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.

Temple of Artemis, with the mountain behind it

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!