Porta

Here’s a little addendum to everything that went on yesterday:

Last night, we got to go visit the ministry of the missionary that I mentioned that we were going to be able to help out a little bit. Sadly, due to our rescheduling of our trip, we weren’t actually able to share our faith with those that they are serving, but we still got so see the amazing ministry they have here in Athens.

Bob and Janice Newell are missionaries to Albanian immigrants in Athens. There are about 500,000 Albanians living in Athens, and they are hated by the Greeks. They mostly live in poverty and have extremely limited job opportunities. One woman we met has a degree in English, but had to clean bathrooms at a car dealership until the recent recession in which she lost even that job. Most Albanians are currently working for half the pay that they used to receive or have lost their jobs completely due to the economic situation in Greece. Even more devastating, the Newells said that out of those 500,000 Albanians, it is estimated that 1,000 are believers in Christ.

Bob and Janice are missionaries through the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship that have a ministry called Porta, which is a common word to both Greek and Albanian which means door/gate. They teach English and computer skills among other things to help these oppressed people find better jobs. They are a beacon of hope to a people that has no hope at all.

It was an inspiring experience to see the Newell’s passion for the mission that God has laid before them, and to see how blessed we are in comparison to these people. I for one will be changing the way that I live to be a better steward of everything God has given me (both material and otherwise) to help those that are less fortunate than I. Giving money to help Porta continue to serve these people is one small way to help the gospel continue to spread here where it first began to spread almost 2,000 years ago.

Last day in Greece :(

Well, today has been a really great day to wrap up our time here. We started the morning at the Acropolis Museum, which I unfortunately cannot show you, because they don’t allow cameras. It was somewhat strange, as we went in, they said “there are no cameras, no cell phones, no food, no speaking, and stay with your guide.” Wow. It was neat to see a lot of the statues and other pieces that they have removed from the Acropolis to protect, and it’s really cool that much of the floor is glass so that you can see the ongoing excavation of ancient ruins underneath the museum.

Once we finished in the museum, a part of the group wandered around the city a bit more. We ate lunch at a well known traditional Greek restaurant, bought some souvenirs, then we spent over an hour walking around to find some good gellato. Well worth the walk

Now I’m just relaxing, did some swimming on our cool rooftop pool, and after dinner we’ll be packing up to head to the airport at 4:00am. It’s been like pulling teeth to get all of our flights figured out, but we’ve finally shuffled airlines and we have a flight back to Dallas via Madrid tomorrow. I’m sad to be leaving here: it’s been so much fun, a great time to get to know new friends on the trip, and wonderful experiences with incredible meaning for me as I got to see places where Paul walked and taught and spread the gospel to the Gentiles. However, with our delayed return to the States, I’m barely making it back in time to go on my family vacation, so I’m ready to get back so I can drive home to spend some time with the family.

Thanks so much to all of you who have helped me go on this trip! It has been a life-changing experience with both spiritual and educational meaning. Truly something that I’ll never forget, and something that’s already inspiring me to seek and serve God in new ways. You will truly be rewarded in heaven. Also, thanks to everyone who prayed or even just thought of me while we were on our trip. It’s been great to hear from a few of you, knowing that I’m being prayed for and that I’m cared about.

Eleusis, Isthmia, Corinth

I really think that today’s tours were my favorite of the trip thus far! It was absolutely incredible. Our first two stops were places that tours do not frequent, and you’ve likely never heard of, but Dr. Johnson chose them to enhance our visit to Corinth.

Eleusis is an area of ruins of a religious center that is home to the Eleusinian mysteries. This was a religious cult that we do not know much about except that there were rituals that Greeks participated in as some sort of preparation for life after death. There was also a temple in Corinth dedicated to the same goddesses as Eleusis, which is probably why Paul wrote extensively about the resurrection to the Corinthians, because of their participation in this cult.

Isthmia is where they held athletic games that rivaled the Olympic games in prestige during ancient times. These games were connected to Corinth, and may have been going on while Paul was in Corinth. These games provide the background for Paul’s use of athletic imagery in his letters to the Corinthians. This was a wonderful sight as it is not popular, so we had freedom to roam and it is not fully excavated, so we felt like we were seeing it in a more raw and untouched state.

Corinth was absolutely incredible! It was great to stand where Paul was on trial and see all the places where things happened that I have been learning about in my classes. We arrived here around lunch time, so it also was not very crowded. It was a great day of touring!

Touring Athens

When we returned to Athens after the cruise, we had our first day of guided touring through the city. It was absolutely incredible to get to see the Acropolis with the Parthenon that I’ve seen in so many pictures. By far my favorite part of the day was getting to stand on top of the Areopagus (Mars Hill) where Paul once stood and very likely preached his sermon to an assembly of philosophers. This is one of my very favorite passages of the Bible, as Paul preached to these educated men that had reasoned out their beliefs, but still convinced a few to follow the Way of Christ. This is the first biblical account of Paul changing the way that he presented the gospel message to reach a certain cultural group. It was a very powerful experience as I read the passage from Acts of Paul speaking to the assembly of the Areopagus and then went up to the top of the hill. Also, we got to see the Pynx, which is a gathering place on which it is said that democracy was born. We also walked through the Agora, and saw the Tower of the Winds which is an original structure that is thousands of years old, and saw the stadium of the very first modern Olympic Games in the late 1800′s

. It was a great day to see history and experience walking in places where early Christianity was spread.

Cruise Day3

On this last day of the cruise, we visited the two Greek islands of Crete and Santorini. On Crete, we went to the ancient Minoan city of Knossos. It was really interesting to see one of the oldest civilizations that has been excavated in this part of the world. I’ll have to admit, I wasn’t as impressed with it as I could have been had I been more educated on the place. Also, it was extremely busy as there were 3 cruise ships in the port at that time, so it was difficult to navigate for good pictures or even hear our guide at times.

Santorini was absolutely beautiful! I had heard that it was the most gorgeous of all the Greek islands, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. We got to ride donkeys up the steep path that winds up the cliff, and we just walked around shopping and taking photos. It was a really great afternoon to just hang out with some of my friends that I’ve made on the trip and get a taste of the beautiful island.

Cruise Day2

On the second day of our cruise, we visited two extremely important biblical sites. Ephesus was our morning excursion, and it was astounding. We got to walk down roads where Paul had walked and stand in places that he had likely discussed and debated the gospel. We walked the path that the rioters from Acts would have walked when they were outraged by Paul’s threat to their city’s religion and livelihood, starting in the Agora and ending in the massive theater. In the theater, a guy from another group played a song on his violin, and it was amazing how you could hear clearly even from the very top of the theater. Ephesus was a great stop! Also, before we left Turkey we got to see how Turkish carpets are made, and it was very interesting. They encouraged us to buy some, but at $500-$800 for a place-mat-sized rug…I don’t think so.

Patmos, where John was exiled and received the vision of the book of the Revelation, was our stop for the afternoon. It’s a very beautiful island, and it was a great experience. However, I was a bit disappointed that we only got to spend a few minutes in the cave where John received the vision (or at least the cave that tradition says he was in) and we were not allowed to take any photos in the cave, so I’m sorry I can’t show it to you. It was a very inspiring and reverent time while we were in the cave, I just wish it could have been longer. We also toured a monastery that is on top of the mountain in Patmos.

Cruise Day1

So, we’re back in Athens. We got to do some touring today, but now I’m just relaxing…it’s been exhausting! Tonight, I’ll be putting up pictures of the cruise and our various stops. Here’s some pictures of our stop on the first day…Mykonos. It’s an absolutely GORGEOUS island. Me and the group I walked around with had a blast just walking around and acting goofy. The water there is the most blue-colored ocean that I’ve ever seen. All the buildings are white and they have blue, green, or red doors and windows. It’s a breathtaking sight. We just walked around taking pictures, shopping, and walked across the beach at sunset. A great day for sure!

Yes, the water is that blue.

there are over 365 chapels on Mykonos