traVULAing

*Michelle climbed to a white church on the side of a mountain on our last day in Santorini

The ferry ride from Santorini to Athens was great! We got invited to join a group of people who travel from Athens to Paros twice a week for work. One is a violinist, one a singer, one plays the drum, and the other brings the food. We ate our first (and probably last) SNAILS! Gross! But it was a wonderful meal and SOOOO amazing. We took a ton of videos and they even gave us their CD in the end! We spent one more night in Athens, then headed up to Vula's in Katerini the next morning.

Yesterday we collected sea shells for an hour with Vula and her friend CJ then went on this incredible hike through a gorge in mt olympus. We also went to a monastery to collect Vula's favorite honey!

*View of Mt. Olympus from behind Vula's home

*Collecting seashells on the beach in front of Vula's home

*Vula overlooking the gorge in Mt. Olympus

We went to Philippi today. We basically trailed Paul's steps from Acts ch 16:6-ch 17. We saw where Paul and Silas were imprisoned and then there was an earthquake, but they stayed and prevented the guard from killing himself and then the guard's whole family believed and was saved. We saw the first church that was ever created in Europe. There was a mosaic on the floor from the original church that said to my friend (filo, which means friend that is better than a brother) Paul from the bishop of the church. It was so amazing! After walking around Philippi and visiting the place where Lydia's home would have been, we had a wonderful Greek lunch in Kavala, which was Neapolis in Paul's time. It was the first place he arrived in Macedonia and we saw the port that he would have come into to. Such an incredible day.

*The jail were Paul and Silas were held

*Vula guiding us through the ancient city

*Vula explaining an old Christian symbol

*The first church ever built in Europe...the shape of an octagon to signify going out into all parts of the world

*The first baptismal in Europe

*Road block on the way to Philippi!