Athens, Greece

My niece, Julie Poulos Williams (half Greek herself) called to tell me I hadn't posted any photos of our time in Athens from July 18-20 so here are a few. It was a fantastic time for both of us, Dan got to explore places he hadn't had time for before and our hotel, the Amalia, was directly across from the Palace Gardens and very close to the ruins of the Temple of Zeus, Syntegama Square, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Parliament House (the old Palace) where we watched the changing of the guards, Panathenaikon Stadium which was the site of the first modern Olympic games in 1896, and a few blocks from the renowned "Plaka" district located around the base of the Acropolis.

Here are photos of the Acropolis, Parthenon, Agora and such. Dan actually got to stand on Mars Hill and look across to the Acropolis as he prayed for Athens like the Apostle Paul did in the book of Acts.

New testament dedication in Cameroon June '08

I have video footage from the dedication of the Mofou-gudur New Testament celebration Dan and I attended in Yaounde, Cameroon. The video was taken by Tom Woodward on his cell phone so the sound is a bit distorted but I think it gives the sense of joy and pride the people have for the Bible in their own language. The flute players are especially interesting, yes some are made from PVC pipe.

It was after this celebration in conversation with Tom W. that I learned I could take videos with my Canon camerah, dah! If only I had known this sooner this blog would be filled with my videos! Owell, the time is right for it now.

Call to Prayer in Istanbul July 2008

Our summer trip took us to predominately muslim contexts and in Istanbul I recorded the call to prayer on the street near the Blue Mosque. Each time it is different but hearing it added so much to what I had read about the call.

London on our way home

As we flew into London I took these shots of famous places. It was my first time in London so I was thrilled to get the London Eye just across the Thames from Big Ben. Also got the Tower Bridge and Wembley Stadium before landing. And it only seemed fitting to END the trip with the TAILs of some of the planes we've seen in various airports.

Visit Georgia Kanakaris in Levidi, Greece

Our last day in Athens, we took a two hour bus ride to Tripoli and then another 1/2 hour bus ride to Levidi, to visit Georgia's brother-in-law's 81 year old sister Georgia. They hadn't seen each other in 40 years. Geo's son Christoki picked us up at the bus in the village of Levidi and we spent some time in the family home. Then we had a wonderful Greek meal at Chris' restaurant, Melathron in Tripoli. It was fantastic, the restaurant has a large swimming pool, too. That day they were serving a group of 150 for an infant baptism celebration. We met Chris' daughter, Gina (also Georgia) who does clowning to keep the little ones happy. The last photo was taken from the street at Georgia's home looking at the village of Levidi. It was a fantastic way to end our month-long adventure.

Santorini, Greece

Santorini is Dan's most favorite place in the Greek Islands. The community is built on the top of the cliff and looks like snow on the mountain. It was created with the volcano blew up and formed the islands. It is famous for the white buildings with blue roofs. We had a wonderful, tho' brief 3 hour time, as we took the gondola up the cliff and then walked down the 568 paved donkey path to the docks. It was crazy because donkeys were coming and going all the time we decended the path, and wow did they smell! You can see the switch-back trail down the cliff in the photos. It only took us 20 minuted to walk down.
The last photo was taken on the cruise ship at dinner meal.

Crete and Rhodes, Greece

We stopped at Crete, the Minoan period, from 4000 to 1200 BC it was the center of a flourishing civilization. The eruption of the volcano on Santorini and the tidal wave, which followed, destroyed Crete and gave rise to the legend of the lost city of Atlantis. Crete is the mythological home of Zeus. We didn't take a tour here but did go on the small train around the port city and got an idea of the community.

At the stop in Rhodes we walked around the old walled city constructed by the knights of St. John in the 13th century. And met some local people. The lady in black is blind, but was so pleased when I called her 'yaya' (grandmother). Even tho' they couldn't speak English they were fun to get acquainted with. The shop sells paintings and even put them on display in the ceiling. The symbol of Rhodes is the lone deer guarding the harbor.

Kusadasi (Ephesos), Turkey

At the ruins of Ephesus we saw the Roman bath and the 'toilets', it is amazing they are still in this shape. Center top is the sculpture of Niki the Greek goddess of victory (yes, this is where Niki got their emblem for their shoes). You can also see the buriel tombs stacked on top of one another. We returned to the city of Kusadasi for a little shopping and met this young man using 'worry beads' so Dan got an explanation of what they are used for, basically "just something to do with your hands" is what he said. The Turkish rugs are so beautiful and the mosaic tiles and plates are fantastic. We met this young man who is in business with his parents and sister to make these plates and mosaics tiles. He is showing us 'his' tree of life and is pointing at his future wife in the picture. We are standing in his shop and as you can see it is filled with beautiful things. The plate in the center bottom is a painting of the famous "whirling durvish" and in the skirt is arabic writing.
In the bottom photo are shots Dan took when he walked up and around the huge amphi theatre and even went under it (Elton John held a concert here with 50,000 people). The main marbel paved road leads down to the Library and buriel monument of Celeus. The last photo is of Dan being a living statue inside the back wall of the Library! Owell, we do have our fun with history!

Patmos, Greece

When the ship docked at Patmus we got a bus up the hillside to the place where it is believed St. John received the Revelation from Christ. A church is built over the cave and there is a series of winding steps down to the entrance. The day we visited priests were preparing communion. as you look up from the site you can see the great fortified monastery from 1088 AD to honor St. John. When you look down from the cave site you can see the port city and the large hill to the left is believed to be where St. John lived. The painting shows Christ giving John the Revelation.

Mykonos, Greece on the Cruise

This is the Island of Mykonos famous for the windmills. We took a boat to a small island of Delos where it is believed Apolo was born along with this twin sister Artemis. They were the children of the greek god Zeus. We took lots of photos but many don't have meaning without a lot of explanation. Delos was a main grain port and slave market. At its height Delos sold 10,000 slaves a day. Delos has the most complete residential quarters surviving from ancient Greece all from BC because it was destroyed and burned by pirated in 69 BC. The bottom photo is the palace of Cleopatra (see the two statues on the left). Nearly all of the statues are headless because site robbers stole them (many are in museums in England).

Noah summer 2008

Here are a few of our favorite shots of Noah Samuel. Top middle one is Noah dancing with Dan, he really likes to praise the Lord. The last one is HIS favorite with his PaPa on the tractor in Missouri.

Grand Bazaar in Istanbul

I have never seen the likes of the Grand Bazaar, it seems to go on forever, really. The light shops were so fascinating to me, very detailes and beautiful. As we were leaving the Bazaar area I met this lady who was knitting scrap cloth into various items like vests and hand bags. One day on an outing I got this shot of Noah by the statue of Ataturk.

We actually traveled regularly on the Orient Express train, the same one that originally ran from Paris to Istanbul and is in so many movies (like James Bond ones). I just thot' that was so cool. The train depot is in the first photo and then Ryan, Kelly and Noah riding on the train.

Topkapi Palace

Ryan took Dan and I to the Topkapi Palace Museum and it was awesome. So much history in this city located on the line between Europe and Asia. It looks out toward the Black Sea and across the extended city of Istanbul. Topkapi was the Ottoman Sultan's second palace in Istanbul built in 1478, with a population of about 4,000 people, it covers 173 acres. It served 25 sultans for nearly 400 years. Here you see Dan and Ryan walking on the very pathway the Sultans walked, and Dan is sitting the the "stone throne" that the Sultan used when watching sports games.

Dan gets a VeggieTale lesson

Our last evening in Istanbul with Ryan and Kelly. Dan got to read some VeggieTales with Noah. And finally Noah let Dan give him a horsey-ride on his foot like he did when Ryan was little. So Dan learned all about Good Knight, Duke and being nice. It was fun to watch both young and old Shaw reading together.

Blue Mosque

yes, we did spend time at the Blue Mosque (named so because of all the blue mosaic tiles through out the buildings. We did go in the mosque as prayers were being lead, but had to enter thru the non-muslim door. Yes, Dan had to wear a cloth wrap because he had bermudas on. More to come about the Grand Bazaar and Topkepi Castle.

July 7 Last Day in Africa

We left SIL Cameroon about 11 AM by taxi with Juta (one of Dan's doctoral students who serves in Mali). The bus trip to the port city of Douala was fast and furious, as the photos show. It took about 4 hours and some places the driver was going 80-90 mph. This was the best photo I got of the trememdous traffic congestion in Yaounde. You can see cars turning around in the very middle of the pack-both directions! Amazing. Along the route were small communities that we had to slow down and sometimes pay toll so the locals surrounded vehicles and hawked their wares. Many logging trucks and motor cycles. It was an airconditioned bus and we sat in the front seats so got to enjoy everything, even the 3-part African soap opera in some other language! Juta accompanied us to Douala and we had dinner with her before we went on to the airport, all-in-all a fantastic experience.

Dan learns from grandson Noah

Yes, we arrived in Istanbul and have been having a wonderful time with Ryan, Kelly and 2.5 year old Noah. Here are a few shots showing Dan learning about Noah's world of Thomas the Train ( and friends Gordy, Ben, Bill and more), Veggie Tales, and life in Turkey. See Noah playing with his trains under the table as Ryan and Dan chat.

We are coming to the end of our stay in Cameroon. Yesterday Moussa was here to plan the potential cohort for French speakers and pray with the group of interested students. Here Dan is with a Bettina, Cheryl, Roger and Moussa in our front room praying. Then today we had a surprise visit from our friend Barbara's parents and they brought us gifts. This is such a change from American culture. Here is a shot of Dan and I withTheophilus and Adele Gautrei.

Trip to the Market in Yaounde

Yes, today I made a trip to the artisan market with Pam Robinson and her helper, Rebecca (first photo with two of the men selling items). Butterflies are very popular art here and you can see some of the pictures they make from butterfly wings. It was a wonderful few hours, altho most of it was spent in taxi stuck in traffic. Pam is here working with Wycliffe Associates helping with the volunteers, the clean water program and developing materials to assist in the aide crisis. I feel like the Lord has given Pam to me especially for this trip and I am committed to pray for her. Because she is an older woman of color the Africans respond very positively to Pam.

I took the photo of the butterfly eating a fallen mango just outside our housing.

July 4, 2008 Yaounde, Cameroon

We have met wonderful people here in Cameroon (said to be 'little Africa' because so many of the main tribal groups are in this small country). Today's post is about one of the Cameroonian couples who were Muslim before hearing the good news of Jesus Christ and then became believers.

Cultural Symposium in Cameroon

This is the group of brothers and sisters attending this symposium from all over Africa. Then you see Dan doing his run each morning around the oval here at the SIL property where we are housed. A friend in Pasadena has family here in Cameroon so they came to visit on Saturday, it was wonderful. Five of the 23 people in the symposium are serious 'birders' so I got a photo of them out birding early each morning. This compound is surrounded by a very tall wall and I can hear what is happening on the other side so today I went exploring on the other side. Kids playing kick ball were surprised when I could kick it back, and the road to the south gives you an idea of 'off-the-road' situations here.

New Testament dedication in Cameroon

Sunday June 29
We met Judy and Ken Hollingworth (Bible translators from the northern most part of Cameroon) when we first arrived at the SIL property, he welcomed us at 10 PM and got us set up in the guest house. Then the next morning I met Judy as we waited for 10 AM coffee break and she thought my clothes were too hot for Cameroon so lent me two of her cotton dresses to wear while we are here (now everyone thinks I’m Judy when they see me in her dresses!).

The dedication of their New Testament for the Mofou-gudur people was fantastic, several hundred people gathered in a large Presbyterian Church here in Yaound. Special yellow printed cloth material for their matching outfits, men, women and children. Four choirs sang, played local flutes and drums and held their new red translations high as they sang. We had to leave for another meeting after 3 hours and it was still going strong (that’s the African way I’m learning). Pictured here are Ken and Judy, Ken with the Sultan in their village area, the Chief’s guard, church where the dedication was held, drummers for the singers, flute players, far view of the church and balcony with Dan in foreground, and then Georgia with one of the Mofou ladies holding her new Bible.