Day 2 Greece Adventure

Off we go to Lovrio!

Day 2 was spent in Lovrio, which is down the peninsula from Athens, about 45 minute drive. 

Bruce

Bruce McAtee have a mutual friend in John Mark Fuller. Born in St. Louis, he's been working in Greece for 31 years. The dude is a stud! We instantly hit it off. 

Greeks know how to cook

sooooo good

We stopped by a pastry spot and loaded up on a bunch of things I couldn't pronounce. 

Met a cool guy from a country in the middle east

Mihalis and their gang at AMG have this great home base in Lovrio where refugees can come and hang out, get wi-fi access, learn English and Greek, and get some hospitality, some food, and a lot of love. 

we went exploring and found this old aqueduct (which isn't old based on Greek standards)

inside the cistern

this was so sketchy!

then of course the dudes followed me

we ran into some guys from Liberty University and brought them along (not pictured)

the place had been repurposed many times

buds for life

After lunch, the guys went to a location where we were able to play soccer and lift weights with refugees from a variety of places. It was super sweet. no pictures were taken. 

Meanwhile the gals participated in English lessons at the home base. The main teacher was a gal named Renee. They decided she would be a great assistant for me. The only catch is convincing her to move to North Carolina!

Afterward, Mihalis took us on what he called his "Magic Tour"

Lovrio is famous for its mines. It was the silver, copper, and iron from Lovrio that funded the Greek Empire and the dawn of Western Civilization. 

Come to Greece, I will show the mines

Chanice and Aly will be friends forever

Mihalis telling us the story of the mines. 

Mihalis has some amazing perspectives on history, life, and ministry. 

Laura caught me having fun

The ancient theater

Some people still struggle to smile in front of a camera...

  

Christian looked very Greek - to all of our surprise

Garrett's beard is getting full

Things are looking up for Tim 

That night we spent several hours reflecting on the past year and sharing how we have seen Jesus in each other. Allergies were really getting to us - my eyes kept tearing up!

What a year it has been!

Stay tuned more to come hopefully tomorrow!!!

Day 1 Greece Adventure

Here we go!

Greetings friends and families!

We are back home safe and sound from an amazing trip to Greece. Over the next week I will be posting pictures and relating a few of the many stories I could relate to you about our week in this beautiful country.

Day 1 Epic Day and Day of Fun and Love of Neighbor

Winston-Salem 6:15am
Drive to Raleigh
Fly from Raleigh to Philly
Fly from Philly to Athens.

Pretzels for all!

6 plus hours of lay over - back side

side side

the intrepid leader

laura likes to travel in cognito

We arrived the next morning and had lunch (Greek food is AMAZING Y'ALL!) and had orientation with Mihalis.

The man the myth - Mihalis

Orientation was serious business

The plan was to welcome a busload of refugees to our location and love on them for the day. We were a bit nervous about language barriers and cultural differences. 

But when I walked down to greet them as they arrived, three children ran straight into my arms and I picked them up, swung them around, and I knew we were going to be OK

precious

b-ball

jammin

groovin

craftin

it's amazing what you can do with pipe cleaners

beautiful

this guy single handedly kept the Americans in the epic soccer game we played

this guy was one of my first instant connections

this guy is one heck of a soccer player and a great dad as well

(I have been given permission to share pictures, but have been instructed not to use names or locations for safety considerations)

what a group!

We had a fun-filled dinner and after that came...

THE DANCE PARTY

I have never seen so many facebook lives going on all at once!

HA! 

We danced into the night until it was time to go. 

Clean up crew

I was really proud of the Fellows. They gave it all they had from 6:15am Monday morning to 11:00pm Tuesday night!

Kelly in her element

together-ness

Stay tuned - this was our LEAST eventful day...

UPDATE Week of May 20

AND THEY'RE OFF!

a week of celebration...

here they are!

We will likely be on a plane to Greece when you all get this tomorrow. But there was simply too much good stuff to wait until we got back. So here you go. 

Lots of pictures, little else...

THE WEEK

Round Table at the Wilsons...

the Wilsons do it right!

a great evening to be outside

Oh, and they had kittens!

Add caption

LEADER LUNCH #1 with Sylvia Oberle

Sylvia and the gang

I want to be like Sylvia when I grow up

NCS send off for Christian






FINAL DAY OF CLASS

a few words from the director

Fierce Conversations with Nigel

one last pic

LEADER LUNCH #2 Leadership of INMAR

Ron, Shaon, and Fred brought the heat

AFTERNOON ACTIVITIES

cigars with Nigel

fixing the underwater lamp with Garrett

Garrett playing solitaire

running into Ashley my old Young Life kid at the bank. she has two kids and a dog! AHH!!!

Trent's girlfriend moved into the neighborhood! That's what you call a two for one y'all

Dustin and Holly had a baby named Ezra

If you couldn't tell, Morgan's future is bright

FAMILY DESSERT SATURDAY NIGHT - THANKS PAUL AND JENNIFER BRIGGS!

families meet and greet

FELLOWS CELEBRATION ON SUNDAY

WHAT A YEAR!

Pray for our safe travels, God winks, and blessings to rain down from heaven next week as we go to serve alongside the great people of Athens, Greece!

Thanks all!

Keep sharing the story and spreading the love!