Dear Friends and Family,

We have completed three weeks of our month long teaching tour in Athens.  The weather has changed from cool (heater weather) to very warm (fan weather) at night.  It has been a gradual change rather than the radical temperature swings we were experiencing in Lubbock when we left.

A week ago on Saturday we witnessed the addition of a new sister, Carolyne Musibi, to the body of Christ.  Carolyne is 24 years old and is from Nigeria.  One of our former students, Marie Georgiopoulou,  taught her the gospel.  The very next day, Carolyne brought her sister and niece with her to AIBI classes and the worship assembly.  They have all three attended faithfully since.

Graduation will take place a few days after we leave with six graduating.  They are outstanding people.  All of them are immigrants from Nigeria except for one from Ghana.  Athens has many immigrants making our training critically important.  We can reach a large portion of this region of the world with the gospel through those we train.  Some are able to go into areas we as Americans are forbidden from entering.  What a great open door!  Below are pictures of some of Bob’s students from his three classes.  Quite a bit of test and paper grading have been required this week in addition to lesson preparations.  Finals will be given this weekend. 

On one of our “off days” last week we took a boat tour to three Greek islands in the Gulf of Saronic.  Greece has thousands of islands.  Not all are inhabited, but the ones we visited are.  It was a beautiful day with perfect weather.  God has truly created a beautiful world.  

Last night we were invited to attend the Italian opera “Ida”  in a Roman theater built in 161 A.D. located at the base of the Acropolis.  It was an Italian opera, sung in Greek, in a Greek theater, built by the Romans, about a battle between Egypt and Ethiopia with lovers who died. The opera was written for the opening of the Suez Canal. The costumes, orchestra, and stage settings were amazing. We could see the Parthenon behind and above us with the moon over us.  As we climbed the Acropolis a few weeks ago, we saw this Roman theater, never dreaming we would see an actual performance there.  It seats about 5,000 people and the acoustics were wonderful.  The performance started about 9:30 p.m. and was over about 1:00 a.m.  Needless to say we were a little tired this morning.  

Day before yesterday Ron Kretz took us to Ancient Corinth, the Corinth Canal, and the ancient Cenchrea port.  Much of the ruins of Corinth are still in tact.  The architect took photos of everything!  The Bema is where the people went to court in the first century. It is probably where Paul went before Gallio, the proconsul (Acts 18:12). The Corinth Canal was finished in the late 1800's by the French.  Before then ships would be rolled on logs across the six mile land area from one ocean to the other.  In the first century, the sailors would go to Corinth spending their money in riotous living as they waited for their ship to be transported.  This usually took about two weeks.  One of the most fascinating features of the canal is a bridge that lowers underwater allowing ships to pass over it.  We just happened to see the bridge lowered as two ships with guide tugboats and three smaller boats went through.   Ancient Cenchrea is nearby.  The Apostle Paul got a haircut in Cenchrea (Acts 18:18) on his way from Corinth to Ephesus.  Much of the remains of this seaport have sunken below the surface of the sea.  A few of the remnants are still visible.  It has been amazing to walk in some of the same cities where Paul labored.

We have really enjoyed the food here – spinach pie, stuffed tomatoes, baked pasta, delicious pizza made with gouda cheese, etc.  In Ancient Corinth we had a delicious meal of roasted lamb, eggplant, stuffed grape leaves, green beans with tomatoes, zucchini, and a Greek salad (different from the American Greek salads). For dessert we had yogurt covered with walnut honey served with fruit.  Yummy!!

There are Smart cars all over Athens.  The traffic is wild!  Amazingly, we have seen no accidents. There are high rise apartments (called flats) everywhere.  Often there is a business on the bottom floor and residences above.  Moving furniture in and out of the upper floors is fascinating.  We got to see the motor driven ladder with a platform in operation.

We would like to thank those who have corresponded with us while we were in Athens.  Your notes of encouragement mean a lot.  We especially want to thank those who helped with our financial support making this trip possible.  Your partnership is invaluable.  We will be returning home next Wednesday, June 3. May God bless you in His kingdom work.

Love,

Bob & Sandy