New York City - Saturday and Sunday, October 1st and 2nd

We actually began our journey in New York, flying into  Newark Airport and spending a day in New York City before we caught our flight to Barcelona. I had just enough time and the weather cleared just enough for me to take a boat ride out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I have been around them before and but never gotten a chance to be on the island up close.

I always find it powerful to think about the boat loads of immigrants who came into our country this way. The first sign of freedom and a new life they saw was this beautiful statue of a woman pulling up at towards for freedom, which would make everyone on the boat cheer according to the history I learned while on the island. Below you can see if you was the pictures I was able to take. I also was able to spend a few minutes on the computers in the library they have on Ellis Island and find some of the relatives of my grandmother on my father's side who came through here on their way to Hesperus from Italy. Hesperus is a small town just east of Durango where my grandmothers family settled up on moving to America.

On our boat ride out the Statue we were able to see up the East Hudson River where Sully put down the plane in an emergency landing that saved hundreds and probably thousands of lives. It was pretty awesome to see this stretch of river after having seen the movie just a few weeks ago.

You can also see a few pictures below of the World Trade Center and the new underground rail station that is underneath the World Trade Center. It's a beautiful and remarkable building, considering the rubble that was here 15 years ago and it's a testament to the  human spirits ability to recover and move forward after tragedy and devastation.

Mykonos, Greece - Monday, October 10

Our next stop was another Greek Island on the way to Athens, Mykonos. I took a boat to the island of Delos which is the place where many Greek gods had temples built to them. It was in many ways the center of the Greek world for quite a while and the ruins were pretty spectacular. The first photo below is of the Lions of Delos, followed by the Temple of Isis. I had to hike up the mountain (pictured next) to see that temple and the view was spectacular as you can see in the next photo. Delos was the Switzerland of the Greco-Roman world with every major empire having a port and bank.

Arriving back on Mykonos I spent some time with this young boy playing his accordion and he found us a great place to have lunch. You also will see some photos of their windmills, village and a beautiful chapel. The last photo is the beach where I swam in the Agean Sea...what a treat!

Santorini, Greece - Saturday, October 8

While not part of Paul's travels, our ship stopped in Santorini, Greece today as we make our way to Ephesus in Turkey. The city is built on a hill that you can walk or take a donkey or ride the funicular (basically a gondola) to ascend. Oia Village is on one end of the island which is where numerous movies featuring Greece have been filmed, including Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I actually began the day travelling by a Greek sailboat to a smaller island which is home to the active volcano that formed these islands.

The first few photos are from the volcano. Next you will see some of Oia village including their famous windmill and blue domed churches. Finally their are pictures of descending the hill from Santorini and the beautiful sunset we witnessed.

Day at Sea - Wednesday, October 12th

Today Father Ron's talk was on the second season of our lives, "Giving Our Lives Away." It was a great segway into Paul's life and thinking about how God calls us to not just live for self but for others. I also got to rest some more and went to a presentation on how this 1 billion dollar ship operates. There are about 3000 guests and 1200 crew aboard and this ship could stay out for 28 days! They have there own recycling and water plants on board and leave no footprint on the ocean or environment. It's really a start of the art hotel on water and is very enjoyable to be on.

Athens, Greece - Tuesday, October 11th - part 2

We just got back on the ship after an afternoon in Athens and had a great visit there with some great weather which was nice after the rain in Corinth. We started off with a city tour and then ended up at the base of the Acropolis, which is the mountain that sits above Athens and is home to the Parthenon and several temples to the Greek gods.

Before we ascended the Parthenon we spent some time at the Arapagus which is also known as Mars Hill. This is where it is believed Paul gave his famous speech to the Athenians that we find in Acts 17. Our group stopped here and we read that text and listen to Paul's words.

The first two pictures below are from Mars Hill and you can see in the background all of the temples built to the Greek gods about which Paul speaks when he talks about temples made by human hands. Our tour guide pointed out that Paul getting up and speaking about his faith in Christ in this setting was akin to someone going to Mecca and in the middle of prayer time standing up and speaking about Christ. In other words, it took quite a bit of courage and boldness. The third picture below is from Mars Hill looking down towards Athens and right of my head are the ruins of the Agora, which was the main shopping area of Athens and where Paul preached on several occasions.

As you hike up to the Acropolis you will see the Parthenon in all of its Glory along with the temple to Athena which are the next two pictures that you see. From the top of the Acropolis, as you look down along the back side, you will see the Olympic stadium and the entryway into which people came for the Olympic Games for hundreds of years.

On the way down from the Acropolis you can witness the great Roman Theatre which was actually built after the time of Paul in the two hundreds but is still used today in the summer for musical acts and performances.

Thanks again for checking in and seeing about our trip. We now head out to sea for a day and so there will be no more blog posts after this until we get to Malta, the island where Paul was shipwrecked. I should be able to make one more post there and then we have one more day at sea before we arrive back in Barcelona. Thanks again for all of your prayers. Grace and peace, Jeff

Corinth, Greece - Tuesday, October 11th - part 1

Our ship traveled through the night and brought us to port in Greece where we are able to access Corinth and Athens. To get to Corinth we crossed the Corinthian canal that connect the Agean and Ionian Seas and saves ships 3 to 4 days of travel. They used to take ships across this stretch on rollers over dry land in ancient times.

The Acrocorinth is the acropolis that sits above the ancient city ruins. The Temple of Aphrodite sits up there and housed 1000 Temple prostitutes. We did not make it up the mountain as its an all day trip and it was raining. Instead, we spent time in city ruins which includes the Temple of Apollo seen below with the Acrocorinth in the background.

Also in this area is the Bema where the Apostle Paul preached that is the next picture of me in front of that area. Our group read from 1 Corinthians 9: 17-27 where Paul summarizes his message. The  next photo is a view of the ruins from on top of the Bema.

Finally, we read from 1 Corinthians 11:23-27 where Paul gives instructions for Communion and we shared in a  Communion service together. The final photo is the main street of Corinth with the Acrocorinth rising in the background.

Now we are off to Athens!

Ephesus, Turkey - Sunday, October 9th

Today was a highlight of the trip I have been looking forward to for years and that was visiting the ruins of Ephesus. We began the day with worship at a place tradition says Mary the mother of Jesus lived out her older years with the Apostle John. Below you can see a photo of our worship time with Father Ron, followed by an ecterior photo of the chapel and the inside altar dedicated to Mary.

We then headed down the hill to the ruins and discovered amazing pomegranates for sale (this picture's for you Vika!) The next picture below you can see me in front of the amphitheater where the Apostle Paul preached to the Ephesians. You also will see a wide-angle shot of the amphitheater from the top step.

The next picture below is of the library of celsus which is one of the most famous of the ruins. One of our group members pointed out a familiar name on a plaque of one of those who helped restore the ruins. I'm pretty sure they are NOT related!

You also can see the street that is the main center of the city. There were cats everywhere in Ephesus to control rodents and they looked like they belonged. It really makes the scriptures come to life when you can see where they actually happened. We read some from the letter to the Ephesians, chapter 4, and also from the book of Acts, chapter 19, which tells you a bit about Paul in Ephesus.

The final picture is of the goddess of fertility Artimus who was the main one worshipped in Ephesus. We saw this statue in the museum there. She is important because it was her worship that Paul preached against and he convinced so many to turn from her to Jesus that the craftsmen who made and sold idols tried to have Paul arrested for denting their pocket books. You can read about this in Acts 19.