Hey so just to let you all know Amanda was taken to a clinic in Selcuk (Seljuck), and she got some medicine so she is feeling a ton better!!!!! Praise the Lord!!!!!!
Nate (Ephesus)
So we spent a day at the capital of the ancient providence of Asia!!!! It was ridiculously cool!!!! There was so many sweet things there. We walked down streets that the apostles would have walked. We sat in the Theater where the silversmiths of Ephesus started a riot in opposition to Paul in Acts 19. We also went into the ruins of an old brothel, where I was given a opportunity of telling a story from my life, where God used His word to greatly impact me. They all really appreciated my openness, and I hope God used it in a powerful way. We were also able to walk on the harbor road, and see one of the biggest bath complexes in the Roman Empire. We saw the neokorus (epicenter) of the Emperor worship. It was a challenging day the main questions we looked at was, the source of Truth, and it doesn't matter what talents or skills you have to offer God, because He chooses people based on there character!
Rachel and Kendall (Priene, Didyma, and Miletus)
So the first place we stopped at on Monday was Priene which was a port city in the first century but the reason we studied it was to learn how the first century Christians lived amongst the immoral culture of the first century Asia Minor aka Turkey. Though we never got to see an actual house church we did see a house synagogue which was very similar to a house church. Right beside the synagogue was a fourth century church, which was saddening because the difference in how Christians viewed their faith; they went from a community to a hierarchy which isnt the way God intended the Christian walk to be like. The site also challenged us to not compromise our faith and to live in community. In the first century Christians couldnt do anything because to vote or serve on the council or even sell goods they would have to sacrifice to the one of the gods, since they didnt compromise their faith and lived in a community God blessed them.
Didyma was pretty awesome. We learned about Apollo's temple where an oracle supposedly told the future. People would pay tons of money and stay in the temple for weeks, possibly months, just to hear a sentence from their god. The oracle was an old woman high off of some fumes she sat on top of. She would utter strange mumblings and the priests would "interpret" them and then tell the specific person waiting for the word. These were supposedly the words of Apollo. We talked about how much these people would give up just for the chance to hear a couple words from Apollo. We have an entire Bible sitting on our shelf straight from our God who actually exists and loves us, but how many times do we push it aside or don't make time to read it?
Paul actually visited Miletus in the Bible!! We saw the exact spot where he would have sailed from and talked to the Ephesian Elders in Acts. Paul had tremendous faith in giving the church up to God and letting him take control. Also, Paul was willing to sail away from Ephesus even though all he knew was that tough times were ahead. He didn't even know where he was going, but he trusted God completely!! Paul is such a great role model :)
Jenna [Aphrodisias]
Today we left Selcuk around 8 am, with the plan to stop in Aphrodisias for around an hour or two. Hah. Turns out God had other plans, as our team was there for... ehh, four hours or so. All of it was fantastic teaching and applications!--we just got cranky around 3 pm since we wanted lunch. ;)
HOWEVER the lesson was well worthwhile. Nearing the end of our time, we visited massive ruins of a 1st century stadium, where races and mock naval battles would occur. Here we found a pile of stones, left by previous teams at the foot of the VIP seats. Mulv encouraged us to take ourselves, everything we are, and lay it at Jesus' feet symbolically before running a lap of our own around the overgrown track. For we are the runners here on earth, running the race of life, and around us are the cloud of witnesses cheering us on, with victory in Christ waiting at the end. A powerful analogy for the entire team.
Tomorrow are three different sites, which will be one of our longest days. Better head to bed! Thanks again for all of your prayers and encouragement <3
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A Note from America
Hello everyone, this is Mike Ahlers (Amanda's Dad) Hope things are going well for everyone, Thank you for the Blog updates it is so exciting to her how God is impacting your lives and the lives of the people you are interacting with over in Turkey. But I wanted to tell everyone the experience that we as parents go through with our children on a mission trip so far away, and how God is impacting our lives here at home as well.
Watching your children grow up sometimes requires a lot of faith in our creator because we have to trust in him that things will work out, like it is written in
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
As you know my daughter Amanda has been very sick on the trip which has been very stressful on Amanda's mother and I. When we first heard that she was sick we were saddened because we couldn't comfort her, then when she got worse we started to get a little restless, that's when we started to put a plan together to possibly get her home, we quickly realized that we needed to stop looking for flights for her to come home, and stop looking for flights for us to meet her half way and start to "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;" What we didn't stop doing was praying for her and we didn't stop believing that our God can do anything. All we have to do is trust in him for everything.
I also want to thank all of you for the continuous prayers, comfort and encouragement that you are giving Amanda.
Susan and I have comfort in the verse from
Psalm 112:7 They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
One last thing, to quote a very special person I know "You see, our mission field is wherever God calls us to be! Whether that be in Turkey, sick in a hotel, or at home in America... God has called each of us for a specific purpose! He is using us EXACTLY where we are for reasons we sometimes don't understand."
I found that my mission field is in America praying for the Turkey Team.
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Can't wait to see you all home safe.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Pergamum and pools!
Hey guys! Sorry for not updating quite as frequently... but we've been busy and want to have some stuff to share once we get back ;)
Nate
So we went to the University is Izmire on Friday afternoon, to bring up conversations and hopefully be able to talk about Christ. I had an amazing experience there that I would like to share with you. I was in a group with Paul, Rachel, and Kat. We had not yet talked to anyone or really felt "lead" to go anywhere. One of our friends we made here at the local church named Shefika came up to us and asked us how it was going. We told her we hadn't talked to anyone and she brought us back into the cafe area and told me to go to this guys sitting there. So I went, and through some confusion I was left alone to talk to this guy. Well I wasn't alone, because Christ was with me, and through His watching over the conversation I was able to share with this man the Gospel. I had brought up the subject of Islam and he said that he was a muslim but he respected all religions. He said he read the Koran, but not the Injeel. He explained how it had been "changed" by man. Then he asked me, "Is this true?" I said, "No," haha God totally opened the door for me. So I went through it. I shared with him how the Injeel was still impacting and changing people's life and how it had changed mine. He took it all in and grew really interested when I started explaining what Jesus did on the cross and how He is the only way to heaven. I gave him an Injeel and told him to read John 3:16, he not only did this but he also read the rest of the paragraph!! I was able to then explain what Christ's sacrifice on the cross did for us to forgive us our sins. I didn't just do that once but three times!!!! Because he kept asking questions. God did an amazing thing that day and he kept the Injeel and hopefully will read it and God will get a hold of his heart and he will find Jesus soon!!!!!!
Jenna
The team visited Pergamum on Saturday, from 9 am - about 3 pm. One of the biggest themes from this site was the different gods they used to worship:
This is just one of many different lessons we've learned while studying on sites in Turkey. Sooooo many stories to tell you guys; this blog is just to wet your appetite, haha! Love you all and fully appreciating your support.
Kendall
So today...we all split up and went to a few different Turkish churches, which was really cool. Worshiping with people in a different language is an amazing experience and very encouraging. We then drove to Selcuk, got mail (thanks to all who sent us notes and packages!), and went swimming. In a pool filled simply by a natural spring. Which means it's freezing cold. AND on top of that, it's plopped right in the middle of an orange grove with beautiful mountains in the background. All of us jumped in the water and screamed, scaring the rest of the people away. Whoops! Or, if you're like me, you're picked up and thrown into the freezing water. Sunbathing on the side of the pool was exactly what we all needed. By the pool was a Turkish plum tree which the entire team soon started admiring. The owner gave us permission kindly to pick all the plums we wanted! So Sieben, Sarah, and Jenna climbed into the tree and dropped plums down to the rest of us who were holding towels to catch them. We had so much fun!! Pide was the meal tonight, which made us all happy :)
PS: More pictures and stuff coming soon!
PPS: Amanda went to a clinic this evening and has been there for a couple hours as test results are coming in--not sure exactly what it is, but please please keep praying for her health and safety.
Nate
So we went to the University is Izmire on Friday afternoon, to bring up conversations and hopefully be able to talk about Christ. I had an amazing experience there that I would like to share with you. I was in a group with Paul, Rachel, and Kat. We had not yet talked to anyone or really felt "lead" to go anywhere. One of our friends we made here at the local church named Shefika came up to us and asked us how it was going. We told her we hadn't talked to anyone and she brought us back into the cafe area and told me to go to this guys sitting there. So I went, and through some confusion I was left alone to talk to this guy. Well I wasn't alone, because Christ was with me, and through His watching over the conversation I was able to share with this man the Gospel. I had brought up the subject of Islam and he said that he was a muslim but he respected all religions. He said he read the Koran, but not the Injeel. He explained how it had been "changed" by man. Then he asked me, "Is this true?" I said, "No," haha God totally opened the door for me. So I went through it. I shared with him how the Injeel was still impacting and changing people's life and how it had changed mine. He took it all in and grew really interested when I started explaining what Jesus did on the cross and how He is the only way to heaven. I gave him an Injeel and told him to read John 3:16, he not only did this but he also read the rest of the paragraph!! I was able to then explain what Christ's sacrifice on the cross did for us to forgive us our sins. I didn't just do that once but three times!!!! Because he kept asking questions. God did an amazing thing that day and he kept the Injeel and hopefully will read it and God will get a hold of his heart and he will find Jesus soon!!!!!!
Jenna
The team visited Pergamum on Saturday, from 9 am - about 3 pm. One of the biggest themes from this site was the different gods they used to worship:
- Aclepius, the god of healing who had "living [healing] water"
- Athena, goddess of wisdom [truth]
- Many emperors claimed deity and demanded worship
- Zeus was the king and creator
- Dionysis, god of the vine [wine] and theater
- worship ceremonies involved eating raw meat and getting drunk on wine
- Demiter, goddess of grain/bread
This is just one of many different lessons we've learned while studying on sites in Turkey. Sooooo many stories to tell you guys; this blog is just to wet your appetite, haha! Love you all and fully appreciating your support.
Kendall
So today...we all split up and went to a few different Turkish churches, which was really cool. Worshiping with people in a different language is an amazing experience and very encouraging. We then drove to Selcuk, got mail (thanks to all who sent us notes and packages!), and went swimming. In a pool filled simply by a natural spring. Which means it's freezing cold. AND on top of that, it's plopped right in the middle of an orange grove with beautiful mountains in the background. All of us jumped in the water and screamed, scaring the rest of the people away. Whoops! Or, if you're like me, you're picked up and thrown into the freezing water. Sunbathing on the side of the pool was exactly what we all needed. By the pool was a Turkish plum tree which the entire team soon started admiring. The owner gave us permission kindly to pick all the plums we wanted! So Sieben, Sarah, and Jenna climbed into the tree and dropped plums down to the rest of us who were holding towels to catch them. We had so much fun!! Pide was the meal tonight, which made us all happy :)
PS: More pictures and stuff coming soon!
PPS: Amanda went to a clinic this evening and has been there for a couple hours as test results are coming in--not sure exactly what it is, but please please keep praying for her health and safety.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Sardis -- "If you don't climb the mountain..."
"...you'll never see the view." Or something like that.
Hello to all! It's just Jenna today as the others are visiting a Turkish youth group or babysitting the pastor's daughter. I'm chilling with Amanda, who has become an honorary blog team member for today and will write a bit more later on.
We left for Sardis early this morning... mmm, around 8 am or so. Once arriving, we walked past some temple ruins and began a long, winding climb up the side of the mountain.
Between Mulvihill and God, we learned some incredible things today. The Bible is already filled with fantastic imagery, but instead of just reading about vines and branches--alluding to John 15--we crouched in a vineyard and examined its trunk, branches, vines, and small grapes as Mulv talked thorough the passage.
Upon reaching the top [though not the very top as seen in the photo], Mulv taught a bit more and we took some great pictures standing on top of the acropolis ruins. At its time, Sardis was known for its impregnable defenses, since the stronghold was on top of such a steep slope. Yet they grew lazy and complacent, believing that even when laid sieged no one could get past. In their mistakes and God's hand, the city was conquered not once, but twice. Various earthquakes and other disasters left the once proud town in the ruins we see today.
The Temple of Artemis also held great teaching moments, since for Christians in the first century, the practices of day-to-day activities.... bathing, exercising, participating in the community... all went against their newfound faith.
Hopefully we can share more stories and pictures with you guys later: I'll save some stuff for the others, I suppose :) Thank you again for praying and supporting the team--your efforts have not been in vain, promise!! God bless!!
Amanda
For those of you who know me, you know that Trust is not something I give away easily. For me, it must be earned. It is a little word that holds a great deal of responsibility. So the day we set off on our Turkey adventure, I prayed that God would teach me to trust Him. I asked God to put me in situations where I was forced to trust and rely on Him alone. Thankfully, we serve a faithful God who hears and answers our prayers! Not-so-thankfully, when I prayed that prayer, I had NO idea what I was getting myself into!
It started out with the airline losing my luggage. Coincidence? I think not. Instead, God was putting me in a situation where I was forced to rely on Him, and not material objects. I had to trust that He would provide for me everything that I needed. And praise the Lord.. He gave me all I needed and more! How blessed we are to serve such a sovereign God! He surrounded me with a generous body of believers who helped me and shared with me what little supplies they had! In less than two days the Lord brought my suitcase to me and taught me more than I ever imagined He would! Isn't it funny how God sometimes teaches us the most when we seem to have the least?!
Little did I know, my journey to trust was not over there. Four days ago I started to feel incredibly ill and have progressively gotten worse. At first... I was determined to tough it out! There was no way I was going to let 'a little fever' or throwing up stop me from serving the Lord on the streets of Turkey. I came here for one reason, to glorify my Lord and make His name know throughout this dark country. It didn't take long to realize though that God's plan and my plan didn't exactly match up too well!
I was convinced that the only way I could serve God was if I was out in the city with our team, proclaiming Him to the lost by passing out bibles and serving the Turks. I thought that staying back in the hotel to heal was a sign of weakness, that the Lord would be disappointed in me. But after an encouraging email from Amy Mulvihill and some long talks with God, I realized how wrong I was.
You see, our mission field is wherever God calls us to be! Whether that be in Turkey, sick in a hotel, or at home in America... God has called each of us for a specific purpose! He is using us EXACTLY where we are for reasons we sometimes don't understand. But that's the beauty of the Lord, we work for the King of the Universe... so we don't have to understand. We just have to put our trust in His faithful plan.. and serve where He sends us.
Don't get me wrong, I'm INCREDIBLY bummed that I have missed the past couple of days of service and the climb up Sardis.. but the Lord is teaching me more in my hotel bedroom than He would be at the top of a mountain. Because here in my room, I am learning to trust His will and His purpose for my life in the things I can't control.
I love and miss you all! Please continue to pray for me and for quick healing! I eagerly await what God is going to teach me next and can not wait to grow in Trust for the Lord over our remaining weeks!
Hello to all! It's just Jenna today as the others are visiting a Turkish youth group or babysitting the pastor's daughter. I'm chilling with Amanda, who has become an honorary blog team member for today and will write a bit more later on.
We left for Sardis early this morning... mmm, around 8 am or so. Once arriving, we walked past some temple ruins and began a long, winding climb up the side of the mountain.
 |
| Temple of Artemis, with the mountain behind it |
Upon reaching the top [though not the very top as seen in the photo], Mulv taught a bit more and we took some great pictures standing on top of the acropolis ruins. At its time, Sardis was known for its impregnable defenses, since the stronghold was on top of such a steep slope. Yet they grew lazy and complacent, believing that even when laid sieged no one could get past. In their mistakes and God's hand, the city was conquered not once, but twice. Various earthquakes and other disasters left the once proud town in the ruins we see today.
The Temple of Artemis also held great teaching moments, since for Christians in the first century, the practices of day-to-day activities.... bathing, exercising, participating in the community... all went against their newfound faith.
Hopefully we can share more stories and pictures with you guys later: I'll save some stuff for the others, I suppose :) Thank you again for praying and supporting the team--your efforts have not been in vain, promise!! God bless!!
Amanda
For those of you who know me, you know that Trust is not something I give away easily. For me, it must be earned. It is a little word that holds a great deal of responsibility. So the day we set off on our Turkey adventure, I prayed that God would teach me to trust Him. I asked God to put me in situations where I was forced to trust and rely on Him alone. Thankfully, we serve a faithful God who hears and answers our prayers! Not-so-thankfully, when I prayed that prayer, I had NO idea what I was getting myself into!
It started out with the airline losing my luggage. Coincidence? I think not. Instead, God was putting me in a situation where I was forced to rely on Him, and not material objects. I had to trust that He would provide for me everything that I needed. And praise the Lord.. He gave me all I needed and more! How blessed we are to serve such a sovereign God! He surrounded me with a generous body of believers who helped me and shared with me what little supplies they had! In less than two days the Lord brought my suitcase to me and taught me more than I ever imagined He would! Isn't it funny how God sometimes teaches us the most when we seem to have the least?!
Little did I know, my journey to trust was not over there. Four days ago I started to feel incredibly ill and have progressively gotten worse. At first... I was determined to tough it out! There was no way I was going to let 'a little fever' or throwing up stop me from serving the Lord on the streets of Turkey. I came here for one reason, to glorify my Lord and make His name know throughout this dark country. It didn't take long to realize though that God's plan and my plan didn't exactly match up too well!
I was convinced that the only way I could serve God was if I was out in the city with our team, proclaiming Him to the lost by passing out bibles and serving the Turks. I thought that staying back in the hotel to heal was a sign of weakness, that the Lord would be disappointed in me. But after an encouraging email from Amy Mulvihill and some long talks with God, I realized how wrong I was.
You see, our mission field is wherever God calls us to be! Whether that be in Turkey, sick in a hotel, or at home in America... God has called each of us for a specific purpose! He is using us EXACTLY where we are for reasons we sometimes don't understand. But that's the beauty of the Lord, we work for the King of the Universe... so we don't have to understand. We just have to put our trust in His faithful plan.. and serve where He sends us.
Don't get me wrong, I'm INCREDIBLY bummed that I have missed the past couple of days of service and the climb up Sardis.. but the Lord is teaching me more in my hotel bedroom than He would be at the top of a mountain. Because here in my room, I am learning to trust His will and His purpose for my life in the things I can't control.
I love and miss you all! Please continue to pray for me and for quick healing! I eagerly await what God is going to teach me next and can not wait to grow in Trust for the Lord over our remaining weeks!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Saying farewell to Istanbul
Nate
Merhaba!!!! (Hello in Turkish) So as of right now we are sitting in a hotel room in Izmir recapping over our last day in the huge city of Istanbul. We had to say many bittersweet farewells to friends and contacts. So hope you enjoy the story of our day!!
Kendall
As the bulk of our team was visiting the Ayasophia, Mulv and Andy made their way through the city to meet with a woman from the BCC (Bible Correspondence Corporation). They started a new program called 1881, which basically works to get the word of God out to the people. They agreed to partner with us and give us resources to pass out including Ingeels, tracts, and books of Matthew. The day earlier, we had taken a collection of money for Steve and his family. Each D-group had written a letter to him and given some money. Mulv called Steve on the way to see if he would want to meet him. Steve biked all the way to where they were to meet them!! Mulv and Andy gave him the money, and he started to tear up. He began to explain that money has been very tight lately and he was down to his last 20 lira for the next two weeks. God had prompted us to give over 1000 lira! God is so good!! We're so glad we could bless Steve because of how much he blessed our team.
Nate
So on this trip we are also doing some touristy stuff as well and today's tourist activity was visiting the Ayasophia, a gigantic cathedral turned mosque turned museum. It was once the biggest church in the world and the heart of the Byzantine Empire. It was a breathtaking place filled with mosaics, both finished and half re uncovered. Since the Muslims plastered over all the Christian icons but now that it is a museum archeologists and historians are restoring them. For me (a History major) it was extremely fascinating and exciting. Sorry we don't have any pictures yet we will be sure to post some when we get them!!
Rachel
During the call to prayer our team got to experience the worship of the Muslims in the blue Mosque... the biggest Mosque in Istanbul. It broke many of our hearts to see little children "praying" and not even knowing why they are doing it. To give you just a taste of what the Mosque was like; You walk into the Mosque covering your head and shoulders if you are a girl, and you cover your knees if you are a guy. The men get their own special place up in the front of the Mosque while to women sit in a crammed little spot in the back, even behind the tourists. About 10 mins. after the call goes off the Immom starts leading all of the people in the prayer. Watching all of the men and women synchronized was kind of creepy to me at least because it felt more like a ritual then people actual talking to their god. Please keep them all in your prayers.
Jenna
Remember yesterday, when I mentioned our "serving evangelism" time? One particular story is considered among the team as a "God-story," so I'm going to go more indepth here.
Ryan, Amanda, and I began walking through the streets of Istanbul, all of us rather awkward as we weren't sure what to do.... just walking around, praying that God would speak to us. Amanda suddenly said, "I don't know if this is me, or God... but we should try and find some Incils," which is the Turkish word for NT. We agreed and found ourselves on a road loaded with bookstores--yet after visiting 5 or 6, we still hadn't found any. Disappointed and confused, I noticed one more across the street and suggested we cross. Turns out this store had several, and we purchased three.
Now what? Again, we were eager to serve but unsure how to act. Standing on a corner surrounded by locals and traffic, we read Psalms from Amanda's Bible, including Psalm 27: "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." We continued to meander, praying over and over for God to make his will known. Suddenly a cafe worker called to us, "Come come!"
So we came. The conversation began as practicing our Turkish words, as we drank delicious alma chai [apple tea] and learned about each other. Upon realizing the other two were university [college] students, he mentioned, "Oh, my cousin went to university," and called him over. Both men spoke quite a bit of English. As we talked, Amanda mentioned the call to prayer and asked if they would have to leave and pray. Turns out neither were Muslim; the one working was a deist and the former student an atheist. He had first majored in philosophy before switching to physcology, and was well read in Socretes and Darwin. This guy was not only well-read, but had a thirst for knowledge. He used to believe in God, but "could not see him" and thereby dismissed the idea.
Our conversation jumped as the tables turned. He asked what we believed, and Amanda began to explain our Christian faith. She shared the gospel with him and he listened intently. Questions arose, since he had heard pieces of Christianity but wanted our explanations. We talked through faith [Ryan was able to show him Hebrews 11:1], confession [reiterating that it wasn't necessary], evolution [I love working through the topic and we tossed ideas back and forth], and specific beliefs.
At the end, we gave both men Incils, and the cousin especially poured through it. "Why not," he said, "why not," even telling the one working "I try Christian now." Whether genuine or simply interested, we were able to touch the lives of both with the love and passion of Jesus. Praise God, Amen!!
---Pictures---
This is the Blue Mosque
Blue Mosque
The rest are of the Ayasophia
Blessings!!!!!!!!!
Merhaba!!!! (Hello in Turkish) So as of right now we are sitting in a hotel room in Izmir recapping over our last day in the huge city of Istanbul. We had to say many bittersweet farewells to friends and contacts. So hope you enjoy the story of our day!!
Kendall
As the bulk of our team was visiting the Ayasophia, Mulv and Andy made their way through the city to meet with a woman from the BCC (Bible Correspondence Corporation). They started a new program called 1881, which basically works to get the word of God out to the people. They agreed to partner with us and give us resources to pass out including Ingeels, tracts, and books of Matthew. The day earlier, we had taken a collection of money for Steve and his family. Each D-group had written a letter to him and given some money. Mulv called Steve on the way to see if he would want to meet him. Steve biked all the way to where they were to meet them!! Mulv and Andy gave him the money, and he started to tear up. He began to explain that money has been very tight lately and he was down to his last 20 lira for the next two weeks. God had prompted us to give over 1000 lira! God is so good!! We're so glad we could bless Steve because of how much he blessed our team.
Nate
So on this trip we are also doing some touristy stuff as well and today's tourist activity was visiting the Ayasophia, a gigantic cathedral turned mosque turned museum. It was once the biggest church in the world and the heart of the Byzantine Empire. It was a breathtaking place filled with mosaics, both finished and half re uncovered. Since the Muslims plastered over all the Christian icons but now that it is a museum archeologists and historians are restoring them. For me (a History major) it was extremely fascinating and exciting. Sorry we don't have any pictures yet we will be sure to post some when we get them!!
Rachel
During the call to prayer our team got to experience the worship of the Muslims in the blue Mosque... the biggest Mosque in Istanbul. It broke many of our hearts to see little children "praying" and not even knowing why they are doing it. To give you just a taste of what the Mosque was like; You walk into the Mosque covering your head and shoulders if you are a girl, and you cover your knees if you are a guy. The men get their own special place up in the front of the Mosque while to women sit in a crammed little spot in the back, even behind the tourists. About 10 mins. after the call goes off the Immom starts leading all of the people in the prayer. Watching all of the men and women synchronized was kind of creepy to me at least because it felt more like a ritual then people actual talking to their god. Please keep them all in your prayers.
Jenna
Remember yesterday, when I mentioned our "serving evangelism" time? One particular story is considered among the team as a "God-story," so I'm going to go more indepth here.
Ryan, Amanda, and I began walking through the streets of Istanbul, all of us rather awkward as we weren't sure what to do.... just walking around, praying that God would speak to us. Amanda suddenly said, "I don't know if this is me, or God... but we should try and find some Incils," which is the Turkish word for NT. We agreed and found ourselves on a road loaded with bookstores--yet after visiting 5 or 6, we still hadn't found any. Disappointed and confused, I noticed one more across the street and suggested we cross. Turns out this store had several, and we purchased three.
Now what? Again, we were eager to serve but unsure how to act. Standing on a corner surrounded by locals and traffic, we read Psalms from Amanda's Bible, including Psalm 27: "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." We continued to meander, praying over and over for God to make his will known. Suddenly a cafe worker called to us, "Come come!"
So we came. The conversation began as practicing our Turkish words, as we drank delicious alma chai [apple tea] and learned about each other. Upon realizing the other two were university [college] students, he mentioned, "Oh, my cousin went to university," and called him over. Both men spoke quite a bit of English. As we talked, Amanda mentioned the call to prayer and asked if they would have to leave and pray. Turns out neither were Muslim; the one working was a deist and the former student an atheist. He had first majored in philosophy before switching to physcology, and was well read in Socretes and Darwin. This guy was not only well-read, but had a thirst for knowledge. He used to believe in God, but "could not see him" and thereby dismissed the idea.
Our conversation jumped as the tables turned. He asked what we believed, and Amanda began to explain our Christian faith. She shared the gospel with him and he listened intently. Questions arose, since he had heard pieces of Christianity but wanted our explanations. We talked through faith [Ryan was able to show him Hebrews 11:1], confession [reiterating that it wasn't necessary], evolution [I love working through the topic and we tossed ideas back and forth], and specific beliefs.
At the end, we gave both men Incils, and the cousin especially poured through it. "Why not," he said, "why not," even telling the one working "I try Christian now." Whether genuine or simply interested, we were able to touch the lives of both with the love and passion of Jesus. Praise God, Amen!!
---Pictures---
Blessings!!!!!!!!!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Continuing the adventure.... Day 4
Kendall
Today, we went to the Grand Bazaar!! It was bizarre! Haha :) We got the chance to barter with the shop owners as they said hilarious things to get us to stop, such as "I have your color!" and "You been looking for me?" and "Yes! Here I am!" and the ever-repulsive "I kiss your lip?" A couple guys gave the girls specific prices simply because "you have such beautiful eyes" and "You so beautiful!" The Bazaar is miles of little shops full of souvenirs, scarves, pottery, and jewelry. We found some amazing things!! Many of us got gifts for family and friends, and we can't wait to give it all to you.
Jenna & Rachel
Though the highlight of our day was clearly "serving evangelism," that is serving the Turkish people simply through chatting or helping in any way we could. While hard to explain, we spend a full hour afterwards sharing our incredible God-stories of how He used us in these few hours. Some cleaned in a restaurant, others shared God's love with locals at a cafe, and still others prayed fervently for those in mosques as the call to prayer rang through the air. God is at work here in Turkey, count on it!
Some of "this" would be the group of Sarah, Sieben, and I (Rachel,) after wandering around trying to share the love of Christ somehow, we ended up sitting in the outer courts of a Mosque just praying for all the people going in and coming out of the main worship area. After covering three of the four sides in prayer Sarah started "talking" to some Turkish children; meanwhile I got up from my moderately comfortable seat and walked across the courtyard and sat next to an elderly woman and and younger woman. After about 5 min. of attempting to talk in English to people who only knew a little English and me who only knew a little Turkish the elderly woman called over the little children who were talking to Sarah, and somehow by the grace of God our whole group got together and talked to a total of 4 women and 2 children who were very interested in our Bible and what was written in it. When we were done talking in broken English and Turkish one of the women gave me her ring, another gave Sarah a keychain, in case you didnt know gifts are very important in this culture, and Sieben gave them his necklace which had a little cross on it. I hope we made connections and showed who believers really are and what the love of Christ truly looks like, please keep praying for the team and everyone we meet!
Nate
So we went to dinner at a street restaurant tonight and it was a great experience!! We had some of that previously mentioned pide. It was the best stuff in the world!!! They also had Turkish pizza which was a lot like American pizza but a little different (helpful I know). Anyway, we had a great time at dinner, it was full of laughs and stories (the best were the college ones about Mulvihill... told by Andy) but the highlight of the night was when I laughed so hard that I started to fall backwards off the chair. Mulv tried to catch me but only succeeded in following me down too. So there we were two Americans laying on the street. Everyone was laughing and applauding us. Mulvihill said, "We were just providing the entertainment for dinner" in response to the store owner asking what was going on. It was a great time of laughs and delicious Turkish food!! I'm sure there will be many more to follow!!! God Bless!!!
Today, we went to the Grand Bazaar!! It was bizarre! Haha :) We got the chance to barter with the shop owners as they said hilarious things to get us to stop, such as "I have your color!" and "You been looking for me?" and "Yes! Here I am!" and the ever-repulsive "I kiss your lip?" A couple guys gave the girls specific prices simply because "you have such beautiful eyes" and "You so beautiful!" The Bazaar is miles of little shops full of souvenirs, scarves, pottery, and jewelry. We found some amazing things!! Many of us got gifts for family and friends, and we can't wait to give it all to you.
Jenna & Rachel
Though the highlight of our day was clearly "serving evangelism," that is serving the Turkish people simply through chatting or helping in any way we could. While hard to explain, we spend a full hour afterwards sharing our incredible God-stories of how He used us in these few hours. Some cleaned in a restaurant, others shared God's love with locals at a cafe, and still others prayed fervently for those in mosques as the call to prayer rang through the air. God is at work here in Turkey, count on it!
Some of "this" would be the group of Sarah, Sieben, and I (Rachel,) after wandering around trying to share the love of Christ somehow, we ended up sitting in the outer courts of a Mosque just praying for all the people going in and coming out of the main worship area. After covering three of the four sides in prayer Sarah started "talking" to some Turkish children; meanwhile I got up from my moderately comfortable seat and walked across the courtyard and sat next to an elderly woman and and younger woman. After about 5 min. of attempting to talk in English to people who only knew a little English and me who only knew a little Turkish the elderly woman called over the little children who were talking to Sarah, and somehow by the grace of God our whole group got together and talked to a total of 4 women and 2 children who were very interested in our Bible and what was written in it. When we were done talking in broken English and Turkish one of the women gave me her ring, another gave Sarah a keychain, in case you didnt know gifts are very important in this culture, and Sieben gave them his necklace which had a little cross on it. I hope we made connections and showed who believers really are and what the love of Christ truly looks like, please keep praying for the team and everyone we meet!
Nate
So we went to dinner at a street restaurant tonight and it was a great experience!! We had some of that previously mentioned pide. It was the best stuff in the world!!! They also had Turkish pizza which was a lot like American pizza but a little different (helpful I know). Anyway, we had a great time at dinner, it was full of laughs and stories (the best were the college ones about Mulvihill... told by Andy) but the highlight of the night was when I laughed so hard that I started to fall backwards off the chair. Mulv tried to catch me but only succeeded in following me down too. So there we were two Americans laying on the street. Everyone was laughing and applauding us. Mulvihill said, "We were just providing the entertainment for dinner" in response to the store owner asking what was going on. It was a great time of laughs and delicious Turkish food!! I'm sure there will be many more to follow!!! God Bless!!!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Day 2 Smiles and Laughter... the Universal Language part 2
Kendall:
Ok, here's a little clarification. The first post from the beautiful Rachel was actually our first day here. Even though it said Day 2. Sorry for the confusion!! So now, I'm going to tell you a little about Day 2, yesterday. We started off the day by helping out with a picnic that Armando and Jen put on for the refugees they work with. Armando is a worker here in Turkey that has known Mr. Mulvihill for a few years. He works with refugees here from many different bordering countries and shows them compassion and kindness. We met so many new people!! There was about 4 different languages represented and a lot of different ethnic groups. A few people spoke some English, so that was very helpful! Others we couldn't communicate with at all. Jen, Armando's wife, helped a few of us by translating while talking to a 16 year old girl from Uzbekistan. We met an 18 year old girl named Alla who is just super energetic and happy and excited! My personal little experience was with a little 9 year old boy named Abdulah who fell in love with me. He told me this many times by saying "I love you too" over and over and kissing my hand multiple times. Haha! There was many cute little children that we played frisbee and soccer with. Many of the people there had incredible stories about how they got out of their countries. We all felt like celebrities as all the people wanted to hug us and talk to us and...push Ryan into the fountain. We also met a man named Steve for the first time, Mulv didn't even know him, and he ended up blessing us more than we could ever imagine. There's more about that later :) Anyway, we had an incredible time at that picnic and we all got many pictures that we'll show you when we get back!
Jenna:
Remember Steve? Well after returning from the picnic and spending a few hours to freshen up/nap/devos, we crossed the Bosphorus Strait [the expanse of water separating the European and Asian sides of Istanbul] and met him at a cultural restaurant. He shared incredible stories of his time here and his experiences with various groups in Turkey. One such experience:
He and several other workers were passing out Bibles and tracks when the Turkish secret police appeared, surrounding them and taking their passports before leading them to a secured compound. They sat the group down, threatening their safety and lives, shouting in Turkish over and over. Steve understood, but simply smiled and let them rant. The response confused them, as the secret police were used to foreigners being hostile and defensive. Upon being questioned, Steve's response was: "We came to Turkey and have been blessed over and over by your people's hospitality, so we wanted to return your kindness by sharing gifts." The secret police relented, realizing there was no need to be aggressive. Together they ended up chatting for hours, allowing them to take Bibles and even getting the secret police's number if they ever had trouble again. This is only one of many ways God has provided in this country. We thanked Steve for his time, and returned to the hotel for worship and some sleep.
(Shoutout to Kendra--both of you! :)
Nate:
Hey so we have really seen God working on this trip and it's only the third day!! so we are really excited to see what else He has in store for us on this trip. We will have many more posts and stories coming. We really appreciate all your prayers and support they are definitely working! Well that's all for now... we'll update you guys sometime soon!
Here are some pics from the picnic!!!
Ok, here's a little clarification. The first post from the beautiful Rachel was actually our first day here. Even though it said Day 2. Sorry for the confusion!! So now, I'm going to tell you a little about Day 2, yesterday. We started off the day by helping out with a picnic that Armando and Jen put on for the refugees they work with. Armando is a worker here in Turkey that has known Mr. Mulvihill for a few years. He works with refugees here from many different bordering countries and shows them compassion and kindness. We met so many new people!! There was about 4 different languages represented and a lot of different ethnic groups. A few people spoke some English, so that was very helpful! Others we couldn't communicate with at all. Jen, Armando's wife, helped a few of us by translating while talking to a 16 year old girl from Uzbekistan. We met an 18 year old girl named Alla who is just super energetic and happy and excited! My personal little experience was with a little 9 year old boy named Abdulah who fell in love with me. He told me this many times by saying "I love you too" over and over and kissing my hand multiple times. Haha! There was many cute little children that we played frisbee and soccer with. Many of the people there had incredible stories about how they got out of their countries. We all felt like celebrities as all the people wanted to hug us and talk to us and...push Ryan into the fountain. We also met a man named Steve for the first time, Mulv didn't even know him, and he ended up blessing us more than we could ever imagine. There's more about that later :) Anyway, we had an incredible time at that picnic and we all got many pictures that we'll show you when we get back!
Jenna:
Remember Steve? Well after returning from the picnic and spending a few hours to freshen up/nap/devos, we crossed the Bosphorus Strait [the expanse of water separating the European and Asian sides of Istanbul] and met him at a cultural restaurant. He shared incredible stories of his time here and his experiences with various groups in Turkey. One such experience:
He and several other workers were passing out Bibles and tracks when the Turkish secret police appeared, surrounding them and taking their passports before leading them to a secured compound. They sat the group down, threatening their safety and lives, shouting in Turkish over and over. Steve understood, but simply smiled and let them rant. The response confused them, as the secret police were used to foreigners being hostile and defensive. Upon being questioned, Steve's response was: "We came to Turkey and have been blessed over and over by your people's hospitality, so we wanted to return your kindness by sharing gifts." The secret police relented, realizing there was no need to be aggressive. Together they ended up chatting for hours, allowing them to take Bibles and even getting the secret police's number if they ever had trouble again. This is only one of many ways God has provided in this country. We thanked Steve for his time, and returned to the hotel for worship and some sleep.
(Shoutout to Kendra--both of you! :)
Nate:
Hey so we have really seen God working on this trip and it's only the third day!! so we are really excited to see what else He has in store for us on this trip. We will have many more posts and stories coming. We really appreciate all your prayers and support they are definitely working! Well that's all for now... we'll update you guys sometime soon!
Here are some pics from the picnic!!!
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