Friday, September 18, 2009

We are on the road again? Or should I say SKY and Water?

Sharon and I are preparing for our next trip. But this time, instead of hitting the road, we will be flying the skys and then sailing the water.

We depart October 14, 2009 from Charlotte, North Carolina and fly to Athens, Greece. After three days in Athens, we will board the ship Ocean Majesty and tour the Aegean Sea to follow the routes of the travels of St. Paul.

Our tour will start in Athens, Greece and over the next few days will take us to places such as Corinth, Thessaloniki, Kavala, Philippi. Then it is on to the Turkish port of Ephesus. The next day we dock at the isle of Patmos and the day after, to the island of Rhodes and the city of Lindos. Then we sail to Santorini, the jewel of the Aegean Sea where we will take a donkey/cable care ride to the mountaintop city of Thira. After a day exploring the island we sail to the port of Piraeus where we will disembark the Ocean Majesty and transfer to the airport for our return flight home.

Our host on this tour will be Reverand Charles Stanley of the First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. We look forward to his teachings during this trip and are excited about visiting each of the places that Paul wrote about in his letters to the early Christian Church.

The Apostle Paul wrote much of the New Testament through the inspiration from God and the Holy Spirit. Before his conversion, Paul was called Saul. Saul was the persecutor of Christians: he witnessed and approved the stoning of Stephen, who was the first Christian martyr. Acts 8:1 reads: "And Saul was there giving approval to his death."
Then Saul was converted on the road to Damascus and from that time on Paul was on fire for the Lord.
God used Paul in powerful ways to spread the news about Jesus. Paul took three missionary journeys to Asia Minor to spread the good news. Our trip in October will allow us to visit many of the places where the Apostle Paul visited and preached, and, in many cases he was persecuted because of his message.

Family Reunion in Pittsburgh, PA

We are looking forward to a reunion with my mother's family in Pittsburgh, PA over the October 2-5, 2009 weekend. We arrive late Friday evening and after a nights rest, visit several ancestoral homes and addresses on the North Side. The folks in Pittsburgh have arranged a catered meal for Saturday evening which is the time that we will all get together with the cousins that we have not seen for many years. We are looking forward to that special time. On Sunday we do what all Pittsburghers do and that is to take in a Steelers Football game.