(Not quite) Last Supper

The evening we expected to share our last group dinner together at a restaurant booked in downtown Athens didn’t come to pass as we had hoped it would because of unhappy Greek farmers.

During most of our time in Greece, farmers have been in disagreement with the government’s position over farming subsidies, and they decided to take to the street  with their tractors… or rather, they took to the highways, and each day blocked off even more stretches of highway than the day before, so that by our last full day in Greece, we were forced to drive from Thessaloniki to Athens, via the scenic route, around mountains, instead of straight down the highway. A journey of four hours doubled, and much kudos goes to our driver for his exceptional professionalism.

So our dinner in downtown Athens was cancelled and we stopped for a quick bite at a tarverna, before continuing to our accommodation for the evening where we arrived at 10pm.

All was not lost on this day. On our final day of travel, we left Thessaloniki early in the morning, in the rain, and made a couple of stops.

 

Mosaic of St Paul in Berea

First stop was to see a colourful mosaic monument of St Paul in the city of Veria (Berea), where Paul and his teachings received a warm welcome. Next stop was in the township of Vergina to see the amazing underground royal tombs, one believed to be that of Alexander the Great’s father, Philip. The astonishingly well-preserved decorated facades of the chambers and the magnificent treasures found within, include many items fashioned in gold, including delicate gold-leaf wreaths; decorative pins; markings on clothing, armoury and furniture. The artefacts found in this site dazzled the group, and became a late entry highlight for some.

 

 

Meteora

The drive back to Athens meant retracing our path though Meteora, where the sun had broken through the misty clouds of our previous visit, displaying spectacular views of the unusual rock formations.

 

The list of gratitude and thanksgiving is very long. One evening in Thessaloniki, the group expressed their appreciation to Paul and Merrill for their leadership and guidance, passion and commitment. Also recognised were Graham and Lorraine for holding the fort in Ibillin; Malcolm and Theresa, works manager and on-the-road treasurer, respectively. We never went hungry in Nazareth thanks to the efforts of Theresa, Glynnis and Gwyneth. The list goes on.

Of course, we thank you the readers for being at the other end of the screen. If you weren’t there, we’d be sending communication to the virtual nothingness, which would have been terribly lonely. Thank you for taking this journey with us. And thank you for your prayers.

And so our journey as the Nazareth Workparty 2008-9 has been fulfilled, and our individual journeys continue into the future, carrying on the legacy of previous work parties to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God.

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