Friday, January 3, 2020

GREETINGS FROM GREECE...DAY 8

Yia sou. Kalispera! Ti kaneis?
(You'll have to guess on this one!)

Well, we knew this was coming, but it's still makes me sad, nonetheless...our family will start the long trip home tomorrow morning, bright and early. The Davis' will be staying through next Wednesday, I believe, but Landry has to get back for her next semester to start on Monday, all the Danville Carrs go back to school on Monday, Ty has to get back for basketball after already missing a week+, Bryce is leaving for Haiti next week, Zane has likely driven the Blazics full-blown crazy by this point, and the 'rents have to get back to work too! SO...other than that, not any good reason at all to be leaving this gorgeous country. Boo. I may stage a coup. 

Once again, we were on the road again...where's Mr. Lauderbaugh when you need background music?!? If you didn't go on my high school senior trip, just keep moving...nothing to see here. The rest of y'all can just take a minute and sing through it because you won't be able to NOT sing it in your head anyway.

Our first stop of the day was the Corinth Canal, which was initially construction by Jewish slaves and overseen by the Roman Emperor Nero. It was stunning to see and pretty cool to catch the history of this small portion of our trip. I also bought a legit furry poncho on the side of the road which the kids say is a cross between a Russian grandma and a mob boss...whatever man, Iowa is about to get some culture. Buh-bam. 

Maybe you're just as clueless as me...maybe not...but for sake of argument, did you know there are actually 3 different places with the same name of Corinth? AH-HA!!! I knew it!! Ok...don't tell me if you knew that already. Lame. Anyway, there is the modern city of Corinth, the old city of Corinth, and the Ancient Corinth. They've not actually excavated much of the ancient city because it's buried beneath the modern city. Super bummer. But we did get to see some pretty cool sites! The oldest columns still standing (I think that's correct, but it may have been 2nd oldest), the forum (marketplace), the Bema (where they conducted large gatherings, and where PAUL PREACHED! Guess who we made get up there for a pic?!? The person who loves getting their picture taken more than anyone, of course!), the very large fountains, the Corinth Acropolis (from afar), and the local shops selling "tourist" items (does Priscilla ring a bell?) :0 Paul lived and worked in Corinth, established a church, wrote 2 (maybe more) epistles, and as I mentioned, likely preached from the Bema Seat gathering area. I thought I'd share the excerpt from Acts 18 here so you don't have to go look it up yourselves! See it below:

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

SO. AWESOME. From Corinth, we traveled to the Argolis region to visit one of the most significant Bronze Age archaeological sites in the Mediterranean: Ancient Mycenae. There is no Biblical significance to this incredible fortress, but the stories are many amazing, including how it was discovered in the first place! Check it out! A short distance away was another acoustic dream...a tomb called the Bee Hive. We did snag a quick second to test it out with a quick Doxology. I'm sure there are videos floating around out there between the group...I just don't have them personally. One of my favorite things to do is sing with my girls, but having the opportunity to do that in places like these is such a tremendous blessing. But for the record, nobody told mom we were doing the old "church ending" or resolving, for those that don't speak Wagenschutz...so just show grace for those 2 seconds at the end when I resolved and Landry didn't...so then I went back up...then we resolved together. Sheesh. Again, if you are totally lost, just move on...DEFINITELY nothing to see here! HAHAHA!

Lastly, we traveled again to the ancient theatre of Epidaurus which has the most amazing...no wait...let's go with...phenomenal, acoustics. We were able to try some clapping in different areas on the orchestra (stage) and test how far the sound traveled easily. However, we weren't allowed to sing here because there would be so much noise if everyone that visited were trying to perform. That was a bummer, but it definitely made sense. They still have concerts and various performances in this ancient theatre today...no mics needed, trust me. It was unbelievable!!!

We finished our day with a lovely dinner at another very yummy restaurant and even spent time affirming one another and discussing prayer for the next semester...this was an especially sweet time for both of our families, and I'm so thankful we had that time together. As we leave tomorrow to head back to normality, I know we'll take with us more life-changing moments and memories...oh, and another dumb "stuffy" for Zane. Whatcha gonna do...

ALSO, I told Renee that she was in charge of doing the blog posts for the remainder of the trip...maybe even other Davis' will take a day! You probably should comment on the FB thread of this blog post how much it would MEAN to you...how much you'd LOVE it...if they did that! :0 

Elharisto!! Adio!

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