Patience is a virtue!

Last year every time I had to wait for basically the only bus near us that would take us where we needed to go, I thought, "You really must a lack of patience in my character God."  I waited for the B24 for hours last year.  I would see all these other buses come by multiple times before the B24 would come by the first time.  This year when we were in the process of moving I always so thankful that I would not need to wait for the B24 this year, though its route still goes by our new apartment!  

Well, it seems I still need to work on patience and it seems God is once again using the Turkish bus system to show me that!  Last week I was on campus and waiting for the B44/a to come by so I could go home.  When I first got to the stop I was so happy I wasn't going to be waiting to take the B24, especially at 9pm.  Its only scheduled to come to campus once (or maybe twice) more before stopping for the night.  Much to my surprise I saw a B24 come by almost immediately.  I thought that was strange but didn't think much of it.  After about 20 min. of waiting I thought surely the B44/a would coming.  However the next bus that came was the B24...AGAIN!  I still did not get on this bus because I was certain the B44/a would be coming momentarily.  However after waiting for another 25 minutes I was wishing had gotten on that bus but my stubbornness stopped me.  I saw headlights in the distance and the  loud hum of a bus muffler and was excited that I'd finally be getting on my B44/a to go home.  But... it was the B24, AGAIN! I saw it, waved it down and climbed on board chuckling and thinking in my head, "Lord, You're funny! You have a such a sense of humor."  I thought my patience had grown some but still realizing I had much further to come.  I also thought I'd never wait for buses to the extent I did last year with the B24 but as it turns out, I'm still waiting for buses like I did last year with the B24 and the Lord sends me the B24 to get me home!  It seems I still have more to learn... but to remind myself to wait patiently, I've now written on my BuKart (bus card) cover "PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE."

Juan Pablo on the mend

After a few rough days and nights when our little kitty needed almost constant attention, he is back to his normal playful self.  He's getting into trouble, eating a lot and cuddling with us all the more! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers in regards to Juan Pablo!

Prayer point

A few days ago our little kitty began acting strange especially with going to the bathroom.  When it didn't get better and actually began getting worse, we took Juan Pablo to the vet.  Once we arrived, the vet began looking at him and sent me the pharmacy straight away.  When I arrived back she began to tell me what was wrong and how we could help.  He was given antibiotics to take and some other medicine to help with going to the bathroom.  Then we asked what was wrong and the vet told us that he had some kind of virus or bacteria.  With strays she said they usually get something but there are 3 very serious and dangerous ones for kittens.  We won't know how serious it is for the next day or two.

We are to watch him and see if he gets better or worse.  This was on Tuesday and today he seems to be like a typical kitten, playing and getting into trouble but physically he looks much worse.  Please pray for this little kitten.

Kitty!

So our little guy has decided he ALWAYS has to be around people and as close to their faces as possible! When I'm standing making my coffee in the morning he will climb up my leg, then my side or arm until he's perched on my shoulder.  When I'm working on my computer he insists on sitting on my keyboard and usually pushes some buttons or keys and closes windows, shuts it down...if he weren't so cute, it'd be annoying!

 

now it begins

This was our first week on Campus and the Lord provided so many conversations!  On the first day of campus we had a conversation our friend, *JoAnna, and her friend, *Jacob.  When he was in junior high he began to research Christianity and continued until his freshman year at university.  When he chose Islam at the time he said his friends laughed at him and were asking him why he was even interested in that.  And he also said that when he read things in the Bible, he couldn't understand certain things.  This lead to a great conversation in which we got to share the Truth about Jesus Christ.  His eyes are blinded to the truth but he's still searching and interested! We're hoping to connect him with the guys with us so they can continue this conversation with him! Pray the Lord would open His eyes.  Another cool thing about this conversation was JoAnna.  She was tracking right with us and when Jacob didn't understand something and spoke for us when we were unable to find the Turkish word or explain clearly in english through the language barrier... Praise God for her and pray through that conversation and her involvement the Gospel will become more clear!

Another day we met with *Ilanna, a student from last year.  She is our most devout friend and even covers how most modern women do here.  We began talking of superficial things at first and I was getting a little discouraged really praying the Lord would provide connections to spiritual things.  Something came up about culture so I then asked a cultural question.  This simple question led to almost 2 hours of conversation in which we were able to share the Gospel at least 4 times.  We talked of Jesus, punishment, sin, why Jesus came, the cross, what the Q'ran says, what the Bible says, baptism, the Truth of God's word, and much more! But through it all we learned more of where Ilanna stands.  She said that she is always searching, always asking why, wanting to know the Truth and what is right.  She said up til now Islam has been what she understands to be right, what she thinks is the best.  But if Ilanna were to find something different, more right and better she'd immediately switch! Praise God for her searching heart.  Pray her eyes would be open to the holes in her own beliefs and that she's meet Jesus in a real way.  As we were talking about Jesus and the cross she really began to understand the need for Jesus.  Not for herself but why we as Christ followers need Jesus.  Pray she'll see her need for Him too!

New family member

So as an apartment we adopted a new family member... It may seem weird that its a member of the male population, but I'm sure as soon as you see him, you'll understand why.  His name is Juan Pablo, but his Turkish name is Tarkan.  He has the bluest eyes and dark hair.  We're so happy we made this decision and its been fun to have him around our apartment.  :) Introducing Juan Pablo! :)

He's so tiny! He loves his kitty food, loves meowing and getting as close to the human face as possible! More updates to come as we watch our little guy grow! :)

On the Mountain

Yesterday as a team we took a trip up the mountain in our city, Uludağ (historically known as Mt. Olympus).  We wanted to go to a place where we could pray together and individually over the city and to be as high as possible to see as much as possible.  We took teleferik (a cable car) to the top and then went farther into the forest and found spots to pray along a shallow stream surrounded by large, smooth boulders.  It was a great place to meet with the Lord and begin to ask big things of the Lord for our city.  I was reminded of Ezekiel 37 when he receives the vision of the dry bones.  Only God has the power to bring to life the bones, to make them into a working body and to breath life into the lifeless form.  In the same way, in this place, only God can move in the hearts of students we've met and will surely meet.  Only God can transform their lives, give them purpose, satisfaction and life.  One of my teammates was sitting on a rock and clouds suddenly came in and enveloped her.  It grew dark and cold.  The Lord brought to mind the thought that there is great darkness here but light is coming.  Isaiah 9:2 "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of shadow and death have seen a great light."