ΣΑΜΟΣ: The Home Stretch

June 5 - We have had a steady barrage of company the last six weeks. Our daughter Michelle, her husband Mike, and Kaitlyn Weiweck flew in on April 29. One of Denita's co-workers at Fred Meyer also came while she was back in the States. The five of us - Mike, Michelle, Kaitlyn, myself, and Judy Lawson - took a day ferry over to Patmos. We split up, and they took a taxi up the hill to the castle monastery and did the usual touristy stuff. I hired another taxi, and over the course of three hours explored every nook and cranny on the island.

Denita flew back to Samos on May 8, and Judy left the following day, so they had one evening together. The next day, we all flew to Cappadocia. We had six glorious days in the center of Anatolia. Kaitlyn left us and flew to Israel. The rest of us trekked across half of Turkey by car, stopping to see Konya, Antioch of Pisidia, the pools of Pamukkale, the Colossian mound and the sparkling ruins of Laodicea.

After getting home, Denita's mother Marlys Enge, and her great niece Anna Rutherford, came on May 25, and our son Brian and Tiffany Anderson a couple of days later. We made a quick trip across the waters to Turkey so everyone could see Ephesus. We spent the night on the shores of Lake Bafa, which was like stepping back 200 years in time. It was a primitive village with cows in the road, chickens everywhere, and Turkish women in their traditional pajama-like pantaloons. The kids love it! The next day we visited the ancient cities of Didymus, Melitus, and Priene in rapid succession. Mike and Michelle left the following morning and drove down the coast to scuba dive. The rest of us returned to Samos, where we learned how to cram six people into one tiny car for meetings and beach days. Brian and Tiffany flew out the morning of June 4th, and Marlys and Anna took off later that night.

Whew!

It looks like we will have a quiet week or so until we exit. There is a couple coming to the Gospel meeting here, and we have been invited to their house tomorrow night along with Vasili, Irene, and the workers. We leave Samos on June 14, immediately after Sunday morning meeting. I am not looking forward to our last days as our hearts have become knit together in love.

We plan to fly to Munich, Germany, rent a car, and take the Romantic Highway north from the Alps. We will start at the castle of Mad Ludwig - Neuschwanstein - and take in the medieval walled towns of Dinkelsbuhl and Rothenburg. We will stay with my German buddy Roland and his family for a day near Hamburg, and then it's off to LA to see the grandkids and home!