On Monday, our team visited the city of Marathon. Argyris took us to a few key sites and then to the Marathon Bay to swim. We were able to walk part of the route that the Marathon man took when delivering the message of victory against the Persians. He ran 26 miles to Athens in full armor to share this news before dropping dead. We also visited the Battle of Marathon trophy, as well as the tomb where the remains of many Persian generals lay.
That evening we cooked a southern dinner (sweet tea and all) for Argyris and his family. It was by far one of the best team bonding moments we've experienced. So much frustration, yet so much joy! We were feeding 15 people, so it naturally took a lot of preparation. Between grocery shopping, not being able to read labels, converting measurements, the microwave breaking, finding maggots in the garlic, and trying to cook 15 pieces of chicken on a tiny, portable grill, the night was full of obstacles! We ended up making at least 5 trips to the market and everyone was on edge. We planned for dinner to be served promptly at 8:00 pm and didn't sit down until close to 10:30. But when we did, it was beautiful! We ate on the roof of the Bible school with two living room lamps and the moon as our only sources of light. We cut fresh flowers for the tables and watched as a forest fire radiated in the distance.
I can honestly say that we never could have pulled off that dinner if not every single person on the team had been involved. And despite our frustrations and all the setbacks, the night was full of laughter. God graciously gave us the ability to laugh at everything that was going incredibly wrong. Our guests were quite surprised by our efforts and loved the sweet tea and key lime pie!
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday nights we were responsible for conducting festivals for the neighborhood kids. I must admit that I was not particularly excited for these festivals, but I continually prayed that God would change my heart. I asked for energy and a heart for the kids. Rachel and I were assigned face - or should I say, body - painting. The kids wanted everything painted except for their faces. And unfortunately (for them) they were not satisfied by hearts and butterflies. No, we had to paint Greek flags inside of hearts and tribal symbols. To my surprise, God provided me with a joy that surpassed my expectation. The time flew by and was consumed with non-stop painting of arms, legs, faces, and more. Some kids had 5 or more paintings by the end of the evening. It was awesome loving the children and praying for them by name as we humbly served them. Overall, it was a great experience as it taught me what little verbal communication is actually needed to convey love to a child.
Thursday we had a rare opportunity to accompany a class of students to Corinth. During the bus ride, I read Acts 18 and part of 1 Corinthians so that the biblical events of history would be fresh on my mind. But nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. We spent the entire day learning about the city’s rich history and soaking up the beautiful ancient ruins. It's impossible to describe the feeling you get when standing at the bema seat where Paul was judged in Acts 18:12 - 17. The sight is nothing less than captivating! The professor gave us a detailed history lesson of each ruin, statue, and architecture we saw. We visited the Temples of Apollo and Octavia, the Acrocorinth and isthmus canal, and sat on the ancient ruins of a 4th century basilica. As I now reread that same scripture, I have a new appreciation for these passages. I can imagine exactly what the town looked like and where it's located. It came alive for me and that was an incredible blessing!
Today I have officially been in Greece for 3 weeks. I can hardly believe it! Although I wouldn’t trade this opportunity for anything, there are days that I miss the comfort of home. I miss routine, making my own decisions, having dinner with my family, playing with my niece, and spending time with Caleb. Oh, and I miss Mexican food! I’ve been on the lookout, but have yet to find any Mexican restaurants here – even though I’ve been told they do exist. Anyways, please do pray that this homesickness will not develop into an unhealthy distraction from God’s work. Pray that I would find comfort in Christ on the days when nothing appears familiar and the distance between me and home seems to grow with each passing week.
That evening we cooked a southern dinner (sweet tea and all) for Argyris and his family. It was by far one of the best team bonding moments we've experienced. So much frustration, yet so much joy! We were feeding 15 people, so it naturally took a lot of preparation. Between grocery shopping, not being able to read labels, converting measurements, the microwave breaking, finding maggots in the garlic, and trying to cook 15 pieces of chicken on a tiny, portable grill, the night was full of obstacles! We ended up making at least 5 trips to the market and everyone was on edge. We planned for dinner to be served promptly at 8:00 pm and didn't sit down until close to 10:30. But when we did, it was beautiful! We ate on the roof of the Bible school with two living room lamps and the moon as our only sources of light. We cut fresh flowers for the tables and watched as a forest fire radiated in the distance.
I can honestly say that we never could have pulled off that dinner if not every single person on the team had been involved. And despite our frustrations and all the setbacks, the night was full of laughter. God graciously gave us the ability to laugh at everything that was going incredibly wrong. Our guests were quite surprised by our efforts and loved the sweet tea and key lime pie!
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday nights we were responsible for conducting festivals for the neighborhood kids. I must admit that I was not particularly excited for these festivals, but I continually prayed that God would change my heart. I asked for energy and a heart for the kids. Rachel and I were assigned face - or should I say, body - painting. The kids wanted everything painted except for their faces. And unfortunately (for them) they were not satisfied by hearts and butterflies. No, we had to paint Greek flags inside of hearts and tribal symbols. To my surprise, God provided me with a joy that surpassed my expectation. The time flew by and was consumed with non-stop painting of arms, legs, faces, and more. Some kids had 5 or more paintings by the end of the evening. It was awesome loving the children and praying for them by name as we humbly served them. Overall, it was a great experience as it taught me what little verbal communication is actually needed to convey love to a child.
Thursday we had a rare opportunity to accompany a class of students to Corinth. During the bus ride, I read Acts 18 and part of 1 Corinthians so that the biblical events of history would be fresh on my mind. But nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. We spent the entire day learning about the city’s rich history and soaking up the beautiful ancient ruins. It's impossible to describe the feeling you get when standing at the bema seat where Paul was judged in Acts 18:12 - 17. The sight is nothing less than captivating! The professor gave us a detailed history lesson of each ruin, statue, and architecture we saw. We visited the Temples of Apollo and Octavia, the Acrocorinth and isthmus canal, and sat on the ancient ruins of a 4th century basilica. As I now reread that same scripture, I have a new appreciation for these passages. I can imagine exactly what the town looked like and where it's located. It came alive for me and that was an incredible blessing!
Today I have officially been in Greece for 3 weeks. I can hardly believe it! Although I wouldn’t trade this opportunity for anything, there are days that I miss the comfort of home. I miss routine, making my own decisions, having dinner with my family, playing with my niece, and spending time with Caleb. Oh, and I miss Mexican food! I’ve been on the lookout, but have yet to find any Mexican restaurants here – even though I’ve been told they do exist. Anyways, please do pray that this homesickness will not develop into an unhealthy distraction from God’s work. Pray that I would find comfort in Christ on the days when nothing appears familiar and the distance between me and home seems to grow with each passing week.
1 comment:
Wow. What and incredible experience that must have been. Being a visual person, to be able to be there and draw things from that when reading the scriptures would be absoultely incredible. Now you can recall in your mind how the earth/rocks felt under your feet, the way the air smelled and felt as you stared and thought about all the history and work of God that had happened in that exact spot. Again, wow.
We miss you girl. Still praying for you. :)
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