Invitation - Come to Israel

Israel. I can't believe I'm here.

These are the deserts the Israelites walked through on their way to the Promised Land.

This is the wilderness that David fled through to escape the evil intentions of Saul.

This is the wilderness that Elijah prayed in and was fed by ravens.

Jesus walked through this land, bringing good news of salvation and announcing God's kingdom is near.

This is where he broke bread and fed 5,000. This is where he walked on water.

This is where he walked along the water front with his disciples and told them secrets of the Heavenly Father's heart. This is where he called the 12 disciples and sent them out to do the things he showed them, to set the captive free. This is the land where the Savior was died. This is where he rose again. This is where he will return.

This is the hill he prayed tears of blood, asking the cup to be taken from him, if it was possible.

This is where the famous kiss of betrayal was placed on his cheek.

This is where he told Peter to put away his sword and healed the bleeding ear of the one who came against him.

This is the place where God dwelt among his people, then removed his glory, but where his glory will return.

This is the place where the eyes of the LORD are.

This is the place where all nations will come to bring tribute to the King of Kings.

This is a chosen place. Set apart.

This is a place that invites you to come.

To see the heritage.

To enter the living story.

To have your faith renewed and your hope restored.

This is the place where you will connect with the God of the Universe

because his heart and his love are with man.

He delights to save us.

He loves to bring us salvation.

It cost him everything.

But for the joy of renewed relationships and eternal fellowship with his creation,

he determined the price was worth the cost.

Come to Israel.

Come see the glory of kings.

Come see the hope of the world.

Come see the nation that God reinstated in a day.

The nation where his favor forever rests.

Flights to Tel Aviv

2008 ~ A Great Year of New Things

My friend Eldrid told me last New Year's that 2008 signified a year of 'new things'.
The year has come and gone and I wondered if I experienced this newness.

After coming home from a year's journey around the world (2007), I didn't think
much happened in 2008. But then, I looked again and remembered; and yes, there
have been many wonderful new things in my life (see list below).

But one thing that hasn't changed is my discovery that God is faithful.
As I look back into the past year, I see God's invisible and gracious hand guiding me through the 'normality' of preparing lessons for my students, writing about my trip, and living in a small town.

Sometimes it is so hard to realize his real-time presence in my life. I feel normal. I wonder if he really is directing my life, today, and preparing things for tomorrow. Will we have fun together? Will we help people? Will he draw others to himself through my life (through him in my life)?

But when I look back over time, I see the fingerprints of the Lord, and how he is faithfully directing my life. And I realize that he is dancing with me.

My prayer for 2009 is that it would be a year of wisdom and revelation.
I would like to grow in seeing his presence real-time, so I don't have to rely on 'looking back' to find him. And I also want to bring more real-time connections of the Lord with others that I meet, so they would experience his reality and his goodness.

New thought: maybe faith is believing in the present that God is here and he is working, even when we don't see him. And looking back, that is when he becomes visible. Is it possible to see him in real-time? Real-time dramatic things are easy for me, but in real-time mundane, can I see him?

Blessings to each of you!

May you experience his presence in 2009.

Highlights from 2008:
*West Coast Tour to visit family and friends - Jan/Feb
*Home to surprise my mom for her bday - Feb
*Directed by the Lord to come settle in the land, Jeremiah 29
*Moved to Gypsum, CO, at the invitation of my youngest brother and his wife - Mar
*Wrote about my trip
*Volunteered as a rancher!
-Rode horses up on the mountain ~ glorious views! My favorite days.
*Worked as a waitress at a local restaruant
*Interviewed for a 6th grade science teaching position in Gypsum
*Offered a job for fall 2008 at Gypsum Creek Middle School
*Home for family reunion - July
*Miracle provision of a 3 credit grad course at IN Wesleyan to renew my license
*Miracle provision of money for a plane ticket to Norway to be with my dear friend before her wedding - Aug
*God shuts down the Dallas airport with a thunderstorm to enable me to get home from London for my first teacher meetings.
*He continues to take care of me each step of the journey. He is so good. He is so faithful. I am so glad to be his daughter. I love you, Daddy!
*Starting teaching after a 2 year 'retirement'. Struggle at first, but God has given me such wonderful kids and a very kind principal. I am so thankful for his provision for me to teach there this year.
*Coached volleyball for a wonderful group of 7th grade girls.
*Great Christmas break with my family. God's gift.

With anticipation for 2009 because God is good and he is faithful,

Ericka :)

West Coast Tour; Visiting Friends & Mom's Family!! Mom's bday; Returning to Colorado; Final Thoughts

After staying in Colorado with Mark and Janelle until mid-January, I took a big trip out to the West Coast using the final segments of my Around the World Ticket.

My friend Kay and her husband John let me park my car at their house in Denver and she took  me to the airport to catch my flight.  That was a HUGE blessing - and it turned out to be God's amazing fore-sight provision for me.  

Originally I was only going for a few weeks - to visit my friend Amy (from the Baby House in Mozambique), who was getting her Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy at Seattle Pacific University (and see if I wanted to get my Master's in that as well).  Then I was taking a train down to Redding, California, to visit my dear Norwegian friend and sister, Eldrid (whom I met when I lived in Gunnison, CO, for four months before my trip) who was attending a ministry school at Bethel Church (Bill Johnson is the pastor), and see if I wanted to go there for ministry training, and to attend a writing conference they were hosting.   And then visit my cousin, Rachelle, and her husband in Seattle, before flying back to Denver.  

Well, there was a mudslide in Oregon, so the Amtrak train was canceled from Washington to California.  Instead, I had to take the Greyhound (my first experience on Greyhound - but I figured I was a seasoned traveler, so it would be fine.  It was, and there were a lot of interesting folk on the bus).  But it turned out that the bus ticket was more expensive, and I didn't have enough money to buy it.  So I had to call my dad to see if I could get a loan from them for the ticket.  My dad totally surprised me by saying that he and mom would give me a loan of $1000.  At first I didn't want to accept it, b/c I didn't want to go in debt, but then I thought, this is a gift from God and my parents.  So I used some of the money from this loan to buy my bus ticket.  Well, then, b/c I had the money, I decided to make a whole "West Coast Tour" and see all of my mom's side of the family (her siblings and their kids - my aunts/uncles, cousins) who lived out there.  We don't see them too much, so this could be a huge blessing if it worked.  A one-person family reunion, where I come to visit you!!!  :)  God opened up some amazing doors to be able to see and visit with all of them.  And they were all so great about welcoming me on my one month "tour".

After Redding, I took the Greyhound down to SanFransisco, where my aunt Emily and cousin Anne live in Alameda.  We had fun hanging out, they treated me out to eat!, and we caught up on what was going on in our lives.  Then we drove across the bay to SanFransisco to visit my cousin David and his wife Laura and their two kids.  They are a great family and we had fun eating Mexican take-out and sharing stories.  Then my aunt Emily sponsored me (a HUGE blessing and surprise gift that I was SO thankful for) to fly to Orange County, in Southern California, to visit my uncle Jon and his wife Pam, and my cousins Michelle, and her brother Paul and his wife Jolene and their two little kids.  We had a great time - taking walks, spending late nights talking, laughing, sharing about my trip and what God taught me, and just being with them!  I got a really fun hat in S.California with my aunt Pam.  She is a fun lady.  Then Emily sponsored me again to fly up to Pullman, Washington, to visit my cousin Julie and her husband Rob and their two kids.  Julie was recovering from breast cancer, and was doing awesome!!!  It was so great to see her and hear her laugh and tell stories.  And great to be with Rob's family who lived nearby.  On the way back to the airport, which was in Spokane, I remembered I had 2 other cousins, on my dad's side, Patty & Sue Grandos, and their families, who all lived in Spokane.  I got their phone numbers, and it amazingly worked out to see them for a day before my flight!!  I had lots of fun visiting Patty's school (where she teaches English as a second language) and ice skating and building castles with toy blocks w/ Aleiah, her daughter.  We had some good conversations about travel and faith and family.  Then, back to San Fransisco, where I traveled back up to Portland, Oregon, to visit a high school friend, Brianna Showell, and her husband Michael.  They were great hosts and we had a wonderful time catching up and sharing stories and talking about God and our faith in Him.   

Then I took a train up to Vancouver, British Columbia, and stayed in a hostel, and went around the city and crossed the water to hike in a park w/ a big hanging bridge, and then went snow boarding (I'm learning!) on Grouse Mountain.  Then back across the border to the US and Seattle, where a really nice lady offered to take me to my cousin Rachelle's house - that was a provision from the Lord!!  (I didn't have to pay a cab!)  Rachelle showed me her dental office (she's a root canal surgeon!) and then the house that she and her husband were renovating beautifully on the Puget Sound.  It is going to be gorgeous.  I suggested we have our next Regnier family reunion there.  :)  We saw the solar eclipse over the Seattle skyline and Puget Sound and ate at a wonderful Turkish restaurant.  It was great to see them!  And they were expecting a baby!!!  So the next time I see them, I'll get to see my new cousin.

And finally, back to Denver, and then, on to INDIANAPOLIS.  So, it turned out to be an amazing provision from the Lord that Kay let me keep my car at her house in Denver, rather than paying $5/day at the airport... eek, that would have been super expensive.  I ended up traveling the West Coast from Jan 20 - Feb 20, and then flew home to surprise my mom for her birthday, and stayed there for a month until Easter.  The surprise for my mom was great.  She had no idea I was coming.  She thought I was still out on the West Coast.  My friend Kelly picked me up at the Chicago airport, and then we drove down to Indy together (she was also visiting her family in Indy), and dropped me off at my parent's house.  I was praying and hoping my observant mother wouldn't see me come up the driveway.  I snuck in the back door and crept through the kitchen where I heard her talking to Craig (who had also surprised her by coming home for her birthday) and his girlfriend and her mom.  They were a great distraction.  I poked my head around the corner, and my mom stopped mid-sentence.  Her jaw dropped and she said, "Ericka?"  "Ericka?"  Like she couldn't believe it was me in the doorway.  She had to touch me to believe I was real.  It was a good shocker!!!  And then I got smothered in hugs.  I was happy.  I was so glad I got to come home and surprise her and be with her for her birthday.  In 2007, she had turned 60, and I was traveling, so I missed that one.  We had a great time together, and I ended up staying a month in Indianapolis, visiting friends, unpacking from my trip, organizing my stuff, and getting ready to move out to Colorado with Ryan and Sabrina (my youngest brother and his wife).  They had invited me to come out and live with them in Gypsum, Colorado, which is right on I-70, 2 hours west of Denver, and 40 min west of Vail.  

I didn't know if I wanted to go out to Colorado or use my final ticket to Chile, to finish my trip.  I prayed about it a lot, asking God for wisdom and direction, to see if He had a preference.  My older brother Craig called one night and asked me if I had decided where I was going to go.  No, not yet.  "What would you do in Chile?"  "Write about my trip, maybe work as a waitress, and learn Spanish."  (I had wanted to live in a Spanish-speaking country for 3 months and really learn the language.)  "What would you do if you moved to Colorado?"  "Write and work a little."  "What do you fear about moving out to Colorado?"  What kind of question was that??  What do I fear?!  Well, when I thought about it, it really was a good question.  

I was fearing settling.  I didn't want to settle and put down roots and then not be able to go and do whatever God wanted me to go and do (go to India, work in an orphanage; go to Egypt, help coach volleyball/work w/ girls).  I was free - I didn't have anything hindering me (no house, no husband, no kids, no roots to pull up - they were already up!, and my momentum was still moving after my year of traveling).  How could I just "settle" in America, the land of plenty, when there were so many needs around the world?  What if I got stuck there and then I would have a hard time leaving, if God did want me to move on.  I'm ready, now, God!  

Well, the next morning, I wanted to read from my Bible, so I grabbed it and opened it.  It flipped open to Jeremiah, kind of in the middle of the Bible, and I just started reading where I opened to.  "Go, [don't be afraid] settle in the land I am taking you to.  Plant gardens, build relationships, build houses.  Pray for the blessing of the land, so you too will be blessed.  Don't be deceived by false teaching.  At the end of my time for you in that land, I will bring you out of it again.... For I know the plans I have for you, to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future."  (That is my paraphrase of Jeremiah 29:4-11)  

When I first read it, I didn't realize what it was saying.  Then I thought, wait a minute, and I went back and read it again.  Was God telling me not to be afraid to go out to Colorado and settle in the land with Ryan and Sabrina for a time?  And then was He promising to bring me out when my time there was complete?  That was amazing to me.  It hit all aspects of where I had fear.  That I would be stuck - He said He would bring me out again.  And that I would be missing out of a "mission" in Egypt or India... if He was saying to "Go, settle" then I wouldn't be missing out on anything, would I?  I prayed about it some more, and then took that word from Jeremiah to be from Him for me and Colorado.

I've been out here since mid-March, and it has been an amazing blessing.  I have been writing and compiling stories from my trip, working part time at a local restaurant, and volunteering for a local rancher.  I have been riding horses over the Colorado mountains, loving the blue skies and beautiful flowers that wash over the landscape, and being a "cow girl"!  I have also really enjoyed getting to know my sister-in-law, Sabrina, well.  It has been a blessing to me from my brother and Sabrina, and from God, for me to be here with them.  

I just accepted a 6th grade science teaching position here in Gypsum, and will start at the end of this coming August; and I will also get to coach the 7th grade volleyball team.  I have had a two year "retirement" from teaching, so we'll see how it will be going back... The school is great; they have a wonderful staff, a really nice principal, and it's in a small community.   The kids seem really nice; the racial mix is 50% white and 50% Hispanic.  (I will miss my African American kids that I used to teach!!!)  Middle school will also be a new adjustment.  But a lot of people have told me they really love 6th graders because they have so much enthusiasm. 

 I'm looking forward to the coming year.

2008 is a year of new beginnings, new things! 

My last big hurrah of the summer will be a 2 1/2 week trip to Norway.  My dear Norwegian friend/sister is getting married to a great guy, and God provided me with the money to buy a ticket!  It was impossible, except by Him.  I prayed, asking if it would be ok for me to go, could He find a way to make some new money for me (I didn't want to borrow more from my parents).  And I had no idea how that would be possible.  Well, a few weeks later, I got an email from the school district out here saying that because I was a science teacher, they were giving me a one-time $1000 signing bonus!!!!  I was overwhelmed.  God did bring in new money that I had no idea about.  And a week later, my mom sent me a check from the US gov't with $310 in it, for a tax refund!!  So I had my money for a ticket, and  just needed a few more hundred dollars and the whole trip would be paid for.  God absolutely amazes me.  Nothing is too difficult for Him.

May we keep trusting Him, calling out for Him, searching for Him, like the most precious hidden treasure.

And may we recognize Him when He answers our prayers and shows us who He is

and allow Him to draw us to His heart - to repentance and love and magnificent submission to Him.

He is the King of All Kings.  

And He will return.

May He find us ready and expectant for Him, obeying and following Him,

with all of our hearts and souls and mind and strength,

and loving our neighbor as ourself.

God, only through your enabling can you make that possible.  Only by the presence of Your Spirit in our lives.  Only when our sins and yuckies have been washed clean by your precious, priceless blood on the cross.  Only when we truly believe You, all of You, all of what You said, and we obey... then we can truly enter into your rest.  (Hebrews 4,5)

God bless you, fellow travelers!  May you be encouraged in your hope and faith in the God of the whole universe, the God over every tribe and nation and tongue... who is so gracious and wonderful, faithful and true.  May you find Him as you seek for Him with all of your heart.

And may you love Him.

Amen.

Welcome Home Again! Weddings, Christmas, Skiing, 2 Stories, & a Prayer

When I got home, my brother Craig surprised me at the Lafayette train station (I flew from London to Chicago, O'Hare; and then took Amtrak down to IN) with friends and posters and flowers and sprinklers and a Twix candy bar!!!!  When I saw him and my friends, I started to make excited loud noises of delight (screaming?) and gave a flurry of hugs and "Oh my goodnesses!"  It was quite the welcome.  Craig drove me back to his house, where the next day he cut down a Christmas tree and let me decorate it (I love to decorate for Christmas, and my brothers don't really care about it), and he made me hot chocolate w/ tons of marshmallows, I got to meet his new girlfriend Kristin, and then we drove home to Indianapolis.  It was a great day.  And my brother really made it special for me.  On the way, we prayed for a really good first interaction with my family, that God would continue and seal the work that He had done in my heart while I was gone, and that He would bless our reunion!  God did all of that and more!!!  My two dear friends from high school (Kelly and Heidi) had come over to our house to surprise me, and my mom had cooked an amazing chili dinner to celebrate.  Craig decorated a circular cake as a globe (complete with continents and oceans), and it was a beautiful welcome home cake.  My dad had the globe on the table with sticky tabs of all the places I was going on my trip, and he had me share my trip journey again with everyone at dinner... Chicago to Miami to Bolivia, to Chile, to New Zealand, to Australia, to India, to Hong Kong, to South Africa, to Mozambique, to Kenya, to Egypt, to Israel, to Jordan, to Spain, to Switzerland, to Italy, to Greece, to Bulgaria/Romania/Hungary (train), to Austria, thru Germany/Belgium, to London, to Chicago, to HOME!!!!!!   WHEW!!!!  Quite the Journey, 10 1/2 months, end Jan-mid-Dec, 2007.  God showed me His Faithfulness as my Heavenly Father more than I could ever have imagined.  I love Him more today than I did before.  He is such a good Father.

I came home the weekend I did to be able to go to my dear friend Tafrica's wedding.  Because of God's faithfulness and goodness, I got on the flight from London (I almost missed it b/c of changing of tickets/reissuing them), and even with a 40 min delay on the London runway, still made it to Chicago in time to catch my train (the only one running that night) to Lafayette (I made it with 5 minutes to spare - Talk about God's faithfulness.  From the beginning, all the way through the middle, to the very end.)  The wedding was beautiful.  They had a really neat symbolic moment when they "jumped the broom" a tradition from slavery days when Africans were not allowed to get married in America, so they had their own ceremonies and that was one of the events of the marriage ceremony.  I was so thankful I was able to be there with Tafrica, and to get to see some other dear friends at her wedding!!

My mom threw a Coming Home Party for me, and we invited anyone who wanted to come.  It was such a wonderful evening.  I had friends from the neighborhood, friends from Arsenal Tech where I used to teach, friends from Church at the Crossing where I grew up, friends from Grace Church where I went after college, friends from Heritage where I went to high school, and relatives who drove an hour to come an welcome me home!!!  It was so nice of everyone to take time to come.  My dad had me share a little about my trip in front of everyone, and God gave me the words to say - about His faithfulness, and believing, really believing what He says; and some highlights from the trip.  It was a great evening.

Then our family went to my Grandma and Grandpa Smiley's for Christmas, saw all the cousins, aunts and uncles - it was a great reunion.  I am blessed with a really wonderful family.  Then my immediate family drove out to Colorado to be with my next younger brother, Mark, and his wife, Janelle.  We went skiing in their beautiful town of Crested Butte.  I stayed there to catch up with friends (before my trip I lived in that area/Gunnison from Aug-Dec 2006) and got to visit a college friend/mentor, Gretchen and her family, who lives in the Springs.  It has been so wonderful to be home again and see my beloved friends and family!!  I praise God that I am home safe - with so many stories, and so much amazement at who God is.

Final 2 stories about coming home:  When I was at my brother Craig's house, after he picked me up at the train station, I went out running the next day.  I was SO excited that I was home safe.  I was bubbling over with joy and amazement and YIPPEEEE!!! wonder at God's faithfulness.  "God, thank you SOOOOOOOO much for taking such amazing amazing amazing care of me for the WHOLE trip... from the very beginning, when I was "stranded" in Miami (flights were cancelled for 3 days because of a fuel strike), all the way through the middle (my lice and blisters in India, only getting sick ONCE on the whole trip in Jerusalem, protecting my stomach from all the food changes and microbes, meeting wonderful people, having a place to stay every night, having enough money all the way through to the end, and on and on and on...), and Your faithfulness to the very end (when I almost didn't make my flight home b/c they had to rewrite my entire 20 segment ticket 3 times by hand because I changed my final destination; and then the plane was delayed on the runway, but we still made it to Chicago in time to catch my train, the last one that night, to Indiana, with 5 minutes to spare!!"  They were all miracles and His provision for my trip.  My heart was overflowing with JOY and Thanks!!!  

But do you know what I heard?  I heard a little thought, whispering, "No, thank you."  Thank me?  For what, God?  You did everything.  You opened doors, You made it happen, You provided to the very end, You were the faithful one.  "Thank you, for trusting Me."  Whoah.  That was deep.  There were a lot of times where I didn't feel like I was trusting Him, but I guess over all, it did take a lot of trust to step out and believe that He would be with me, the entire way.  But do you know, that even those "acts of trust" were a result of His encouragement, His enabling, His help?  So even in that, He was the reason I was able to trust, when I did.    

God, I want to trust you the rest of my life.

2nd Story: About my finances.  Because I lived at home for 3 1/2 years before I traveled, I saved up a lot of money, paid off my college debt, and bought a used car.  That time at home was a result of asking God for direction on where to live while I was teaching in Indianapolis.  I wanted to move out and get my own place, but each year when I prayed about where to live, I believed that God was leading me to stay at home.  The last year, I was asking Him if I could leave.  "Please, God, I'm ready to have my own place."  That day I heard in my heart, "One more year."  "Ok, God, if You say one more year, I can do that."  And do you know; that money I saved up the last year at home was the majority of the money I used for my trip.  I had no idea.  God is so wise and so good.  God, I pray that You will help me really listen and obey You always.

  I thought I would use that saved money to put a down payment on a house or pay for part of grad school.  When the opportunity to travel came up, I wondered how I would pay for it.  I thought I couldn't spend that money "on me"; I should give it to the poor before I did anything selfish with it.  But that night as I went to bed, I heard God whisper to my heart concerning the money and the dream of this Around the World trip, "It's a gift".  How generous God is!  He provided for me to save it, and now He was giving it to me to spend on a personal adventure with Him!

I tried to be really good about how I spent my money on the trip, and would pray before buying anything.  I felt like God was my money-manager, and I wanted His input on things.  I figured He would know when I was going to run out, and how I should spend the money so I didn't.

Well, I never really heard, "Buy this" or "Don't buy that", but I kept asking Him for guidance.

  I would say through my whole trip my top three worries were: 1) That my finances would last through the whole trip.  2) That I would have a safe place to stay each night / contacts in countries.  3) For my safety in general as I was traveling in taxis with strange drivers or in unfamiliar countries/cultures (especially with men). 

I had a girl pray for me once, when I was in South Africa, right in the middle of my trip.  She prayed and asked God to provide for me abundantly, and afterwards she said, "God is going to do it."  I thought, 'Easy for you to say, you're not the one trusting Him each day for everything.'  But I hoped she was right.

Well, by the time I got to London in December before my final flight home, I had $300 to my name in my account.  That was it.  But, at least it was something.  I was amazed.  (I experienced a lot of hospitality in Europe, which enabled me to still have that money left.)  At the airport, I had to pay $250 for a change of destination fee.  I thought, "Great, I still have $50!  Charge away!"  And they swiped my card.  After arriving home and getting unpacked, I got online and saw I had a cell phone bill for the last month, and guess how much it was for?  $50.

God is absolutely amazing.  We coasted into home with $0, exactly, after it was all over.  

Who's the amazing money manager???!!!  He is good.

And do you want to hear about some ice cream that He scooped on top, just for a blessing at the end of the trip?  I was unpacking, and found my money belt.  Safely hidden (and forgotten) inside were some traveler's checks and some foreign currency I hadn't spent.  Do you know how much it was?  $500.  I couldn't believe it.  God is beyond amazing.  He is faithful.  And He is good.  To the end.  ALWAYS.  That is His Character.  And because He is God, His character doesn't change.  No matter what our situation is, or where we find ourselves, HE is FAITHFUL.  And HE is GOOD.

And the safety thing - yup, He did that too.  Yes, I had some uncomfortable situations, but He brought me safely through all of them.  And if something bad would have happened, I would still want to believe in His goodness and faithfulness, and trust that He would bring me through whatever it was.  The stories in the Bible and the testimonies of thousands of believers through the ages speak of His Great Faithfulness, no matter the circumstance.  I'll bet someone in the past has gone through every situation we may have to go through, and they experienced God's faithfulness.  So that gives me confidence that we can experience His same faithfulness and goodness, because He doesn't change.  May we always trust and put our hope in Him, no matter what anyone says, or no matter what we feel like, or what our situation may "say".  His character is His character, 100%, all the time, through all generations.

God, help us to grow deep and wide and high and long in our understanding of You, who You are and what You're about.  May we have understanding and trust in You.  Always.  Even when it is so tough.  Please help us grow in our trust and belief in You.  And if someone is really hurting right now, because they've had a really tough situation, I pray that You would minister to their heart and you would demonstrate Your loving-kindness and presence to them.  May they feel your perfect peace wash over their pain and anger and hurt and sadness.  And may they forgive and let go and find healing for their heart and their soul.  And may You set them free to fully follow after You, with all of their hearts and souls and minds and strength.  May they walk and run with You and be restored to who You have made them to be!  Glorious and in the beautiful image of Your Son.  Jesus, I pray for an understanding and revelation of the Cross and what You did on it, and why it's so important for people to believe You.  I pray that hardened hearts would be softened to see the humility and deep love of what You chose to do on the Cross.  And I pray that through belief, we would experience fully what You came to do - to not condemn the world, but to save the world through Your death on the cross.  Heavenly Father, help us believe and to receive it for ourselves; we do not want to be separate from You any longer.  We want to walk in the fullness of what You have in Your plan for Your redeemed (made right with You) children.  I want to be Your child.  Thank you so much for what Jesus did on the cross for me.  I believe it to cover all of my sins and bad things I've done; I'm sorry for those things; please forgive me.  Thank You for what Jesus did on the Cross for me and for the sins of the world.  I believe You.  I trust in You.  I know my hope and my salvation are in You alone.  Thank you, Father.  I invite you into my life to transform me by the presence of Your Spirit.  May I be sealed in You, forever, and may You daily transform me more and more like You; in the image of Your Son.  Help me to grow in You.  When I get discouraged, please encourage me by Your Spirit and through other people who have put their hope and trust in You.  May we be a people who shine Your light into the dark places of the world, so that more people can be set free and brought into Your glorious Kingdom.  

Thank you, Father.  You are so good, and patient, and kind.  You are full of justice and mercy.

I love you and am so thankful for who You are.

I pray this all in Jesus' Powerful Name, that is above Every Name,

Amen.

Psalm 84... And Summary of The Trip

Summary of the BIG TRIP... AROUND THE WORLD with JESUS.

All of this Blog has been written as a testimony of GOD's Amazing Goodness & Faithfulness in Ericka's life and experience... traveling around the world, from Chicago to S. America, to New Zealand, to Australia, to India, to Hong Kong, to South Africa, to Mozambique, to Kenya, to England, to Egypt, to Israel, to Spain, to Switzerland, to Italy, to Greece, thur Bulgaria,Romania,Hungary, to Austria, thru Germany, to England, and back home to the U.S.

Who Ericka is: A girl who's Heavenly Dad is so proud of her (and everyone) who TRUSTS Him... so that we can take amazing adventures with Him... our Trust allows Him to work, BIG. Wow, thank you, Father, for your Grace to me, b/c many times i didn't think i could make it. But You are Faithful... and here we are, at the end, heading home tomorrow...
and to continue... for the rest of my life!!! I love You, Father. Thank you for this Amazing Trip.

Began Journey: Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Journey will Finish (to be continued): Friday, December 14, 2007

Length of Time:319 Days

No. of Countries (visited or passed thru): 24

No. of Flights, Buses, Metros, Taxis, Trains: A lot, i'll have to count.

Money: God provided to the END!!!! WOW. A miracle. And a GIFT from Him.

Contacts: GOD PROVIDED IN EACH PLACE!!!! Another Miracle. As I went, He opened up doors, AMAZING doors, IN EACH PLACE. Wow. He is AMAZING.

Protection: Nothing stolen, Nothing major lost that wasn't found and even mailed to me (my plane tickets - a miracle!), Nothing happend to me bad with guys... wow. AMAZING. He protected me. MIGHTY!!!! He watched out for His girl. Wow. Thank you, ALL, for your prayers.

Health: Nothing major at all... with all the water changes, climate changes, country changes, for one year... wow. He is my PROTECTOR and HEALER. Just like He did for the Israelites - their sandels did not wear out, miraculously, for 40 years in the desert.

Biggest Lesson Learned: My Heavenly Dad is SO FAITHFUL. Wow. I CAN REALLY REALLY TRUST IN HIM. WITH MY WHOLE LIFE. 100% FAITFUL. 100% TRACK record... not 75%, not 80%, not even 99%... BUT 100% FAITHFUL. WHO IS LIKE HIM????? WOW. I am SO GLAD TO HAVE HIM AS MY TRAVEL BUDDY. And He doesn't leave me where I am; meaning i have some junk in my life... hurts, lies i believe, things that keep me bound and captive in my heart and thoughts and mind and even soul? So that i'm not totally free... HE KNOWS THIS, He KNOWS ME COMPLETELY, and HE WANTS TO COME IN AND SET ME FREE. BUT I HAVE TO TRUST HIM. I HAVE TO TRUST HIM, that HE IS GOOD, and that HE IS GOD; and TRUST EVERYTHING HE SAYS, COMPLETELY. Not pick and choose, as i like, but EVERYTHING HE HAS REVEALED is TRUE and WILL COME TO PASS and is TRUE OF HIM and of ME and of our WORLD. He has the TRUE REALITY, because He is the CREATOR... who are we, that we think we have a better or more accurate reality of our world than the CREATOR? God, please give us humility before you and a deep deep trust in who you say you are, and who you say we are, what our condition is, what we need to do and believe and be about... and your view of our world... give us great confidence in YOU.

Psalm 84

This Psalm God has given to me for this trip... He has given me strength for EACH step of the Journey... When i was overwhelmed, I cried out to Him, He heard me and answered me and rescued me. He is GOD MOST HIGH and He is My God. I love Him and want to serve and walk with Him and TRUST HIM for my whole life. HE IS FAITHFUL TO THE END!!!! LET THE MESSAGE AND TRUTH OF HIM BE SPOKEN TO THE NATIONS, and MAY WE HAVE SOFT HEARTS TO BELIEVE HIM and RECEIVE HIM. HE IS SO GOOD. HIS WORD IS TRUE, WE CAN TRUST HIM, COMPLETELY, ALWAYS, FOREVER. Amen.

(New International Version)Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.^[a]

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools. ^[b]

7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.

8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob.
Selah

9 Look upon our shield, ^[c] O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor;
NO GOOD THING does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.

12 O LORD Almighty,
BLESSED is the man [or person] who TRUSTS IN YOU.

Footnotes: a. Psalm 84:1 Title: Probably a musical term; b. Psalm 84:6 Or blessings; c Psalm 84:9 Or sovereign
From Biblegateway.com

AMEN!!!! TO THE END... He is FAITHFUL. May we put our FULL TRUST in HIM ALONE. He is so Good.

Post 99... Last Full Day of My BIG TRIP

Thursday, Dec 13, 2007... 12noon... Last full day before flying home tomorrow.
Wow. Here we are. I'm in London, at an internet cafe, getting ready to head into the city and see the major sites... Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Globe Theatre, and some double-decker red buses. I arrived 2 days ago and have been staying with my dear sister in Jesus, Erina. It is really really great to stay with people you know and love. To be in a home, to be loved and taken care of... wow. That is a gift from our Father.
So yesterday i just hung out and spent time with my Heavenly Father, talking to Him, reading His word... Colossians 3 and Romans 8... and Hebrews 3 & 4 and James 1.
My heart has especially been drawn towards Hebrews 3 & 4 and James 1... talking about BELIEVING GOD... and then what happens when we do believe HIM. When we believe, we will enter His REST, it says in Hebrews 4. If we don't believe, and we harden our hearts, even after we have SEEN His workings, we will NOT enter His rest. And BELIEVING leads to Obedience... walking with Him, by HIS Direction. wow. i am realizing that BELIEVING HIM, TRUSTING HIM, BELIEVING HIM, is SO KEY, to peace to living in His promises, to experiencing Him, to walking with Him, to living with Him in me and thru me...
BELIEVING. We can believe a lot of things, some true things, some not true things... i know, b/c i have believed some pretty big lies, and been so yucked in my life because of believing them.
But Jesus said, You will know the Truth and the Truth will SET YOU FREE. What is the truth? Jesus also said, I AM the Way, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. Do I really believe Him? Do i believe Him for my life and for all the nations of the world and for the person in front of me?
I have to do some major confession about NOT BELIEVING. God, can you forgive me? I'm so sorry I haven't truely believed you, because if i did, it would truely bear fruit in my thoughts and my life and my actions and everything. I want to believe YOU in everything. Not just things I want to believe or am comfortable with. I want you to SET ME FREE and to totally live with you, walking with you, TRUSTING You, Believing in You, BELIEVING YOU.
The Bible is SO KEY for our understanding... wow, really reading it, really BELIEVING it, EVERY part of it. Wow, God, let me find life with You, REST in YOU, Peace in YOU, JOY in YOU, LOVE in YOU... all these things in you. We seek for them in so many other places... but they are TRULY found in YOU ALONE. YOU are the BIG GOD, the ONLY GOD, and I want to know and love and serve you all the days of my life. I want to be a faithful proclaimer of who you are, what i have seen and experienced... Psalm 34 says, Taste and See that the LORD is Good. Yes, You are GOOD, LORD!! And i want to believe ALL about YOU... who you say You ARE, and reject any lies about You. I want ONLY TRUTH; I really really don't want to believe lies. I love you and I trust You with my life.

So I pray for abundant blessings and great understanding and opening of eyes for each of us and for each of you... thank you for walking with me on this journey, for your encouragement and for your blessings and prayers and notes and love. You each are so precious to the Father.
May we each TRUELY KNOW and BELIEVE HIM & WHO HE IS.

Much love! Our God Has Been & Is & Will Be Faithful to the End,
(Help us, God, to be Faithful to the End...)

Your Sister and Fellow Journey-er,

ericka :)

Greece Pics in Patmos w/ Mom

Mom and I rode a super-fast ferry from Kos Island north to Patmos.  We could see the shoreline of Turkey as we zoomed by.  Amazing to think we were on this side of the globe!  Our faces made lots of G-force expressions... skin flattened on our cheeks, our lips flubbering in the wind, eyes drying out, bodies almost being blown back unless we held on to the guardrail.  It was funny!!  The weather was beautiful.  We got off at the island of Patmos; it was hilly with lots of trees and houses on it, and there was a cross high up on the hill.  Mom and I read the beginning of the book of Revelation (the last book of the Christian Bible) to get ready for our visit.  Patmos was the island that John (follower of Jesus, one of Jesus' closest disciples) was imprisoned on for his faith and testimony about Jesus.  While there, God gave him a Revelation, that he was told to write down... which gave words from Jesus to the churches of the day (like a progress report) and to tell people about what would happen at the "End of the Age" (when Jesus returns, the Judgement day happens, and everything else...).  John wrote that we would be blessed whoever read it.  And he was very serious that nothing else be added except what God revealed to him and he wrote down.  So that we could know the TRUTH of what he wrote.  If you haven't read Revelation yet, try it!  There are 21 chapters, some of it is confusing, but just ask God to teach you what He wants to reveal and show you.

Mom and I found a clean and nice hotel up on one of the hills.  It was owned by a local lady and her family.  Later, we tried to find mopeds to ride (we saw them advertised) but found out it was not the right season to rent them.  Too bad.  We took a taxi up to the monastary that was built to commemerate the place where John received the Revelation from God.  

Mom and I didn't get to go down the steps to the cave where tradition says the revelation was given, but we walked through the forest and pretended that it was near there.  

We had Thanksgiving on the island.  We ordered octopus, instead of turkey.  It was quite the change.  I can't say that I'm a fan.  The octopus came out with the arms and the tentacles on the underside, and it was rubbery, like chewing a hose that had been marinated and grilled.  Not that I've ever eaten a hose, but if I did, I'm sure it would taste like that.

The next day we saw a man out on the waterfront smacking and throwing down again and again a glob of something.  We walked over to find out what he was doing.  Guess what it was?  Octopus.  If that thing wasn't dead already, I'm sure it had a killer headache.  The man spoke maybe 5 words of English, and I spoke maybe one word of Greek, so I used my finely developed charades skills to ask the man if he was killing the octopus.  Somehow he communicated to me that he was tenderizing it.  I felt like telling him that the guy who gave the restaurant the octopus we ate should have taken lessons from him.  

Mom and I walked up the side of another hill to try to see the sunset.  Mom really wanted to see the sunset from the mountainside, but we didn't know if we would make it in time.  We prayed that we would.  A little dog decided to follow us.  It was really cute.  And it felt like it was along to help protect us and give us some security in this unfamiliar place.  We climbed the last section of the hill and came around towards the western edge.  The sun was just dipping below the mountains on the other side of the island.  It was a stunning coral pink and the sky was a beautiful pastel blend of rose, gold, and violet.  When we walked back down the other side, God showed us his glorious moon.  It was full and magnificent.  Patmos was a great visit.  We left that evening on an overnight trip back to the mainland.  God woke us up the next morning to go up and have front row seats on the top of the huge boat to see His sunrise.  

We were going to see Sara Linville in Rafina at the Greek Bible Institute, a Bible college she was attending.  We knew each other from our home church, Church at the Crossing in Indianapolis. 

Greece w/ Mom (Corinth, Athens, Kos)

Mom and I had a great time in Greece!  We both flew into Athens, and met at the airport.  It was a flurry of excited cries and hugs and kisses.  I hadn't seen my mom since I left home back in January.  And it was November.  She had come to meet me for her Thanksgiving Break.  While I was waiting for her flight to arrive, I looked in my Lonely Planet that I bought from a girl for $5 - sweet!, and found a hotel in Athens we could stay at.  They said there was a nice rooftop patio with a great view of the Parthenon.  I called and made a reservation.  

We got her luggage and headed across the skyway to the train/metro and bought two tickets to downtown Athens.  On the ride there, we talked about our flights and mom's last week of school, and my time in Italy.  It was so good to have my MOM there with me.

We got off of the train and walked up the stairs to the exit.  My mom had extra luggage with her, because she brought some "additional supplies" for me at my request.  New clothes and some candy!  We came out into a big square with trees and a fountain, and asked directions to the street we needed.  A few people tried to help us out.  We walked past the buildings and restaurants and headed up a side street.  We walked past a local Greek restaurant, and I said, "We should eat here tonight, to celebrate our first night in Greece together."  We kept walking, looking for our hotel.  

After some backtracking and turning more corners, we found the sign and walked in the old front doors into a small lobby with stairs that led up to a desk.  There was an older man sitting there, and I introduced myself, saying I had called for a reservation earlier that evening.  He gave us two keys and told us we were up on the 2nd floor.  We rode an old elevator up and walked out onto a narrow floor.  We found our room, nothing extravagant, plain walls, two twin beds, and a small bathroom.  But just having my mom there with me made it a palace.

We put our suitcases down, and my mom showed me all that she had brought for me.  It was like Christmas.  I had traveled with the same clothes for the past eleven months; the same khaki zip-off safari pants, capri black quick-dry pants, three shirts - pink shortsleeve, red longsleeve; and a few things I had traded or picked up or given away along the way.  

When I saw three pairs of pants - a pair of jeans, blue corduroy, and a brown khaki, I was so excited.  Yes, they were mine, they were not new, but it felt like new to me!  My mom had brought a change of season clothes, it was now fall time in Europe and I wouldn't be home until Christmas, so I would need some warmer things.  She brought 

I tried everything on and modeled it for my mom.  It was like a shopping spree.

We got ready, I wore my new cute outfit, and we walked back to that small family restaurant we saw.  It was so so so fun to be with my mom in Greece.  We looked over the menu - lamb, shiskibobs, Greek salad (olives, fetta cheese), and plain yogurt with honey for dessert.  We had a great meal.  And the owner and his twin brother were so kind and pleased that we were visiting their restaurant.

The next morning, mom and I went up to the rooftop for breakfast.

Happy Thanksgiving from Greece!

Happy Thanksgiving from Greece!!!
It has been a HUGE blessing from God to have my mom here this week with me.
He has blessed us with AMAZING weather - blue skies and sunshine, when there could easily not be. Also, He has directed each step of our journey w/ out us even being aware... making metro connections, looking up after praying for a travel agent and seeing one in a 2 inch window, agent staying open 30 min longer than normal for us to buy tickets the next EARLY morning to Kos island so that we could enjoy a full 3 days on the islands, (after visiting Athens and Corinth last weekend and monday)... enabling us to rent a car to zoom around Kos and discover beautiful beaches, enjoy the fresh wind, and see an amazingly stunning coast where waves crashed into the rocks, dancing and jumping 20 feet high!!! wow!!! Then we took a super fast (we experienced some G-forces and fought to stand at the front of the boat - it seemed like we were flying over the water!!!) BIG boat to Patmos Island... a Greek island near Turkey where John (one of Jesus' closest disciples) was sent/exiled to for his love of and teaching about his understanding that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah, God with us!! It was here, back in maybe around 80 AD (?) that Jesus (in his glorified self) came to visit John and share with him some things to write down, a REVELATION, about what was to come, and a message to the current churches and to those who believed in Jesus, that He was who he claimed to be.
Here is the 1st and final (22nd) chapter from this book of what John saw and testifies...
(its a great book to read - says that you will be blessed if you read it and blessed if you hear it and take it to heart, because the time is near...)

Revelation 1 (New International Version) First Chapter

www.biblegateway.com New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
Prologue

1The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Greetings and doxology

4John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits^[a] before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
7Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

8"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

One like a Son of Man

9I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."

12I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man,"^[b]dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

19"Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels^[c] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Footnotes:

1. Revelation 1:5 Or the sevenfold Spirit
2. Revelation 1:13 Daniel 7:13
3. Revelation 1:20 Or messengers

Chapter 2-5 are really good too... read the whole book, and ask God to give you understanding and His revelation, His Truth...

Revelation 22 (New International Version) Final Chapter

New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

The River of Life

1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. 6The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place."

Jesus Is Coming

7"Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."

8I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!"

10Then he told me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. 11Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy."

12"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

14"Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you^[a] this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."

17The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

18I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

20He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

21The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.

Footnotes:

1. Revelation 22:16 The Greek is plural. (texts taken from www.biblegateway.com)
   

Amen!!!

Love you guys!!! Thanks for being such a great support network, with your love and prayers on this whole journey. To the finish!!! By His strength and provision and enabling and grace and love and power and might!!!

Blessings to each of you,

ericka :)

Athens, Greece

From an email to my dad... from Athens, Greece

Mom and i are here at an internet cafe, waiting out a rain storm that just came in!
we came out of the the National Archaeological Museum and bam~! dark clouds swirling, thunder, and we tried to head to the metro, but saw an internet cafe, so ducked in, just before the rain came down! its clearing up a bit now, but its good to take a break.
thanks for your email; mom says hi!
we're having FUN!!!!! went up to the acropolis, looked out over the whole city of athens, and saw the cool pillars and the ocean and it was BEAUTIFUL weather - sunny, balmy breezes, probably 55 in the sun, and the sky was all kinds of blue colors... gorgeous.
athens is quite a HUGE city, tons of cars, buildings, streets, buses (mom says, electric street cars, the buses are attached up top to wires), but it was fun to get up above and see the city sprawling out below. and to see the ruins!!
we are staying in a nice hotel last last and tonight, which is a great blessing - and we had breakfast overlooking an amazing view of the acropolis!! (the Acropolis is a hill with an ancient wall up on it, like a fort made of yellowish bricks, marble!, and has a bunch of ruins up there - the parthenon, which is a flat marble structure w/ lots of huge pillars. They're doing a lot of restoring, you can see the new white marble contrasting w/ the older yellow marble... and guess what? we found out where legos came from! The ancient Greeks invented them!!! The pillars and roofs have groove and circular "pegs" exactly like LEGOS, that "snap" into the other pieces of marble to help secure the buildings!! wow. There was also a really cool looking ampitheatre, all of MARBLE. you know how people like to have marble kitchens/counter-tops, and that is really fancy? well, here in athens, they make even some of their STREETS in marble (bricks of marble or huge slabs in the door ways, etc! amazing, huh?)
God gave us a gift of wonderful wonderful weather this morning!!!

Its really really fun to have mom here with me. Just laughing and walking around and joking and talking... and yes, its really nice.

We'll probably head to Corith tomorrow, and maybe to the islands on Tues to see what we can find!!! Its going to be a great week!!!

love,
ericka and rachel :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!!!
May you all be able to take some moments to thank God for whatever.
i'm so glad to have my mom here to experience Greece with me!
Cool places are nice, but relationships, family, God... all of these are better!

Love and Blessings,
ericka (and rachel - my mom!)

"Quick" Updates; Spain, Switzerland, & Italy

Hi dear friends and family!

I am in Rome tonight... heading to Athens tomorrow morning to meet my MOM for a mother/daughter Greek week!! Ha! i just came up with that up!
She's coming to spend Thanksgiving with me, and i think we're going to check out the cool stuff around Athens (like the pillars and buildings from a LONG time ago, and maybe visit some places like Corinth and Theselonica, and maybe the Island of Patmos... the 2 cities that Paul visited on his missionary journeys and he wrote letters to those people, which are now published in the Bible, and the Island is where John - Jesus' really close buddy - was inprisoned/sent to, but where God gave him the vision of Revelation, which is also in the Bible... which are ALL really good to read; you know, being up on the topics that God thinks are important to know... like our faith in Him and what's going to happen in the future...
I really am looking forward to also just relaxing with my mom on an island some where - blue blue blue waters... ahhh.
Its chilly here, definitely fall, but it is still nice. That's what's crazy... i'm in colder weather now!! i haven't been in colder weather since i was in NZ in their fall (our spring), and australia - same deal, and CapeTown for their rainy/cold time... and i just saw SNOW in switzerland for the 1st time since i left home in January!!!!! whoah. it was BEAUTIFUL!!!
reminded me of Christmas and helps me get ready for it! Then guess what? On my overnight train to Italy, there was TONS of snow, and one of the railway worker guys got a big snowball and acted like he was going to throw it at me and this other girl i was with, so we ran out and had an all-out WAR at one of the stations!! It was SO FUN!!!! i haven't had that much fun in i don't know how long... playing, running, throwing, dodging, laughing!!
Ok, back to Switzerland... so i had a great week in Spain - a couple days in Madrid with my new friend Molly and a family from her church; they became my adopted family for a few days; i even had a grandma and grandpa; and my "grandma" read molly and me a bed time story about beautiful princesses known by the King because of their LOVE for Him! :)
Then off to Barcelona to stay with a friend from my growing-up days in Indianapolis at Church at the Crossing... Eric and his beautiful wife Gina - who were really really great hosts. So gracious and kind and helpful. It was great reconnecting with Eric, meeting his new wife - she is a great girl, and having lots of wonderful conversations.
Then I took my 1st official overnight train to SWITZERLAND!!!! Which is now my new favorite country. It used to be New Zealand, and specifically the south island, near Mt. Cook and Wanaka... but now it is SWITZERLAND. Amazing. That is all i can say. Mountains soaring up at 45 degree angles, straight from the edge of a lake or a carpet of green grass or rolling hills... dark wooden chalets that look like giant ginger bread houses, deep valleys that just "nestle" in the shadow of the mountains. It is really spectacular.
I stayed at L'Abri, a christian chalet (or a chalet run by people who follow/love Jesus), and who provide a place where people, mostly in their 20s, can come and really try to hash out their questions/issues/whatever about christianity. Really interesting and some good conversations. And it was great to meet the people there. I also got to PARAGLIDE over the ALPS!!!! WHOAH!!! i was a little scared before i did it, thinking i've come this far, i really don't want to crash and break my body... that would be sad. But, it wasn't scary AT ALL. A grandma could do it. The wind picks up the parachute even before you get to the edge of anything, so you're flying before you have to jump... it picks you up!!! and then you're SOARING like a bird over this amazing valley - full of green pastures and fields and then the mountains out in front of you, wow. You sit in this seat, like you're in a johnny-jump up chair, like when you were little - did anyone else have those, where a baby bounces around, hanging from the ceiling. That sounds bad; i mean the chair is hanging from the ceiling. Anyway, you are totally secure and your feet are out dangling beneath you and you're high up, but it feels like you're just sitting... not falling. It reminded me of when my dad and uncle would take my brothers and cousins and me up in their ultralights; like hang-gliders with a seat and engine; small airplanes, really, and we would fly over my grandparents' fields in Illinois in the summer and fall. it was so fun. we would drop a parachute man from up high, and whoever was on the ground would run and try to catch it as it floated down! in memory of those days, i dropped my glove from up above, and it hit within 20 feet of where we landed!
After more adventures (went to Interlaken, a swiss resort town, and rode a train up to the "highest point in Europe"... it was COLD and snowy up there! -15!) and meeting more great people, I got on an overnight train to Venice, Italy.
That is my new favorite city!! It is like disney land!! seems almost fake, like they made it for tourists!! cute, close-together streets, shops with beautiful, colorful, lit-up displays where you can spend a million euros on anything from jackets to jewelry to sparkely masks (they have a carnival in Feb where everyone wears these masquarade masks - BEAUTIFUL, SPARKELY, creations!!) to colorful pasta! Lots of fairy land bridges that go over fairly land mint green water with story book gondolas (those long canoe like boats with the 'driver' standing up in back w/ his cool venice boat driving straw hat on)... and God provided a way for me to RIDE in one of them, for cheap!! Normally it is 120 euros for an hour, thats OVER 120 dollars, choke... but God provided one other guy and another couple to come by and they agreed to go with me, so we got to split it 4 ways... which is MUCH better and it was SO worth it!!!!!! A dream come true!!!!! Thank you, God!!! I went to a concert that night; beautiful beautiful quintet - 2 violins (amazing "singing" voices), cello, viola and bass... wow. They played Canon in D by Pachabel... i was in rapturous wonder. ahhh.
Then headed out next day for Pisa... on the western coast of Italy (mid way down the "sock") - venice is up on the east coast, towards the top. I almost missed my train - running, running with a 30 pound pack... Jesus, please hold the train!!! and on.
whew!!! (i had accidently missed getting off at my boat stop, so had to get off at the next dock along the canal... and b/c its WATER in the "streets" i couldn't run back to my stop, i had to wait for the next boat... ahhh!!!! then get my backpack out of storage, then find the right train/platform number, then run to it!!!!!

I'll have to share more of the Pisa story for later (met a great family /friends from Florida - i recognized their American accent! Did you know we all have an American accent??!!!! And we explored the streets of Pisa, looking for that leaning tower, and w/ lots of help, looking at the map, and fun times later, we found it! Its still leaning! And its a lot taller than it looks like in pictures. And its next to 2 other cool buildings that never get any recognition. A church and something else that has a cool dome shape)...

Then the Rome story; God provided a MIRACLE to get me into the sistine chapel, I was in a REALLY long long line w/ tons of people that snaked around 2 sides of the building, and we had 10 min to get in before they closed the doors for the day... God, if you want me to get in, you can do anything - thinking that it was totally IMPOSSIBLE, by natural means to get thru this line w/out His help; and i was going to be REALLY bummed to not get in; i was in Rome for only ONE day and i wanted to see Michelangelo's famous paintings, of Creation, etc. We kept getting closer and closer to the door, and i kept looking at my watch, getting ready to walk away b/c i figured it wouldn't happen... then all of a sudden, we were in, and it was just 12:30! Maybe a minute and a 1/2 later, the doors closed behind us, and all the other people had to go home. They couldn't get in. Wow. Thank you, God. We (me and this chinese friend i met, miraculously - once in venice, he was one of the guys who came on the gondola boat ride, and then a second time, "randomly" but i know it could ONLY be God to cross paths w/ people 2wice like that in the HUGE city of Rome! We both walked up to the huge line to the sistiene chapel right at the same time. whoah. It was a good time of encouraging each other in our faith in God/Jesus, and i know God had it planned out!) got to see all the paintings - Rafael, Michelangelo, and some other guys - beautiful, totally real-looking paintings and wall hangings - like carpet w/ pictures on them, detailed amazing, real-life looking pictures of scences - and mostly scenes from the Gospels (King Herod killing all the Jewish babies right when Jesus was born, in an attempt to kill him, b/c he was afraid Jesus would grow up and take over his kingdom - he had no idea!; the miracles of Jesus; the crucifixion; Jesus rising back to life, leaving the tomb victorious!; Creation of Man (the famous one, Adam/man reaching out touching God - that is beautiful... but the amazing thing, is that God is reaching out and touching us... all through history, and the most dramatic and important and amazing is the story of the Jesus and the cross). There are thousands and millions of people are walking thru here every year - i pray that they would see these paintings and not just think they are history, or folk lore, or christian teachings... but really, God's real reality story of Him reaching out to us, to each of us.
and that their hearts would be open and receiving to His reaching out to us.
He is amazing.

Goodnight you guys!!! God BLESS each of you. May you KNOW His abundant care and provision and deep deep love for you.

ericka :)

Pics: Switzerland L'Abri Adventures

L'Abri (Pronounced: La'Bree) was where I found myself for a few days in Switzerland.  I was so thankful to be able to stay there.  It was a large chalet, with about 20 young adults (mostly from the U.S.) living there for 1-2 semesters, taking a break from life to investigate their Christian beliefs.  They had responsibilities and there were full time staff living there, helping with maintenance, raising their own families, and living in near-by chalets.  I had lots of fun meeting all the people who were staying there.  We went on night walks and played "attack" games, where we would run ahead, hide in the woods just off the path, and then when the group came by, jump out and scare everyone.  I was really good at being a stealthful Indian.  :)  Then on the walk back, a few of us made up a game where we were pretending to be walking through the woods during WWII, trying to avoid the Germans, and our parents had all been killed.  It reminded me of a book that my dad read to us when we were young, The Silver Sword.  

The students had study time every day, where they would 1) attend a lecture about a certain topic (eg; religious beliefs engaging science, or redemption) led by one of the staff  2) study for three hours on their chosen topic, taking notes, to write up a thesis about it at the end of their stay (eg; women in the church, the nature of God, the Holy Spirit and His role, etc.... basically anything that they wanted to study, that they had been confused about or had questions in their minds about).  They had a really extensive library for all their topics; shelves of audio recordings of all previous lectures and rows of books on all kinds of spiritual subjects.  

We went for walks to the local village, and I was so glad we did, because one night, I rode the bus up from the waterfront and the bus driver didn't understand where I wanted to get off, so we passed it.  I had no idea we did, because it was dark, and I was still new here.  We rode all the way to the top village, where I had been on a walk before, and remembered, kind of, how to walk back to the Chalet.  I talked with the driver before getting off to check that he wasn't going back, no he wasn't this was his last stop, and then the bus parked for the night.  I prayed, and got off into the dark night.  I started walking back down the road, knowing that it would be about a 20 minute walk.  There weren't any street lights as I got away from the town.  I saw a place up ahead that reminded me of the short cut we had taken before, so I prayed about it, and started walking across the hill, away from the main road.  About five minutes into my walk, I realized that it was really dark over here, and that I would have to know which turn to take, and I wasn't so sure.  I prayed about it and thought, "Ericka, what's smart?  What should you do?"  Well, I thought, the smartest thing would be to go back to the main road and walk down it, and it would eventually wind down to the Chalet.  So that's what I did.  I hadn't walked 20 feet back on the main road when I heard a car coming behind me.  I prayed, "God, please let them stop to pick me up."  (We were in Switzerland, and I figured that in these small villages, it would be very safe to hitchhike, compared with other places I had been.)  A nice black car drove around me, and then pulled into a driveway up ahead.  Hmmm.  Maybe they're turning around.  The car stopped and a lady got out of the driver's side.  "Do you need a ride?"  I couldn't believe it!  They were stopping for me!!  I jogged over to the car, and the lady asked me where I was staying.  I said, "L'Abri, its a Chalet just down the road about 5 minutes."  "We can take you there."  Thanking her, I got into the car.  I didn't feel scared at all.  This was God's personal provision for me, and I knew it.  A man was driving, and I thought it was nice that the wife had gotten out to ask me, so it wouldn't scare me.  I found out they were from America, and had two daughters in their early twenties, and the dad had seen me on the bus.  Oh!  I remembered him.  I had smiled at him and a few other people as they got on the bus.  He said my smile told him that I was a nice girl, and so when he saw me talking with the bus driver in the last town, and looking confused as I got off and began walking down the hill, he thought of his two daughters and how he would want others to help them if they were ever in need.  So he got off and got his wife and they drove down to find me.  If I would not have gotten back on that main road right when I did, they would have passed me, and I never would have received their help.  God is beyond amazing at how He coordinates taking care of His children.  I started to get tears in my eyes thinking about all of this.  He really was my Daddy, taking care of His little girl.  I thanked the couple for helping me and told them about how God was taking such good care of me through people like them.  Then said a prayer for them and their two girls - praying for God's blessing for them.

I got to go paragliding over the Alps while I was in L'Abri.  Again, it was an amazing provision of God.  The one day that we could go, the weather was spectacular.  The next day it snowed, and stayed cold until I left.  I was scared at first, again thinking, what if I die?  How will I pay for my medical bills?  But there were three other girls and one guy going, so I thought, if they're doing it, then I can too.  We rode in a red van to the site on the hill where we would fly from. Two Swiss guys were our guides.  That made it much better.  They would be going with us.  

They spread out two huge rectangular parachutes on the grassy hill.  They asked who was going first, and two people volunteered.  I decided I could go at the end.  They got their harnesses on, one for the customer and one for them, that were hooked to the parachute, then they started running down the hill, with the chute dragging behind.  Then wind filled the chute, and it rose up above them, and all of a sudden they were flying!  They floated quickly and effortlessly over the drop off and out over the trees and down into the valley below.  When it was my turn, I got harnessed in, and then we started running, and then, my feet just lifted off the ground!  It was amazing.  (I thought we were going to have to jump off a cliff for the wind to lift us; it was much easier and less scary then that; we were on solid ground, and then the wind picked us up off the hill.  I consider it to be a 1 out of 10 in terms of scary-crazy things to do.  Skydiving alone was a 9 out of 10.  I really think that a grandma could do paragliding, if she had someone running with her.)  

We floated out over the valley; and it was like "flying in a painting" like one of my friends said. The mountains were glorious, the valley full of fields and vineyards and towns.  I loved it!!!

Switzerland is my favorite country.