Fluffy Food

 

I went to my Turkish family's house for tea and they excitedly presented something they had bought at the fair on a plate.  "Is this food or a small animal?" I thought, but didn't say.  "It's chocolate flavored," I was assured.  All I said was, "I've never seen anything like this before.  I have to take a picture."  They laughed.  I pulled out a few strands with my fork and tasted it.  Much like cotton candy, but more delicious.  

Snow

    The first snow of the year came.  It was was beautiful.  Here's the view from my kitchen window.

    On that day I forgave a friend, and was forgiven by one.  His mercies are new every morning.  The rain is melting the snow away now.  But more will come.




Here's the park I walk through to get to my house.





These reminded me that Christmas is coming!
I'm glad to be here for the holidays.  Things are different but it's good.

Christmas Cookies!

     In the spirit of keeping old traditions from my family alive and creating my own new ones here, my roommate and I invited our friends over to decorate Christmas cookies.  We had the ingredients to make dough and frosting but I have not found a place you can buy food coloring here yet, and I didn't bring any, on purpose actually.  Sprinkles are also hard to find.  I wanted to try to make some on my own so I researched it on the internet and found so recipes for various colors.  I boiled a purple cabbage for hours and ended up with some purple liquid that I mixed with sugar and made some very pretty light purple sprinkles.  Pomegranate juice got us reddish-pink ones.  My home-made food coloring didn't work so well for the frosting so we borrowed some.  I used it to make all the other colors of sprinkles so we're ready for our next cookie decorating party.
     Two of my friends came, and the kids who live downstairs.  Their family cleans our stairwell, takes out our trash, and looks after things in the apartment.  They sat and patiently and creatively decorated for hours and listened to us chat.

     It was especially fun to see my friends interact with one another.  I told about how I met each of them and they had fun chatting together.  My roommate sang some hymns with her guitar and my friend who is not part of the family was surprised to hear another Turk singing along.  She is interested, and I was glad to have a natural place for them to be able to meet each other.

Here is a bit of art that came out of my time with my parents looking at what we began to refer to as "old rocks."  They all start to look the same after a while.  I really don't understand how people can do the tourist thing for months on end.  I much prefer real life.  But I definitely learned a lot about the history of the church in this country.  What struck me was even after all these thousands of years even from the piles of "old rocks" it is clear that followers of Jesus, both professors and those who gave their life because they truly believed, were once the majority here.  So much has changed since then.  All that is left from that time is piles of old rocks.  But what God did in people's lives then and is doing now will remain forever.

Valley of Vision

   Learning a new culture, especially as a part of a family has been an amazing blessing and a huge challenge.  The deeper relationships go, the deeper you can get hurt.  But I have also seen how the Father can work in a deeper way in our hearts through this.
   After moving out from my Turkish family's home we continued to spend time together.  Several times I have made cultural mistakes in the relationship that have resulted in miscommunication and hurt feelings.  Several times it got so difficult we weren't even able to speak to each other.  Each time it was a result of my ignorant mistake.  Each time I feared that perhaps I had done something too big to be forgiven and there was no way to fix it.  But each time, as we came to each other to offer and ask for forgiveness, I experienced the grace of being forgiven without being able to change anything or earn anything.  And I saw the Lord work in us all for His glory.
   Click here to see the words and hear a song that has comforted me through this time.  In the Valley
   In this valley I have seen the Lord in the heights watching over me and using all things for the good of those who love Him.  I wouldn't usually decide to be humbled this much.  It's painful, but it's good for me.  And I'm pretty sure I asked people to pray this would happen.  These struggles in relationships and with my own weaknesses and sin are making me more like my Savior.  "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20)  I am learning that love that must be earned is not love from God.  Grace is an amazing and beautiful thing!  If anyone loves or forgives or accepts me it is because of the power of the Lord in their life.
   I have been tested to trust Him to provide what I need.  Is His love really enough for me?  How deep into darkness and uncertainty am I willing to go to know Him more?  Am I willing to keep loving when I don't know how things will turn out?  I want to praise Him for being a God who turns ashes to beauty and brokenness to healing.  I have nothing to fear.  His power is great!

Banana Confusion

The food here was a little hard on my mom's stomach but she really likes bananas.  So one day we were at the train station and I wanted to buy her one for lunch and I saw that the restaurant there had "fruit" on their outside menu.  So I went in and asked in Turkish, "Muz var mu?"  Which means, "Do you have any bananas?"  The cashier said, "Yes, how many do you want?"  "One," I answered, and he looked at me rather strangely as he sent his helper off to get one.  Another man standing there asked me what I had asked for and I repeated with my stuffed-up nose, "Muz, you know, the fruit."  And they all started laughing and explained that they thought I asked for buz which means ice.  Just then the helper walked up with one piece of ice in his hand and a puzzled look and I explained that I wanted a banana not ice.  We all laughed and since they didn't have any bananas they at least gave me some grapes for a very cheap price.  Being sick and trying to speak Turkish at the same time is not a good idea.

American Treasures

 

Here's the pile of stuff that my parents brought me from America when they came.  As you can see, most of it I can totally live without, but it's always fun to have a taste of home :)  Mostly I wanted to the sunscreen, since it costs about $30 for a small bottle of the kind that actually works.

It's fun to share with others who have been here longer than me.  Last night we enjoyed American hot chocolate and cookies with Toll House chips!  Maybe tomorrow I'll put Parmesan cheese and small pieces of that forbidden meat (bacon, because it comes from a pig and the people of the majority religion here don't eat that) on my salad.

Turkish Fun

     In my recent trip to the beach I was searching for the word for "float" in Turkish.  The best I could get out of several people was "being still on top of the water" or "not sinking."  I guess there is no word like float.  Maybe Turks can't float.  I didn't see many of them doing it.  jk
     I did learn the word for "dive."  It's something like, "to leap off of something like a fish."  Language is so interesting...
     My new favorite Turkish word is "yerçekimi" which means "ground suckingness" aka "gravity" :)
    The amount of Turkish I can understand and use is absolutely a miracle!  God has given me a huge gift and I am grateful.  To Him be the glory!  Many prayed, and He answered.

    During a team conference for planning we stayed near a small village in the countryside.  It was interesting to see the difference in the pace of life compared to what I am getting used to every day with traffic, buses, and people everywhere.  We passed this little mosque and I wondered how many people actually come here to pray.  Maybe more in a place like this. 
    We rode bikes alongside farms and fruit trees and carefully passed wandering cows.

It was the kind of place where you can park your tractor on the curb downtown.  Once when we needed to buy water at 8 o'clock at night we were told to go down the road to the small store that looks like it's closed but it isn't.  We found it locked with no lights on.  But soon after we rang the bell a man came and helped us with our purchases and then set up a dilapidated ladder so we could pick fresh cherries from the trees outside the store.  I love small-town hospitality!

 

My new roommate (center) likes hiking and even though we don't live near the forest anymore we still make time to go there every once and a while.  We are getting along well and enjoy living together.  We both like a quiet clean place and I've enjoyed getting to visit the neighbors with her.  Sometimes we talk in Turkish just for fun to not have to switch our brains and some things can only be explained in Turkish.

 

My favorite wildlife sighting is turtles!  They always run away from you and try to bury themselves in a hole and pretend like you can't see them if they can't see you.

Just to give you a taste of the dangers of life here: This sign says "Beware!  There are stray dogs.   Do not enter the open land alone."  No lions or tigers or bears, just dogs.  Some of them are actually cute and they don't usually bother people, but we do stay away.
My new neighborhood is near downtown which means no stray dogs and a nice short walk to school.   We live next to a soldier's training camp and so every morning I hear them yelling and singing as they do their exercises.  I'm thankful to have a desk and a chair in this new room to sit at my computer.  But I miss my Turkish family, though I visit them often.

Thankfulness and Hospitality

One of our favorite summer activities is having people over to barbecue, or have tea or breakfast.  I have learned a lot during this month about being thankful for the everyday grace of the Lord and not being afraid to just shout it out whenever you feel like it!


I love eating outside and having time to just sit and chat and get to know people, encourage them, and learn.

I am learning a lot about hospitality and friendship and how valued that is in this culture.  I never want to be too busy to share a meal or a cup of tea with someone.  This is how relationships are built here, not over meetings or even at a restaurant.  I have learned from their example that what matters is sharing whatever you have with those around you.  Taking the time to listen and just pass some time together.  I think this is how Jesus, Paul, and the early believers spent many of their days.

Our pet duck

For the next few weeks I have the awesome opportunity to live with a Turkish family.  They also love our father and have encouraged me in my walk so much as we sing together and talk to the father each morning and night.  (In Turkish of course, which is really a challenge for me!)  I am able to understand almost everything they say to me and even sometimes when they talk to each other so that has been really encouraging.  PTL for such fast progress in Turkish that I may be able to finish by the end of September. 

It has been quite a transition to be speaking and thinking in Turkish all the time and also fun but sometimes hard to live with a kid who wants to play all the time.  They have been so patient and understanding as they teach me and we are becoming good friends.

So we have this pet duck.  This is actually the second one since the first one couldn't seem to stay afloat in the bucket as long as they thought it could.  It's really cute but pretty annoying in the morning when it wants out.

Here's a classic shot of their eight-year-old doing his schoolwork with her basking in the lamplight.  She's actually really sweet and likes to be held and follows us around.  Life with a family can sometimes seem like a zoo, not just because we have a duck.  It can be hard to get time alone.  But I am learning so much about culture and more language than I can handle.  It's cool to see how this was something I asked the father to provide a long time ago and He has blessed me beyond what I could have imagined.

Vacation!

Last week I took a short vacation to the beach with some other workers here.  It was such a beautiful place to rest my brain from language study and be refreshed in the grace of the Lord who loves me even when I'm doing nothing. We swam out to explore the castle on the island and feasted every night on table-long bread.  It was my kind of vacation!

 I got up one day to watch the sunrise over the Mediterranean and praised the Creator for all the beauty and diversity of our world.  It was good to be able to stop and spend time with the Lord outdoors...

and stop and smell the flowers....

and of course, eat ice cream!
Thank you Lord for rest and the simple joys of life!

Turkish Music Concert

My friend Bilen invited me to attend a free outdoor concert of one of her favorite bands.  Apparently these guys are famous here because a lot of people came and sang along.  I really enjoyed the music. They mixed rock with traditional instruments and melodies with a great effect.

Here's my friend Bilen amongst the crowd of men, women, and children clapping and singing along.

One of my favorite parts was the fireworks show over the lake.

Zoo

I continue to go to language school 3 days/wk for 4 hours each day.  In the next few months I hope to finish school and soon after that go on the my next language!

For a field trip with my class we went to the local zoo.  This lion was unnervingly close!

They also had cats and dogs in their own exhibits.  Pets are just beginning to be an "in" thing here.

Typical Tea Time

An older lady I met on the bus invited me to come to her house for tea and here is what she served:

She expected me to eat all of it too and was almost offended when I said I really couldn't eat any more, even though it was delicious. 
My conversation skills are improving though I don't think I will ever understand everything people say.  But it's encouraging to have people say, "You've only been here three months, but you speak Turkish!"  I especially love when I am out shopping and don't say much and they ask me if I'm a Turk.  More often they ask me where I'm from as soon as I open my mouth.
This culture is much more relational and they really love to talk.  You can never have too long of a visit.  But that can also be a challenge because I want to talk about what really matters, but for now I am content to just be able to communicate anything meaningful.

Demonstration

Because of where I live political demonstrations are common.  The number of police in the central park tell you what is going on for the day.  The military and police provide an enormous number of jobs for people here and they never seem to be short-handed.  I was on my way to go shopping when I about a hundred ran past me in full riot gear with helmets and shields and guns.  They half-blocked the street and made a wall with their shields and then all just stood around as if this was totally normal.
















I guess that's because it is.  It was just a small group of students shouting about wanting free education.

But because there are so many people around who might decide to join them they don't take any chances.  I am thankful for the safety of life here, though I cannot take anything for granted.  We know who is really in control.

An encouraging language moment

I was riding the bus last night and, as usual, got lost in my list of new words to learn from my lesson.  I looked out the window for a minute and saw the lights in the park and said without thinking, "Kızılaydayız?" which means, "Are we downtown?"  The man across from me nodded and I got off the bus.  I was so pleased to have a correct and useful phrase popping out of my mouth, and glad I hadn't missed my stop.  When entire sentences begin coming out without so much effort then I will really be celebrating.  But I am rejoicing at the progress I see every week.

Thankful

One of the things I am thankful for here is that there are not many bugs at all.  I think the heat and dryness kills them.  This is the biggest one I've seen so far.  It was on the street at night.

Wherever I go I always try to find the beauty to appreciate because each place is different.  On my way home today I picked all these wildflowers and was amazed at how many kinds there are of every color.  God planted a rainbow for me to remind me of His faithfulness.  I am thankful for His sovereignty and grace today.

Turkish Music Concert

I went to listen to a friend's friend sing in a local women's choir.  We also go to see professional dancers from the eastern part of the country.  Here's a short video of them.  It's great to have the opportunity to get to know more and more of the culture here.
Update coming soon with awesome answers to the many requests being made for me!

Sock Selling

I wrote before about my first Turkish friend, the sock-selling auntie, and I am still visiting her and her husband every week.  I help them stack the socks and we chat and she teaches me tongue-twisters and songs to memorize.  I'm able to handle a few hours at a time now and get to meet their friends and neighbors who come by.  It is really a great blessing.
Last week I sold my first pair of socks to a customer for 1 lira (which is about 65 cents).  I don't know all the prices so I'm not really much help but they let me hang around and listen anyway.  I can feel my Turkish improving every week and that's encouraging.
This is my favorite pair of socks: they are so very "manly" looking, don't you think?

Learning to Cook

One of my biggest challenges here has been having to buy food and cook on my own most days.  Sometimes my roommate and I cook together but she is gone a lot.  We have had fridge issues so I have been reluctant to buy much food but I think we have finally solved the problem and we are excited.  Needless to say we eat a lot of fruits and veggies, which works out well since I am at the market twice a week visiting my sock-selling friends.  I want to learn how to make Turkish food and here's the first dish I tried.

It is a type of pasta (which comes in a frozen package) and they put garlic yogurt, tomato sauce, and spices on top.  It was very easy and delicious.  Tonight I made a simple omlette-like dish with tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms.  Tomorrow I will try the beans and rice dish my language helper taught me how to make.

The day after I wrote this last post I was walking in the forest and a lady came up to me and asked if she could use my phone.  I didn't have one, but we ended up talking a bit and she took my number and said she would call me the next time she goes out walking and we can walk together.  I don't know if she ever will or not but it was encouraging to see my Father provide that encouragement right when I needed it.
I've been feeling much better the last few days.  This week has been full of lots of time practicing language.  I have a language helper who I meet with for 2 hours each week.  I asked her how to make Turkish food so on Tuesday she invited me to her house for my lesson.  Here's the bean and rice dish we made.

She is very patient and speaks slowly and clearly for me and I have learned so much already.  She is part of the family and I'm so glad I can understand some of the great things happening in her life.

We had our first storm here.  Most days are sunny and cool, which I love.  The weather is starting to change now and some days I can go without a coat.  Summer's going to be hot, so I'm enjoying right now.

Ask for Perseverance

I've been feeling kind of discouraged lately.  It's hard to meet people here.  It's a city and people are busy.  My Turkish teacher said I should go ask my neighbors for an extra lemon or something and then we would get to chatting.  I haven't gotten up the courage to do it yet but I think I will.
I don't know what to do with all my time and I sometimes feel like I don't spend it well.  I want to do the things the Lord wants me to do in every moment.  I have to remind myself why I am here.  Everyday as I look at the faces on the bus, I remember.  But I wish I could talk to them.
I've been meditating on Hebrews 12 this month and this morning I was thinking that I need to lay aside every weight, like things that are not the most important thing.  I am always needing to reevaluate those negotiable things in my life.  And sin needs to go too, because it is slowing me down.  When I sin, not only does it corrupt heart and mind but it keeps me from true joy and purposefulness.  God said to me, "Lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed."  I know there are things I can do, disciplines I can stick to that will fill me with His strength.  I am trying to plan more, so that I can be sure I am walking on the Father's path, in my time and my heart.  I am a broken clay pot that He is healing and plans to use.  Ask for perseverance.  Thank you my friends.

A walk in the forest

On Saturday I took a day off from studying language and took a walk in the forest that is just up the road from where I live.  Here's the outside of my apartment.  I'm still working on getting a video of the inside posted here.
I live on the first floor which is nice.  I still do a lot of walking because we live at the top of the hill in our neighborhood so I walk up and down to the bus stop, and the market is a 20 minute walk way down and back up.  But I am enjoying being more active.

I am soooo glad that there is open space so close! Living in the city was one of the things that I was most concerned about.  But being able to get out where there are no people, cars, or buildings, just creation, really refreshes my soul. 

And I am thankful for the nice spring weather.  It has been a little colder here than in Oregon, but with less rain.  I enjoy this cool weather and sunshine.
It's such a contrast to have the forest right next to the huge city.  So many who live in darkness.

My Class

Since I have already studied some Turkish I took a test and they placed me in the third level.   Here's some of my class after our test hanging out in the park.
I am learning helpful grammar in class but my conversation needs a lot of practice.  I am about at the same level as the other students and am able to understand more and more of what the teacher says.  She talks in Turkish the whole time, which is good.
It can be hard to find people to talk to here because it is a big city and people do their own thing.  But I have been asking and many times He has answered by someone on the bus talking to me first.  Often I will do my homework and they will ask me about it and then help me.

Transition

I was reading an article about culture shock my team leader gave me though I have felt more comfortable here even than last time and more than I expected.  It has helped immensely to be with my teammates who have lived here for many years. 
I wish I could explain to you how normal it feels to walk down the street and stop and buy lunch or go in a shop.  There are very few things that we don't have here.  I am actually overwhelmed by all the choices.
Last month I was memorizing Psalm 84 and I discovered new meaning there today.
"My soul longs, yes, faints
   for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
   to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,

  and the swallow a nest for herself...
at your altars,
O LORD of hosts,
 my King and my God."
       Even though I may learn the language well and feel comfortable with the customs, I will never be at home here, or in America.  Wherever I am, my place of comfort and strength will always be at the altar worshipping my God.  I will forever be on a pilgrimage to my true home in heaven.  But I am blessed! 
"For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

   the LORD bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does he withhold

  from those who walk uprightly.

O LORD of hosts,

  blessed is the one who trusts in you!
       My God is good and He gives me all I need every day.  Today I was sharing with friends how much of a blessing it has been that I stayed with my leaders for this first week.  How wonderful to get to know them better and enjoy time together.  I never would have planned it that way, but my Father knew best.

First Purchases

I went to the international fellowship here today.  It was such a blessing to be able to sing in English, and Turkish, and Korean!  It's a diverse group and I think that is cool because it is more like how heaven will be.  I went out to lunch with my co-workers and then they had a welcoming party for me.  It is good to already know people here who are helping me get settled in and feel at home.
Here's what I ordered for lunch:

It's called pide and is sort of like pizza with less cheese and delicious chunks of meat.



Later I decided to venture out to the market by myself and see if I could get a few of the things I needed and practice my limited Turkish.    I was looking at the socks and the seller asked me where I was from.  I told her and then tried to say I just arrived 3 days ago and my Turkish isn't very good but I will be be staring class soon.  I wrote down her name and she said I could call her "chorapchi teyze" which means "Auntie sock-seller" and told me to come back on Wednesday to the market and see her again.  It's encouraging to have a Turkish friend already.

Here's me and my socks and new towel.  Apparently I pronounced the word for towel wrong because it took them awhile to figure out what I was looking for, but I got one!  Next week, I'll give you a tour of my apartment and neighborhood!