http://www.pleonast.com/user/jhagan recent pleonast.com entries by user jhagan en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/jhagan?l=5&entryID=552788 After my slight slip up in my previous post I am glad to say that I have indeed figured out what the date is. (I am so tempted to stop right there and let that by my blog entry, but I'm not going to do that... but pretend I did, okay?) Bonnie and I are headed out on Tuesday to see family and friends in Alabama and Georgia. So, not that you were expecting any posts, but if you were, you probably shouldn't for a week or so. I hope everyone has a good week! Thanks to all who have been asking about my health. I am doing well. Other than pulling my hamstring last week (I am getting older unfortunately) I have no complaints. 2008-07-21 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jhagan?l=5&entryID=551830 You thought I had disappeared and forgotten about you and this blog? Nope. I have been working on documenting over 6,000 pictures from my trip in May... and at 1:38 this morning (just a few moments ago)... I FINISHED! Okay, technically I finished my first pass, but it is going to be good enough until I feel I need to do more and fill in the question marks. But I am ignoring that. I finished. I wrote a 56 page document to give the basic details of 6,000 pictures. Rejoice with me! 2008-07-18 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jhagan?l=5&entryID=531239 The trip was great but exhausting. I love going on these trips. Not only do I learn a ton, but I also come back so motivated. Seeing the places in the Bible and growing in understanding at the struggles that the early Christians faced as well as spending time with great Christians of our day gets me focused and zealous. There is so much that most Christians in America take for granted and do not understand. For many of us, Christianity is a religion of comfort and tradition. However those of the past and in other parts of the world today prove that Christianity is a matter of faith and conviction. They sacrifice everything for their faith. They give up their families and their standing in society. They give up their security and risk their lives. And I feel pretty confident that they cannot understand us. When they take such risks to assemble with the saints, how embarrassing it is for us when the slightest hint of a headache, or a few minutes extra homework or any number of... 2008-05-22 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jhagan?l=5&entryID=530408 We got home early this morning (1:30 AM) after a 33 hour day of travel. Many of us were having internet access problems which is why there were no updates or pictures from me. I will start to work on all of that soon, but I am generally taking today off. 2008-05-20 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jhagan?l=5&entryID=526481 We are still and Izmir. I am having some internet problems here. I have access, but I cannot get even one picture to upload (just one picture has been trying to upload for about a half hour now). So I will hope for a better situation tomorrow night. For now, you will have to wait. I took just under 600 pictures today. Today we got on the bus for about a 2 hour drive to Pergamum. The acropolis was fabulous. It was breathtaking. I can't wait to get pictures up and to get to talk about what all was there and its significance. We went to lunch then saw some more ruins in Pergamum, hit a museum then headed toward Thyatira. Thyatira has very little excavation done there. There is a modern city built on top of the ancient one. It is amazing how far apart these cities were. We drove the distance between them in a few hours, but thinking of travailing these roads on foot is impressive to think about. Paul's missionary journeys were truly journeys! Tomorrow we leave this hotel. ... 2008-05-09 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jhagan?l=5&entryID=526049 I am sitting in our hotel lobby right now waiting for dinner. I don't get internet in the hotel room for some reason (others do). We had another busy day. We got up at 5:15, packed, had breakfast and headed to the airport for an 8 AM flight to Izmir (modern city that used to be the Biblical city of Smyrna). We went up to a castle (from Alexander the great though it has been restored several times since then) to look over the Aegean and city of Smyrna and Izmir. Then we went down to the amazing ruins of the Smyrna agora. The archaelogical work being done there is amazing. We made it to two museums to see some interesting, ancient artifacts that figure into some of the language from the book of Revelation. Sometime during the day we were let off the bus to wander the streets for lunch (our guide helped point places out). Bonnie and I found a nice little place where she got some delicious meatballs and I had lamb. They were both excellent. Our last stop for the day was the Poly... 2008-05-08 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jhagan?l=5&entryID=525753 It was a long day! We went to the remains of a hippodrome and saw some obelisks with Egyptian writing on them that are over 2,000 years old. Then made our way to the Blue Mosque (which was made from the remains of the hippodrome). From the Blue Mosque we walked to the Hagia Sophia (an impressive building that has alternated between a church and mosque over the years). Then we went to a great palace turned museum. The highlight of the day was getting to go to the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. There we saw incredible artifacts. Including Hittite lions, a Siloam inscription (from the Hezekiah tunnel in Jerusalem), the Gentile stone that was from the temple in Jerusalem and many more great artifacts. We also got to go on a quick boat ride on the Bosporus. Head over to my flickr page to see several pictures of my family and of the sites we saw today. The pictures have not been fixed yet so they are very raw. I won't have time to work on them until I get home unfortunately. I t... 2008-05-07 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jhagan?l=5&entryID=525567 We arrived safely after a very long trip. Everyone is healthy (for those who do not know, both parents came along as well as Bonnie's Great Aunt Shirley). I will try to get some pictures uploaded as well on my flickr page (link is on the left of this page). We are in Istanbul today. 2008-05-07 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jhagan?l=5&entryID=524404 I thought I would get a quick update in before leaving for our trip. The couple who were in the accident are now home from the hospital. God has answered our prayers and shown His great mercy towards them. There is still a long recovery ahead, but much of the danger seems to have passed. Bonnie and I leave tomorrow night. I don't think I will be able to get online very often while I am gone. However, if you want to see some of what we are doing, Ferrell Jenkins does try to keep his blog up to date (http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/). 2008-05-03 http://www.pleonast.com/user/jhagan?l=5&entryID=520405 A lot has been going on and my days are getting hectic with no relief in sight. However I thought I would throw some quick information out. I went to the doctor today. I won't go into everything, but the long and short of it is that the doctor thinks that I am okay. The symptons I have experienced will continue but do not pose any real threat. I'm fine with that. Some members of our church were in a very serious, high speek, head on collision on their way to church Sunday morning. Since that time, I have spent a lot of time going back and forth to the hospital, organizing help and writing E-mail updates. It is amazing how well that everyone is doing after the magnitude of this accident. The wife was released from the hospital after only a few hours. The husband shattered one leg (femur bone) but seems to have no other serious issues. Still, he is in for about a year's worth of rehab. These are not young people either if you get my drift. We are all very thankful that God h... 2008-04-23