Hey I'm in Italy, why not take a little side trip to Greece. :) Actually, I've always wanted to go to Greece and I'm very thankful for the opportunity. Crusade has a wonderful campus team in Athens including Catherine and her husband Paul, whose couch I stayed on. Thanks Paul for making me the best cup of coffee every morning! On my first day, I headed straight to the Acropolis, the religious center of ancient Greece. It was amazing to walk on Mars Hill where Paul gave the famous sermon of Acts 17. "Men of Athens!...The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else...God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being."
Afterwards, I hea
ded to the Greek temple of Zeus, only to find it closed. But I ended up meeting three wonderful gals there who I became fast friends with. Betsy is a chemical engineer with a personality of a sorority party girl. :) Jill is a theater major with a very kind and sweet demeanor and her best friend from childhood, Shannon is a spitfire. She later told me that only 2 years ago, she had a tumor IN her spine and was paralyzed for a time after having it removed. Now she lives life to the fullest. They are traveling the world. We had a great afternoon eating amazing food and enjoying the culture. Shout out also to the cafe owner who treated us to Ouzo, the worst taking drink I've ever had. I couldn't finish mine, esp since I have an alcohol intolerance. But the girls graciously drank all of theirs. :)The next day, took a ferry to the closest Greek island, called Aegina. It was so glorious riding my little rented biked along the island by the water and seeing the most beautiful architecture. It was the most relaxing day so far in Europe. Just me and my bike and the beautiful sunny warm weather.








Yesterday, driving down my street, I saw a strange site on the road. It was this little black dog trotting down the street in front of me dragging a red leash. I tried with all my might to ignore the obviously lost dog and drive past her. But, she wouldn't let me, weaving back and forth on the narrow road. When I finally stopped the car, she hid under my car, as if to say, "Please help me." So, what is a self professed dog lover to do? You guessed it, call Animal Control. :) Unfortunately, they were closed and after visits to two different vets, I couldn't pawn this little dog off on anyone, forcing me to take her home for the night. The poor little dog was so scared and timid, that she wouldn't move a muscle when I put her down. She looked so uncomfortable standing in the exact stop that I even pushed her bottom down, hoping she would sit. I was obviously intimidating her. So, I left the room for a minute and when I did she hid under my bed and slept the whole night in the corner under my bed on the hardwood floor. Well, the next morning, she was feeling a bit more gutsy because it literally took me 15 minutes of chasing her around my room (moving my bed back and forth across the room) to finally nab her so I could take here out to potty. Well, too late, she already did her business under my bed.

