Apostle.

You stand in a sanctuary.
You are in awe of the icons.
They are miraculous.

And then,
and then,
the cave.

THE cave.
The one in which the Apostle John
        received the revelation.
Beginning and end.
First and last.
Seven.
New heaven, new earth.
Behold,
        all things are new.

You are changed.
We all are changed.

Thank you for your prayers. We are looking ahead to what tomorrow might bring.

Day 4 - Athens Last Hurrah . . . Hello, Samos

We said our farewells to Athens in a big way this morning.

The group hiked to the top of the hill directly across from the Acropolis where the Tomb of Philopappos. This location has the most spectacular views of the city of Athens.

We then walked to the Temple of Zeus built by Hadrian to honor the city of Athens. Even though he was Caesar, he loved Athens more than Rome. This structure is overwhelming to behold.

After lunch, away we flew to the island of Samos. This picturesque locations is home base for three nights. We had a lovely large group dinner at a wonderful resort before returning to our fantastic hotel for a good night’s rest in preparation for a full day tomorrow.

Have a good day and thank you for your prayers.

Photos hopefully coming soon. Island life doesn’t bode well for internet access.

Day 3 - Zeus, Apollo, and Paul

Today was an incredible adventure.

An hour and a half drive found us at the Corinthian Canal completed in the 19th century. It allows sailors to cut over 140 nautical miles off of their journey. In antiquity, sailors would unload their ships in one port, roll their ships across the land on wheels, and put them back into the water on the other side of the isthmus. This is one of the reasons Corinth was such an importent city in Greek and Roman history.

We got back on our motor coach with our faithful driver Dimitri to head to Nemea. This was a site of ancient games, the only athlete bath ever discovered in Greece, and the oldest temple of Zeus discovered in Greece. It was beautiful and an unbelievable experience to be standing on that temple site.

After an amazing lunch looking over the ruins of ancient Corinth, we toured the ruins, stood beside the Temple of Apollo, saw the store from which Paul may have had his tentmaking shop, celebrated communion together (in the community to which Paul wrote what we know as the words of institution in 1 Corinthians 11), and walked the ancient streets.

We headed back to Athens to get ready for a beautiful dinner and a time of exploring the Plaka. Maybe some Greek dancing. And of course eating gelato!

What an amazing full day.

We are excited about what tomorrow might hold for us. Pray as we meet another day together.