Sarah is Getting Married!!

My dear friend, Sarah, is getting married TODAY! I wish so bad that I could be in Las Vegas to celebrate with her & Zach as they start their life as a married couple! I know that it is going to be a beautiful wedding so I will be waiting anxiously patiently to see all the beautiful pictures that will hopefully start being tagged on facebook very soon!

Sarah is a precious friend to me. We met in the airport just after we had both arrived in Central Asia where we were roomates for 4 1/2 months. We had talked on the phone a couple of times before moving overseas and were so excited to meet each other on the other side. Sarah had already claimed her luggage and was waiting with our team when I finally got through and she walked right up to me and gave me a hug. Right then I knew we were going to be great friends. We hit it off right away and were each others closest friend/travel buddy/accountability partner/roomate & so much more in our time overseas. I could not have asked for a better roomate while living overseas & am thankful for how our friendship has continued long-distance since we got home. We have had many, many phone dates as both shared our exciting stories of adjusting back to life in America, looking for jobs, getting engaged & wedding planning. Of course I wish all the time that we lived closer and could have coffee dates & talk about life & go on double-dates with our now-husbands. Or Sarah & Zach could just move to Maryland and live next door to us in the empty townhouse.

Sarah & I both must have taken a bajillion pictures in the few months we were in Turkey, so here are some pictures to re-cap our friendship & the kind of friend that Sarah is.

godly friend

We spent many afternoons sitting in coffee shops where we would read, journal, write updates to send home, talk about how much we love Turkey, update our blogs & have our weekly accountability. I am so thankful for the accountability & prayer partner that Sarah was to me during that time as we encouraged each other in the work we were doing, shared our highs & lows for the week and prayed intently for each other. Today, on Sarah's wedding day, I can't help but think of all the times we sat and shared & talked about our desires to be godly wives & mothers one day. Each week we would pray for our future marriages. Sarah prayed for Michael & I as we were beginning to talk about marriage & I prayed for Sarah's husband-to-be that the Lord would reveal him in the right time. The Lord has answered both of those prayers today. We are both blessed with godly men to call our husbands.

determined friend

We survived AND navigated public transportation in a city where there were 20 million people who didn't speak our language. I would be lying if I didn't mention that there were definitely days that one or both of us were nearly in tears trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B. Thankfully those experiences taught us to rely on the Lord and gave us confidence as we were so determined to figure the transportation out. Getting lost usually wasn't anything a perfectly delicious magnum bar couldn't fix though (p.s. you have not had an ice cream bar until you've had a magnum bar). We were even so cool that we lived in the only city in the world that spans two continents, which took navigating transportation to a whole new level of complicated.

  

world-traveling friend

Sarah has literally traveled the world with me. No one else has done that.

We drooled over beautiful views like this when we saw them in person. And we most definitely shot the Eiffel Tower to death with our cameras!

We traveled to sites of all the Seven Churches in Revelation & listened to a national believer read from the Word at the sites.

gentle friend 

We took an overnight bus trip to babysit these mischiveous precious faces for a week. And then took another overnight bus trip back. Can I say exhausted?!

hospitable friend

We celebrated Turkey Day in Turkey (and yes, we did eat turkey - which was a surprisingly frequently asked question when I returned). What a precious day to be reminded of how thankful we are for the gift of Life that the Lord has given us. It was a privilege to be able to open up our apartment and host a Thanksgiving meal for some of our national friends who are ministered to so strongly through the gift of hospitality.

prayer warrior friend

 We saw views like this every.single.day and prayed that Light would pierce through the darkness.

encouraging friend

We were blessed to share precious friends whom we could encourage in their walks & share Truth with.

patient friend

I must have scared Sarah to death almost every time we had to be anywhere "on time" - like the time we decided to leave the airport during our 7-hour layover in Rome so we could explore a little bit of the city & barely made it back to the airport & got through security in time. Or the time we were leaving Paris (about 3 days after our close-call in Rome) and we got on the earliest train to the airport (which happened to be a dreadful 5:30AM, or something like that) and by the time we arrived the gate, everyone had already boarded and Sarah was holding her breath. She is a very patient friend.

never-a-dull-moment friend

 We have survived being stuck in an elevator together (plus two other roomates). True story. Go read about it.

disclaimer: this picture was NOT taken the time we got stuck on the elevator.
We were not smiling at that moment.

loving friend

We fell in love with the people in the country where we were serving...

...and the beautiful country that they live in. It really is breathtaking. It was a blessing to live in a different part of the world. I know that we were both changed forever.

dedicated friend

And because Sarah is such a FABULOUS (and dedicated) friend, she flew all the way out from Las Vegas to stand with me in our wedding last August. It meant the world to have her there with me.

Sarah, I am so thankful for you! I know you will make a beautiful bride today!

Welcome to the MRS Club!

And Zach, we can't wait to meet you. You have a gem of a wife.

Congratulations Sarah & Zach!!

p.s. Sarah, PLEASE come visit us soon so we can meet Zach & be friends again and drink chai lattes while we can adequately catch up on life. Thanks :)

Christmas Eve

A couple of weeks ago I went to our Christmas Eve service at home.
It is always so special.
I love Christmas Eve services.
They're so simple. And joyful.
And I love celebrating the birth of my Savior with other believers.

But this one was a little different.
We walked in and sat down. In a pew.
We were just a couple minutes late (I'm still adjusting to this whole "being on time" thing).

It was the first time I had been in a "church building" per se since the previous August.
And I was exhausted by the end - all that standing and sitting in really quite a workout.
Truthfully, it was incredibly hard to concentrate.
There were so many distractions.
So many people.
SO MANY BELIEVERS all in one room!
My heart was on overload.

Less than a week prior to that Christmas Eve service, I had been living in a country that was not preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. There were just a handful of lights shining in that dark country. Most had not heard of the great hope in a God who saves.

I don't want to take for granted the priviledge that I have again in America of gathering together with other believers.

Longest Day Ever

While growing up, I remember my mom reading a book to us titled "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day." Don't believe me? Seriously, it's the name of a book. Go check it out here.

Anyway, December 17, 2010 was that day for me.

It was the day I was supposed to leave Turkey and fly home.
It was the day I was supposed to see my family and hug Michael for the first time in nearly 5 months!
It was a LONG day.
and no-good and very, very bad (and almost horrible).

It all started at about 7:30am on Thursday, December 16 when I woke up for what I thought would be the last time in Turkey. I woke up and started my day, feeling very surreal that in the wee hours of the next morning I would be boarding a plane to fly home. That day was filled with lots of errands, last-minute packing, checking off everything from my to-do list, having coffee with a friend, saying goodbye to friends, then coming home and staying up making cinnamon rolls for our roomates to enjoy after Sarah & I left.

Considering the fact that we had to be in a taxi at 3am in the morning to head to the airport, Sarah & I decided we would wing it and stay up and sleep when we got on the plane to make our homeward bound travel go a little faster.

Seemed logical at the time...
Until we arrived at the airport at 3:30am on December 17 only to find that the status of our intial flight to Germany was CANCELLED, not delayed, but cancelled because of a snowstorm blowing through Germany. At this point, we had been awake for about 20 hours.

For the sake of becoming too excessively wordy I am going to re-cap the next 13 hours I spent in the airport through bullet points...beginning with the 3:30am flight cancellation...

• We were funnelled into lines in order to be rescheduled onto later flights.
• I was put on a flight for later that morning, still connecting through Germany to pick up my original 2nd leg back to America (great idea - remember there's a snowstorm there?)
• Bags were re-checked on to my new flight, which by the way was with a new airline - I was feeling more and more comforted by the minute haha.
• Said good-bye to Sarah - our new flight arrangements didn't allow us to travel out of Turkey anymore together
• Found the gate for my new flight - starting to feel completely exhausted. Could not wait to sleep!
• Flight delayed.
• Flight delayed again.
• I looked out the window at the airport - it was snowing lightly.
• At this point, airport staff were beginning to find out final destinations of the passengers and attempt to reassign us. That's when I found out there was a direct flight to Washington, D.C. leaving in an hour. Keeping fingers crossed I could get on that flight (it was a brand new direct flight that just ran a few days a week).
• Flight to Germany is on again.
• Airport staff couldn't confirm an open seat on the D.C. flight so advised that I continue with the flight through Germany.
• Boarded plane to Germany.
• I had a window seat and IMMEDIATELY fell asleep - I had been awake for about 28ish hours.
• 30 minutes later, I was awakened by the passenger sitting next to me as they were tapping me to tell me the flight had been CANCELLED, again. For real this time. Like we're not going to Germany at all kind of real. Back to the gate we went. Off the plane we came.
• Major realization:  There was no way I would get to Germany to catch my next flight to D.C. I had now missed the direct flight for sure to D.C. I would not be getting home today.
• The next 3-4 hours was a blur as I was passed from one staff member to another.
• Oh yeah, keep in mind: my bags are checked with a different airline than my baggage claim tickets are for AND I have half of a boarding pass from the flight I boarded, but was then cancelled. It looked BAD. And super, super sketchy.
• I cried.
• I wished I had a phone to call someone. Anyone. Any human being who could speak English and get me out of this mess.
• I struggled through language barriers and exhaustion from no sleep and trying to explain the predicament I was in (I was beginning to not even know how to explain it myself or even where to stop). I think I literally wore every person out that I talked to trying to explain what had happened.
• One person informed me I had to go back through customs to start all over and re-book a flight based on what was available. That was the dumbest idea ever.
• Stood in the customs line for a long time.
• Failed customs - because of all that jumbled paperwork I had. It looked as sketchy to them as it did me. They didn't buy any of it and said "I'm sorry I can't let you into our country." WHAT?! But why, I've been living here for four months and really just want to go home now? Please let me. Not happening.
• I cried at the customs counter. Crying didn't work. I didn't care how pathetic I looked.
• I turned around and walked back through that big, huge line. What a defeating moment in my life. They probably all thought I was a terrorist because I got denied at the customs counter.
• I tried one more crowded counter.
• FINALLY, one blessed little Turkish man pulled me aside and took me into an office where I could finally SIT DOWN while he started doing research. I am convinced that the Lord gave him divine wisdom that day in order to see that I was at my whit's end. And I am so grateful for that.
• He said that there was a flight to London then to D.C. on Saturday. Things were beginning to look up (just so long as no one tried to send me to Germany again). Then there was real music to my ears: A direct flight to Washington, D.C. on Sunday at 11am. DONE and DONE. I accepted. I was so ok right then with waiting an extra 2 days to have a DIRECT FLIGHT. Praise the Lord that I didn't foolishly choose the London option as on Saturday I watched on the news as all the major airports across Europe (including London) were closed because of that major snowstorm that cancelled my first flight. Who knows when I would have gotten home.
• Then the Turkish man asked me if I wanted to get my checked baggage to take with me. Here's how our conversation went (it's really quite comical to think about now):
• Him: Would you like to claim your baggage to take with you today?
• Me: What will you do with it if I don't get it today?
• Him: Check it on to your flight on Sunday.
• Me: Ok.
• Me (thinking in my head): I have absolutely NO reason to trust this man that my luggage would get on my Sunday flight, but I don't have enough hands or strength to take it with me now. I don't even know if I'll ever see it again. Who cares.
• He scribbled down my flight information on a piece of paper to bring with me on Sunday - can't I even get a PRINTED confirmation?!
• I told him of my difficulties getting through customs the first time, so he escorted me to the diplomat line where he shouted a few things in Turkish at the customs attendant, and they waved me through.
• Breated a MAJOR sigh of relief. I might have even shed a tear of happiness.
• I was back in Turkey and had never been so happy!!!! Those 13 hours I spent in the terminal were like the movie "The Terminal" where the guy was stuck in the dead zone. I can feel every ounce of his pain.
• Exchanged my American currency back into Turkish, got on the train and went back to my apartment where I prayed someone would be home to let me in.
• When my roomate opened the door, I truly lost it and cried for about an hour.
• Once I finally got myself together, I called my mom and Michael to tell them I was stuck there until Sunday.
• Went to bed. Finally. I don't even know how many hours I had been awake, but sleep was glorious.

Despite all the immense frustration of Friday at the airport, the extra day I got to spend in Turkey was a blessing. I got to spend some quality time with my roomates and even see Chronicles of Narnia in the theatre in 3D. I remember thinking on our "last night" as we rode back on the bus in the dark that I was sad I wouldn't get to see the city I had grown to love in the daylight again. What a blessing to see that beautiful city again.

Sunday morning was another fiasco upon arriving at the airport. Remember all that mumbled jumbled paperwork I had from Friday. Oh yeah, that confused everyone all over again. But I got through customs. And then questioned a million times over at my gate. No one understood my baggage claim tickets - I'm not really sure I did either. And then someone came running over to me and took me over to the window and look down to identify some luggage they found and believed to be mine. It was.  I was elated!!! Then, I finally got to board the plane - I was the last one to board, but felt so at peace once I sat down in my seat (I had a whole row to myself which was wonderful). Just 11 more hours before landing in the U.S. to come home.

Never have I ever been so thankful to see America and hear "Welcome to America"

Together!

We are finally together again!

Update: Home

Dear friends and family,

I am home, safe and sound in America.  Finally.  Praise the Lord!!

I am sending this two days later than I anticipated since my original flight home was canceled and I had to be re-routed, involving a delay of two extra days at my original destination.  While it was disappointing and discouraging to go to the airport and not get on a plane, there were so many blessings and things I could be thankful for!  I got to spend 2 extra days with my wonderful roommates who took care of me and fed me and helped me enjoy every minute of my delay.  I am also thankful that I did not get stuck in any other European city - many of which shut down their airports over the weekend due to weather.  Sunday afternoon did bring me back to America though!  I arrived late in the afternoon and was more than overjoyed to be met with hugs by familiar faces at the airport!!  Coming home has never felt so good - and hearing the passport control officer say "welcome back to America" was like music to my ears!

Now, I am beginning the process of re-adjusting to America and finding things that are different and that I forgot about...some so far: light switches are on the inside of rooms, not outside; I can drink water out of the faucet and not pump it out of a jug; automatic flush toilets; Christmas is everywhere; temperatures in Fahrenheit scale, etc.  I am sure that there are many, many more that I will find as the days go on...

I do have a praise to share!  Last week, in my final update, I asked for prayers that I would be able to see a friend of mine, "S".  The Father answered that prayer and on Wednesday afternoon of last week I was able to spend about an hour with her.  We had a great conversation and I was able to give her a copy of the Word in her own language!  She was very excited to receive it!  Ask that the Father would reveal Truth and lead her to study for her own.

Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers over the past four months (and the many months leading up in preparation)!  I could not have done any of this without you and am so thankful for each of you!  Now that I am home, I look forward to sharing with many of you pictures and stories from the past four months!

Love,
Anna

Home

I am finally home.
After the longest two days of my life which involved multiple flight cancellations, baggage confusion, delays, so many questions, etc. I finally landed on the freezing cold East Coast yesterday afternoon!  What a different view to see from above - there is SO much space here!

Thankful to be home. And hugged.

Delayed

I'm still here.
After 13 hours (the amount of time it should have taken me to get all the way back to America) in the airport today, I finally got out and came back to my apartment until my DIRECT flight leaves on Sunday afternoon.

We arrived at the airport at 3:30am this morning for our initial flight to Germany, only to find that it had already been CANCELLED because of weather.

They re-routed me and put me on another flight later that morning on another airline...the next several hours were spent getting on and off that plane and after several delays, it was finally cancelled as well.

I finally realized I had to find plan B to get home.

Looooong story short, I spent HOURS and HOURS of trying to get someone to understand my dilemma & why I had partial boarding passes - so little paperwork that I could not even get through customs.

I had moments that I felt like I was living out the movie "The Terminal" - not cool.

Even though I am delayed two days, I was so relieved to finally get out of that airport and for once, knew where I was going. Praise God my roomate was home so I could get in.

P.S. I don't even have my checked luggage with me (thank goodness I always pack an extra change of clothes in my carry-on bag)...keeping my fingers crossed it will somehow get home with me on Sunday. I actually couldn't even say for sure what country my luggage is in.