astypalea, greece

the last week of june and a few days into july, tim and i had the opportunity to take a much needed and greatly enjoyed vacation in greece. it was a combination vacation/russian visa renewal trip and it was so good for our hearts. russian law requires that we leave russia once a year and get new visas at the consulate of our choosing, so hot greece was where we landed. we got to spend almost a week on an island called astypalea and refresh and relax before a new and exciting season of life starts for us. with our baby arriving this fall, and tim's chaplaincy role at hinkson swinging into high gear, we have a lot on the horizon and we are hopeful and excited about all that is coming.

astypalea is a small, butterfly shaped island in the agean sea that once was a haven to pirates. the locals who lived on the island lived in and around the castle pictured here, which was on the highest point of the island.

at our favorite restaurant on our favorite beach!!!

the castle at night ~ beautiful!

tim on top of the world

this is hora, the biggest settlement on the island, where most business and activity takes place. we would eat honey and bread at a little cafe many days here, which is pretty much the highest point on the island.

that's the small port village behind us

me and our boy on top of the castle over looking the agean sea. i hope he doesn't hold any resentment for all the places he got to travel to, but didn't get to experience!

beautiful beach!!!


a cairn is a pile of stone or rock that is arranged with a purposeful intent. most times you'll see these on backpacking or hiking trails to mark the way. those who place them are thinking of those who will come after and those who find them are trusting those who went before that this is the way to go. in the Bible in joshua 4, the Lord enabled the israelites to cross the jordan river and then He had people collect stones and make a cairn, or memorial to what the Lord had done there. God had people construct these cairns many other times in the Bible to mark what He had done. so tim and i made our own cairn on the beach of astypalea on the edge of the agean sea, to mark the end of this first year in russia, the beginning of our new life with our son and just to celebrate all that the Lord has done in this season.

on our way back to moscow, we flew through athens and had some time to hike up to the acropolis. the acropolis is visible from almost everywhere in athens and there is so much history there. it was over 100 degrees this day, so tim hiked all the way up and i waited a little below, under a shade tree with a frozen lemonade.