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!!!