Tour Summary This tour will immerse us in the settings of St. Paul’s & St. John’s ministries. We’ll start out in Greece, spending a day on the ruins of Corinth, reflecting on St. Paul’s letters to that congregation. We’ll follow this with a 2-day retreat on the Greek island of Patmos, where St. John lived for two years & wrote The Revelation. While on Patmos, we’ll tour St. John’s cave, the monastery which bears his name, the medieval fortress of the Knights Templar, & other sites as well. And we’ll study The Revelation, especially St. John’s words to the churches to whom the book was addressed. This is our preparation for the remainder of our tour on the mainland. From the island of Patmos we’ll boat to Kusadasi, Turkey. From here we’ll begin our exploration of the ruins of the 7 Cities, & the Word of God will come alive for us in a powerful & refreshing way as we connect the words with the places. We’ll finish our tour exploring the ancient city of Athens, Greece, that place where St. Paul proclaimed the identity of the God whom the people worshipped in ignorance (Acts 17:22ff). CLICK HERE for the itinerary. The Rev. Dr. Michael Middendorf will be our spiritual advisor & Bible-study leader. He is a Professor of Theology at Concordia University in Irvine, CA. Teaching various Bible-related courses to undergraduate & graduate students, he is a favorite instructor for his wit, guitar playing, and for his distinctly Mid-western accent! Mike has written extensively, including the co-authored work, Called by the Gospel, a New Testament textbook (Wipf and Stock, 2007), and, The “I” in the Storm, his dissertation on Romans 7 (Concordia Publishing House). Before coming to Irvine in 2001, Mike served as a parish pastor in Jamestown, ND and a professor at Concordia University, Austin, TX.

Tour Preparations Begin by choosing the payment option which is most appropriate for you.  The Early Registration option will save you $249. Deadlines for Early Registration: $3,250/person November 16, 2009: $500 deposit February 1, 2010: $1,000 deposit April 15, 2010: $1,750 final payment   Deadlines for Regular Fare of $3,499/person   February 15, 2010:  $1,200 deposit April 15, 2010:  $2,299 final payment This fare includes everything except lunches, drinks, port fees (approx. $50), personal expenses (checked luggage charges, laundry, phone calls, souvenirs, etc.), & personal activities which are not a part of the tour plan. This price DOES include all flights, all land & water transportation, travel insurance, breakfasts & dinners, all guided tours, airport-hotel-port transfers, all site & museum entry fees, service charges & tips for group activities. All rooms are double occupancy. This tour is for a maximum 20 persons. If you want to hold a spot, please complete the following: 1)  Make the initial deposit of $500 no later than November 16th to hold a place & to take advantage of the early registration discount.  This amount will be included in your total fare for the tour.  Please make your check payable to, “educon Travel.” Do not hestitate to call if you have any questions (714/334-1252). Please note, after November 16th $100 of this initial deposit is non-refundable. 2)  Make a copy of the front page of your passport and mail it with your deposit to, educon Travel 2417 N. North Park Blvd. Santa Ana, CA 92706 If you do not have a passport, mail your deposit to educon Travel without it, and then send a copy as soon as possible.  To enter Turkey your passport must be valid for at least 6 months AFTER the date of departure, i.e., through November 19, 2010. For more info. about passports, see Terms & Conditions. To proceed with your tour preparations, please continue as follows:                 1) Pay the remainder of your fare according to the earlier instructions for making payments.   2) Mark your calendar and commit this tour to your prayers! You might visit the following web site for lots of great information about the cities we’ll visit: www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/    3) To familiarize yourself with the components of our tour, you'll find great gobs of helpful information on the Travel Resources page.   Please note:  If you do not live in the Los Angeles area, you will need to make arrangements to be at L.A. Int’l Airport (LAX) at least three (3) hours before the 3:40PM departure time for Athens. For departure locations other than LAX, please call educon Travel.   Terms & Conditions