Zone Conference, Thanksgiving and Delphi...

 We had a combined zone conference where all the missionaries either drove or flew into Athens for a preparation day to Delphi, meetings, a Thanksgiving celebration and brand new missionaries from the England MTC.  It was a very exciting time!

Ancient Greeks believed that Delphi was the Navel of the Earth, a place seen as a spiritual focal point for all Greeks; it included many sanctuaries and the most prestigious oracle in all of ancient Greece. This is where Pythia, the high priestess, uttered the divine advice of god Apollo to mortals who travelled from across the world to seek a prophecy. Apart from Greeks, the Oracle was visited also by foreign leaders and dignitaries who were anxious to know the will of Apollo on important state affairs.

It was a beautiful cloudy day filled with lots of tourists.  We visited the museum and then toured the grounds.  Afterwards, we went to the little village past Delphi where we ate a delicious meal.  

The Menu

None of us were brave enough to try the Ewe, goat, rabbit stew or rooster in wine sauce.  We had a delicious salad and chicken in a cream sauce. 

The next day we had Zone Conference and wonderful presentations and talks. The best was just being together with everyone.  We are spread out over Greece and Cyprus and usually see each other on zoom.  We were all uplifted and edified by our mission leaders and Zone and District leaders. 

The next day was a day of service and Thanksgiving.  We cleaned the church, organized the rooms, cleaned the windows, pictures, floors, bathrooms, etc.  Then we gathered for a turkey dinner courtesy of our branch president's wife who got it for us.  

The missionaries all brought food they had bought or made.  The best part was that it wasn't Thanksgiving in Greece and it was easy to go shopping.  Best deal ever. 

The next day we gathered at Mars Hill and the new missionaries were able to share their testimonies in Greek.  They did a fabulous job even though I don't speak Greek.  You could feel their sincerity.  Pictures were taken where it has been said that Paul preached and everyone found out who was training and their new companion. 

Then it was off to their new places in Cyprus, Crete, Thessaloniki and Athens.  We will miss the missionaries we have had but are excited to get to know all the new ones.  We are grateful we don't have to think about transfers!

In Preach My Gospel it reminds us that it is just as vital as what you do as it is to who you are and who you are becoming.  I am grateful for all we have been able to learn and hopefully we are becoming better followers of Jesus Christ.  It is hard to tell at times but that is our hope.  We love being missionaries no matter what.  Smiley face inserted here. 

Athens Marathon the Authentic

 

Map of the Athens Marathon Route and Incline

On our way home from church on Sunday, we altered the route we usually walk and went down one of the busiest streets in our area.  We walked for a mile along the Athen's Marathon path.  It was truly exciting to see runners from all over the world.  More than 70,000 runners from 140 countries ( record number) were registered to run either the classic route or the various other parallel road races hosted that weekend.  20,322 runners registered for the marathon portion. No qualifying time was necessary but you needed to be 18 years old or more. 

The route covers the same ground that the Athenian messenger Filippides ran when he brought the news of victory from the battlefield of Marathon 2,500 years ago.  The finish line is in the Olympic Stadium, named the Kalimarmaro stadium, and the birthplace of the modern Olympic games held in 1896.  

It is also the same course used in 2004 Olympics held in Athens.  Ed win Kiptoo from Kenya was the winner of the 4th Athens Authentic Marathon.  It was a new record of 2 hours, 10 min. and 34 seconds.  

  

There was a band playing Rocky, Chariots of Fire and other inspiring familiar numbers. 

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?  So run, that ye may obtain.  1 Cor. 9:24  Our lives are lot like marathons.  We are able to run only as good as we have prepared.  Marathons are very grueling as evident in many of the faces that I saw as we watched.  They are also very motivating.  Back in the day, I prepared to run the Moab 1/2.  I knew I needed to be serious because I didn't want to be embarrassed and not able to finish the race.  I was grateful for my friend that I ran with because she kept encouraging me.  I ran behind her for some of the race, just trying to match her pace and stay up with her.  I am glad we don't have to run the marathon of life alone.  

Good-bye fans; hello blankets!

The seasons are changing but there are no changing of the colors of leaves here in Athens.  I am seeing postings of so many beautiful colored mountains in Utah and am quite jealous.  I have traded my summer clothes for fall and winter.  I have started carrying a sweater.  It makes me look more Greek...only many are wearing coats.  Can I just say I am grateful that we are not going to go through another summer in Greece.  

We bowled on Pday for 2.50 euros a game.  What a deal.  

Market day.  The egg man knows us now.  The fruits and vegetables are locally grown. 

If you look at the trees, you will see they are growing in the road.  

We went to a Women's shelter for refugees.  It was wonderful to see Ukrainians, Africans, Syrians, etc. all talking and sharing space together.  

It is local Elections in Athens.  The candidates were speaking at many of the local parks outdoors.  

We went to a Mexican restaurant that was good.  I got shrimp tacos and Kim got  avocado salad with real chunks of avocado.  That was heaven. 

Our entire zone went to Temple of Poseidon for Pday.  Many of us have been before and there isn't a lot to see but we just had fun being together.  These are our mission leaders and their daughter.  President Nelson served in Greece as a young missionary.  He said he could get in free when he was a missionaries and there weren't 5 busloads of tourists. 

The temple was a very strategic placement where you could see approaching ships all around.  

These wonderful Elders brought me avocadoes from Crete.  They grow them there but they must not export them because they are so expensive in Athens. 

Our wonderful zone.  We love these missionaries.  We are few in number but so happy when we can all be together.  We have 4 missionaries in Thessaloniki, 2 in Crete and the rest scattered in Athens.  We have missionaries in Cyprus but they are a different zone and the mission home is in Bulgaria.  We have not gotten to meet the Bulgarian missionaries except for our awesome APs.  

We went to a new taverna at the end of the day.  Most Greeks don't eat until 9 p.m.  We went to a very Greek restaurant and had to ask what the dishes were.  

My dish was the specialty of the day.  It was beef on a bone with vegetables.  I was visualizing lots of veggies with a little meat around a bone.  I think the green flakes must have been the veggies. 

It was a lovely evening and we all relaxed after a very busy zone conference.  

It was a wonderful two days that we spent with the missionaries having fun and having meetings that were motivating and inspiring.  We need those times because it can be very discouraging in Greece.  Our branch is small and spread out.  I think missions are hard and it is times like the past two days that help all of us hunker down and try to do better. 

Hurricane Daniel

 Storm Daniel developed in Greece and was named by the Hellenic National Meteorological Service. [It] caused record-breaking rainfall in Greece on 5-6 September, with a reported 750 mm falling in 24 hours at a station in the village of Zagora. This is the equivalent of about 18 months of rainfall. In Thessaly, central Greece, many stations received 400 to 600 mm of rainfall in 24 hours. Thessaly is Greece’s agricultural heartland, and so the economic impacts are expected to be serious. 

Last week we went to Larissa and stayed for a few days to see how the conditions were and how the Church could help.  We were fortunate to be taken around by a doctor and Civil Servant for his Municipality.  He knew everyone since he grew up in Larissa and has lived there most of his life.  

Clinic in Larissa with doctor

Park that follows the River Pineios  overflowed

Garbage overflow because the roads are closed

Flooded Highway  

Transportation for Those Needed to Cross the Highway 

There were people who needed to get to work but the highway was closed except for the Army that would transport the people across the flooded area.  

Refugee Camp gates to Enter

We drove out to the harder hit areas where there is a lot of agriculture and livestock that were all lost to the flooding.  One of the biggest jobs was the cremation of the dead animals: cows, sheep, chickens, and pigs.  We could smell the decay from the camp.  The camp was empty because they sent the refugees to other camps so they could clean and fill the camp with villagers that had nowhere to go.  

Housing at the Camp

The units are like moving pods.  They have water heating solar panels.  There was a gym, places to get your hair cut, and visiting areas.  There were no trees and it was far from any city. 

Parking Lot of Camp Looking Out Over Flooded Fields 

The next day we went out to a warehouse to see how they were handling the flood situation in Karditsa, a village that had been hard hit.  We sat on chairs in the front of the warehouse while a front loader would go back and forth behind us while loading and unloading bottled water and supplies.  They were in the process of evaluating what their needs were and the sweet young woman in charge said that she was putting in long hours to understand what to organize.  Her phone rang constantly.  She was so grateful that we had just showed up to see how things were going.  She called and made reservations at a cafe in the village and had a government official take us for a meal. 

Greek Cooking

When we arrived at the café, happy to have found a parking space a block or two away, there were few people.  When we finished our meal, our discussion and just relaxing which can take a long time, the place was full.  Our host ordered a salad that consisted of beets, boiled zucchini, and greens with lemon.  We had fresh sardines on tomatoes, fried zucchini with a garlic dip, grilled potatoes, bread, and a mixed variety of grilled meat with fries.  There are always fries.  It was very delicious and we barely made a dent.  I felt quite sad that he was not going to take leftovers home but he assured us that the cats would be fed.

We ate several delicious meals while in Larissa.  One was pizza with fries on it.  We enjoyed seeing all the bikes and scooters being used.  The sidewalks were wide for pedestrians but you never knew when a scooter was coming up behind you.  Our hotel looked down on one of the sidewalks and on an ancient amphitheater.   

 

Divani Palace hotel and  Ancient Theatre of Larissa

Now is the time we can bless others and 'lift up the hands which hang down'"  ..President Russell M. Nelson.      I am grateful for the people of Greece.  I have found them a happy, animated and giving people.  It has been such a blessing for me to see compassion in action as the Greek people assist one another.  

Partner Appreciation Evening

 We were asked to organize what is called a Partner Appreciation event for all of the NGO's that we work with in Greece.  We were grateful that Italy had done a similar event and we could use their experiences to help us in providing a gathering where the Non Government Organizations could visit and exchange ideas, etc.  Collaborate.  It was  about collaborating and taking time to express gratitude for all the things they are doing to help the refugees and displaced.  

We were not aware that everyone leaves Athens except the tourists in July and August.  We had record breaking heat combined with humidity during July.  I have never never never been so hot.   I have experienced hot in California and Vegas but never mixed with humidity.  I am grateful to have that behind us.  I know why they all leave and go to the islands where it is cooler.  So the timing of the evening was a bit of a challenge since many were out of the office.  It was suggested that we hand deliver the invites so we spent a few afternoons walking in the downtown to give these really nice invites that Kim had printed and no one was around to receive and admire.  Fortunately, there is email and we were grateful for the response.  

We were able to have bags made from Ankaa.  They teach classes in sewing and make really cool bags and back packs from the raft materials that the refugees travel in and leave on the beach and other materials.  We gave them as thank you gifts filled with a 2022 Caring for Others pamphlet showing where the Church has projects around the world, some chutney made by Saffron Kitchens that hire refugees to work with them in catering food, and honey that we bought from a bee keeper that sells honey at the Litke ( outdoor market).  He showed us pictures of his hives.  We were very happy to buy lots of honey from him.  

Patchwork Pocket Bags

Tomato and Onion Chutney

Saffron Kitchen with salmon pinwheels, homemade tortilla chips with dip, egg salad rolls, meatballs with chutney and brownies.  They were delicious. 

Our Mission Leaders came from Bulgaria to represent the church and tell about the tithing and fast offerings that are given by the members of the church to help others around the world.  He connected our young missionaries with the service they do as part of their mission.  We have been known as LDS Charities and truthfully, many of the organizations did not know what LDS stood for and it was an opportunity to talk about our church.  

Our wonderful NGOs

2022 Annual Report of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Jesus Christ is the perfect example of caring for those in need.  As His followers, we seek to love God and our neighbors throughout the world....We gratefully acknowledge the selfless service and donation of time, funds, and other resources by Church members and friends as we collectively care for others. As we continue to love and strengthen one another through service, we invite all to join us in this important work. 

 Russell M. Nelson, Dallin Oakes, and Henry Eyring 

We were glad that everything turned out and we always love being with our partners.  They are such good people from all over the world working to help others.  We truly enjoyed having an evening with them all under one roof...our roof.  😊