In the past year, I have learned that sitting in questions is a good and freeing thing. And sitting in questions with the Lord is a redeeming thing. There were many hard questions that filled my mind in 2017 about the world, the Lord, myself, and the Church. One question that I asked myself a lot was whether the decision to move to here was the best choice.
God gave me reminder after reminder of why it was, but of course, in my human fraility, I doubted. After the visa trouble, I almost decided to stay home. But the Lord pushed me and now I am here.
Well, as I sit here now 6 months in, I can say with full confidence that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. The Lord is working here in incredible ways!
I experience "a moment" every day as I walk home from my language sessions. On the street we live on, there's a beautiful view of the famous waterway in our city. I look out at that and always think to myself "I am living the dream." I am so happy here! Since being here, I have never doubted my placement. My energy to engage with this culture and the people here is at a high and I want to thank you for making that possible through your prayer and support!
involvement & prayer.
- Language: I am still studying 31 hours a week. Yes, it is exhausting, but I have seen so much growth in my comprehension and conversational skills. Every day I study for 4-5 hours by myself and then do 2 hours with a language helper; a Turk that I converse with who also corrects my grammar and vocabulary. Again, it is VERY exhausting and hard, but the little triumphs are what keep my roommates and I going! Prayer for energy and encouragement throughout my language weeks is so helpful for me! I can feel it when ya'll pray!
- Tea House: I am still spending my Saturdays with our Tea House ministry. I am obsessed friends! It is always the highlight of my week. After a week of studying, it is so fun to laugh with the refugees, help prepare their food with our sweet cook, Meryem, and serve with the lovely people on my team! Prayer for protection for this ministry would be appreciated as well as prayer for intentional conversation to spark about the Gospel!
- Alpha: I am trying to get more involved at my church here. They are doing the 10 week alpha course that helps you explore your faith and ask tough QUESTIONS to the Lord about life, faith, and meaning. Every Friday, we eat dinner together, watch a 20min video about the course and the question for the week, then split up into groups. My group is not only filled with believers, but converted Muslims, and practicing Muslims who are interested in exploring the Christian faith. Two women in the group, İnci and Aynur, have recently converted, and two men, Gürkan and Harun are exploring. I feel so blessed by this experience because I am seeing the questions that Gürkan and Harun are asking and the way İnci and Aynur are choosing to respond. They are asking tough questions, and I feel that I am learning new ways of how to partner alongside Muslim friends as God leads them to a season of questioning. Our group is wonderful, and your prayer for our questioning friends is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your prayers and support! Again, since I am so far away from ya'll, it's hard to be updated on everything going on, so make sure to update me and let me know how I can be praying for you as well! Hope your year is starting off wonderfully!