Newsletter Update - October 2013
Life is going pretty good here. I have survived two "typhoons", a week of oral tests which I was given no instructions on how to grade, three lessons I made up off the top of my head because I was given the wrong pages, and the Father has given me an amazing friendship! Yes, teaching is hard, but I love the people here so much that it is worth it. I know the Father is with me and He is going to do something special this year! I have an amazing friend who lives in my apartment complex. She is an older woman that I exercise with every morning at 6am, has been a blessing to me from the Father.... Read moreNewsletter Update - September 2013
Well, I am now on my third week of teaching! Thank you all for keeping me in mind. I got a new children's class and they are angels compared to the other class. In fact, I have to lock my classroom door because the students I previously had roam the halls during class time and peek in through the door. My other classes are going pretty well. I am still getting the hang of making lessons fun while also having the students learn. It is a skill to balance the two. I have been slowly adjusting to this culture. I like it here very much. I love the people, I love the food, and the weather isn't too... Read moreNewsletter Update - August 2013
We finally moved into our apartment last Monday after living in a hotel for almost two weeks. It is more beautiful than I ever thought. The Father provided so graciously. It was truly He who gave us what we have. A friend of our directors who is well-connected was able to get us an apartment in her complex. We are on the 14th floor! The view and the breeze are wonderful! Through living here, we are becoming closer to the lady who helped us and her heart is being opened! It is so exciting to see and it has only been a week since we moved in! I also had three demonstration classes this last... Read more
Hope
A week ago, myself and the other workers I'm here in Turkey with went up to an ancient castle that overlooks the city of Izmir. As we looked down on about 4 millions people, hardly any of whom have heard the Gospel, I started to feel a bit overwhelmed. My desire is to see this city that was once Smyrna return to Jesus, but...4 million people. As we prayed over the city, however, the Lord took away my hopelessness and reminded me that he is in control, and all I have to do is be faithful. He also brought to mind two Turks whom I have had the priviledge in my short time here of seeing... Read more
Football In Turkey
In my last post, I wrote about the calling God has placed on my life and how he brought me to Turkey by combining my love for the unreached with my love for football. I've been in the country nearly five months now, and that I'm able to use both these passions right out of college is still a little bit surreal to me. I thought my football playing days were done, but to have the opportunity to compete again is an incredible blessing and one I am not taking for granted at all. I'm cherishing every moment this time around, and really loving every aspect of being back in the game, even the... Read more
January 2014 Update
The beginning of many things! F3llowship: We have been enjoying the time spent together with the like minded people from our community. They have been a source of encouragement and fun for us. This month we decided to invite them after our meeting to come to our apartment and spend the afternoon together. It was a lovely time filled with food, laughter and games. Experiencing the culture The director of our school invited us to taste a traditional meal called "Bishbarmak". This dish is consisted of a wide flat pasta, potatoes, onions and horse meat. That's right friends, horse meat. It was... Read more
Vacation
Hi everyone, Here is a little update for all of you. Throughout the STINT year, we get two weeks of vacation time, so my teammates and I decided to vacation for one week on a tourist island called Koh Lanta in Thailand. We chose to vacation here because we have our Midyear conference coming up in ChiangMai, Thailand so we decided to come early with some of the other STINT teams and vacation here with them. Thailand isn't one of the cleanest places in the world and several people have gotten sick so I just wanted to ask everyone to be praying for all of us here as we recover, rejuvenate, rest... Read moreQuestions
I knew when I made this two year commitment that I should expect the unexpected...if that's even possible. And after not even four months of being here,so much has been shaken up in my life. This isn't bad; it's actually a really good thing. But it's challenging. I chose to write about this for today because I want to make an effort to not distract myself from the difficulty of facing what is happening. Here's a list of thought topics I've had lately: exclusivity of the kingdom of God?socioeconomic/social statusprivilegeracebiasmasculinity/femininitystandards of Godgrace and mercychristian... Read more