OHI Day in Greece

Ohi Day in Greece is the day celebrated in remembrance of the moment when the then prime minister of Greece, Ioannis Metaxas, refused to let the Italian troops enter Greece's border on October 28, 1940, during the Greco-Italian War.

 We got up early and left for the metro to get to Mars Hill for a leaving missionary testimony meeting.  It was still dark and the metro was very quiet.  The streets were very quiet.  We wondered if everyone had partied the night before and thus at 7 a.m. the roads were clear of people and cars.  It is wonderful to be able to walk the streets without watching very carefully for traffic.  You cross a lot of streets.  I took this picture because Sister Vasquez from our Salt Lake Headquarters mission asked if there were many dogs or cats in Greece.  There are three cats in this picture.  There are cats everywhere.  You will see bowls of all kinds holding water on the corners, in driveways, etc. They are for the cats.  

Too early for people but this outdoor café is always busy with people sitting and drinking and eating. 

These are ruins on the way to Mars Hill.  You can't dig many places without finding ruins in Athens. 

It is a steep climb to get to Mars Hill. 

Early morning looking at the Parthenon from Mars Hill

The missionaries arrived and we found a quiet place to sit and listen to testimonies of departing missionaries.  They were kind enough to speak some English.  One was in Greek and the other in Albanian.  I understood the English.  It is good to hear their missions in summary and think that our time will come too.  I am not going to lie.  It has been hard for me.  I appreciate my returned missionary children and how they were able to adjust and thrive.  I don't think it is meant to be easy.  It definitely is a refining process and I know that there are many things that I will appreciate more when all is done.  I feel very blessed to have this opportunity to rely on the Lord and on Kim.  He is such a blessing.  I am glad I don't have to change companions.  

Everything is marble.  They are doing a lot of renovation at the Acropolis.  Since it was Ohi day which means "no" in Greek, everything like museums and the Parthenon were free.  When we got to the ticket office to get our free tickets, we waited a few minutes to get in.  When we left, the line was very long and slow moving.  It definitely pays to go to things early.  

We did not go downtown to watch the parade or go to the museums.  We went home and got to work.  We are missionaries and there is always work to do.  We have correspondence, projects to get approved and projects to close.  We aren't really good at it yet but we are learning, studying, watching videos, etc.  

We like to take walks in the evening so stretch our legs and get away from the computer for a while.  Kim has mapped out a three mile plan that he gets up and jogs early morning while I do an exercise video.  We walk his route in the evenings.  Since it was Ohi day, we stopped at a bakery and got a treat that we shared.  

It wasn't as good as it looked but we sat in the "park" and enjoyed watching the world go by.