Ok. The past 3-4 weeks have been absolutely exhausting, crazy, and amazing. 2 weekends, 3 trips, a TON of ministry, new people met, and growth. So much personal growth :)
So in terms of travel, we went to the Adriatic sea twice, including the cities of Piran here in Slovenia, and Rovinj in Croatia as a surprise trip put on by the staff. I didn't post every picture, but from the few that I did I think you'll notice how similar the cities are. Both had a castle, huge church, the buildings look almost identical and the layout of each city was pretty similar. Either way, both cities were absolutely gorgeous and had very friendly and easygoing people. Like REALLY easygoing (to the point of completely nude easygoing in Croatia).
Piran was fantastic and was the picturesque European city on the ocean. Really similar to pictures of Italy that I had seen, it it a bustling little town (only 43 sq. km). It was VERY geared toward tourists and had tons of stands for buying souvenirs that were entirely too expensive haha. A couple of us jumped in the ocean for a little bit, but too many jellyfish and the cold water didn't keep us in the water for very long. I visited the castle in the city which offered the best best views of the city. Unfortunately, I took a later bus than everyone else that went, and I was only able to explore the city for a couple hours and had to leave soon after visiting the castle.
When the bus driver first dropped us off at Rovinj, he said that it would be a 20 minute walk tops to the center of the city... 1.5 hours, a nude beach, and a gallon of sweat later, we arrived in the center more than a little upset. Gotta love those FKK beaches with signs that say you cannot wear clothes if you're doing anything besides passing through. Another fun fact about Croatia: they don't use the Euro for their currency - they use Kuna, and 1E = 7.5 Kuna right now, so exchanging money at the bank was an interesting experience. This one ice cream place had slushies - mixing Orange, Lime, and Strawberry was only 10 Kuna and I had never been more thankful for a brainfreeze. The heat also made us really appreciate finding most of the rest of our group at the ocean and being able to jump in the water and relax with them. When we had all cooled off, we sat on the rocks to dry out. Several people fell asleep (#caughtsnoozing) and most everyone else journaled or read a book. It was the most peaceful moment I had ever experienced. Listening to some Celtic Woman, the waves lapping at my feet, surrounded by people that I love and who love me in return, and being happy and content with where God had brought me so far and where he was going to take me in the future. I don't think I could ever ask for a more beautiful moment. Of course the moment had to end eventually and we had to go home, but isn't that part of makes something beautiful in the first place - that it is only momentary?
I'll have to do another post about Lake Bled because I'm a bit short on time. BUT. I liked it more than Rovinj - and that's saying a ton!
My faith journey:
We've been doing an in depth study of the book of Philippians with particular emphasis on Phil 1:21 "for me, to live is Christ and to die is gain".
Pretty much every single day on this trip except weekends, I've been talking about how amazing Jesus is to every person that I meet. And the more that I talk about it, the more I realize how true that statement is. We have so much to look forward to after death, and I can really sympathize with Paul as he writes from prison to the first church that he started how he wants to continue spreading the news of how much God loves us, but at the same time cannot wait to meet his creator when he dies.
I've wrestled with the concept of God being like a selfish child, and thinking that he only created us to have something worship Him. Tim Keller helped me out with this by further explaining the concept of the Trinity. Because God is 3 in 1, he is effectively in a relationship with Himself, and God had so much love within Himself that he needed something else to share it with - so He created us! So that He could love more, and that we could find love and joy in Him! I can't think of a better reason to celebrate life - that we were created to be loved and to find joy :)
Check out my 2 albums on Facebook - Piran, and Ready. Set. SLO! I'll upload pictures later tonight of Rovinj!
https://www.facebook.com/chris.keener.771/photos_albums
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