First Congregational Church
United Church of Christ

"When are you going to show us photos from your trip?" That question has been asked of me numerous times since returning from our "Footsteps of Paul" pilgrimage.

Quite frankly, I'm a little surprised. I thought only people who had made the trek would be interested in pictures. Besides, I usually think photos of somebody else's trip are about as exciting as watching home movies of people you don't know. Therefore, I was rather shocked when so many of you wanted me to set up a time to wax eloquent on the wonders of Greece and Turkey.

So I will be glad to show you my photos. Here are a few of the things you will see...

• The Areopagus adjacent to the Acropolis where Paul delivered his famous sermon about "the unknown god."

• The remains of shops at Corinth similar to the one in which Paul plied his trade as a tentmaker.

• The grotto in which, according to tradition, John received the book of Revelation.

• The theater at Ephesus where officials quelled the riot precipitated by Paul's preaching.

• The streets of Perga where Paul walked as he began his first missionary journey.

• The excavations currently being done at Laodicea, one of the seven cities addressed in Revelation.

• The breathtaking mosaics adorning the walls of Hagia Sophia church in Istanbul.

But the pictures cannot do justice to the experiences of the trip. Some moments simply cannot be captured in a camera lens. Moments of the heart are like that.

For example, on the flight to Greece the air conditioning did not work well, and a couple of undisciplined small children left our nerves rather frazzled. So when we landed in Athens all I wanted to do was check into our hotel and get some rest.

We piled on to the bus and began negotiating traffic through the streets of Athens (always a challenge). As we approached downtown, the representative from the travel agency picked up the microphone and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you look to your right as we come around the curve just ahead you will get your first look at the Acropolis."

And sure enough, there was the Acropolis rising majestically over the city with the Parthenon standing watch on its dusty heights as it has for the last 2500 years. Even though this was my third trip to Athens I was still captured by its beauty as if for the first time.

Then I looked at Pattie Scroggins across the aisle from my seat and saw huge glistening tears pooled in her eyes. And she said, "I never thought I would see this."

Yeah, I will show you my pictures. But some moments are gifts to me. I can't share them even if I wanted to.