[Written a couple of days ago]
“It’s all Greek to me”… Literally. I have been here for almost a couple of days now and I still do not know how to say hello in Greek. If I read it on a sign or something like that, I still wouldn’t know how to pronounce it… Greek is hard. I have a greater respect for the people at Westmont who were studying Greek (even though its not the same type of Greek).
The time here has been amazing so far. We are a little farther away from the beach than we were in Muizenburg, but the weather is much mellower. For one, there is not wind, and therefore sand, pelting you in the face from all angles. There are also not as many waves, since the beach is situated in a port. The water is warmer, and there are no Great Whites threatening to eat the swimmers. Overall, it is beautiful. The town that we are in is called Porto Rafti, about an hour (public transport) from downtown Athens.
As I think about the next few months, excitement overwhelms me. The amount of studying that we will be doing is a lot, but it will be great to learn, in depth, about the New Testament. In a couple of weeks we will be going to places like Corinth to walk in the steps of Paul, getting a better understanding of the context of the early Church.
I hope to learn more about what the social climate is in Greece as well. Since it is so close to Turkey and the Arab world, I am imagining that the diversity will be astounding. Whenever multiple cultures come together, there is always an interesting dynamic.
This morning Tim, Carla, and I got up early (even though it’s Saturday) to take pictures of the sunrise; which happens to be around 7:30 in Greece. Since the waves aren’t as crazy, and the wind isn’t blowing seawater into my lens, it turned out to be quite an enjoyable experience. I look forward to many more. The new background for the blog is from the shoot this morning… I couldn’t help but praise the Creator…
“All the earth shall worship You
And sing praises to You;
They shall sing praises to Your name.” – Psalm 66:4
I have been appointed to Communications for the PhotogenX Round the World Track. I am excited about the prospect because of my experience with blogging, and because I really like to do it. During the week, I will be collecting stories and information from the team and sending out the updates once a week. Pray that I will be able to keep up with what’s going on and accurately convey the spirit of the team with the updates. I am honored with the opportunity.
Tags: Athens, awaken, greece, Jesus Christ, journey, missions, photoblog, photography, photojournalism, Porto Rafti, travel
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john! so great to hear you guys are loving greece. i didn’t realize it until now, but when you said you were staying in porto rafti, i remembered that the college i graduated from (harding university) has a campus in porto rafti. you might be able to make a couple connections there, as they’ve been in greece for years now. the couple that runs it knows greek fluently and they do tours of athens and the steps of paul every semester with the students, so they might have even more information to soak in that you guys might be learning. plus, you could probably make a few friends with the students there, as they’ll be about all of your ages.
here’s a link to their website:
http://www.harding.edu/International/hug.html (http://www NULL.harding NULL.edu/International/hug NULL.html)
keep enjoying the mediterranean!
john! so great to hear you guys are loving greece. i didn’t realize it until now, but when you said you were staying in porto rafti, i remembered that the college i graduated from (harding university) has a campus in porto rafti. you might be able to make a couple connections there, as they’ve been in greece for years now. the couple that runs it knows greek fluently and they do tours of athens and the steps of paul every semester with the students, so they might have even more information to soak in that you guys might be learning. plus, you could probably make a few friends with the students there, as they’ll be about all of your ages.
here’s a link to their website:
http://www.harding.edu/International/hug.html (http://www NULL.harding NULL.edu/International/hug NULL.html)
keep enjoying the mediterranean!
Awesome…yes…and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, Creator of all! The Word of God is the Living book but what a great privilege, as I know you understand, to walk its history. Thank you John Paul, for updating the blog for us to be able to share a little in your experience. Thank you for your faithfulness in doing so as you have many studies as well, may you receive extra blessings. God bless you and the team as you sit at the feet of Christ. All our love and prayers to each of you.
john that pic is awesome!! I’m so jealous you’re in Greece..you get to see where biblicial history was made. So Cool!! I’ll definitely be praying for your new responsibility with the communications stuff. Colorado misses you!
JP, What an awsome experience!
We all look forward to sharing in it with you, and appreciate the updates. Blessings to you..
Don’t forget to send a google earth link to where you are.
What a privilege for you to be appointed head of communications, but I’m not surprised. It is one of your gifts from the Lord. May God continue to flow through your words and updates to clearly communicate to all of us, what the Lord is doing. I love the photos of you sitting on the rocks overlooking God’s Creation. If I can get a cheap ticket, I’m going to come see you, k? (I can dream, can’t I?) God bless you John as well as your whole team!
Hey John!!
)))
Great to hear from you! I am amazed that you are in such a crazy beautiful place. I love to hear all about your journey’s. Please say hello to Timmy:)
I dreamt I was in Greece and it was stunning!!!
God’s grace to you all,
Tim’s Mom
The most common word used in all of these comments is awesome.
It truly is.
We serve an amazing and awesome God. As always, it is great to see an update on your blog.
Communications huh? Haha. Oh wow, I am not surprised.
May you continue to wake up every morning in the reality of what a gift your experience is, even when it is hard, confusing and lonely and you feel like your brain is going to explode because you have spent so many hours reading the bible…kidding about that part.
Blessings and prayers.
John!! found you on here. So I’m jealous you are in greece right now walking the footsteps of PAUL!! crazy. Enjoy everything and soak it all up. Learn lots and then tell me all about it.