As the Harding University Florence students boarded their plane for their adventure in Sicily, I boarded another one that took me to our sister campus in Greece. The HUG program offers students an in-depth travel and cultural experience throughout Greece, Israel and Egypt. Their group trips allow students to bond and create life-changing experiences with every story-filled site they visit. It was a blessing to have been welcomed and treated as family while I was with them.
The ancient cities in the Peloponnese of Greece contain some of the most marvelous treasures in all of Greece. Our excursion took us to Corinth, Mycenae, Nafplion, Epidaurus and Olympia. Each of these sites took us back in time to give us the opportunity to experience the past in the present. Walking where the apostle Paul once stepped, sitting high in an ancient theater where one can hear a piece of paper being ripped from the bottom, climbing the steps to see and enter into the Lion’s Gate, and getting in position to start the race at the same starting blocks that were used in the original Olympic games are all special memories that I will have with me as part of my story. But the most memorable place I remember was at Hotel Tolo. This simple seaside hotel gave us a comfortable place to rest our tired feet, eat a hot buffet meal and for me was the highlight of the trip.
All of the bags were loaded and the bus was ready to go, but our group was not. We invited the two brothers who owned the hotel to join us in a circle. The family had just recently suffered a terrible tragedy as one of the brothers had lost his 26-year-old son in a car accident. As we joined hands, my left hand embraced the calloused and aged hand of the man who had just lost his only son. We sang “We Love You with the Love of the Lord,” and every eye was on this gentleman who stood next to me.
As we sang, he looked over his left shoulder to stare at a picture of his son that had been placed over the mantle. I clutched this man’s hand in mine as Director of Harding University Greece Mike James struggled through a prayer for the family. With tears in their eyes and heavy hearts for the family, every member of the HUG group took the time to give this man and his brother a hug sharing with them a piece of their hearts.
Yes, we took group pictures, bought souvenirs and picked up a few rocks to take back, but the love shown that morning still keeps me smiling. And if I’m smiling, I know for sure that our Creator is beaming.
