Big news! I got my ears pierced. Don’t worry. It was just a dream I had last night – a bad dream. No one liked them, including me. Don’t know where that dream came from!
We are now on the train to Kalabaka and Meteora. Clear sunny day so far. Our three days in Athens have been worth every moment! Walking where Paul walked, hiking up to the Acropolis where temples and idols abound, walking by the large temple devoted to Zeus, sitting in the ancient marketplace imagining Paul listening to everyone talk about the latest ideas and then passionately share Jesus with them. Walking with Paul up Mars Hill to the Aeropagus where he is invited to join the council and answer questions. Three days of living with Paul in Acts 17 – enough to make our whole trip worthwhile! We had lots of time to just sit under olive trees and meditate, walk up and down side paths where tourists are not found, read scriptures, journal and pray. Thank you God for this blessing!
And the worship service Saturday evening was a wonderful way to end our experience in Athens – so much to ponder – walking with present day missionaries and new believers in West Africa, walking with Paul in Rome and Athens, and walking with other saints throughout history, visiting and observing Christians in Italy and Greece worship God today. And in the midst of it all – attempting to integrate it all in our context in New Holland, Lancaster county, North America.
As we now head north through Greece, the hills and mountains are green with pine trees. Greek towns and villages populate the valleys along with olive groves. A large valley to the east has just appeared. Now passing by beautiful farmland – some freshly plowed, some vineyards, some flowering orchards. In the distance, high mountains are covered with snow. We arrive at Thiva. It is becoming much more hilly and rocky, very few trees or growth of any kind.
Looks like one last valley before entering the mountains. The valley narrows, but continues with beautiful snow-capped mountains to the left. The mountains become more numerous, the farmland disappears. We slow down. We are climbing mountains. We enter tunnels. After exiting one of them, the landscape changes. We are now high on a mountain, surrounded by even higher mountain peaks. More tunnels. More breath-taking mountain scenery. Reminds me of Ecuador. Train now going very slow – enter another tunnel, then over a high bridge overlooking a deep canyon.
The train comes to a stop. We wait until a train passes us going the other direction. The tunnels and bridges are single track. No houses or people seem to live up here – only beautiful wildflowers in full bloom. We exit the tunnel and look down on a beautiful valley of flat farmland hundreds of feet below. We slowly wind our way through the mountains as we descend into the valley. And five hours after we began, we arrive in Kalampaka where we take our first taxi to the place we are staying. We have a small balcony overlooking high rocks sticking hundreds of feet straight up. On the top of many of these outstanding rock formations are hermitages that have existed since the 12’th and 13’th centuries.
We walk up the winding road and then climb the path that leads to the top of one of the hermitages right before it closes. Another very different way of following Christ – more to ponder. We walk back down and around town as the sun is setting. All of the restaurants are not serving food. Most are full of men watching soccer games. Can’t find anything to eat. We keep asking and are told about one that is likely open. We walk to that one and are treated with warm Greek hospitality.
The cloudy cold rainy weather has not yet arrived. Very grateful!
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