Mary and I and the group that we are leading for the next two weeks through Greece and Turkey as we follow the footsteps of Paul and John, had an excellent journey (despite my catching a nasty cold), such that all 39 of us arrived in Thessalonika, Greece on time with all our luggage intact.
This morning we visited two historic places: the Roman Agora (picture #1) where, according to tradition, Paul almost certainly preached nearly 2000 years ago to a mixed crowd of Hellenists and Jews, and the White Tower (picture #2). The walls of this tower were said to have been blood red from killing convicts and Christians centuries ago, but were then whitewashed to hide the crimes—hence it became named the White Tower. At both sites I was challenged in my own mind: (1) Would I have dared to put myself forth at the Roman Agora to preach with the boldness that Paul did? (2) Would I have stood firm for Christ even if it meant the shedding of my blood in the White Tower?
After visiting these moving sites, I walked along the coast of the Aegean Sea with Mary (picture #3), and visited with some of our touring friends. After eating lunch in one of the many bakeries that are on nearly every street corner of Thessaloniki (a city of one million souls—second only to Athens), we settled into our hotel on the outskirts of the city, rested up a bit from the long journey, and had a delicious dinner in the hotel with the full group. Afterward, I gave a devotional from Hebrews 12:1-2 about running the race set before us, and David Woollin gave a short address on Paul’s epistles to the Thessalonians. The 39 of us then spent more than an hour introducing ourselves to each other.
We certainly are blessed on this tour with a God-fearing and interesting group of fellow-travelers; please pray for God’s continued benediction for the weeks to come.
