*cool title*

Hello from Greece! I know you already know I'm here from Kiely's post, but I figured it was worth saying anyway. I was charged with the arduous task of accompanying my mom over to Athens while she gives a couple lectures at the American College of Greece, and I dare say I have carried out my duties quite nicely. The past six days have been a whirlwind of tzatziki, souvlaki, ruins, planned Vandy encounters, chance Vandy encounters, mom time, museums, islands, getting lost without a map, and chocolate-flavored orange juice. So great! After my glorious day with the happily jetlagged duo of Kiely and Liz (see "Yassus"), I went to Corinth for a day trip on my own, or so I thought. As I stepped off the train in the city armed only with water, trail mix, and a last-minute email from Trent Palmberg giving me tips on what to do, I stumbled upon the one and only Sam Smith and several other Vandy kiddos who had just arrived for their Maymester in Corinth. God is good. We talked for a while (again, they were all jetlagged) at a restaurant before they went and crashed and I climbed another mountain (they have a lot of those here, and they have a tendency to build the coolest stuff on top of them...) after walking the ground Paul walked/preached on. Ridiculous.

On a more thoughtful front, I finished reading 3 Cups of Tea tonight and found it incredibly inspiring. For those of you who have yet to read it (note the implication that you should read it...), it's the story of Greg Mortenson, a mountaineer-turned-humanitarian that was inspired to build schools in Northern Pakistan following a failed K2 expidition. He has since started over 85 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan and is continuing his work to educate children, especially girls, to this day. He's probably going to win a Peace Prize someday, and he's one of those incredibly inspiring lives that make you feel insignificant. But I really liked what he said at the very end of the book as he was heading into the far reaches of Afghanistan to start a new project: "I felt like I had all those years earlier... having no clue what was ahead of me." Here was a man who had accomplished SO much good in the world, whose resolve seemed impenetrable and whose foundation seemed sure, and he admits to feeling completely lost at the beginning of his journey and even after he knew exactly what he was doing. It gives me so much hope for all of us in this time of transition and uncertainty, that even in the midst of this unknown God can use us in mighty ways. Hold on, friends, it's going to be a crazy ride!

-Jon