We're in Turkey...nbd :)

Greece was wonderful but I'm glad to be done. It's so expensive and so many hidden fees! We rented an atv and went around the Island on Sunday. Santorini is truly a beautiful place! We thought we would be on a beach the whole time we were there but there is SO much more to do! We met two girls from Canada who are Christians! God is so faithful. He keeps making divine appointments for us to meet so many awesome people. We are truly in awe. We were on ferries all day yesterday and our last ferry this morning to finally get to Kusadası Turkey. We ended up staying at a first class hotel last night on the İsland of Samos for less than half their usual price. God is so good! I wish we could have spend more time in Samos, riding the ferry away from it this morning we realized how big and beautiful it is. It even has a waterfall! Who knew?? I definetly want to come back someday. The keyboards in Turkey are all programed differently so it's a bit hard trying to type.

For safety I've never been worried about that. Athens is probably the most sketchiest place we will be in and we're already done with that. Good news! We will be spending 4 nights and five days in Toulouse!! So excited to go back to my hometown. That saying about Amerıca is my country and Paris is my home town rings so true for me. Although we won't be in Paris, Toulouse is close enough :) Also, we now have transportation and lodging fıgured out for the rest of the trip! Which is a huge relief! I'm trying not to miss home too much. İt's better when we are busy all day long.

Thanks so much for all your prayers! We have been so blessed!

Santorini :)

We are on the beautiful Island of Santorini! We went on a boat tour today. It was lovely! We went to one of the Islands that makes up Santorini that still has a semi-active volcano! I saw smoke, felt heat, and touched hot sulfurous rocks. It was awesome! We then went to hot springs that have tons of minerals in them and I put mud on my face and arms. No pictures unfortunately because we had to swim from the boats. We then went to another Island that has no cars, no sense of modern transportation at all. There are donkeys to get to the top but we bypassed the 5 euro price and decided to walk off the ice cream we just got. I think the walk made it so much more worth it! We valued the view and the beautiful town at the top so much more! We then boated around the Caldera, a body of water caused by a volcano erupting and the land collapsing to form the water basin, a little bit more. So beautiful!

A huge praise! We have almost all of our hostels and transportation booked for the rest of the trip! Hallelujah! We only have one night where we would stay on Samos Island for about 6 hours so we have just decided to stay in the port until our next ferry leaves at 7am. Pray for safety that night (Monday 5/30). We are also in need of a bus to Istanbul from Kusadasi, Turkey for Wednesday night 5/1. But that shouldn't be to hard since it isn't peak season. Everything else is pretty much booked!

We are having a more relaxed day tomorrow as we are little bit tired from all the sun and hiking today. Thank you so much! For all your prayers! We are having a wonderful time!

Last night in Athens

I must say while Athens boasts some rich history I would never want to spend more than the two days Julie and I decided to spend here. It's a rather depressing city. It's dirty, there is graffiti everywhere, stray dogs and cats roam all over, and there's a bit of an oppressive atmosphere. While I feel safe in the general tourist areas one wrong turn down the wrong street can lead to a more...interesting part of town. The other thing that struck me is that no one who lives here seems happy. Who would want to live in a city that you're not happy in? A thought to ponder.

Other than the depressing aura of the modern city of Athens, the historic sites are quite impressive. But I was reminded that although all these sites were magnificent in their day, they have slowly deteriorated and will eventually become nothing and may even be forgotten. It was comforting to be on Mars Hill knowing that the Apostle Paul once spoke words there that are eternal. He spoke truth, the Ultimate Truth about Christ Jesus, who was and is, and is to come, He will never fade away. Realizing that among all the ancient ruins was just awe inspiring.

Pray for Julie and I as we ferry to the Island Of Santorini tomorrow. Pray that there are no complications and we are able to make it to our hostel safely. I may feel a bit differently about Greece being on a beautiful Island in the middle of the Mediterranean ;) Also pray for our travels to Turkey, we still haven't quite figured out how we are going to get from Santorini to Turkey. It's a bit exciting though knowing that we don't quite have everything specifically nailed down to the last detail. We get to learn to trust each other and our Savior :)

Athens, Greece

We made it to Greece! We had no troubles with the airplanes, all were on time and our luggage got here safely. Praise God!

We got to athens and with a bus ride to the center of the city and a walk about a mile we made it to our Hostel. No problems with chech-in. We walked up to our floor and it's called "The Under World" with titles of the rooms like "Medusa's Lair" etc. Ours is called "Hades" we both laughed.

Although our room may seem a bit hellish our adventure so far certainly has not. On our 8 hour flight from Chicago to Zurich we sat by a lady, Rita, who happens to be a Christian! God is so good! The conversation with Rita was so encouraging for both Julie and I and I hope for Rita as well. After we got settled at our hostel we walked around the city a bit and had dinner at a restaurant near the ancient Agora with a lovely view of the Acropolis. The food was wonderful, the weather was perfect and all the ancient wonders were lighting up as we ate dinner so we had a lovely view of the sites at night. As we were eating 2 ladies next to us were out having dinner as well, they were American and they were Christians too! God has just been surrounding us!

Off for now. Will update again in a few days from Santorini! Love you all! Pictures will come soon!

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. ~I John 4:18~ Emailed to me from my papa.

Packing

I can't believe I leave tomorrow! It still feels like it's months away. I am so blessed to have a crazy friend like Julie who decided less than a month ago she wanted to come with me on this wild crazy adventure. Just a bit of advice for all you other crazy travelers: Do not plan a trip during finals, nothing gets done. Julie and I somehow managed to throw together most of the details, still have no idea where we are staying in Rome??? But life is an adventure :)

This whole adventure got started with my fascination, passion and love for the Middle East and North Africa. I wanted to pursue Arabic after falling in love with the language last fall. When checking out the various study abroad programs that offered language intensive Arabic during the summer, Morocco was the cheapest. Decision made.

I knew I wanted to travel either before or after the program, while I'm over there, why not? I don't really understand the travelers who go only to one country when others are so close by. I was discussing the idea of either traveling before or after, not wanting to do it alone, with Julie. Julie threw out the idea of her traveling with me before as she starts her job in mid June. I let her think for a few days but just talking about Greece I think I convinced her. And the planning began :)

We will be traveling first to Athens, Greece then to the Greek Island of Santorini, spending a few days in each. Then it's on to Ephesus, Turkey then Istanbul. A flight to Rome, then south to Pompeii. Train it up to Toulouse, France, my home away from home, and then fly to Morocco. Julie will fly home from Casablanca, Morocco and I will meet up with my study abroad group.

Pray for safe travels for Julie and I as we fly out tomorrow afternoon around 2:30. Pray for no complications with flights and that we arrive safely to our hostel in Athens.

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. ~James 5:7-11~