SEU Counseling Greece Trip

“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”  -Rumi "But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." -Luke 15:32           I’m sitting at a picnic bench on the Greek Bible College campus. The hum of cicadas surrounds me, and sparrows chirp in the trees overhead. A breeze breaks through the college’s lush greenery, making the outdoors a viable and enjoyable option even in this Grecian summertime. This pocket of Athenian suburb has become a refuge for me, evoking sighs of “home, sweet home” whenever our troop returns from adventures to Athens or Korinth (or Poros, Evia, Epidavros, Nafplio). But today, even this idyllic place of rest and refuge doesn’t sit right. I feel dislodged, unsettled. Hundreds of miles away from Pikermi, sailing 35,000 feet above terra firma , is a plane we were supposed to board.           I’ve spent the night in airpor...

  Day 19 TOGA Party What an incredible group of like-minded people brought together for such a time as this. I love how such different people can hold the same heart together, the heart to hold space for someone's fear, the heart to hold space for someone's anxiety, and the heart to hold space for someone's depression. Thank you, Tiffany Jones, for sharing how to hold space for the times when a person brings out our anger, brings out our anxiety, brings out our fear, or triggers our depression as we learn to walk beside someone without judgment, helping them in their journey as well as developing our character. Psalm 23 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: Thank you, Dr. Lawson, for sharing your morning run with me and anyone willing to get up early. Rediscovering that the morning is my time to lie down in green pastures and recharge for the day.  1 Corinthians 15:...

       As we approach the end of our time in Greece it’s been wonderful to reflect on all of the experiences, people and conversations that have taken place along the way. There have been so many sweet moments, and a part of me that finds it rather difficult to describe the beauty that we have experienced here in Greece. The opportunity to adventure and experience each new location as well as the culture that has grown amongst our cohort as a result of us being here.  Today was another day devoted to resting and relaxing after our many days of exploring both our new environment as well as ourselves in discovering how we each recharge best. Our morning was met with food, and friends in addition to the usual playful quips and remarks between us and our Greek friends that has so joyfully filled our mornings. In the afternoon we had a surprise visitor who graced us with his presence after enjoying some leftover pizza and exploring the grounds of the college.  ...

 "Before the law of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by law.  We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.  Let me put it another way.  The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.  And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian." ~ Galatians 3:23-25 "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love." ~ 1 Corinthians 13:13  Today was our second free day of the trip, and while some chose to go into Athens for some last minute shopping, we took the last group of students to get their tattoos today.  It was a looooonnng day to get everyone's tattoos done, but all are thrilled with the result! For many of us who grew up in the church, tattoos were a very taboo thing.  People were often looked down on or judged for having them, and many of ...

  " There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus "          This is such a beautiful quote to encapsulate as we took on the beautiful city of Nafplio today. To go into the day knowing and realizing how much we would see, was the extra deep breath of preparation that I needed on the 2 hour bus ride there from Pikermi.         These are the first of many photos that I took to get me in the mindset to get to the top of the 'mountain' in the picture on the right. I can't read much of the picture in the left as it is in greek, but its at the start of the 1000 or so stairs of death that were staring back at me, laughing. The 'mountain' is called the Fortress of Palamidi. Which is a beautiful castle that sits a the tippy top of the stairs that nearly defeated me. ( the fact that people pay to walk up these stairs blows my mind ) jk, they pay for the views at the top, which you can a...

For those of you following along at home or even future classes thinking about going on the trip… you may be thinking one of two things right now: This is one heck of a pace or another rest day?  By day 15, your mind is blown by the sights, experiences, and challenges.  Input overload, and while I may have originally shuddered at the idea of a rest day, we gladly welcome it.  The trip is accompanied by this blog and a student packet of reflections for all the major sites we have visited.  Being encouraged to reflect on the experiences for 21 days is becoming a habit I will continue. “When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction.” - Proverbs 24:32 There are echoes in the halls and on the buses about the trip’s impact.  The history of Athens, the majesty of Meteora, and the relaxing vibe of life on Poros Island.  Each of us has the options today of resting at the Bible College, doing laundry, shopping, or Tattoos.  Many of us wil...

Southeastern University “Put your mask on before helping those around you”; “you can’t pour from an empty glass.” These lessons all have one common theme: self-care. As counselors or those in helping roles, we can easily forget that we cannot keep going without taking time to rest and recharge. Day 1 Mark 6: 30-32 The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and  taught.  Then Jesus said,   “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.”   He said this  because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to  eat.  So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. On the Water Taxi boat to Poros, a quiet place View from the Water Taxi boat      The smell of salt and a cool sea breeze welcomed us to the island as we walked up the steps to our hotel. Our stomachs growled with anticipation for adventure….and pizza! ...