This morning I woke up and came down for breakfast about 8:00 am.   After breakfast I did some organization of things for our BIG trip in to Athens today for church. We had our 2nd Bible class then at 9:00 and following that class I did some more preparation and organization and then at 12:15 we caught our first bus. We boarded our first bus which was crowded but not to bad.   We rode the bus to the next town where we had to change buses to Athens. Once we arrived in Athens we took the Metro to Sentogua square across  from the Parlament building. Here we saw the two guards that change every half  hour.

We then toured the center part of Athens as a group going by many old buildings and shops.   I ate lunch at one of the places that Mr. Myhan recommended.  I had 2 gyros sandwiches and french fries. After that, we went around to many shops and then everyone met up at Starbucks coffie shop to walk over to church together.

Tonight at church we had the Dean of the college of Bible at Harding School of Religion in Memphis, TN, and also the visiting elders, deacons, church members traveling to see the congregation here that they support.   Tonight church met at 6:00 pm for the English service which is 10:00 am at home. For communion service 6 different men lead the prayer; each in there own language; Russin, Greek, African, English, and others. The deacon from one of the supporting congregations did the lesson tonight and Joe helped with the song leading. After church we had soft drinks and cookies and fellowshipped together for about 30 minutes before boarding a charter bus to go back to Portarafti.

Tonight for supper we had leftovers for the week and then I went out and typed part of this entry up in the hamack by the pool. The wirleess internet barley reached so I was able to do it on the web from there. It is now off to bed earlier tonight.

Today I got up and had breakfast down stairs over looking the mountons at Meteora. After breakfast we left on our trip to drive up to the different monistaries that are perched up on top of the huge outcrops of clifs coming ount into the plain. The vies were wonderful from thes sites and the odd shapes of the towering clifs of compresed rock with smooth walls were joust amasing!

Our first stop was on the way up the road to see our first up close glimpes of the differnt monistariys and convents. Here we learnd about how the younger people of the town clime up the clifs to this one out criop, like a cave where moncks use to live to put up new peaces of colerful cloth. Theny then tack down the old ones and give them to the people as keep sakes or somthing to remimber the past.

Our first stop was at a Convent that use to be a monistary but now has changed. Here we climed up many steps that have most recently ben created to aid in reaching the top of the clif. When we reached the top one of the nunus here was so exited to see that some one our age would have traveld so fare to come see there home. See seat that we reminded here of here grand childern. Here we toured the church or chaple and here information about the different icons and about the greek orthodox church.

The next stop today was the oldest monistary on the clifs that is still open today. At this monistary we were able to see the old rope latter that they would have used to reach the top and also the old wench and net used to bring suplises up to the top of the clif. This monistary was much larger than the other one. The chaple was 3 times as large. It had the strong smell of insence in the air along with being dark like the preous one. We also were able to see the store rooms, the room where they keep the skules of the dead and the old dining room where they would have eaten. After taking the guided tour we had about 20 min to our selves to go exploring on the complex. There were some stuning views that are un excriableible and butiful flower garens with quort yards throu out the complex. Also I was inpressed with the meconisumof pulys and weals and levers put together to alow the rasing and lowering of suplies in the old rope net. They sed that they would also bring people up in thes nets and that they would not be replaced till one brock. So, I gues you would pray that you weren’t the lukey one that it give way on and faul several thousand feet to the canyoun below.

After we had compleated here the group took a bus tour of some of the othere monistaries getting one and taking photoes pereodicly along the way. One of these places was the monistary that was used in one of the James Bond bomies was filmed.

After we had compleated here we went on down to the new town where we sayed last night to have lunch at a restrant there. We were able to see them cooking in a stone harth outside the kitchen on a open fire. After lunch we took about 3 and 1/2 hower drive thrugh the plain and then the mountons back to Athens.

When we got back we had supper at the Artumus and we selibrated David’s or (red)’s birthday. His mother had sent stremers, bolunes and maskes that we all wore. Folowing dinner I went up stairs and studied for our 270 test tomaro and then wet to bed a littler earler so that I would be prepard for tomaroes activities.

This morning I got up bright and early and went down stairs after getting ready for the day to have break fast. Today we are leaving for Delpi Greece and I ended up getting up around 6:15 am. For breakfast DyiMy made up bananna nut bread. It was delishous!! Folowing breakfast I went up stairs and sent a few emails befor going to my room to finish packing for our over night trip. The group then departed around 8:00 for out trip. It took about 3 howers to arive in Delpi. Most of the trip people sleped. When we arived it was so butiful waching the huge rock formations and the blanket of olive trees in the valy. It is defently one of the most butiful places that I have seen.

Then we all got off the bus and started our tour of the site. The ruons that have ben restored along with the pristeen senoury made the sight that was built into the hill side joust amasing. We stoped by the treshurary area, Temple to Zuse, the ancent theator and then we had free time. From here we had the oportunity to hick up and see the old coluseam. This is where they would have ran there races. It is the most well preserved stadum today and was aroung 177 meters long. The hill side had stone seets that had ben built there.

Folowing our time at the arcelogical site we went and toured the museum here for a while. Some of the main hilights here were the two cornals who are bothers statues, a sufinx, and a stone that menchionds arastous on it helping date Pauls travles in this area.

Folowing the site we travled to the next town were we had lunch. Here there was a wonderful view of the plan and you could also see the canall that helpes feed Athens with watter. After lunch then headed down into the valey where we travled throu the olave orchards. From here we travled up and over mounton rigious till we reached the bigest play and most fertile area of Greece. Here we traveled all the way acrosed till we reached the other side and where the clifes are sher staight faces of rock. It is beleaved that the plan youse to think that it was a huge lack befor an earth quake brock up the ridgeand caused the water to flow all out.

Tonight we arived at the hotell and then were free to go roming about and get supper in the vilage Calambacka. Latter after getting back around 9:30 we had our sunday worship servace in the basment of the hotel. Folowing that I went down stairs and sat by the pool for a while befor going up and going to bed.

Today I got up and studied for greek test and then went to bible class. After bible I studied for the free period between bible and greek in the family room. I then took a nap during greek class and then we had chaple in the family room to review what we are all going to see on the next trip.

For lunch today we had bannan puding and cack for Adriane, and Ryan 20th birthdays. Folowing lunch I had my greek test with Vikey. I was oringinaly going to take it in the evening before pizzan but sence the servace project for 201 was cansled I ended up tacking it earler. I did well on the test. I receved a 90% on it!! Took me a while to think of some of the words from Eng to greek but I did get most of it finlaly.

After the greek test Benet and I went to Yagoes. It was bout 4:00 in the afternoon when we headed out. After going to the store to get some suplise we hicked up the mounton for my second time. We started by Yagose and ended up hicking up the start of the rige and went on up. This proved to be more of a chalenging hick than some of the others that I have tackin up and down the mounton. We found a cave and went exploring in it today. We also had two of the doges that hang around the Artumous and folow students around town come all the way up and back down.

Today we found a very fast way down. It took us around 1and 1/2 howers to get to the top and around 15 min down. On the way down there were a lot of piles of luse rocks and so much of the way down was sliding but was still realy fun. When we arived back in town we both headed over to the gyro place next to Taz. They had joust opend when we arived and were setting up chairs. We both bought 1 and 1/2 leater of watter and dranke some whall we were wating. Then had some gyros for supper. Then it was a wock back to the Artumous.

I took a shower apong getting back and then had a few slices of pizza befor waching the second part of Masoda. After the film Adreian’s mother had sent mony for all of us to go out for ice cream for here doughters birthday. We wocked over and had icream and sat around and tocked for a while befor heading back for the night. I went up to the lab and copied some photoes for the picterbord folder befor hading to bed for the night.