Dr. J (dad) and Mama J (mom)

Inspirations.

To Stories.

I'll begin with apologies for not blogging about Turkey, Delphi, our last excursion cruise to the Greek Islands. I want to tell you all about these stories; about things I saw, things I learned, and experiences GALORE. Good experiences. Experiences filled with sunsets that drew tears, talks with friends that strengthened relationships, and times of reflection that made me realize what happened this semester. 


This chapter is now coming to a close. I leave at 8am tomorrow morning for a 16-day journey through Europe. Somehow I managed to pack all my belongings into one suitcase and carefully selected a few "necessary" items for my free travel. The goodbyes are beginning. I honestly feel right now as if it were 3 months ago, I blinked, and now I'm here. This morning I walked down the streets of Porto Rafti to the bakery that changed...everything...and had to say goodbye to some dear friends. Standing in the bakery listening to Thaneses tell me in Greek that God was in my heart, bringing tears (lots of tears!) to my eyes, I realized what this semester gave me. My eyes have been "unveiled," in a sense, and I feel as if I've been given a fresh perspective to live my life in. To take in everything, to create deeper relationships, to create MORE relationships, to climb more mountains, to watch more sunrises, to cry openly, to share your heart openly, to even give the angry, Greek woman the last Bougatza. I have learned more lessons than I ever realized I would when I left America in January. The thing is, it's not over. This is one part of my STORY, with which I plan on continuing to be purposeful with and intentionally working to make it great, to do things that will make God smile, to find ways to create joy. I can tell you all about ancient ruin sites I've seen, what the political tension feels like in Jerusalem, how beautiful Mykonos is...but there will never be a way for me to tell you what 'happened' this semester. How do you explain a change of heart? You don't. You live it. So that's what I hope will happen. 


Hopefully, I will be able to keep you all informed of where I am over the course of the next 16 days! Please keep us in your prayers. Oh and a shout out for my sister Erika. She is going on a medical mission trip to Belize in 4 weeks!! I would be extremely thankful for your prayers and financial support for her. We're all living our own stories...this is a part of hers! Love you all!!!! 


"In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die. Where you invest your love, you invest your life." - Awake My Soul. 

Delphi

I know I have yet to write about my trip to Turkey and Delphi, so to hold over you avid blog readers of mine, here is a picture of the famous Gallio Inscription at Delphi. This one piece of stone is solid archaeological evidence that Paul was in Corinth in 51 AD. Pretty cool in my opinion. If you can read Greek, take a stab at this one. See if you can find it!

Poets

With my dear friends Bethy and Bonnie on our day trip into Athens. They got their SECOND pair of Poet sandals! :)