Skopje, Macedonia

 We arrived in Skopje at 12:40 p.m. on September 12. Everything went so smooth it almost seemed strange; no delays, up front seats, no luggage issues. By 1:30 p.m., after picking up our rental car, we were driving to our prearranged apartment near the center city.

https://www.hotels.com/trips/egti-046-K7J-7C75/details/ZmYwMTEyMjYtNDYxMy01ZTRjLTk4YjYtNDMzMGMxODg2OGNiOzNlNDExOWYxLWU5YzAtNDIyYy1hN2M5LTEyNDVkOGU5M2I4Ml8wO2VnOnByb3BlcnR5OnYyOjFlOGNjMjJmZDhiOTMzYjUxYWFjMTMyMmQwOTc5MjE4

It's smaller than it look like in the pictures but very nice. Total price for 7 days is $394.00 It's on the 30th floor overlooking the city. Since we are here for 7 days, there was no rush to get up and about so we enjoyed relaxing and sleeping. There is a small mall and the bottom floor with a few restaurants and a grocery store, So we had a delicious pizza and greek salad last night and picked up some groceries.

Around noon on the 13th we ventured out and drove to the center city and walked around. I like walking around on a Sunday because the crowds are low, although it was still hard to find a place to park. Only the restaurants and tourists bazaar was open so I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow.

Did you know - Mother Teresa was born here. We hope to go to her museum tomorrow.

Family Wedding

Another joy of the first 5 days of our vacation was that we were able to attend a family wedding. My sister's grandson who had graduated from the Air Force Academy last May was also getting married this weekend. It was such a joy to be able to not only attend the wedding, but spend time with my two sisters and some of their family.

The wedding was wonderful, but, because they did not allow any pictures to be taken we do not have any documentation. One of the funniest things was that when they asked for the rings, the groomsmen acted like they could not find them. Then the pastor said "don't worry, I have a guy"; and they started to play the song from 007 and the ring barrier came down the isle with a small case and dark glasses and brought it to the pastor; so cute.

We are now waiting to fly back to Phoenix for a quick stop over before we head off to Macedonia on Friday.

One hiccup - My dad had an issue over the weekend and we are putting him into hospice when my sisters get back to MI. SO . . . every thing will depend on how he does. 

Air Force Academy

Our first exposure to the Air Force Academy was "WOW! From sitting in the stands overlooking a sea of blue and white shirts to the Wings of Blue parachuting into the arena with the American Flag to the F-16 flying over and the cadets marching onto the field brought immense pride to to be an American.

An especially proud moment for us was to see our granddaughter in her dress blues so proudly representing the USA. She has already survived some of the hardest weeks of basic training and will now settle into college courses which she is looking forward to. I'm guessing this will not be our last trip to Colorado Springs.

Chapter Five

Moving to New Jersey from Waterloo in 2010 was a transition that was filled with anxiety for me. God had made it clear that our work at Walnut Ridge Baptist Church had come to a conclusion but moving to New Jersey wasn't something we were ultra excited about either. However, it was the opportunity God had put in our path, so we moved forward. Writing this blog helped me express my thoughts and keep me accurate without letting my emotions run wild as I knew other others would be reading my words. That is why I called this post Chapter Four.

So, when the opportunity to move to Phoenix (somewhere I always wanted to live) popped on our radar, we jumped at the opportunity. Our kids were all grown with families and responsibilities of their own so we thought it was time to slow down and relax a bit. Now we would move to Chapter Five.

But as you know, our plan is not always God's plan.

Our plan was to work with a new church plant for 4 years, then pack up, retire and travel the world until we wanted to come back home to settle down. That was in 2018.

THEN COVID!

Four years with the church plant turned into two years and the opportunity to fill in at New Hope became available. And since we weren't able to go anywhere, with travel being so limited, we took this opportunity, and loved it. I, also, decided to fill my time reacquainting myself with my past tax experience and also began to love it. So here we are, eight years down this new path and still loving it. 

When we agreed to this adventure we made it clear that one of our priorities was to limit Rich's stress level and not allow him to get caught up in the drama that normally comes with being a pastor. That stress was the cause of his first eye problem and now with the other eye experiencing macular degeneration we need to protect his now good eye that is vulnerable to stress.    

Another priority for me was that we would have ample time to travel the world and also spend time with family. For 20 years, I have wanted to wander the world but we just couldn't afford it. Now, we can afford it but we are happy here so we have settled for extended vacation time. 

So, once again, here we are, embarking on another adventure.

Thursday we fly to Colorado Springs to celebrate Parents Weekend with our son Jason and his wife Sara. As most of you know, their daughter Maggie is a cadet at the Air Force Academy. She has worked long and hard to get this appointment and it is exciting to see what she has accomplished. What most your you don't know is that she was born with a heart defect and "long story short" the Lord protected her through many situations and before she was two years old she had open heart surgery at Boston Children's Hospital. It was touch and go, but she pulled through with no lasting consequences. We are excited to see her and witness first hand how she has matured through basic training and the initial stage of the Academy.

Then, after a two day break back home to repack, we will be embarking on a new adventure. It will be one of our "we are flying in and out of" situations and letting our adventurous spirit guide us for three weeks. I will keep you posted,

Bitter - Sweet Day

 We are at the airport (early as usual). The weather has changed again; cloudy, and looks like it might rain. My spirit is torn, I have really enjoyed our time Greece but also looking forward to getting home and into a routine again.

We spent yesterday with Fotis and Mary. We attended their church and then went for lunch on the waterfront. They so appreciate our coming to their homeland and reiterated their appreciation for the support of our church.

Two years ago Rich held this little boy and now he is 3 years old.

We will be traveling for the next 20 hours so I will sign off and see you on the other side of the world and/or on our next adventure.

Good-Bye to Naxos

It's hard to believe that it is time to say Good-bye. We have loved our journey with all its ups and downs  with the frosting on the cake to have our son Brad and his wife Melissa with us for the last 10 days. 

They met in high school and were in the same youth group. When he was 15, I remember saying to him "I think Melissa likes you" and he replied "I hope so." They have been through it all with us, even before Jason was dating Sara and Sara Jo was dating Jeremy. When the older two went off to college they made sure we were not lonely. We are so proud of the adult they have become and have raised three wonderful, responsible children. 

They have become involved in an inner city clinic with Brad as the Medical Director and Melissa doing most of the publicity and vision casting. You can check it out on https://www.hisbranches.org/ If you order the Neighborhood coffee some of the proceeds go to their clinic.

We have not always been able to help them financially so thanks to the fact that we are both still working, this trip is a "thank-you" to them.

As we leave this island we remember that it was here that Fotis' mom read a bible left by a tourist and due to her questioning the priest was kicked off the island at age 16. She arrived in Athens and connected with some believers and now there is a small group of believers here in Naxos. We look forward to Fotis and Mary being with us in March for our Missions Conference.

Update on Sara's Surgery: She had reconstructive surgery on Thursday and all went well. She is now at home recovering.

In a few hours we will be boarding our last ferry to Rafina and stay at the AVRA hotel. Brad and Mel will leave on Sunday and we will spend the day with Fotis and Mary and fly home on Monday.

See you soon

 

Arriving in Naxos

 Yes, the ferry ride was amazing. I love being on deck to watch the islands pass by with the breeze in your face. The minute I sit down I fall asleep. I wish I could sleep this good on the airplane.

Once again we are staying at the Naxos Resort Beach Hotel. I love this place. It's so relaxing and in a great location AND they have good pillows. What a difference from 4 weeks ago. Instead of a packed hotels with family's from Europe on vacation, it is now less populated with more retirees. The streets are much more fun to explore as they are less crowded. AND yes, the Waffle House had Raspberry Choco Crunch ice cream.

Today will be a down day, sitting by the pool, walking the city center and hopefully getting to the Rotonda for dinner tonight.