project thessalonica: just today

For those of you who don't know, I'm in Thessaloniki, Greece on a missions trip with Tim and Karen, Dan and Brandi Jones, and Rachel. We'll be here for two weeks helping out missionary Brent Logan and his family with... whatever they need help doing! I'm supposed to be posting these updates on the official website, Project Thessalonica, but sometimes there's a delay between my posting and the website's administrator getting the posts up. Aaaand... I know we have peeps at home waiting to hear from us so I'm posting here as well. No delays. These posts are a journal. You'll be getting as much detail as I can remember. Also, we have a friend back home, Bro. Lowell, who really, really wanted to be able to come on this trip, and has been praying for this project ever since it started. But he's really sick with cancer and wasn't able to make it. So these posts are mostly for you, Bro. Lowell! I hope you enjoy reading all about Greece!

We went letterboxing today. For several hours. Up and down little narrow, winding, steep roads fraught with crazy, dangerous drivers who would occasionally hop up onto the sidewalk with us. Not really. But it seemed like it.

 Every house has a gate. And some, like this one, are really cool. Doesn't even look like a gate!

Rachel and moi

 When you can't find the letterbox, you tract the gate.

I love that they call it a letterbox rather than a mailbox. That's what I'm calling my mailbox from now on. I'm also calling my trash can a rubbish bin, thanks to Angelo. And I no longer go for walks, I go for walkabouts. And walkabout can only be said with an Aussie accent. Because it's better that way.
After letterboxing, we met up with Kayode and went back to the town center and did some more street preaching/tract passing... right down the road from the police station... just to show them who's boss around here. Us, that's who! They didn't bother us today and we got a lot of tracts passed out.

Dan handing out tracts

 ... and Bibles

And then Bro. Logan drove us up a steep hill (also fraught with crazy, dangerous drivers who apparently don't value their lives) to the top of the city.  There's a big, super old, Roman wall up there. Gorgeous. The wall and the view.

Old stuff. I love it!

 Tim getting the lowdown from Bro. Logan.

 Check out that view. Wow.

 I am so amazed at the site of such ancient ruins right in the middle of such a big, bustling city.

And then we went into some tourist shops, and when I came out there were a couple of cops standing there. Just standing. And staring as I walked past. So I said hi. And then scuttled past real quick before I could get arrested for being a tourist. They stopped some other guys though while we sat on the steps and stared.

We bought some stuff at those tourist shops and were like, Sweet! Buy all the Greek stuff! Then Dan saw all these boxes on the shop's back porch, and made us laugh:

Tim was a little tired by the end of the day. Yawn.

And we went to an open air market. It was gross. I don't actually like meat hanging all out there with the blood and guts flopping around.

Why are the tongues hanging out??? WHY?

And then dessert. And coffee. Which I was able to scarf down without a problem after seeing all the blood and guts at the market.

 

One must drink coffee all the time. So that one can live peacefully. And blissfully.

 Grilled chocolate souffle'. You know you want it.

And finally, at the end of the day, we careened down this crazy, narrow street on our way home. And lived to tell the story. Miraculously.

And that's pretty much how the days go here.

Letterboxing.

Street preaching.

Touristy stuff.

Eating food.

Drinking coffee.
Checking on Bro. Logan's van to see if the mechanic has fixed it yet (He hasn't. You could pray about that.).

... and freaking out in the car on the way home.

Love,

All Us