I won’t go into all the places we went to, but oh let me
tell you…..we squeezed in as many things as we possibly could! Out of the 7
cities of Asia that Paul wrote to, we visited or drove past most of them. The
view from Assos was phenomenal. You could look out and see the Greek Island of
Lesbos. I sat on the ruins of cities where Paul and John and other disciples of
Christ spread the gospel. I gained so much respect for these early
missionaries, and I also realized just how similar today’s missionaries are
like them. We got to see all that is left of the Temple of Athena, one of the
Seven Wonders of the World. Gallipoli, the site of a bloody and really
unnecessary WW I battle between the Turks and Australians, really stirred my
thoughts. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the heartbreak of the mothers of
these young boys who gave all but could have been saved. Another favorite spot
was in Miletus. My friends Lindsay, Brooke, and I found this gorgeous ruin that
looked just like ruins of Amboise in the movie Ever After. You know, the
heartbreaking, breathtaking place where Henry tells Danielle that he loves her
and doesn’t give her a moment to tell him the truth about her. Oh it was right
out of a fairy tale!
We also visited Ephesus, and I got the coolest picture that
matches the photo of the ruins that matches the picture in the King James Bible
that Latter-Day Saints use. It was so amazing to be where the apostle Paul
taught. We also spent a good bit of time in Troy. Brother Belnap spoke to us
for a while, and I learned so much from listening to him. I was struck to
realize that I was in the ruins of a place where people didn’t believe that any
god knows or even cares what happens to them. It broke my heart to look at the
stories of Troy and other places in this light. I’m so grateful for the
knowledge that God is our Father who loves and knows each one of us intimately.
Again in Nicea, I couldn’t help but again be overwhelmed with gratitude and the
responsibility that I have to spread this message of God’s love for his
precious children.
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