slowly

Slowly, the Lord is showing me the things which aren't next for me.  It isn't the easiest way and most comfortable way to figure out what's next for me, but for whatever reason this is the way God is allowing me to discover it.  I trust in Him and trust that He allows things and keeps us from things for His purposes and for His glory.  I want my life to glorify God, so if there are ways that would be less honoring or situations where He would get less glory, I'm glad He's removing those from my life.  It is hard, and sorely disappointing at times, but I trust Him.  This walk with Him is always an adventure and everyday I see that and believe that more and more! I'm clinging to a particular verse today:

Dirilis Bayramı! (Easter!)

 Last weekend we held an Easter celebration and invited many of our friends! We weren't sure what to expect since the holiday happened right before their big exam week, we continued to ask and ask and ask! Most of friends said no, or they'd think about coming but most did not.  We did however end up having around 12 students come. It was a blast!

We painted eggs...

Played "Pebble Walk"...

Watched a skit...

Heard a small talk and had discussion...

Afterward we shared a meal together and enjoyed talking and fellowship.  

Not only was it Easter but it was also one of our dear friends birthday's.  Ibo turned 20 and he has been one of our best and most faithful friends here.  It was a joy to honor him and celebrate him.  We made a cake and the 5 of us girls gathered some American goodies for his present.  He is coming to the States this summer to work and practice English and we wanted to give him a bit of a taste of America.  At the end of the night he told many of us that he couldn't put into words how he was feeling; that this was his most special birthday he's ever had; that he felt so loved and valued.  Pray he would see our love as only coming and possible through Christ.

Ibo and his birthday cake!

Ibo with his Mac & Cheese, Dr. Pepper, Kit Kat, and Swiss Miss hot chocolate!

All of us with Ibo and his birthday presents!

Amazed!

Last week Lindsay and I were with a friend, Isabel! We invited her over to our apartment to watch Magdalena and then I would cook dinner for us afterward.  So she came and we did all that, though the night was different than expected!

She arrived and we gave her a tour, introduced her to our kitty, and showed her pictures of our homes and families and friends.  Then when it was time to start watching the movie, the DVD wouldn't work in Lindsay's computer.  My DVD player is currently broken so we started praying and trying different solutions.  The Lord answer prayer quickly and the movie was quickly underway! During a part of the movie, the Nezan (which is the call to prayer) started going off.  It is unusually loud in our apartment so Lindsay and I, individually, prayed that she would either not hear it or it would be drastically quieter!  Well the Lord answered our prayers! It was quieter! The next time it went off she heard and commented to turn things down. Praise God for those answers!

The most amazing thing during the whole night were her reactions to Jesus' miracles.  When Jesus cast out demons, she said, "WOW!"  When Jesus brought Talitha back to life, she gasped; when Jesus fed the 5,000 she gasped again! But the biggest gasp was at the end of the film when Mary goes to the tomb on the 3rd day.  She sees the stone rolled away and runs in only to find Jesus' grave clothes.  Our friend was shocked. She gasped and stared at the screen in amazement!  We have shared with her the whole gospel numerous times, but seeing it made all the difference! Please prayer for Isabel! Pray that she would see truth! That she would look up these stories in the Incil we gave her! Pray she would see her need for a Savior and that Jesus is that Savior.  That Jesus came to seek and save the Lost, not just western people, not just jews, but ALL people! 

It was an AMAZING night!

Future

I was reading C.S. Lewis the other day and he said "The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is." 


Its such a simple thought, yet it gave me such peace.  No matter what I chose, it will come at the same time as everything else.  I have been able to focus on my time here and what I've been called to do here for the past 6 months, Praise God! I had an undivided heart and mind.  Now, as the days and months go by I realize how quickly the time will come when I need to make a decision.  I have been thinking of a lot of possibilities.


As far as I can see now my options include: 
Graduate School...







                                                        
  

                                  getting a job...

                                                                   joining Crusade staff in the states...

joining staff here long term... 

             

or something I don't know about yet....

Daily I go from one option to another seeing how great each one could be for many different reasons.  However on Monday I got exciting news.  I was called by one of the Grad. schools I called, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  They wanted to schedule a phone interview with me! I'm so excited!  I can hardly wait to see what God has for me next no matter what it is!


My interview is March 15, at 8am (Central Standard Time).  Please pray for me and pray God would use this to further show me his plans for me next!

Team retreat

This past weekend we went on a Team retreat to Iznik which is modern day Nicea.  It was a great weekend to energize our batteries for the first week of classes, gain vision and focus, and continue to build each other up in our team.

Leaving the city to go to Iznik!

Iznik Lake which has buried the castle in which the first Council of Nicea met.

It was beautiful with spring like weather and we were blessed with good health on our team for a successful weekend.

The Girls! My roommates, teammates and friends!

The whole team!

Of the things discussed, the main focus was our desire to sow more broadly.  Last semester we did a great job at meeting consistently with friends which we perceived as being open.  But what we didn't do was evaluate these students on where they were at spiritually and if they were truly seeking or only wanting to practice English.  It was challenging to think of doing things a bit different this semester, but we're excited for God will do and we're so excited to be a part of it!

Enjoy some pictures from the weekend! :)

This man who was demonstrating the history of the styles of Iznik Ceramics

This became one of the team dogs for the day.. her name was Betty.. she liked to play dead.. 

Team Building continued throughout the day without any programming or activity planned.. even while exploring ancient ruins!

 

Double Karamel Magnum bars!
Great after exploring ancient ruins!

Creative work

There are only a few days left until classes begin again for the semester and I'm trying to get as much done in the down time as possible.  There are a few things we're working on and wanting to get a good start on before things begin to get really busy.  One is having a night of watching the Magdalena Film, which is like the Jesus Film but told from a woman's perspective. We're inviting many friends to our apartment for a fun Girl's Night where we'll paint nails, eat popcorn and chocolate, chat and watch a movie!

Another exciting project is re-working some of the Solarium photos.  Solarium is a resource we use to get into spiritual and gospel conversations.  They are just images and students pick out three pictures that best answer a particular question.  For example, "Which three images best describe your life right now?"

My project is going through the current images, understanding the concept of the image and seeing if it can be copied but with a Turkish twist.  Students often wonder where the pictures were taken, but if they were able to see the same concepts of love, fear, hard work, failure in images related to Turkey, how much more would the photographs make an impact! It is a joy to be able to serve the Lord through this way!

Praise and Affirmation

Every Wednesday we have a team prayer time and every other week a team time afterwards! Today we opened our Praise Boxes we started at the beginning of the semester.  We put praises in there in terms of ministry, things happening in our friends lives, things happening with our friends and families back in the states, and anything else we praised God for!  It was such a blessing to open up the boxes and read through everything we praised God for throughout the semester, the big things and small things! 

We also spent our team reading and article about biblical affirmation and how we can do a better job with that to each other as a team and what that would like if our friends and students we meet with saw us affirming each other.  It is such a different idea for our friends to think about affirming and building up rather than tearing down.  Pray God would grow us and teach us how He wants us to affirm and who His love in that to our friends!