Friends

We left a whole new group of friends today. For the last twelve days we have hung out with a group of people we would have never met if we had not been on this trip. A couple from Canada were there; she is getting ready to have the same surgery that Peggy had on her neck. Then there were these two pastors who were just really great guys; a little off the wall but lots of fun. Lowell and Elizabeth were a really nice older couple who we grew to love, There was a priest on the trip. He was seventy two and needed a little help walking on the rough roads; good health but a bad knee, what a really great guy. And then there was Keith and Deb; the first day we sat with them for dinner. He has been a pastor for fifteen years, like me; been in the same church all that time, like me; they were on Sabbatical, like me; and he applied for the Lilly Sabbatical grant, like me. The big difference was that he did not get the grant. Peggy and I sat with this couple for twelve days and never shared with them that we received the grant that they applied for. I felt like it would have been a slap in the face for him and our friendship. So Peggy and I sat quietly and thankfully when Sabbatical talk was going on. I know I am blessed to have the opportunity I have been given. In the last few days I walked the streets of Corinth.

I visited the mountain where Paul spoke to the philosophers in Athens,

I stood with the love of my life in the Acropolis knowing that Paul had walked those streets,

Sat in the seats in Ephesus where Paul defended his faith,

I have been to the churches of Rome, Philippi, Ephesus and Thessalonika. I have been to the ports where Paul arrived to bring the good news of Jesus Christ. I have worshiped at the place of Lydia's baptism and the first Church of Rome. I have stood atop ancient monasteries that for thousands of years have been a witness to the gospel of Christ. And in all of those places Keith and Deb were right there beside us as a constant reminder of the blessing that Peggy and I have received. 

Maybe you are wondering how Keith and Deb got on this trip if they did not receive the grant. Well, when Lilly said "no" their church said "yes." Their congregation raised the money needed so they could walk on the streets where Paul walked. Blessings are flowing from everywhere over here. In His Love, Aaron