We're Back!

It's back to the streets we know.  The team arrived at church around 8pm tonight.  There were no flight delays and no lost luggage!  With a long morning of goodbyes, we finally left Turkey early in the afternoon on Sunday.

We arrived in Munich on Sunday evening and hotel shopped near the center of town.  After dropping stuff off, we took a walk down to the Marienplatz.  The pedestrian-only street along the way is lined with fashion shop after fashion shop and is still beautifully lit for the Christmas season.  At the center of the city is the historic "New Town Hall".  After staring at it for ten minutes, we finally went in and ate at a beautiful restaurant, the Ratskeller.

A short night of rest and we were back on the S-Bahn, endless security checks and a long flight to Chicago.

On the way back, one of the many types of stories that was shared about the trip was the appreciative words from the families.  This is an opportunity that they rarely have on such a large scale and feedback was hugely (I checked, it's a word) positive.  It's going to take a week to sort out all of the new facebook friendships.

We will have many more (about 4,000 more) pictures posted to a picasa album after they have been organized.  Thank you for your encouragement and following us the whole way!

New Years in Ephesus

On New Year's Eve, the group enjoyed an adventure to Ephesus. The off-season in Ephesus makes for a much more pleasant experience, especially while tracking a group of children and high-schoolers. Most of us still have to take in the meaning of much of what we saw. One of the neatest things to experience was having a short teaching time in the same theater that the ApostlePaul was in (though not to teach)


To allow the younger children's workers a chance at the city of Ephesus, we took turns watching the littlest ones. It's amazing what you can do in two hours with a bag of every color of pipe cleaner imaginable.  These were the cutest kids you could ask for, and that's before you even hear their accents!!

We rang in the New Year with a talent show. Many of the families serving in this part of the country put on unique an fun acts, but Peorians (Ben and Holly) had a shot as well!  It was a blast with even the youngest kids stealing the show.  There were so many acts that we almost forgot to celebrate midnight!

 

The next day, our special five-course meal before the talent show did not seem so interesting.  We were served several more authentic dishes than we were used to throughout the week.  Here, Brooke points to one of the appetizers she later found out was likely a guilty party.  I do feel a little bad telling her to try everything.  Today, Brooke and Becky were out for the count most of the day, as were several kids.

Our trip is about to end.  Today was eventful with two teaching sessions, a short scavenger hunt around the resort and lots of free time.  Tomorrow Afternoon we ship out for Munich and a late night on the town.  Don't be surprised if the blog is quiet...  Lord willing, we will be home Monday night.  Talk to you then!