Day in Athens

This morning we left the Artemis at 8am to spend the day in Athens. James (Giacomo) was our guide, along with Tasso, our driver. Being a Saturday the traffic was not as bad as normal. We knew James from our previous days here. It was good to see him again. His father is Greek and his mother, Italian. He married recently, an American woman from Indianapolis, that he met on one of his tours. She is currently in language school three hours a day. We enjoyed sharing memories of the horrors of language school:) Our first stop was at the Olympic Stadium, with the Parthenon high on the hill behind it.I remember standing in the freezing rain as our Jon, and now son-in-law, Tim, ran their first marathons. They ran from the village of Marathon into Athens. An incredible achievement at any age. From the stadium we made our way over to the base of the Parthenon.After a steep climb to the top we were met with the magnificent structure surrounded with scaffolding. Even with the poor economy, the work of restoration continues, as it is three fourths funded through the EU (European Union). From the Parthenon we climbed Mars Hill. This is much safer now after the recent Olympic Games. There are now metal steps and a handrail, which is a great improvement over sliding down the steps on your backside. Terry read to the students from Acts 17 and then we prayed together. It is very moving to look down over this city of almost six million people, and to realize how many have still never heard the gospel. We left Mars Hill and stopped off at the Plaka to purchase a few warm clothing items. It was cold and drizzly. Brrr....We went to lunch at a local tavern, and the students were very willing to try new foods. We started with a light spaghetti with tomatoes and garlic, followed by a Greek salad. The next douse was Greek meatballs and fries, and then ice cream for dessert. Everyone was pretty stuffed by that point. One of the highlights of our day was a lovely party of three elderly folks who made their way over to our table.they had been listening to Terry and James speaking Italian and had been guessing where each was from. They guessed that Terry was a Professor from Tuscany. They sure know their dialects! It turns out that the men are here helping on some Naval engineering work, and are originally from La Spezia - the Cinque Terre area. We enjoyed sharing memories of our times there in Vernazza, Monterosso, etc. It was like discovering old friends. We then walked over to visit the new Acropolis Museum. They have done such a wonderful job on this new facility. It houses the original remnants of the Parthenon. Rather than cover over the excavations several floors below ground, they have built a glass floor that you look down through as you walk. Jordan wasn't so sure about that! One of the main purposes of building this museum is to
remove one of the British excuses as to why they haven 't returned the Elgin Marbles. They claim that there is not a safe place for them, where they could be properly protected. This is now no longer true. It will be interesting to see what happens next. We then returned to the
Artemis around 5pm. This evening the boys are downstairs watching "The Lord of the Rings" with the students. They are enjoying themselves, especially always having someone around to shoot a
basket with, play chess with, etc. Tomorrow we have classes until lunch time, and then we will leave for worship at 4pm. Kalinichte!

2012- Our Travels Begin

Where did this month go? I am ready to write about our life in Greece and realized that I had never even downloaded pics from Tim, Jordan, Maria and Julia's birthdays.January was filled with good days. Days with friends and family. Several evenings over at the homes of new friends who share our faith. It was also a month of good-byes. We all found it difficult to leave behind our dear friends at Dalraida. It would seem as if that would become easier as many times as we have done it. At least we have learned from our experiences that being away just helps us be grateful for the days we have shared, and we can anticipate the time when we will all be together again.we arrived yesterday evening after two nice flights. The flight to Frankfurt was only a third full, which made our trip very comfortable. Both flights were early. Unheard of anymore! The James' met us at the airport, along with some Harding students.After finding our rooms, we all walked down the road to Dimitri's, and ate Greek salad and gyros. Sweet fellowship.This morning we were able to visit with Vicki,Mietek,Yianna and Fofi. It was wonderful to catch up on their lives! yianna's husband has now been unemployed for a long time and her son, with a social work degree, is only paid half the time. What a humbling reminder of how the news of a troubled Greek economy is not simply a business fact. There are so many here who are really hurting.Tonight we had a young man visiting who was originally from Emory University in Georgia.He is on a year abroad scholarship with St. Andrews in Scotland. He met some of our students at worship in Glyfada on Sunday, and came to spend the evening with us before heading to London in the morning.He is a good friend of one of our Faulkner girls, Naisa.After dinner, a few began singing hymns. Our guest had a beautiful voice and led us in one song after another. The group gradually grew to about 40. 40 beautiful voices, sharing one hymn after another. All voices raised together in worship to God.Oh, how wonderful to worship the same Savior.What I believe I loved the most was seeing Jordan sitting right in the middle of the group. ten years ago, I sat at these same tables, and watched my two teenagers, Jon and Chelsea, sing many of these same songs. And I know how God blessed them by the time they spent here.We sang until about 9:15 and during tea time I looked over and Christian was playing the theme song to "The Office" on the piano, while Jordan played the guitar. Students had bribed Christian to play by promising him his favorite cookies. Tomorrow starts the boys and I's return to schoolwork. Sigh.Then Saturday we will be heading in to Athens for the day. to my dear children and grandchildren- I love you all.