Greetings. My name is Dr. David Sparks and I, along with my wife, Elizabeth (a native of the biblical town of Berea, Greece) have been leading Taylor students through the Biblical sites of Greece for over 20 years. This year we are sharing the leadership with Dr. Pak from Taylor. Taylor students have been great in the past and we are looking forward to spending time with your sons and daughters and sharing with them the ministry of the Apostle Paul. May I just begin by saying that we already consider it a privilege to have such a wonderful group of students!
Tuesday - Arrival
Students arrived in Thessaloniki after a long but uneventful flight overseas. We made our way to our hotel in the center of Thessaloniki (the 2nd largest city in Greece) where students settled in for the next five nights. They had the afterrnoon off to unpack, walk along the harbor or take a nap. At 6pm we met for our orientation and introductions. Then we ventured out for our first Greek meal! After a long day of travel, most students decided to make it an early night and headed to bed.
Wednesday - Thessaloniki
After breakfast we made our way to the church of St. Demetrios (one of the first Christian martyrs under the persecution of the Roman Emperor Galerius). While in the church we read from Acts 17 about Paul's visit to Thessaloniki and his message in the Jewish synagouge about the coming of the Messiah. We also began to explore one of the themes of Paul's letter to this community--the call to sanctification through the work of the Holy Spirit. Leaving the church we visited the ancient market place (the agora) and walked in the very footsteps of Paul. Then we made our way to the modern open air-market and saw all kinds of olives being sold along with all kinds of other food stuffs such as slain lambs and fresh fish. We continued on to Aristotle Square for a gyro sandwich, which the students love (see pictures below)! Finishing a great lunch we visited the Arch of Galerius and the famous White Tower, one of the old fortification towers of the city. Wrapping up the day, we finished in time for students to catch a nap to overcome the lingering jet lag. At six we'll have our next lecture and then we'll end with another great greek meal.
Thursday - Philippi:
We drove east to the Kavala, which, in ancient times, was called Neapolis. This was the port where Paul first landed in Greece to bring the message of Jesus Christ. We then continued to Philippi (to whom Paul wrote the book of Philippians), a major Roman colony of the time. After traversing the ancient ruins, we stopped at the jail cell where Paul was imprisoned. We learned of Paul's time in Philippi and how, after a night of singing praises from his jail cell, the Lord sent an earthquake to open the prison doors. We continued through the site, visiting the theater, before walking down to the river where Paul baptized the first Greek, a woman named Lydia. We had a baptismal renewal service, and six students were baptized for the first time. It was a wonderful moment!
Check back over the next couple of weeks as we continue to post news and pictures from our travel. And please feel free to comment!
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| Students in the ancient Roman Agora of Thessaloniki |
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| Not rubber chickens! - At the modern day market |
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| Standing with the meat cutters at lunch - The gyro rotisseries are in the background |
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| In front of the Tomb of Galerius, 4th century Emperor of Rome |
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| Sitting in the ancient city center of Philippi where the Apostle Paul was beaten publicly |
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| In the theater of Philippi |
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| Students hard at work |
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| Baptisms and baptism renewals in the stream where Paul baptized Lydia |
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| In front of the Greek Orthodox chapel in Philippi |
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