Greetings from the "sheep capital" of the world - New Zealand! Baa Baa :)
I am writing this missions update out in the countryside surrounded by a plethora of SHEEP. I am at the end of a week retreat on my own at a friend's lovely home. I've had the opportunity to house-sit and get away from the bustling base, after six months of intense activity where I've been surrounded by people... so it's been nice to get some peace and quiet and have no schedule, and hang out with the sheepies. The Lord spoke to me through many people a few weeks back that I was allowed to take some time off and just BE. To rest. Rejuvenate. Refresh. Recharge. This week, I've been able to get back into a couple creative projects and also do some baking and just chill out, as well as reflect on all that God has done in my life this year... That's the restful stuff, but I've also had to chase some sheep around that escaped out of the paddock... You would be laughing at me if you had been there to see the spectacle... 5:30 in the morning, in pajama's, in the pouring rain, chasing these dumb (but cute) creatures around the lawn!!! And this happened TWICE!!! Ahhhh!
Turkish Adventures!
The last update I sent in September saw me heading off to Turkey for a 2 month outreach, in a surprising turn of events! It was a most thrilling and adventurous couple months, in a fascinating country in the centre of the world - the centre of so much Biblical history. Definitely a "must go" for any Christian! I was able to walk where the Apostle Paul walked in Ephesus, on his multiple missionary journeys. Because of security reasons, I didn't sent out my updates while I was in Turkey. For those of you who weren't able to read about my adventures in Turkey the past couple months, please visit my website www.alisonlam.com and click on Blog Updates. You'll be able to see read all of them in the November '09 Archives. Put your feet up, grab a coffee, and enjoy a good read! :)
Wanna See Photos?!
For those of you who would like to go on a photographic journey of my time in Turkey, please find the 2 photo albums on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/hopejoyfaith or if you don't have an account there, you can view them directly here:
Photo Album 1
Photo Album 2
SDTS '09 :: Graduating my final group of students
It was very much a privilege to graduate my second group of students in Oxford, New Zealand from the Ski + Snowboard Discipleship Training School. I was so proud of all 28 students, as we handed them their certificates. There is something so powerful about COMPLETING things. I believe this season of intense character development and reaching out to the nations will set them up for success for the rest of their lives, as they apply what they have learned to their daily lives. May they walk hand in hand with God and go out and THRIVE!!
It is bittersweet to know that this is the final school that I am directing. I have loved this amazing job, but I also have felt the Lord's nudge to move on to some new things, and to get even more FOCUSED for my future. It has been a wonderful 2 years of leading the DTS here in New Zealand with YWAM. By far, they have been the best 2 years of my life, which have pushed me to my limits and challenged me in every possible way. I have an expanded view of God's grace and His intimate Hand in every detail of life. He cares. God really does care. I have seen His transforming power at work in the hearts and lives of these young people. There is no doubt in my mind that He is in the business of redeeming hearts for His Kingdom!! As I reflect back on the past 2 years, I am humbled and amazed that God chose to use me in leadership. I pray that each person that I have had the privilege of leading will bear much lasting spiritual fruit. May they go ever onward and upward and be Kingdom world changers!! And may they go out and disciple and mentor others to do the same! Let it be so!
What's next?
Many of you are curious to know what I'm up to next. Well, I'm sorry to say that I don't have exact details yet... I will still be based in Oxford at the YWAM base for at least the first half of 2010, but what I'll be doing is yet to be announced...
In terms of the next little while, I'll be traveling around New Zealand with my cousins for Christmas and New Years (yeah!!!!) and then attending some mission conferences in January in New Zealand. After that, a lot is up in the air. I do hope to get back to Canada in early to mid 2010 (I have a new niece! Auntie Ali is desperate to meet little Hera!). I also want to be able to visit some of you in North America... So a lot of 2010 is "unknown" at this point. I wish I could give you more details, but for all you curious folk, you'll just have to be patient and wait :)
Thank you! You're amazing!
Thank you to my friends and family and prayer partners and support team. You are awesome and such a huge blessing in my life. Your letters, gifts, emails, advice, and prayers have encouraged me at just the right times when I've needed them. You have been God's "divine appointments" to me - so thank you for staying sensitive to the Holy Spirit and following His promptings! I ask that you would continue to lift me up in prayer as I seek God's heart for this next season of missions. I'll be sure to share more details with you as soon as I have them.
How are YOU?!
I'd love to catch up with many of you! I have more time on my hands now in between my traveling. Hopefully we can talk on skype (ID: alison_lam) or phone me in NZ (+64 3 312 4951) or email me: (hopejoyfaith@gmail.com) and let me know what's new with you! I'm sure you have a story or two to share! Send your updates my way, please! I'd love to hear about YOU!
Merry Christmas + Happy New Year!!
I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year's season and that you get to spend some quality time with loved ones and the Lover of your Soul (aka Jesus!!). I'll be spending Christmas and New Year's in a tent or a hostel, on a summer traveling adventure. Should be different, but good!
Well, that's enough from me for now.
Sending you my e-love and e-hugs,
Ali
2009-12-04
2009-11-08
Turkey Travel Team - Final Blog
Written by Clayton Neufeldt
Greetings all family, friends, and supporters:
Our apologies to all of you for the lateness of this blog, as we have been very busy and doing a lot of travelling as of late. We are currently in Istan-bul enjoying our last few days of debrief here in Turky. We are spending four days here before heading back to New Zealand on November fourth. Since arriving in Istan-bul, we have even been able to bring out all of our rain jackets and sweaters for the first time in Turky. It is safe to say we all would have gladly left our jackets un-used in the bottom of our bags.
Since our last blog, we have spent more time in Antalya, gone out east to Diyar-bikar, enjoyed the beauty of Cappad-ocia, and spent a week with a family in K0nya. It has been incredible how the father has guided all of our travels and kept us safe through many a late night bus adventure. So much has happened in these past weeks, but I will do my best to pick out some of the highlights and what the Father has been doing in and through us.
Our second week in Anta-lya was a significant change of pace for our team with Alison departing for a p@storal visit to Burrsa, and Jesse taking on the role of team leader. We moved out of P@ul and Le@’s apartment and spent the week in a hostel located near the city center. Basically our entire week was open to “Hizzy Spizzy” (H0ly 5pirit) style ministry in whatever form it came. Because of this open schedule, we all had very different experiences throughout the week, and a few of us developed some interesting sleeping schedules. Some definite highlights included Johnny and Clay sharing testimonies with some very open Slovenian tourists, and our relationship with a local pizza shop owner producing multiple 2am discussions about the Father and life in general. Eline especially enjoyed the week with a visit from her Dutch boyfriend, Nick, and her numerous fruit-full talks with Ezzra, a local woman who was saved but in desperate need of discipleship. Even with these and other significant relationships that were built, one of the biggest spiri-tual breakthroughs came in our own team. During the week we all found a new appreciation for spending time in the word and seeking the father first. We spent extra time becoming filled before overflowing to others.
Much to the surprise of the bus driver, travel agent, and our friends in Anta-lya, our next stop was in the far eastern city of Diyar-bakir. We quickly learned that this city had quite a reputation for Kurd-Turk conflicts and more Isl@mic extrmists. But despite all of the warnings and shocked responses, the Father showed himself to be with us right from the start. Even on the bus ride from Ant-alya we struck up a friendship with a local who showed us around and later came to the church for dinner. We spent the week staying at a prominent Trkish Chrch. There is an American couple on the leadership team that got us involved in the life of the chrch. We also had the pleasure of adding Kenny, Alison’s friend, to our team for the week. Our first few days in the city were largely spent with the chrch where we participated in their spring cleaning, children’s program, and pr@yer meetings. The last few days were spent doing more Hizzy Spizzy style ministry and were incredibly fruitful despite all of our warnings. We had wrship jam sessions in the park, met university students, and handed our tracts throughout town. All of these activities were met with genuine interest from locals, and the Father clearly led us to make multiple relationships in which we were able to share our faith and plant seeds to be watered. For many of us, including myself, Diyar-bakir felt much like Jonah’s Nineveh where we didn’t particularly want to go, but where we specifically felt the Father had called us. Our time in Diyar-bakir taught us to trust the Father even when others thought we were being foolish, and that the best place to be is in the Father’s will.
The last leg of our trip was split between backpacker minist-ry in Cappa-docia and staying with workers in Konya. We spent a short time of 3 days in Cappa-docia where we were awestruck by the Fathers creation and enjoyed it through hikes and mopeds. We were able to converse with a few other backpackers in the area but we were disappointed that we weren’t able to connect in a deeper way. We did, however, get to know a traveler from Italy and a few others in our hostel. Sickness also became a huge limiting factor for a few members of our team during this time.
That brings us to the last five days spent in the city of K0nya, where we were blessed to stay with a family of six from New Zealand. Thankfully, we once again enjoyed home cooked meals and tried to bless the workers in turn by spending time with their young children. The family is some of the only believers in the city, which is known for being the most religious place in Trkey and the centre of the “Mevl@na” sect of Isl@m. Our focus during this time was making relationships at the huge University on the outskirts of town. The father once again led us to make relationships in surprising ways. The guys were led to a young man named Joseph and through him a group of about 10 Trkish friends. We enjoyed getting to know them through football, computer games, and Trkish coffee. Personally, this was one of my favorite times in Turky as we spent three days in a row getting to know the group of students and being able to share some of our faith with them more naturally. The girls were also able to make friendships with some of the students on campus, and especially with the English director and her assistant with whom they met in the city as well for a meal and hanging out. Alison also had an open invitation to speak and share in the English classes, but unfortunately we had to leave this city before the next English class was happening. Our time in K0nya was the perfect way to finish out-reach satisfied and ready for debrief.
That brings us to our present debriefing in Istan-bul, and the end of our team’s minist-ry here in turky. On behalf of everyone on Turky Travel Team I would like to thank everyone who supported us, both through your prayers and donations. There is no way we could have been here without all of you, and our whole team would like to express heartfelt gratitude. The last few weeks have undoubtedly been a huge learning experience for us all, and we have seen the Father moving in tremendous ways inside the team and out. This was an experience, which I am sure none of us will forget and will shape both those we have met here, and our own walks with the Father.
- Clayton N & the rest of the TTT (Alison, Jonny G, Eline, Travis, Clay L, Jesse)
Greetings all family, friends, and supporters:
Our apologies to all of you for the lateness of this blog, as we have been very busy and doing a lot of travelling as of late. We are currently in Istan-bul enjoying our last few days of debrief here in Turky. We are spending four days here before heading back to New Zealand on November fourth. Since arriving in Istan-bul, we have even been able to bring out all of our rain jackets and sweaters for the first time in Turky. It is safe to say we all would have gladly left our jackets un-used in the bottom of our bags.
Since our last blog, we have spent more time in Antalya, gone out east to Diyar-bikar, enjoyed the beauty of Cappad-ocia, and spent a week with a family in K0nya. It has been incredible how the father has guided all of our travels and kept us safe through many a late night bus adventure. So much has happened in these past weeks, but I will do my best to pick out some of the highlights and what the Father has been doing in and through us.
Our second week in Anta-lya was a significant change of pace for our team with Alison departing for a p@storal visit to Burrsa, and Jesse taking on the role of team leader. We moved out of P@ul and Le@’s apartment and spent the week in a hostel located near the city center. Basically our entire week was open to “Hizzy Spizzy” (H0ly 5pirit) style ministry in whatever form it came. Because of this open schedule, we all had very different experiences throughout the week, and a few of us developed some interesting sleeping schedules. Some definite highlights included Johnny and Clay sharing testimonies with some very open Slovenian tourists, and our relationship with a local pizza shop owner producing multiple 2am discussions about the Father and life in general. Eline especially enjoyed the week with a visit from her Dutch boyfriend, Nick, and her numerous fruit-full talks with Ezzra, a local woman who was saved but in desperate need of discipleship. Even with these and other significant relationships that were built, one of the biggest spiri-tual breakthroughs came in our own team. During the week we all found a new appreciation for spending time in the word and seeking the father first. We spent extra time becoming filled before overflowing to others.
Much to the surprise of the bus driver, travel agent, and our friends in Anta-lya, our next stop was in the far eastern city of Diyar-bakir. We quickly learned that this city had quite a reputation for Kurd-Turk conflicts and more Isl@mic extrmists. But despite all of the warnings and shocked responses, the Father showed himself to be with us right from the start. Even on the bus ride from Ant-alya we struck up a friendship with a local who showed us around and later came to the church for dinner. We spent the week staying at a prominent Trkish Chrch. There is an American couple on the leadership team that got us involved in the life of the chrch. We also had the pleasure of adding Kenny, Alison’s friend, to our team for the week. Our first few days in the city were largely spent with the chrch where we participated in their spring cleaning, children’s program, and pr@yer meetings. The last few days were spent doing more Hizzy Spizzy style ministry and were incredibly fruitful despite all of our warnings. We had wrship jam sessions in the park, met university students, and handed our tracts throughout town. All of these activities were met with genuine interest from locals, and the Father clearly led us to make multiple relationships in which we were able to share our faith and plant seeds to be watered. For many of us, including myself, Diyar-bakir felt much like Jonah’s Nineveh where we didn’t particularly want to go, but where we specifically felt the Father had called us. Our time in Diyar-bakir taught us to trust the Father even when others thought we were being foolish, and that the best place to be is in the Father’s will.
The last leg of our trip was split between backpacker minist-ry in Cappa-docia and staying with workers in Konya. We spent a short time of 3 days in Cappa-docia where we were awestruck by the Fathers creation and enjoyed it through hikes and mopeds. We were able to converse with a few other backpackers in the area but we were disappointed that we weren’t able to connect in a deeper way. We did, however, get to know a traveler from Italy and a few others in our hostel. Sickness also became a huge limiting factor for a few members of our team during this time.
That brings us to the last five days spent in the city of K0nya, where we were blessed to stay with a family of six from New Zealand. Thankfully, we once again enjoyed home cooked meals and tried to bless the workers in turn by spending time with their young children. The family is some of the only believers in the city, which is known for being the most religious place in Trkey and the centre of the “Mevl@na” sect of Isl@m. Our focus during this time was making relationships at the huge University on the outskirts of town. The father once again led us to make relationships in surprising ways. The guys were led to a young man named Joseph and through him a group of about 10 Trkish friends. We enjoyed getting to know them through football, computer games, and Trkish coffee. Personally, this was one of my favorite times in Turky as we spent three days in a row getting to know the group of students and being able to share some of our faith with them more naturally. The girls were also able to make friendships with some of the students on campus, and especially with the English director and her assistant with whom they met in the city as well for a meal and hanging out. Alison also had an open invitation to speak and share in the English classes, but unfortunately we had to leave this city before the next English class was happening. Our time in K0nya was the perfect way to finish out-reach satisfied and ready for debrief.
That brings us to our present debriefing in Istan-bul, and the end of our team’s minist-ry here in turky. On behalf of everyone on Turky Travel Team I would like to thank everyone who supported us, both through your prayers and donations. There is no way we could have been here without all of you, and our whole team would like to express heartfelt gratitude. The last few weeks have undoubtedly been a huge learning experience for us all, and we have seen the Father moving in tremendous ways inside the team and out. This was an experience, which I am sure none of us will forget and will shape both those we have met here, and our own walks with the Father.
- Clayton N & the rest of the TTT (Alison, Jonny G, Eline, Travis, Clay L, Jesse)
Turkey Travel Team - Blog #3
From Clayton Neufeldt
Friends, Family, and supporters;
This is the blog for our third week in Trkey, which we spent in the city of Ant@lya on the southern coast. We arrived in Ant@lya via our second overnight bus from S0ke and experienced more than a few laughs as well as an incredible sunrise for those awake along the way. Our contact here, P@ul met us at the airport and brought us back to the apartment for some much-needed rest. For many of us, Ant@lya was almost too much to take in after spending the last week in the much small and more traditional S0ke. Ant@lya seemed very western in comparison and we all took notice of the Starbucks and Little Caesars Pizza along the drive to the apartment. Antalya is certainly a tourist city for a reason; it is an absolutely beautiful city with various beaches, shopping malls, and old ruins to keep visitors coming. The first night in town we got the treat of attending a pr@yer meeting with other workers in the area. This was a real blessing as we were able to have an amazing w0rship and 1ntercession time right at the beginning of our time here.
Back at our apartment, we were thrilled to experience some of Lea’s home cooked breakfasts and soon felt right at home. Breakfasts even included “biscuits and gravy” which was a much enjoyed first for myself. Our second day was spent going over some orientation for the rest of the week and other housekeeping issues. We were introduced to “P@ul’s Pl@ce” the cultural centre which would virtually become a second home for us. We were given a history of the centre, which now functions as a coffee house and provides a place for the Trkish, International, and Russian churches to meet. In the afternoon we split up to explore the city for a “scavenger hunt” where we met people in the city and tried to navigate the bus system. Johnny and Clay L, however, had a bit more of an adventurous night after taking a wrong bus.
In the mornings we continued to have our team meetings and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were able to meet in the sanctuary at P@ul’s Pl@ce. The only price for using the centre was eating a delicious lunch in their café, which soon became a favorite of ours regardless. The team time was much appreciated and we continued to w0rship, pr@y, and grow together as a team. The issues that inevitably come up in teams were successfully dealt with during this time and we became closer as we were forced to work out problems.
During afternoons we took part in a variety of different ministries. On Wednesday we were able to spend the afternoon out and about in the city making relationships and pr@ying for people. Some went down to the beach and managed to spend some time talking with a couple of Iranian men. Other went to the park and played worship music to attract listeners. Thursday afternoon our team met up with a worker here, Beky, to spend the day pr@yer walking. Beky is part of a vision called “Aw@ke Ant@lya” where the goal is to pr@yer walk around every town and suburb in the province of Ant@lya. We helped with this by pr@yer walking around a couple of different suburbs near the university. Pr@yer walking was a fairly new idea for many of us, but it was good to pr@y for an area that had most likely never been pr@yed for before and ask the Father to work there. We also enjoyed talking to Beky about her time here in Ant@lya and learning how the workers here operate.
Friday was a favorite day for many of us. We were finally able to more practically help workers here by doing some work around the house for a couple in town. The girls were a huge help cleaning inside while the guys did some landscaping and other jobs which the family needed done but never had time for. At lunch we were able to have a long talk with Briaan, the worker, who shared some awesome stories and good advice for short-term teams. During the evening we went back to P@ul’s Pl@ce for the Turk-ish Youth Service. It was cool to see how the Turk-ish people w0rship and preach, but of course we weren’t able to understand anything.
The weekend was less busy as we had a pretty open schedule. Saturday we attended a three hour Youth Reviva1 Service for the Tu-rkish Chrch. It was good for us to support them by attending, but just like the night before we weren’t able to understand a thing during the entire service. The service was different than many of us expected with the Tu-rkish Chrch being quite a conservative group. On Sunday Alison, Johnny, and myself had the pleasure of leading worship at the International Chrch in the morning. Monday was our free day and we spent the day resting and catching up with people back home. Much of our free time was spent swimming in the Mediterrane@n’s warm water or scouting and jumping off various cliff diving locations. We all appreciated the extra quiet time and resting up.
Our last day before we left the guys did some more practical work for the workers here. Some went to Paul’s Place and others to various locations around town. The girls had the day off and spent the time meeting some Tur-kish women in the evening. We savored our last night of Lea’s cooking and packed up to move the next day. Overall, the week was a big change from our last one in S0ke, but we did well to adapt quickly to the city. Once again, we were encouraged by the workers here, and able to serve and bless them in turn. The next week we are staying in Ant@lya but moving to a hostel in hopes of meeting tourists in the area.
Some specific Pr@yer requests we have for our team right now are:
-For Alison as she leaves for the next week to visit the other team in Bursa
-That our team would be able to make some meaningful relationships with English-speaking tourists in the area.
-For the workers here that they would not become burnt out, and would be able to see some significant breakthrough in the city
-For our health and safety throughout our travels
Thank you so much for all our your thoughts, pr@yers, and support; they are very much appreciated.
-TTT
Friends, Family, and supporters;
This is the blog for our third week in Trkey, which we spent in the city of Ant@lya on the southern coast. We arrived in Ant@lya via our second overnight bus from S0ke and experienced more than a few laughs as well as an incredible sunrise for those awake along the way. Our contact here, P@ul met us at the airport and brought us back to the apartment for some much-needed rest. For many of us, Ant@lya was almost too much to take in after spending the last week in the much small and more traditional S0ke. Ant@lya seemed very western in comparison and we all took notice of the Starbucks and Little Caesars Pizza along the drive to the apartment. Antalya is certainly a tourist city for a reason; it is an absolutely beautiful city with various beaches, shopping malls, and old ruins to keep visitors coming. The first night in town we got the treat of attending a pr@yer meeting with other workers in the area. This was a real blessing as we were able to have an amazing w0rship and 1ntercession time right at the beginning of our time here.
Back at our apartment, we were thrilled to experience some of Lea’s home cooked breakfasts and soon felt right at home. Breakfasts even included “biscuits and gravy” which was a much enjoyed first for myself. Our second day was spent going over some orientation for the rest of the week and other housekeeping issues. We were introduced to “P@ul’s Pl@ce” the cultural centre which would virtually become a second home for us. We were given a history of the centre, which now functions as a coffee house and provides a place for the Trkish, International, and Russian churches to meet. In the afternoon we split up to explore the city for a “scavenger hunt” where we met people in the city and tried to navigate the bus system. Johnny and Clay L, however, had a bit more of an adventurous night after taking a wrong bus.
In the mornings we continued to have our team meetings and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were able to meet in the sanctuary at P@ul’s Pl@ce. The only price for using the centre was eating a delicious lunch in their café, which soon became a favorite of ours regardless. The team time was much appreciated and we continued to w0rship, pr@y, and grow together as a team. The issues that inevitably come up in teams were successfully dealt with during this time and we became closer as we were forced to work out problems.
During afternoons we took part in a variety of different ministries. On Wednesday we were able to spend the afternoon out and about in the city making relationships and pr@ying for people. Some went down to the beach and managed to spend some time talking with a couple of Iranian men. Other went to the park and played worship music to attract listeners. Thursday afternoon our team met up with a worker here, Beky, to spend the day pr@yer walking. Beky is part of a vision called “Aw@ke Ant@lya” where the goal is to pr@yer walk around every town and suburb in the province of Ant@lya. We helped with this by pr@yer walking around a couple of different suburbs near the university. Pr@yer walking was a fairly new idea for many of us, but it was good to pr@y for an area that had most likely never been pr@yed for before and ask the Father to work there. We also enjoyed talking to Beky about her time here in Ant@lya and learning how the workers here operate.
Friday was a favorite day for many of us. We were finally able to more practically help workers here by doing some work around the house for a couple in town. The girls were a huge help cleaning inside while the guys did some landscaping and other jobs which the family needed done but never had time for. At lunch we were able to have a long talk with Briaan, the worker, who shared some awesome stories and good advice for short-term teams. During the evening we went back to P@ul’s Pl@ce for the Turk-ish Youth Service. It was cool to see how the Turk-ish people w0rship and preach, but of course we weren’t able to understand anything.
The weekend was less busy as we had a pretty open schedule. Saturday we attended a three hour Youth Reviva1 Service for the Tu-rkish Chrch. It was good for us to support them by attending, but just like the night before we weren’t able to understand a thing during the entire service. The service was different than many of us expected with the Tu-rkish Chrch being quite a conservative group. On Sunday Alison, Johnny, and myself had the pleasure of leading worship at the International Chrch in the morning. Monday was our free day and we spent the day resting and catching up with people back home. Much of our free time was spent swimming in the Mediterrane@n’s warm water or scouting and jumping off various cliff diving locations. We all appreciated the extra quiet time and resting up.
Our last day before we left the guys did some more practical work for the workers here. Some went to Paul’s Place and others to various locations around town. The girls had the day off and spent the time meeting some Tur-kish women in the evening. We savored our last night of Lea’s cooking and packed up to move the next day. Overall, the week was a big change from our last one in S0ke, but we did well to adapt quickly to the city. Once again, we were encouraged by the workers here, and able to serve and bless them in turn. The next week we are staying in Ant@lya but moving to a hostel in hopes of meeting tourists in the area.
Some specific Pr@yer requests we have for our team right now are:
-For Alison as she leaves for the next week to visit the other team in Bursa
-That our team would be able to make some meaningful relationships with English-speaking tourists in the area.
-For the workers here that they would not become burnt out, and would be able to see some significant breakthrough in the city
-For our health and safety throughout our travels
Thank you so much for all our your thoughts, pr@yers, and support; they are very much appreciated.
-TTT
Turkey Travel Team - Blog #2
From Jonny G:
Hey everybody. This is our blog from week #2.
Saturday we had a short orientation and went over the schedule of the week with our new contacts. The majority of the day was spent preparing for the next day, which was the end of R@madan celebrations as well as the church service. That night we heard the sound of the m0sques at sunset signaling the end of R@madan. The streets went totally quiet as everyone hurried inside to gorge himself. Ironically, though no one eats from sunrise to sunset, 60% more food is consumed during the month of R@madan. Sunday we did many house visits. The celebration called B@yram is like Christm@s/Th@nksgiving/H@lloween. Families reunite from all over the country as they feast at the end of a day of door-to-door candy collecting. It was incredible to go into a city as short-termers and go straight into the Mus1im households to talk as friends with them. These workers have been laying their lives down to build these foundations for years and we were able to just walk in there and experience and build upon it. But, the Trks are incredibly hospitable and every single household we went into was armed with tea/coffee and biscuits/baklava. None of us ever thought we would be tired of baklava until then…The original intention was to hold the chrch service in the evening the service is based on the schedule of the people, who were spending the day with their families, so we had to just cancel the service altogether.
The atmosphere in S0ke was different than the other two cities. It is not a tourist town at all. One man of sixty we met had never even left the city and most people, when we told them we were staying in S0ke for nine days, gave us a big fat “What! Why?” We were having a very cultural experience as we stayed with two workers, one from Germ@ny (Hug0) and his wife from Urugu@y (M@ria). We are also getting a very good picture of Trkish customs and values in the house visits. It was also very interesting to just see how you greet, serve, and converse with guests.
Monday was a highlight of most of our lives. We took a bus to go see the ancient city of Ephesus and the burial place of the Apostle John. The historical relevance for us is obvious; we will never read the Bib1e the same; just seeing the places where the Apostle Paul walked and wrote much of the Bib1e NT letters was an experience that you can only know by experience. Ephesus took a full three hours to explore, as it was a center of trade and re1igion for centuries and is still remarkably large and well kept. There used to be a cathedral over 5t. John’s grave, not five minutes from Ephesus, but it is long since fallen into ruins. There is a castle as well, though we were not able to go in. After a morning of exploring and pondering, it was nice when we went to a beach town called Kush@disi on the Aege@n coast to spend the rest of the afternoon playing in the sea and laying in the sun. The following day was spent doing work projects on the chrch and visits to more friends. We feel it is so valuable to help the existing workers by doing more work in one day than they could do in a month and by building relationships with their friends.
Another day we hired a bakery to bring their dough and some hot oil and make doughnuts in the park for us. As we passed out free doughnuts, we also handed them a piece of paper with, for many people, their first ever scrıpture. Over 500 people came that day. After that we were able to experience the local market, which had most everyone in the town there. It was a huge canopy under which there were hundreds of little shops with everything you would ever want to buy…. we were able to practice the art of haggling and get a weeks worth of groceries for less than the daily cost of eating in restaurants.
Thursday we spent the day working at the chrch and doing home visits. We went to the poor part of town and were saddened by the way people had to live. We met a man who shared his testimony with us and we pryed for him. We planned on going to meet the Mus1im men that we had first met on Friday. We went to the Christi@n women’s house (the one who had just been converted). We shared our testimonies with them and others who had arrived, about ten in all. We also had a time of w0rship and spent time in pr@yer for the people in the room. I believe that the L0rd used us to plant seeds that night…
On the last days we were able to paint the children’s room in the chrch, put in a gutter system on the roof, do some landscaping, build a cover for the baptismal, and bless and pr@y for the workers. The last day we did the chrch service and had a sausage sizzle (BBQ) all together. They actually had bratwurst brought over from Germ@ny to cook with! For all of us, any pork is a huge treat.
It is amazing how we have started to assimilate to the culture. Most of the time we don’t even notice the five-time-a-day pr@yer call, our mannerisms and gestures are becoming more Trkish, and other things that at first seemed totally foreign and different are becoming more comfortable. As we learn more about this culture with our own, we are able to view our own culture with a more critical eye and compare the underlying assumptions of our own cultures and the Trkish culture against the Bib1e.
We as a team have taken some key steps to enjoying each other, making sacrifices, serving, and using our giftings to contribute to the group and the work being done. We also did some real bonding in the Hamams (Trkısh bath house!!). The guys went on Wednesday and the ladies on Saturday. If you don’t know what this is, Google it. It was just amazing. We also value our morning team devotions very much as we are able to pr@y for each other, wrship, do a devotion, and intercede every day. It is also just a time to debrief and tell what we are feeling and how we are doing.
Overall, these 9 days ın Soke have been a time of two-way encouragement between our team and the workers. They are simply inspirational in their commitment in the long-haul and we were able to bless them with our pr@yers and work. Thank you for your prayers and support. Love and blessings!
-TTT
Hey everybody. This is our blog from week #2.
Saturday we had a short orientation and went over the schedule of the week with our new contacts. The majority of the day was spent preparing for the next day, which was the end of R@madan celebrations as well as the church service. That night we heard the sound of the m0sques at sunset signaling the end of R@madan. The streets went totally quiet as everyone hurried inside to gorge himself. Ironically, though no one eats from sunrise to sunset, 60% more food is consumed during the month of R@madan. Sunday we did many house visits. The celebration called B@yram is like Christm@s/Th@nksgiving/H@lloween. Families reunite from all over the country as they feast at the end of a day of door-to-door candy collecting. It was incredible to go into a city as short-termers and go straight into the Mus1im households to talk as friends with them. These workers have been laying their lives down to build these foundations for years and we were able to just walk in there and experience and build upon it. But, the Trks are incredibly hospitable and every single household we went into was armed with tea/coffee and biscuits/baklava. None of us ever thought we would be tired of baklava until then…The original intention was to hold the chrch service in the evening the service is based on the schedule of the people, who were spending the day with their families, so we had to just cancel the service altogether.
The atmosphere in S0ke was different than the other two cities. It is not a tourist town at all. One man of sixty we met had never even left the city and most people, when we told them we were staying in S0ke for nine days, gave us a big fat “What! Why?” We were having a very cultural experience as we stayed with two workers, one from Germ@ny (Hug0) and his wife from Urugu@y (M@ria). We are also getting a very good picture of Trkish customs and values in the house visits. It was also very interesting to just see how you greet, serve, and converse with guests.
Monday was a highlight of most of our lives. We took a bus to go see the ancient city of Ephesus and the burial place of the Apostle John. The historical relevance for us is obvious; we will never read the Bib1e the same; just seeing the places where the Apostle Paul walked and wrote much of the Bib1e NT letters was an experience that you can only know by experience. Ephesus took a full three hours to explore, as it was a center of trade and re1igion for centuries and is still remarkably large and well kept. There used to be a cathedral over 5t. John’s grave, not five minutes from Ephesus, but it is long since fallen into ruins. There is a castle as well, though we were not able to go in. After a morning of exploring and pondering, it was nice when we went to a beach town called Kush@disi on the Aege@n coast to spend the rest of the afternoon playing in the sea and laying in the sun. The following day was spent doing work projects on the chrch and visits to more friends. We feel it is so valuable to help the existing workers by doing more work in one day than they could do in a month and by building relationships with their friends.
Another day we hired a bakery to bring their dough and some hot oil and make doughnuts in the park for us. As we passed out free doughnuts, we also handed them a piece of paper with, for many people, their first ever scrıpture. Over 500 people came that day. After that we were able to experience the local market, which had most everyone in the town there. It was a huge canopy under which there were hundreds of little shops with everything you would ever want to buy…. we were able to practice the art of haggling and get a weeks worth of groceries for less than the daily cost of eating in restaurants.
Thursday we spent the day working at the chrch and doing home visits. We went to the poor part of town and were saddened by the way people had to live. We met a man who shared his testimony with us and we pryed for him. We planned on going to meet the Mus1im men that we had first met on Friday. We went to the Christi@n women’s house (the one who had just been converted). We shared our testimonies with them and others who had arrived, about ten in all. We also had a time of w0rship and spent time in pr@yer for the people in the room. I believe that the L0rd used us to plant seeds that night…
On the last days we were able to paint the children’s room in the chrch, put in a gutter system on the roof, do some landscaping, build a cover for the baptismal, and bless and pr@y for the workers. The last day we did the chrch service and had a sausage sizzle (BBQ) all together. They actually had bratwurst brought over from Germ@ny to cook with! For all of us, any pork is a huge treat.
It is amazing how we have started to assimilate to the culture. Most of the time we don’t even notice the five-time-a-day pr@yer call, our mannerisms and gestures are becoming more Trkish, and other things that at first seemed totally foreign and different are becoming more comfortable. As we learn more about this culture with our own, we are able to view our own culture with a more critical eye and compare the underlying assumptions of our own cultures and the Trkish culture against the Bib1e.
We as a team have taken some key steps to enjoying each other, making sacrifices, serving, and using our giftings to contribute to the group and the work being done. We also did some real bonding in the Hamams (Trkısh bath house!!). The guys went on Wednesday and the ladies on Saturday. If you don’t know what this is, Google it. It was just amazing. We also value our morning team devotions very much as we are able to pr@y for each other, wrship, do a devotion, and intercede every day. It is also just a time to debrief and tell what we are feeling and how we are doing.
Overall, these 9 days ın Soke have been a time of two-way encouragement between our team and the workers. They are simply inspirational in their commitment in the long-haul and we were able to bless them with our pr@yers and work. Thank you for your prayers and support. Love and blessings!
-TTT
Turkey Travel Team - Blog #1
From: Jonathan G
Hello Everyone from Turkey!! MERHABA! (Hello ın Turkısh!)
I will be giving the updates for our team during the next two months. It has been so amazing already and we are only one week in!
Last weekend we spent three days of travel. Saturday we flew to Auckland for an overnight stay before flying 11 ½ hours flying to S-eoul, Korea for the second overnight stay. That was the craziest 20 hours I have ever experienced. An early evening arrival took us to our complimentary hotel, which, for most of us, was the best hotel we have ever stayed in. An unbelievable dinner with unlimited seafood and espresso was good fuel for the night to come. After oo-ing and aw-ing over the heated toilet seats and automated rooms we left for a crazy night on the town, including an extended visit to the pr*yer room of Yoi*do Full Gos*pel Ch*rch, the largest ch*rch in the world with 830,000 members. Since we were traveling with the other T-urkey Team, most of us stayed out all night, before returning for breakfast, which was the best meal I have ever eaten, other than dinner the night before, of course.
I go into so much detail to try to communicate the shock we had when a twelve-hour flight the following day took us to I-stanbul, T-urkey, Midd1e East. It was contrast if there ever was such a thing. But we loved it! After most of us have spent two winters in a row playing in the snow, we found the humid Mediterranean weather pretty hot. Even on the drive from the airport to our little hostel not far from the bridge from Europe to Asia, we could see the remains of millennia of empires in the buildings and architecture…kind of reminded me of home. NOT!
Our first few days we met with some of the existing workers there. We had a two-day orientation and did some work in a very religi0us sector of the city passing out g0spel tracts and pr@ying for people. The workers here are so amazing. They are so outnumbered and so overwhelmed but they just walk in love in wisdom, pouring out their lives for the people and are seeing fruit. They are truly an inspiration. We also did some pr@yer walks and I went inside a m0sque during the evening pr@yer time to do warfare.
After four days in I-stanbul, we left on a night bus to Ch@nakalle, the first leg of the trip to S0eke. We were only able to spend one day there, so we went to see the ruins of Tr0y, which was really an amazing experience. Reading the history, seeing the ancient aqueducts and seeing how they lived life was quite an experience for all of us. While there, we met a backpacker from England named Louie. We ended up showing him where we were staying and taking him out to dinner. He was a really cool guy. Clayton N. and I also had a good long talk with a Mu5lim man at a grocery store and were able to share the G0spel with him. We concluded by exhorting each other to seek truth and gave each other a copy of our H0*LY B00KS.
I think we are all over jet lag now and would agree that the highlight of our trip was our first day here in S0eke, a town of 100,000 of which only five are belie*vers. After an eight hour bus ride down the beautiful Aegean coastline, past the regions where the ch*rches of Perg@mum and Smyrn@ were located, we arrived to meet with two amazing co-workers, Hugo and Maria, who have been here for three years. After an amazing home-cooked meal and a walking tour of the city, we returned to the L*rd’s Home where there were waiting for us four people: three Mu5lim men and a very recent sister. We saw it as a fun opportunity to talk with some locals and maybe share our testimony, but what we did not realize was our co-workers had been building relationship with these people for months and this was a pivotal point for them. The recent sister was married to one of the men. One of the other men had recently had a vision in which he had met and spoke with the L*rd! Now the woman and these three men were here to ask questions about G*d. We were able to share a couple testimonies, lead a w0rship session, and read passages in the Book together. It was incredible! What was intended to be a relaxed night of resting had turned into an amazing work of the 5pirit.
Spiritu@lly we have been under attack but through that I have been seeing tangible growth in our team as we have seen the issues and confront them in a spirit of pr@yer and humility. It is very dark here, especially as we have been here during the last week of R@madan. Tonight we heard the final pr@yer call and release to eat, as well as the sound of silence in the streets as everybody rushed inside to gorge themselves in the beginning of the feasts. But we are ever growing closer as a team and learning to work together in decision-making and encouragement. I am pretty sure we have the best team ever…
If you are pr@ying for us, we have some requests. Pr@y that we would:
-Have wisdom on where to go for the remainder of our trip
-Continue to grow in love and unity as a family
-Be affective in our mini5try in such a dark land
-Stay healthy and injury free
-Have wisdom on how to handle our finances and provision for all our needs
Thank you so much for you prayer and support!
-TTT (Turkey Travel Team) - Alıson, Elıne, Jonny G, Travıs, Clay N, Clay L, Jesse
Hello Everyone from Turkey!! MERHABA! (Hello ın Turkısh!)
I will be giving the updates for our team during the next two months. It has been so amazing already and we are only one week in!
Last weekend we spent three days of travel. Saturday we flew to Auckland for an overnight stay before flying 11 ½ hours flying to S-eoul, Korea for the second overnight stay. That was the craziest 20 hours I have ever experienced. An early evening arrival took us to our complimentary hotel, which, for most of us, was the best hotel we have ever stayed in. An unbelievable dinner with unlimited seafood and espresso was good fuel for the night to come. After oo-ing and aw-ing over the heated toilet seats and automated rooms we left for a crazy night on the town, including an extended visit to the pr*yer room of Yoi*do Full Gos*pel Ch*rch, the largest ch*rch in the world with 830,000 members. Since we were traveling with the other T-urkey Team, most of us stayed out all night, before returning for breakfast, which was the best meal I have ever eaten, other than dinner the night before, of course.
I go into so much detail to try to communicate the shock we had when a twelve-hour flight the following day took us to I-stanbul, T-urkey, Midd1e East. It was contrast if there ever was such a thing. But we loved it! After most of us have spent two winters in a row playing in the snow, we found the humid Mediterranean weather pretty hot. Even on the drive from the airport to our little hostel not far from the bridge from Europe to Asia, we could see the remains of millennia of empires in the buildings and architecture…kind of reminded me of home. NOT!
Our first few days we met with some of the existing workers there. We had a two-day orientation and did some work in a very religi0us sector of the city passing out g0spel tracts and pr@ying for people. The workers here are so amazing. They are so outnumbered and so overwhelmed but they just walk in love in wisdom, pouring out their lives for the people and are seeing fruit. They are truly an inspiration. We also did some pr@yer walks and I went inside a m0sque during the evening pr@yer time to do warfare.
After four days in I-stanbul, we left on a night bus to Ch@nakalle, the first leg of the trip to S0eke. We were only able to spend one day there, so we went to see the ruins of Tr0y, which was really an amazing experience. Reading the history, seeing the ancient aqueducts and seeing how they lived life was quite an experience for all of us. While there, we met a backpacker from England named Louie. We ended up showing him where we were staying and taking him out to dinner. He was a really cool guy. Clayton N. and I also had a good long talk with a Mu5lim man at a grocery store and were able to share the G0spel with him. We concluded by exhorting each other to seek truth and gave each other a copy of our H0*LY B00KS.
I think we are all over jet lag now and would agree that the highlight of our trip was our first day here in S0eke, a town of 100,000 of which only five are belie*vers. After an eight hour bus ride down the beautiful Aegean coastline, past the regions where the ch*rches of Perg@mum and Smyrn@ were located, we arrived to meet with two amazing co-workers, Hugo and Maria, who have been here for three years. After an amazing home-cooked meal and a walking tour of the city, we returned to the L*rd’s Home where there were waiting for us four people: three Mu5lim men and a very recent sister. We saw it as a fun opportunity to talk with some locals and maybe share our testimony, but what we did not realize was our co-workers had been building relationship with these people for months and this was a pivotal point for them. The recent sister was married to one of the men. One of the other men had recently had a vision in which he had met and spoke with the L*rd! Now the woman and these three men were here to ask questions about G*d. We were able to share a couple testimonies, lead a w0rship session, and read passages in the Book together. It was incredible! What was intended to be a relaxed night of resting had turned into an amazing work of the 5pirit.
Spiritu@lly we have been under attack but through that I have been seeing tangible growth in our team as we have seen the issues and confront them in a spirit of pr@yer and humility. It is very dark here, especially as we have been here during the last week of R@madan. Tonight we heard the final pr@yer call and release to eat, as well as the sound of silence in the streets as everybody rushed inside to gorge themselves in the beginning of the feasts. But we are ever growing closer as a team and learning to work together in decision-making and encouragement. I am pretty sure we have the best team ever…
If you are pr@ying for us, we have some requests. Pr@y that we would:
-Have wisdom on where to go for the remainder of our trip
-Continue to grow in love and unity as a family
-Be affective in our mini5try in such a dark land
-Stay healthy and injury free
-Have wisdom on how to handle our finances and provision for all our needs
Thank you so much for you prayer and support!
-TTT (Turkey Travel Team) - Alıson, Elıne, Jonny G, Travıs, Clay N, Clay L, Jesse
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