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.

 

[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!

Today the Missouri Youth on Missions crew took in a few more sights before we head home from the Dominican Republic early tomorrow morning. The photos that have been posted will show you more than I could blog! In short, we visited ancient caves, saw 500 year-old buildings from the time of Columbus, shopped and bargained at the marketplace, and ate at McDonalds and a family-style Chinese restaurant. It's safe to say that every single YOMer enjoyed the marketplace and souvenir buying! Expect to see some neat stuff from the Dominican whenever you see your YOMer next. We're leaving the hotel in Santo Domingo in the morning at 4am; our flight to Miami is at 7am; we have a 5hr layover in Miami; we'll see you at Lambert International Airport in STL at 4:30pm (STL time)!!! See Day 8 photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/moyouth2/YOM10DRDay8# MOYouth YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/moyouth

The final service of this year's MO-YOM trip was indeed a life-changing one! This was the one service of this year's trip that was primarily geared toward evangelizing those that needed to receive the Holy Ghost for the first time. After evangelizing the local neighborhood and communities, the church gathered together for a service. We sang 4 or 5 worship songs, the pastor exhorted the crowd, and then the YOM Choir sang 2 songs in Spanish. A handful of the YOM team shared incredible testimonies before and in-between the choir songs - Seneatha Clayton, Tyler Mays, Michelle Wickett, Alex Gates, and Alisha Logan. YOM staff members Lance Wickett and Dustin Williams tag-team preached the service, and many unsaved people responded at the altars. 5 were filled with the Holy Ghost for the very first time during the service, and several backsliders were re-filled!!! We had a terrific dinner at a local restaurant here in Santiago - steak, chicken, ribs, and many side dishes. After a long day like this, the YOM team rejoiced at the sight of a full plate of food! Lives are being transformed forever down here in the Dominican Republic. See photos from Day 7 - http://picasaweb.google.com/moyouth2/YOM10DRDay7# MOYouth YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/moyouth

This morning we had another breakfast meal at the hotel here in Santiago, Dominican Republic and launched out to one of the local churches for a children's service. When we got there the kids were cheering in the street and church building - and there were a LOT of kids (our estimates are about 500). Many of the children came off the streets and the entire situation was pretty chaotic; no one really anticipated such a huge turn-out. We eventually made it into the building and set up the puppet stage. The YOMers did 3 puppet songs (including good ol' "Father Abraham"), with YOMers Brooke Smith and Amanda Godbey introducing each song and encouraging the kids to sing along and remember what the song meant. After the puppet show, YOMer Haleigh Hohman taught a lesson about David and Goliath and how we need not fear things because God is on our side. YOMers Bradly DeLong and Mariah Garcia acted out the scenes - the kids really enjoyed that! We had a time of prayer with the kids, but we had to take a crowd of them outside; there simply wasn't enough room to maneuver inside the church building! We left the church and made our way to the mall for lunch and a little shopping time, after which we headed back to the hotel to rest up for tonight's final service of the YOM trip! Photos from Day 7 here - http://picasaweb.google.com/moyouth2/YOM10DRDay7# MOYouth YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/moyouth

Whew! Today was a big day. It was our sightseeing day here on the YOM trip, so we got up, ate breakfast here at the hotel, and traveled about 1.5 hours to the area that we'd be doing all our fun activities We went to a big mountain and rode a cable car up to the top. About 2/3 the way up, we went up into the clouds! Clouds covered the top of the mountain and we spent about 40min up at the summit in the cloudy misty fog. For most the YOMers, it was the first such experience they'd ever had; we all had a great time taking pictures and checking out the awesome unique sights from the cable car ride and mountaintop. We could see the entire city and even the ocean on the way up the mountain! Talk about a breathtaking view. From there we left and went to lunch at a local restaurant where we ate a meal of chicken, rice, avocados, and other Dominican-style side dishes. After lunch we went to the go-kart tracks and spent a few hours racing each other. The photos from the go-karts are sure to be entertaining! Then the YOM Team headed towards our dinner restaurant, "El Chorro" (a Mexican restaurant). The restaurant was right across the street from the ocean, so we spent about 25min wading in the ocean. It was many YOMers first time visiting the ocean! Although is was a quick visit at the ocean, everyone was really happy that we got to wade around and take some memorable photos. We had a great dinner of tacos, enchiladas, and burritos, complete with homemade juice drinks and Dominican dessert. We just arrived back at our hotel for the night. All of today's photos are uploading! Tomorrow will be a big day of evangelism and services; please pray with us for the outreach efforts and both of the services. Thank you so much for the comments and prayers so far throughout this year's MO-YOM trip!!! See Day 6 photos here - http://picasaweb.google.com/moyouth2/YOM10DRDay6 MOYouth YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/moyouth

Today was one of our big travel days. We started the day with our final breakfast and service of the national youth camp. Missionary Shirley preached the morning service and exhorted the young people of this generation to "Rise Up!". We ate a quick lunch after service and then loaded up the vehicles and hit the road, traveling across the island to the city of Santiago (4.5 hours away). Once in Santiago, the YOM team enjoyed (devoured) a big meal at T.G.I Fridays! Free refills and all the fixings. Since then we've checked into our new hotel here in the city and as I type most the YOMers have already taken a nice warm shower and gone to bed for the night. Everyone is worn out, but in good spirits and ready to take on the day tomorrow! Doing some sight-seeing tomorrow and taking some time to relax after a busy last few days at youth camp. Thanks the comments you're leaving, and don't forget to look at all the new photos and videos! See Day 5 photos here - http://picasaweb.google.com/moyouth2/YOM10DRDay5# MOYouth YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/moyouth

The MO-YOM team awoke this morning to a rare sight as of late - it's not raining anymore! At least we're dry for now. We started our day by meeting up at 9am, followed by a short devotion and prayer led by YOMer Alex Gates. We walked down to the giant pavilion (where we have our services and meals) and ate breakfast. Soon after breakfast, the morning worship service was underway. Once we sang a few songs, the camp youth leaders announced that today's classes were going to be “split sessions” - one class for the young ladies, and a separate class session for the young men. The young men picked up their chairs and trekked up the big hill to the building at the top, where they had their class, and the young ladies stayed in the big auditorium. The camp leaders taught about dating, relationships, and the importance of having Christian attitude and behavior in everyday life. We're learning that a lot of the issues we grapple with as young people in the U.S. are not all that different from the battles faced by young people in other nations and cultures. It's been agreed by the YOMers that today's lunch was the best meal we've had at camp so far. It included a couple small pieces of chicken, Dominican-style potato salad, and rice with beans. After lunch the recreation time started, which meant the Dominican young people and the YOM team had a chance to play basketball, softball, and volleyball. It is much hotter today than any other day on the trip so far; the cloud cover and rain have receded and it was sunny for most of the day. We ate a late dinner and then after we changed clothes, night service began. Our fearless group leader Bro. Luke Levine preached a message entitled, "I'm NOT an Egyptian!" and really targeted some the issues facing young people in the church today. The prayer and worship after the sermon was incredible - young men and women, Dominican and YOMers alike, were re-dedicating themselves to a holy life and consistent relationship with God. Service didn't end until about 1:30am - many, many youth remained in the altars in the early hours of morning. This final evening service of youth camp was truly a life-changing one! Remember to check out the new photos and videos! See Day 4 photos here - http://picasaweb.google.com/moyouth2/YOM10DRDay4# MOYouth YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/moyouth

Friday night service here at the national youth camp was off the charts! We sang about 4 worship songs and then Bro. Lance Wickett greeted the campers. Several YOMers testified at this point in the service: Veronica McPheron, Natalia Gunderson, Ellie Harder, and Bradley Nave. Bro. Wickett introduced the MO-YOM Sign Team and they ministered to a song in Spanish. After a couple more songs, Bro. Juan Bautista preached and as the Word of God was preached hearts began to be touched. The Dominican young people and the YOMers prayed and worshiped together as God transformed lives. The YOM team did a terrific job working in the altars and ministering, praying and talking with many of the youth here at the camp. Every young person and YOMer was blessed in a special way in this service! After service we headed back to our rooms and ate a “late night snack” - some fresh bread that Missionary Shirley bought when he made a supply run to the nearest town earlier today. The YOM team is working together wonderfully; everyone is upbeat, excited, and eager to keep trying and doing new things. Thank you for your continued prayers! See Day 3 photos here - http://picasaweb.google.com/moyouth2/YOM10DRDay3# MOYouth YouTube Channel -  http://www.youtube.com/user/moyouth

Missionary Shirley and I traveled into town for some supplies, so we had an opportunity to post some info and photos from our last day-and-a-half. The national Youth Camp is going great! We met up at 8:15am for some morning prayer and devotion before heading to a breakfast of bread, oats, and cheese. After that we had about 2hrs of class. Lucky for us, they found someone who could translate Spanish into English. When class ended we were able to relax for a while until lunch, which consisted of mostly rice and meat. It's currently pouring down rain. This is the slotted time for recreation at the camp, so the YOM team has resorted to playing some fun indoor games until either the rain stops or it's time for dinner and evening service. Look for more updates tomorrow or Sunday! Thank you for the comments; keep 'em coming! MO-YOM ‘10 Photo Album - http://picasaweb.google.com/moyouth2 MOYouth YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/moyouth