Day 1 of MO-YOM 2011: GREECE is in the books! And what a long and exciting day it has been. After our 11 hour flight to Athens, we met up with one of the missionaries, Bro. Jonathan Strickland, and got off to a quick start. Soon after checking into our rooms at Hotel Presidente, the YOM team headed into the heart of Athens to get a firsthand look at what life in Greece is all about.

Athens is a beautiful city of more than 5 million people, and the architecture is even more wondrous than photos or words can relate. Many of the YOMers have taken notice of an interesting sight: nearly everything in the buildings and streets are made of marble! It is an abundant natural resource in Greece, and is used very often in all sorts of endeavors.

By way of walking and subway transportation, our first stop was the Acropolis. The word “acropolis” is derived from two Greek words - “top” and “city”. The Athenian Acropolis sits on a high hill in the center of the city. It is here where the ancient Greeks built monuments to their gods, a few of which still stand and are very famous and recognizable by people all over the world - most notably, the Parthenon. From the top of the Acropolis we could see the entire city of Athens, including Zeus' temple and the 1896 and 1996 Olympic sites.

As we descended from the Acropolis to the ancient city center below, we were able to spend a while visiting and taking in the biblical historical site of Mars Hill, the place where Paul preached and reasoned with the Greek philosophers of his day about their many idols and their monument to “the unknown god” (this event is recorded in Acts 17). It was amazing to walk where Paul walked and to sit where he taught. Bro. Strickland spoke to us briefly about Paul's message and audience in Acts 17. Bro Levine then spoke to us about how we face some of the very same challenges today, as Paul did centuries ago.

Continuing our descent though the site of an ancient market, we had dinner at a city restaurant (chicken/pork gyros or beef kabobs) and did some souvenir shopping in the nearby shops. We arrived back at the hotel around 8:30pm, all pretty worn out. We met briefly to plan the VBS that starts tomorrow. We are excited to finally be in Greece and to see all God is doing in this nation!

Keep checking back for updates as we go; you can also link to us on Twitter by following @MO_YOM. Thanks so much for all your prayers! We're already making memories for a lifetime and being transformed by the missions work in Greece.

 

Happy Independence Day to the 2011 MO-YOM team! We're only two days away from meeting in St. Louis to begin our ministry adventure to Greece. As you continue packing, please take time to review the information and letters from Bro. Luke Levine's emails. Take a few moments to double-check that you've included "essentials" - especially those items unique to overseas travel!

See you in St. Louis!

Greece 2011 YOMers - it's right around the corner! In 47 days we'll be boarding the airplane in St. Louis to begin our journey to the heart of the Mediterranean.

Tuesday, May 31 is our first official fast day for the trip. Every YOMer should to spend that day in dedicated prayer and fasting for our trip to Greece.  Anyone - church, family, or friend - please join us as we prepare for the missions trip! Check back often for more news about the upcoming YOM 2011: Greece trip!

July 6th - 14th, 2011

$2600/person Includes: airfare, transportation, hotels, transfers and taxes, sightseeing, and some food

$350 deposit due by April 1st, 2011 (Application and deposit are required to reserve your space) Experience: Church services Street Evangelism Prayer Meetings Prayer Meeting/Service at Lydia’s Creek (Where Lydia’s household was baptized in Acts 16) Also See and Experience: The Macedonian Experience Travel the very footsteps of Paul Tour the Biblical cities of Athens, Corinth, Thessaloniki, & Philippi Ruins of Biblical city of Philippi See the ancient Acropolis & Parthenon Monasteries of Meteora located in the Pindos Mountains Pray at the very “Altar of Paul” Royal Tombs of Berea Beautiful Aegean Sea Mount Olympus Walk the Biblical Roman Road Boyhood home of Alexander the Great Greek Marketplace Visit Thermopolis (Actual place where 300 Spartans withstood the entire Persian Army) Download Application

[gallery] In summer 2011, Missouri Youth on Missions will be traveling to the European nation of Greece! Where many of the earliest churches were planted in the first century A.D., Greece is an ancient country that is the site of many interesting cities and historical locations. MO-YOM 2011: Greece will be a life altering, world changing missions trip!