KELLEY'S REPORT FROM HOME (1st half of sabbatical completed)

Accommodations:  Comfy bed in my own home 

Food Highlights:  Breakfast tacos on our first morning home (finally, some Mexican food!) and drip coffee with hazelnut Coffeemate....it's the little things that you miss.

Adventure:  36 hours after we arrived home from Europe, my parents came to visit.  We went to Busted Oak Ranch for 3 nights and had immediate access to Round Top Trade Days.  Very fun!

Rest:  After the jet lag died down and I could sleep past 5am, I got some really great rest.  Took a nap which is a rarity for me.

Humor:  Parker told me that my new hair cut looks like Tina Fey's....if only I could be as funny as she is!!

NO BOGGY BLOG

When starting out on this adventure, we wrestled with what to put in the blog.  We didn't want to bog down the blog (nobody wants a boggy blog) with too many personal insights, thoughts, book lists, and the like.  Now that we are back home, we still don't want a boggy blog, but did want to share more things with you, our friends.  Here goes....

MY SABBATICAL THEME

My personal theme for my entire sabbatical is "Intercultural Studies:  Counting Conversations not Conversions".

Why Intercultural Studies?    

Because I want to love people from other cultures.  I want to understand people from other parts of the world.  I want to see people like Jesus sees them.  I want to learn about people and understand about the culture and faith that has shaped them.  

Why Counting Conversations not Conversions?  

Because a wise teacher taught me that phrase and it has stuck with me.  Being who I am and where I live, I could easily see each person only as a conversion opportunity when my greatest command from the Father is to love Him and to love my neighbor as myself.  It takes more time, but I want to look into people's eyes and learn to love my neighbor and let that love guide my conversations about Jesus and His love and sacrifice for us.  I think Jesus would tell me to slow down and love more.  

GREAT CONVERSATIONS

Long great conversations we had during our travels:

(I'll use pseudonyms)

Amadeus - (Mid 20's from Austria- working at the Institute of High Energy Physics on the Higgs Particle) During a long train ride, we gained great insight  on how young European professionals view America

Mohammed & Kadijah - (Newlyweds from the Middle East)  During a 6 hour boat ride and dinner afterward, we enjoyed visiting with this young hip couple Muslim couple about their views on Ramadan and their love for America.

Lonny & Ann - (Canada) Our dinner tables were inches away from each other and as we talked they shared how the church had hurt their son in the past

Rob & Aly - (Australia) An older couple who encouraged us to "live the dream" and COMPLETELY unplug from work  while we are on our sabbatical. 

Stephanos & Jean - (Greece) Over long late-night conversations, we gained insight into the Greek Orthodox Church,  locally produced Mastica, and how to make feta cheese from scratch (which includes killing a baby goat...really?).  

The Murphys - (Ireland) Over breakfast we had a great discussion on Ireland's history and their views on immigrants, healthcare, and religion.

BOOK LIST

Books I read in Europe:

A Thousand Splendid Suns (A novel about 2 women's daily lives in the Middle East) 

While Europe Slept (A controversial book discussing the rise of Islam in Europe)

A Whisper in the Darkness (Set in Rome, I read most of this book while sitting outside of Rome's Colliseum)

An Echo in the Night (3rd book of a 3 part series by Francine Rivers - above book was the 2nd book) 

Ireland: A Novel (Full of Irish history and folklore, I read it while sitting amongst the 40 shades of green)

Books to be read by Dec 31:

From Seed to Fruit

Reading Lolita in Tehran

Christ of the Indian Road

Building Bridges: Christianity and Islam

Book Recommendation for anyone interested:  Jesus, Muslims, and Christians 

This is a great book that I read about 2 months ago.  Gain insight from a 20 year field worker (miss*ionary) in the Middle East.

THANKS GRACE FELLOWSHIP

I'm thankful to serve at a church that believes in rest and continuing education.  Grace Fellowship generously gives 2 months for a sabbatical after being on the pastoral staff for 7 years.  I can also add any personal vacation time to the 2 months.  Since I still have more sabbatical time,  i'll use it again starting November 16.  All that to say, I'm still in the middle of "Intercultural Studies:  Counting Conversations not Conversions" mindset.  Hopefully, I always will be....

Here are a few more pics from the trip.

  Greek Orthodox Priest

Small cemetery in Ireland

  Santorini, Greece

  Starbucks of course!

Ireland - The Icing on the Cake

Accommodations:  We stayed in a cozy converted Irish farmhouse near the Cliffs of Moher and at a B&B right on the water of Dingle Bay.  We really enjoyed having famous Irish breakfasts at these B&Bs as we visited about Ireland's history and folklore with our hosts who had Irish accents so thick you had to follow every word closely in order to stay in the conversation. 

Food Highlights: Fish & chips, traditional Irish stew (with mashed potatoes in the center), bacon and cabbage, and salmon caught in Dingle Bay.  We ate in 4 old Irish pubs and the food was savory and fabulous.

Humor:  Kelley was corrected by a castle owning Irish woman that she doesn't pronounce her Irish maiden name correctly.  "Why do you pronounce your name as 'Kinnidy'?  Open your mouth, girl!  It's Kennedy."   (Yes, ma'am).

Rest:  We spent a lot of time in the car driving from Dublin to Dingle and along the western coast soaking up some of the most beautiful land we've ever seen.    It wasn't restful exactly, but it was worth every turn.  

Adventure:  We rented a tiny car and Wayne had to learn how to drive on the right side of the car and on the left side of the street.   We only hit the curb a few times and the side view mirror once!   The roads were VERY narrow and once we had to back up a skinny mountain road we were driving when we came nose to nose with another car.  Kelley took a turn and wasn't too bad at the wheel either.

Back up just a little....

We were at day 25 of our trip in Greece and Wayne was ready to come home and see Charlie.   Greece had been amazing and we made new friends but it was time to leave.  (Here's a few photos that we couldn't share before).

One stop in London to worship at Hillsong London.

The church is held in the Dominion Theatre and if you look closely, you can see the Hillsong sign.

  

                                                                      
Off to Ireland.....

Ireland was Kelley's  most anticipated stop and once Wayne got to the land of the Irish on day 26 of our trip, he was so awed by the beauty of Ireland, the genuinely kind people, and the great food he didn't want to leave!    We were both in awe. 

Castles:  As we left Dublin and headed west, we made our first unplanned stop when we saw a sign for Ballaghmore Castle and stopped by.  We were treated to a personal tour of the old castle (built in 1480) and a history lesson by the castle owner.  This is where Kelley learned how to correctly pronounce her Irish maiden name. 

 If anyone wants to pitch in, we can rent out this castle for a long weekend for only 2000 euros.  Any takers???  We also went to Bunratty Castle built in 1425 and took a tour.

Fun Music:  At Murphy's Pub, we were entertained with traditional Irish tunes.  The musicians were crowd pleasers as they sang songs like "Red Haired Mary" and "Ladies Don't Wed an Old Man".   Full of "umdiddly aiyes" the songs were catchy and we still can't get them out of our heads.

A Visit to Ireland's Oldest Church:  Gallarus Oratory is a well preserved 1300 year old church.  The old church is built entirely of stone with no mortar of any kind.  The stones were stacked in such a precise way that the old structure is still waterproof.  We stood inside the old church and imagined what it would have been like to worship there.  

Dolphin:  There's a famous dolphin named Fungi who lives in Dingle Bay.  He's lived there for 27 years and is so social, the Fungi Boat Trips guarantee a visit from Fungi or your money back.  We didn't take the boat trip, but sat near an old castle and watched Fungi swim along with the boats.   If you are a dolphin lover, read this:  Fungi the dolphin

We realized that Wayne could have been a fill in for John Wayne in the movie Quiet Man which was filmed in Ireland.

Ending our trip in Ireland was the icing on the cake of our trip.   Just when we thought we were ready to come home we were re-energized by the Irish west coast.   We woke up on the last morning saying "We are not ready to come home....wish we could stay a little longer".  

Isn't that just about all you can ask for?  Longing for more and dreaming of a return trip...

We arrived in Katy last night.  Glad to be home but sad that it's all over.

We will have a few follow up posts in the next few days.

Thanks so much for following our blog!!!  It's been a fun way for us to journal our adventure and

we loved all your comments and facebook posts.  We love ya'll!!!   Wayne and Kelley

Goodbye Greece & London

Accommodations:  Since our last update, we've gone back to LOW BUDGET accommodations.  1 night on Paros Island, 2 nights on Mykonos Island, and last night in London we stayed at simple hotels that we were thankful to find.  (Apparently, finding a room in London on a Sat. night at the last minute is a little difficult).
Food Highlights:  In Greece, we had taziki, gyros, eggplant salad (can't remember the Greek name), and lots more feta.  It was delish!  We also got hooked on Nutella in Greece....LOL.  Can't wait to buy some for the first time in the states.
Rest:  Lots of rest while we sat under beach umbrellas and read. 
Adventure:  In Santorini, we took a 6 hour sailing trip where we got to snorkel in the center of the volcano.  We rented a 4 wheeler in Mykonos and explored 3 beaches and an old monastary one day.  It was very fun to tour the island like this!  Wayne even let Kelley drive once.  : ) 
Humor:  While at the monastary we met a Greek Orthodox priest who kissed Kelley right on the lips.  Oddly enough he didn't try to kiss Wayne. 


We wrapped up our week in the Greek Islands and headed to London yesterday.  At the last minute we booked 2 tickets to see Lion King here in London and it was fantastic!  It was Wayne's first Broadway musical and to see it in the Theater District of London was special.  All the little restaurants and coffee shops looked like they were from the Charles Dicken's Christmas Carol set.  Very picturesque.

This morning, we got up early to go to church at Hillsong London.  They hold church in the Dominion theater and it was a beautiful venue.  Awesome music and a very welcoming church.  We really enjoyed it.

We've been getting some great photos, but since the laptop is broken, we can't download them to share.
We are in the London Heathrow airport waiting to head for Ireland and had a quick opportunity to use the airport computer to check in via blog.  Only 4 days left of our trip.  We are ready to come home but at the same time excited to look for the Irish Pot O Gold. 

Dropped Macintosh

Accommodations:  All the saving up has paid off.  We have stayed in 2 absolutely beautiful hotels on this greek island, Santorini.  By calling the day you need a hotel room, it seems that hotels are willing to meet your budget!  Woohoo!  Luxury at a somewhat affordable price!  The beautiful little hot tub on our balcony that overlooked the sea was too cool.
Food Highlights:  Lots of feta cheese.  We are in Greece after all. 
Adventure:  This island is an active volcano and our room is 900 feet above the sea on a cliff that was created when a volcanic eruption blew the island up 3600 years ago.
Rest: Lots of rest.  We are perched so high above the water that we will have to make a big effort to get down to the sea for some fun.  Maybe today....

Humor: 2 funny things:  1)  After a very serious conversation, Wayne ended the conversation with, 'Are we cool?  I'm cool.  Are you cool?'  (Guys...this might not be the best thing to say).   2)  Kelley was drinking the tap water here and kept saying it tasted like it had alot of minerals in it....then we read the sign that said 'Don't drink the water on the island due to high lime content.'  We'll see if there are any after effects of too much lime.

Well.....bad news.  We dropped the laptop and it won't turn on.  We are pretty bummed.  Here's a link to show you what it looks like here.....  Santorini Pics
The hotel has a computer that we are using now, and we don't know if we'll have access to a computer in the future.  We don't know how much blogging we can do this last week of the trip but we will try!

Great news....We are having a GREAT time in the Greek Islands.  Check out more info about Santorini.  We have been lounging around for 2 days.  We've been watching donkeys carry tourists from the cruise ships up and down the 900 foot cliffs.  Kelley is considering a $5 ride just for fun.  Wayne is not interested.  : )   Today we'll take a boat out to go snorkeling and sightseeing closer to the center of the volcano.  (Don't worry, there's no lava).  We will leave tomorrow for Paros island and we think we might stay there for 2 days.  Then to Mykonos island for a night before we catch a flight back to London. 

We love ya'll.  Sad that we only have 9 days left.  Soaking up every minute here.....

WE MISSED OUR FLIGHT :)

Ahaaaaa....   what can you do?  So we'll be spending the night in the Athens airport.  We would include a photo, but we look kinda rough....   but we are HAVING FUN anyway!!!   The bonus is,  we'll arrive in Santorini, Greece at like 6 in the morning now, maybe we'll watch the sun come up over the ocean.

We love yall...


Sincerely from these airport chairs,

wayne & kelley

Florence and Rome, Italy

Sept 17

Accommodations:  Stayed in a BEAUTIFUL hotel in Florence that was in a building built in the 1600's.  Very elegant and even affordable!   Our flat in Rome for 2 nights is modern but also in a very old building.  Lot's of character.  : )

Food Highlights: More panna cotta for dessert... two more times!!! This stuff is addictive! Great lasagna, and lots of pizza. This is Italy isn't it?  Have we mentioned the PESTO in Italy????  Wow!!

Adventure:  Kelley has realized three instances when we were being short changed or overcharged(so far) price wise on something, and caught em on it, and got our money back!!! She rules.

Rest: Not much rest, explored Florence and Rome by foot.

Humor: Kelley was glad to see that even nuns get to go shopping too in Rome!

Florence.   Hands down our favorite thing was seeing the sculpture of David by Michelangelo.  Kelley and I were both speechless when we walked around the corner and saw this amazing piece.  David stands over 17 feet tall, on top of a 6 foot base.  What's incredible is that Michelangelo did this in solid marble at the age of 26.  Completed in 1504, it's unreal that is stands the same today.  It is so life like, your eyes fool you and it seems he is breathing.   We stayed in that chamber for over an hour.  I made multiple sketches. They don't do it any justice at all, but it was great to just appreciate this in person.

Rome.   Day 1,  we walked to the Colisseum -  unreal!   We took a tour and stood in awe as we considered the events that took place in this stadium that held nearly 87,000 spectators.  

We also visited the Pantheon and ate outside at a great Italian restaurant. (You can see the Pantheon just in the right side of the photo and panna cotta for dessert in the center of photo.)  

We took a night time stroll to the Trevi fountain to toss in a few coins and then to the Spanish steps in the Piazza de Spagna.    

We were so tired, we splurged for a cab ride home.

Off to see the Vatican today!  We'll tour Rome a little tomorrow and then off to the Greek islands tomorrow evening.

Love you all!!!

Night train and Vernazza Italy

Sept 14

Accommodations:  The very smallest yet... we shared a night train cabin with 2 complete strangers, one of which new a little English. Now we are in an Italian flat, complete with lace chandelier and cherub sconces. (wayne here, and I don't know what i just typed)

Food Highlights: An italian dream... panna cotta for dessert... two nights in a row

Adventure:  Hiked through 3 villages today along the Italian riviera's rocky coast.

Humor:  We accidentally locked ourselves INSIDE of our room. We had to call the owner to let us out.

Rest: none.  Kelley made wayne hike again.  It was worth it.

Hey people!!   THANKS again by the way for checking out our blog....  we are truly having a blast.  

So two nights ago, we took our first "Night Train"  from Munich, Germany, to Florence, Italy.  This is an easy way to travel through the night and wake up in a new town.  We made our reservations only a few days in advance, and found out there were no "private" cars left, and that we may have to share the cabin with some other folks.  Sure enough, we slept in a little car with 6 fold down bunks with an Italian guy named Croache (who spoke not a word of english)  and a young South Korean girl (who spoke a little).  9 hours later, Kelley and I got off the train at 6:18 am in the dark in Florence.

We quickly jumped on another train to head to the western coast of Italy, to an area with 5 small towns called the Cinque Terre.  All of them hug the rocky coast of the Mediteranian, and it's beyond beautiful.   We are staying in a town called Vernazza... 300 or so year round inhabitants. The people here are warm and friendly, and like true Italians, there's a lot of shouting going on, but no one is mad.  

We are off to swim and snorkel tomorrow.