Day One

I am the same yesterday, today, and forever...the alpha & omega...God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...I am with you wherever you go.

These words came to my mind as I was chatting with one of the women I am working with here. I was listening to her tell me of her life, her God-ordained and recent marriage to a wonderful man, and to her dreams of the future. All difference of language, culture, and circumstance were stripped away as I saw in her what I know in myself: humanity. We grew up in completely different places, barely spoke the same language, yet we share an incredible kinship in that we have desires for our lives, people we love and have been impacted by, responsibilities that keep us grounded and our heads not quite completely out of the clouds, and most significantly a faith that keeps us grounded in our Savior. Elementary discovery, I know; but when you are thousands of miles from everything you know to be familiar and comfortable such similarities are more than comforting, they are faith-building. Our God is BIG. And man does He love us!

Speaking of love - that could be the only thing that could have caused the Lord to provide for me as He did on my 17 hour trip over here. You hear stories of the little (or big) miracles that people experience getting through tough spots...well my day was full of them! I wont list them all, but some of the most important. First, my friend Brittany was there at the very beginning to guide me through the intimidating steps of Seattle International flights. Thank you! I stumbled across a neglected luggage buggy which made my walk much quicker and more pleasant! On the flight to Turkey I was given a middle seat on a completely packed flight, which would have been very hard to sleep in to prepare for jet lag! Last minute the attendants went out of their way to switch me to an aisle seat - for those of you that have flown you know how much of a comfort this is! I sat next to a very sweet Turkish woman whose outgoing personality instantly relieved my uneasiness of going to an unknown culture.

Upon arriving at O'Hare I began looking for a way to get to my terminal, not worried as I had 3 hours to locate it. That surety should have prepared me instantly No one at that airport aparrently checked to make sure their directional signs were even close to accurate and time began to tick away as I was no closer to my gate. Praise the Lord, without even a question needing to be asked for directions I was drawn into a little group of complete strangers who were all trying desperately to get to Terminal 5 before our plane(s) left. Two hours, a wheelchair, a tram ride, and lots of walking later with only enough time to call my family left - I made it to my flight!

One particular blessing happened at the bookstore. As I was going about my duties I heard a very familiar voice come on over the radio - my perplexed look turned to a smile when I realised it was my very own home radio station based out of good ol' Walla Walla coming out of the speakers! A little touch of home that made me feel much better than it should have. :) God is with me no matter where I go. His word is being spread in Turkey - I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my ears!

In short, my bags all made it to the baggage claim, complete strangers offered assistance when I needed it, my host made it on time through incredibly congested traffic and we have had a wonderful time ever since! I have a cocker spaniel roommate and two lovely Turkish coworkers who are not delaying on my Turkish language lessons. So tesekkur ederim (thank you) to you all for your prayers! Please keep my friend Bri in mind as she is also in the midst of her travels as well. Gunaydin!

The Diagnosis

"Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: that we can, if we let God have His way, come to share in the life of Christ. If we do, we shall then be sharing a life which was begotten, not made, which always existed and always will exist. Christ is the Son of God. If we share in this kind of life we also shall be sons of God. We shall love the Father as He does and the Holy Ghost will arise in us. He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has - by what I call 'good infection'. Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else." - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 177.

Becoming a part of something bigger, Someone bigger, this is the most we as humans can aspire to, although we often seek out other avenues. Lewis writes that those who share in the life of Christ become a part of something already established, that they are grafted into a, growing, thriving vine. In his gospel John calls this "abiding," taking on the identity of a child of the King and forsaking who we used to be.

Throughout the past few months the Lord has been illuminating my darkened understanding of my new reality as His child, patiently revealing the sweet promises He offers to those who die to themselves. By choosing Christ so many years ago I gave permission for an invasion of my soul - an infection so complete and final that it will continue to consume me until there is nothing left of the "me" I used to know.

So completely has this infection overtaken the hearts of His followers that it must be spread to others, passed on to those who will receive it. Don't worry - it is a good infection. It brings life where life as I would live it on my own brings death. How, when, where, or to whom it is spread is determined not by the one who carries it, but the One with whom it originates.

So my travels have always begun - by the guiding hand of my God, who is once again leading me to another culture and people and country. I will be leaving tomorrow for the beautiful and unknown land of Turkey to act upon the desires He has placed in my heart to serve His people. It is incredible how the Lord has provided all to place me on this path. He instilled in my own heart and the heart of a friend to go overseas to serve specifically this summer, which led us to plan a trip together to we-knew-not-where. Divine circumstances landed us, what seemed very last minute for such an in-depth trip, in a country we both knew next to nothing about with people we had never before heard of. Plans quickly fell into place and Bri and I are on our way to fulfill lifelong dreams! Many minute details along the way have been faithfully provided for by the Lord and His people, for which I am so grateful.

Throughout my trip, which will be a total of 5.5 weeks, I will be updating this site with happenings, stories, and (hopefully) pictures. I will soon have more up on the details of where I will be and what Bri and I will be doing. I would love to hear from you, but I ask that extreme discretion is taken in what is written. For example, please use the title "workers" when referring to who I am with in Turkey. Personal names other than my own are best not used. Thank you!

As I ponder what is to come about in the next 24 hours my heart is overwhelmed with what has ocurred over the last few months thanks to those who have loved and supported me so devotedly. My family for loving and relasing me, friends for continued prayers and support, and others who simply took an interest in my life and acted on it. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for making this possible & for serving the Lord in this way. I covet your prayers as Bri and I head into unfamiliar territory for us and all that goes along with that! Please pray we will be used as the Lord sees fit, that we would yield to His will and not our own, and that we would be open to learning. Also please lift up those we will be assisting and serving during our stay. The Lord is already working and will finish what He began. Again, thank you! You are in my prayers!