We started the day with a quick visit to the ancient wall surrounding Thessaloniki, where Jeff spoke on the accusation that was made against Paul when he preached the Gospel: "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also!" (Acts 17:1-9).

From there, we began our journey to Philippi, where we arrived at a creekside baptistry, situated on the traditional site of Paul's preaching of the Gospel and Lydia's conversion (Acts 16:11-15). We had a creekside service of Holy Communion, which included a renewal of our baptismal vows. Afterward, we slipped into the baptistry between baptisms and sang the doxology among the stunning mosaics and iconography. As we made our way to and from the bus, we walked past several family celebrations on the grounds. It was a moving sight and meaningful morning.

We enjoyed lunch at a seaside restaurant in Philippi and then toured the excavation of the ancient city, which includes the structure thought to be the jail where Paul and Silas were held (Acts 16:16-40).

We returned to our hotel late that evening. I skipped dinner, went for a jog on the promenade, and then tried to get some sleep in preparation for our 3 AM wakeup (OUCH!) and flight back to Athens.