Trip Blog Posts

posted on Thursday June 13 2024 at 8:00 pm UTC

Although it feels like just yesterday we were sitting in the ancient theater of Miletus with a large group of strangers, we’ve finally reached the end of our time together here in Turkey.    Day 10, which included Marty’s final set of teachings and a few more cultural experiences,...

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posted on Wednesday June 12 2024 at 9:00 pm UTC

Throughout our travels,  our group has wrestled with how to respond to persecution. We were presented with a number of options including fight, die, or flee! I knew when we learned of Philip’s martyrdom that I would likely be in the running crowd and felt ashamed for it. My inner prosecutor...

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posted on Tuesday June 11 2024 at 8:00 pm UTC

Our day began early as we left the Konya hotel in what was formerly the city of Iconium. As we exited the bus into an open field, Marty brought us together under an olive tree telling us about Zeus, the giver of good news, and Hermes, the bringer of good news -  a myth from 800 BC. As the myth goes,...

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posted on Monday June 10 2024 at 7:00 pm UTC

Fear, excitement, dread, adventure—these are some of the words that come to our minds when we are confronted with “wild” things. We started day seven outside the old city of Galatia, home of the Galls. According to Marty, the Galls were a tribal, wild [maybe a bit uncivilized] people....

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posted on Monday June 10 2024 at 12:00 am UTC

Day 6 involved a visit to three cities that formed a triangle separated by only a few miles. Hieropolis, Colossae and Laodicea were home to roughly 40,000 to 80,000 Jews among these three towns that had a combined population of around 300,000. We began in the necropolis of Hieropolis, which was...

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posted on Saturday June 08 2024 at 9:00 pm UTC

We were pleasantly surprised to learn that a Sabbath day was introduced into our trip itinerary - a day to stop, rest, delight, and worship, a day to be reminded that God loves us. Some of us woke early to venture out at 4:50am for a hot air ballon ride. As we arrived in the cool of the day our...

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posted on Saturday June 08 2024 at 12:00 am UTC

Missio Dei—the mission of God— is generally understood as a theology of participation, or perhaps more simply put, the people of God living and being on mission with God. Scholar and missiologist, Christopher Wright, describes it this way:    Mission belongs to our God....

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posted on Friday June 07 2024 at 12:00 am UTC

We began our third day in Türkiye in the Sanctuary of Asklepois in Pergamum. Marty, playing the role of an Asklepoian tour guide, led our group around and introduced us to the system and environment in which someone in the Greco-Roman era would be received when they were seeking healing. This...

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posted on Wednesday June 05 2024 at 8:00 pm UTC

“From Paul to John”   Our second day journey took us to the ancient city of Ephesus. We continued our discussion about Paul and his involvement with the Ephesians and then finished the day learning about John talking about the church in Ephesus in the book of Revelation.   Marty,...

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posted on Tuesday June 04 2024 at 7:00 pm UTC

The Medium Is The Message Who are you, and what are you doing here? With the calm waters of the Aegean Sea serving as the backdrop, that is the pointed question that Marty challenges us all with this morning, in which we are left pondering, its response. What parallels will we find from exploring...

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posted on Monday June 03 2024 at 11:00 pm UTC

Our BEMA group has arrived safely to Turkey! Keep watching for more blog posts. Thanks for following!...

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posted on Thursday March 21 2024 at 6:21 pm UTC

Our trip will be here before you know it! Once we're on the ground we'll post periodic updates and photos. Check back often or get update notifications using the subscribe options on this page. We'll be sharing our travel experiences online with you, our friends and family, to not only bring you along...

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