Loved the present!

Our precious friend loved her sparkly red shoes from America!  She wanted to wear them right away!

A Blessed Day!

This was the happiest day for us and for our good friend who made the most important decision of her life.

Fall Leaves

The beautiful colors on our balcony.

Cracking Hazlenuts

We went to visit a friend for tea and a sweet girl, who was even pregnant, went outside to crack the hazelnuts they offered.  Because I was a foreigner, they thought I might not be able to crack them with my teeth so they did it for me.  I took a hand at it too.

Halloween

On our way home from Mersin we actually found an orange pumpkin that was so much easier to carve than last year's.  So we made a pumpkin together to celebrate!

Reminders of Oregon

We went on a short vacation before winter sets in to Mersin.  The scenic drive back was absolutely beautiful and all the green trees and rivers reminded me of Oregon.

 We had a delicious fish dinner on this boat one evening.

 

And another reminder of Oregon--a chuck-wagon--a smaller version from the Oregon trail.  I loved that game by the way!

Good friends

We had a wonderful dinner with this group.  We are so thankful for their hospitality and caring.

We had a great time sharing with this group of middle school kids.  They asked great questions and listened so carefully.

Eating and Drinking Together

 We shared at many many places about our experiences in Turkey.  Everyone was excited to hear and asked lots of questions.

We shared Turkish hospitality with everyone by offering them Turkish delight and cologne.

We made tea to share a taste that we enjoy every day.

We also enjoyed the tastes of America--international food!  A good friend took us out to Thai food that even included mango and rice dessert.  We went to Italian with my mom, Mexican with my sister, Indonesian food with Indonesian friends, Chinese food with my Iranian friend, and Kenyan, Sudanese, and Korean with my friend's sister.  And of course some people made us some good old American food.  All in all, we were well fed.

Pazookie

There are some things you can't get here, but you can make them!  Like a giant homemade chocolate chip cookie with ice cream on the top that you eat while it's still hot!  Delicious!

Victory Hill

 

We bought balls, t-shirts, and some other toys for a trip to a nearby neighborhood.

 It was so fun to watch the kids excited pick out what they wanted.

Indians in Turkey!

We went for a walk one evening and ran into some real live Indians who were performing traditional songs and dancing.  We found out that they were from Ecuador.

Great Time with Friends

We had a great dinner with our good friends and talked about life and work.

Bus Station

What a blessing to be able to share with this special little girl at the bus station.

Victory Hill

The people of Victory Hill are hard-working, though they live in difficult surroundings.  We had a great visit with these two women who have two pet ducks just like us.  They have lived here for over 30 years.

Longest Aquarium Tunnel

The longest aquarium tunnel in Turkey was built in here so we just had to go see it!  There were some very interesting fish and sea animals there and it was very well done for you to be able to watch them.  The sharks and rays were the best part of course.

Car

We are pretty excited about the blessing of our car.  I'm practicing driving the stick-shift on the ups and downs and crazy traffic that is our city!

A Wonderful Tea

Our good friend and her mother went to a lot of trouble to prepare a wonderful tea time for us when we visited.  There was rice-filled grape-leaf rolls, chocolate cake, fried cheese and greens quesadilla-like things, and bulgur pilaf.  And of course, tea.

A New Restraunt

After a long day we went to a fun restaurant where they serve a huge salad right on a plastic sheet on the table.  You fill up your meat ball sandwich from there.  It was delicious!

Iranian Food

A sweet Iranian friend of ours invited us to have dinner and even though she and her sons are in a very difficult financial situation she prepared a huge delicious spread for us.  We were blessed to be able to spend some time with her.

Easter Breakfast

We had a great time celebrating over breakfast with our friends on Easter morning on our beautiful sunny porch.

Ironing

Yes, believe it or not, I am learning how to iron.  I haven't burnt anything yet, including myself. :)  But I still need to work on the proper way to iron collared shirts so that no button lines are left.  Wearing non-wrinkled clothes is a must here where cleanliness and tidiness are given great importance.

Budding Painter

A friend of ours is quiet and shy but does beautiful paintings.  She smiled excitedly when we gave her two blank canvases for her work.  We hope to give her the opportunity to show them off and sell them on our terrace when the weather gets better.

Testimony Book

A friend we know wrote her story of how she came to know the Lord and the struggles she went through.  She says, "This is the story of what Jesus did."  We have heard that people really enjoyed reading it.

Decorating Party

We had a great time decorating cookies with our friends and I even made one in the shape of a chick in an egg.  The other ladies had a great time of laughter and creativeness.

A Real Turkish Breakfast

Here's a little taste of the feast that is Turkish Breakfast that I get to enjoy every morning!