Good morning, Athens!

"Say among the nations, 'The LORD reigns.'
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
He will judge the people with equity.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
they will singe before the LORD, for He comes,
He comes to judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in His truth" (Psalm 96:10-13).

It's morning in Athens -- and I'm sitting on my bed looking out at french doors onto my balcony and out into an alley (I laughed when I first walked out onto my balcony yesterday - it looks just like Newsies!). The apartments here are stacked like tuna cans, with heavy canopies and slatted wooden doors covering the balconies in front and back that block the sun and keep the air moving - it's very hot. We (Laurie, my flat-mate, and I) have already had some great adventures coming home from the metro yesterday evening and making dinner in this new world. She is so great - she works at a Junior High also; she's a social worker for 5th-8th grade students in Connecticut. Despite jet lag, we stayed up for hours talking last night - what an incredible woman!! We're leaving for Nea Zoi in just a bit -- so excited for a whole day here! I slept like a ROCK (and had hilarious dreams), so today I feel like a brand new person.

I think we're going to get to see the Acropolis today also -- it's only TWO BLOCKS from our flat! Crazy that people LIVE here. I keep thinking about Mrs. Reiske, my 4th grade teacher - who pounded Greek history and mythology into our heads. I still remember!

Reflecting this morning on God's goodness in providing JUSTICE for His people. I'm struck again by how prevalent oppression is throughout the earth - and how much of it is so tightly linked with racism. Praise our God who judges with truth and equity - who doesn't look at skin color, heritage, or economic background to determine right and wrong, but in fact stands for TRUTH and weilds a sword on behalf of the oppressed. More on that later . . .