Pictures from Greece

Picture in the village of Eretria (pronounced like the name of the country)

In front of the Mediterranean. Yessssss!

So tropical...after the frozen tundra that was Ukraine in the winter...

ONE of the pools!

I love Greece.

Planes, trains, and automobiles

When I was 9 years old, my parents bought me a Christmas present that normal children wouldn't have thought so fabulous. I, however, loved it and used it so much that it is falling apart. When I was sixteen, I got an upgrade of this gift.

What was it, you may ask?

This gift was, in fact, an atlas. A National Geographic atlas, to be more specific. When I was younger, I used to read through all the blurbs about every country in the world and make a list of the places I wanted to visit. The number 1 country was Greece. Last week, I got to go!

My company held a huge conference for all of our workers in this general area. It was a great time of training, fellowship, renewal, and growth. Several hundred volunteers from the States came to make so much of it possible. They were such a ministry to me. I wasn't quick enough on the draw to get in on the haircuts or massages, but I did get to be TB tested. Oh fun. Parents were able to leave their children with fun volunteers who did VBS for them all week. All of us benefitted from the worship team and a great teacher of the Word. It was great. I was so blessed.

Back to the title of this post:
It took FOREVER to get there, considering Greece is only a few countries away from me.

Itinerary:
1. Leave Poltava at 9:20 by train.
2. 4 hours later, arrive in Kiev with another family.
3. Wait with several other families in McDonald's for 2 hours.
4. Wait at the airport for 4 hours.
5. Fly for 2 hours to Rome.
6. Wait in the Rome airport for 3 hours.
7. Fly for 2 hours to Athens.
8. Wait in the Athens airport for 2ish hours.
9. Drive by bus to the island for 2 hours.
10. Finally get checked in and to my room by 4:30 am. In the bed by 4:45.
11. Up at 7:30 for the day to start.

I don't remember much from that morning...

Off to Greece!

Tomorrow morning, I leave bright and early for Greece! All of my fellow workers in this part of the world will be meeting in Greece for the next week. I'm quite excited, seeing as how Greece has been on my list of places to visit since I was 9! Never fear- there will be many a picture taken for a post-Greece update. After that, I'll be staying put here. You can expect me to be way more on top of the updating then!

Remember me?

I'm sorry for being so remiss in the blogging. Ironically, while I was visiting the States, my internet usage was somewhat limited.

Brief synopsis:
1. I was able to go home for my friend's (Amanda) wedding!
2. I was able to see all of my family and many of my friends. Notable exceptions due to time and distance: Kat and Karen.
3. I was upgraded to FIRST CLASS on the flight home!
4. I was told that I had "very good English" by a man who thought I was Ukrainian.
5. I made it back all safe and sound! I had a welcoming committee of about 20 people at the train station. I definitely missed my Ukrainian friends.

Some pictures from the wedding weekend (photography credit to Molly and Kirby):

Lovelace 1 Reunited! Kirby, me, Amanda, and Molly

Lovelace 1 + Rachel

And again...Love them.

Representing Union

Molly made this one black and white...thank goodness.

Bridesmaids

Union crowd at the wedding...representing Union again. Gotta love it.

5/7 of Jeaton 35. What a great reunion!

I love my family...

I love my family, and this week, I get to spend the whole week with them! Sorry for the lack of updates. I will correct that situation soon. Thanks for checking, even though I've been lax in updating!