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.

Last Night Here

Last Thursday...

It is really here.  Today was my last day in Turkey.  Tomorrow I will be in America – and I get to sleep in my own bed – while I am excited about that, when I woke up this morning at 7:30am, that was literally my first thought: “well, the next time I get to go to sleep for real will be tomorrow night in my own bed in Maryland.” Depressing.  That is a VERY long time from now.

I had a lot I needed to accomplish today – so far the only thing I didn’t get to do was “take a nap” – oh well, hopefully I will sleep on the plane a little.  So, this morning Sarah and I made vanilla lattes and watched a movie in our pajamas – lazy morning, just for old times sake.  It was really good to have a restful morning…and it was perfect too since it was raining today.  After lunch I got myself ready to go and went to go run a few errands in our neighborhood…including my last minibus ride here.  This afternoon was also super encouraging because I got to spend it with a friend that I have had the privilege of getting to know for a couple of months – we got to sit and talk and share life together today.  She encouraged me so much and I am so thankful for the few hours that I got to spend with her!  As I was walking home in the rain tonight, it wasn’t that cold and just raining lightly – I was by myself and for the first time it really began to hit me that I was leaving the country tomorrow.  While four months isn’t a long time in the grand scheme of life, it has impacted my life greatly and I will certainly never forget it!  When I got home, my roommates and I ordered in…Güney of course!  Had to have some good tavuk şiş before I left!!  After dinner, Vonda, Jess, Sarah and I went to meet Seth & Michael at Starbucks! We had a great time hanging out with them and laughing…I will miss them a lot.  Well, truth: I will miss everyone a lot!!! But, I am excited to be home in literally less than 24 hours from now!  Good-bye Turkey – I will miss you terribly.  America bound…

Don't Believe It

If anyone ever tells you that you can make anything taste good, they have not tasted shalgum.
I know this because today I tried this drink made of fermented beet juice that they drink here.

Did you catch that? FERMENTED beet juice. 

I promise it is as gross as it sounds.
It will make you want to gag and run out of the room with tears in your eyes.
You CANNOT make that stuff taste good.
Take my word for it.

I would happily drink ayran like it was going out of style before I EVER took another sip of shalgum.

Last Wednesday...

De-briefing done.

One more day ahead.

A little packing to finish.

Soon, I will be on my way home. 

I am excited, but I am also sad. 

Today was a blast with all of our friends – we laughed a lot.  I am thankful for the relationships that we have developed and especially the joking that all goes on among us.  We finished early today and then Sarah and I went to go have coffee one last time and say good bye to one of our dearest friends here.  It was so fun and we laughed a lot and caught up!  A warm vanilla latte tasted so good on a cold winter day.  Tonight, we are home sweet home in our apartment.  Finishing a little packing and then going to bed tonight…for the last time in Turkey…next time I go to bed, it will be in my own bed in Maryland…

here is a picture of our de-briefing group…

Last Tuesday...

Day 2 of de-briefing...
It was a cold, but beautiful morning and I thoroughly enjoyed our 15-minute walk to the office (so different from the intense heat when we first arrive over four months ago). Today we heard a challenging talk from Romans 15 about the belivers' role in the work that is being done around the world.

So many thoughts in my little head tonight...
I need to put them in a journal.
We also had a great time of sharing and talking about our different experiences and sharing some of our answers from our personal de-brief time. It has been so encouraging to hear about everyone's time over the past few months. We have also had many laughs about many of the cultural blunders that we made.

This afternoon, one of our tasks was to show the group about 15 pictures representing our time overseas. We also spent a great deal of time preparing various types of answers that we can use to share with people when we return home. I trust that this will help to buffer some of the culture shock I am sure we are all about to experience. It has been really helpful to hear from workers who have already experienced what is about to hit us.

Tonight, Sarah and I went to have dinner with a dear friend of ours. It felt so normal to meet up with a friend and have dinner at a local restaraunt. It felt like home. We sat outside under the heaters and talked and ate the evening away. What a blessing to spend the evening with these two ladies. On the way home we found tarçın lokum (cinnamon Turkish delight) - that was a new flavor I had never had before. Of course I also had to get my favorite to take home with me: fısktıklı ve fındıklı lokum (pistachio & hazlenut Turkish delight). I am thankful for the confidence we have gained to jump on public transportation and go anywhere we want.

2 days 'til home...

Last Monday...

Today we started our de-briefing meetings to reflect over the last four months that we have been here.  WHERE did the time go? It was exciting to come together with the six other students that were living in Central Asia and to hear bits and pieces about their time. What a blessing! This morning we started with hearing some encouragement from the Word.  It was a great reminder that as we look back over what we have seen and done in the past four months, it is all by the grace of God that any of it has happened and that God is the One that causes the growth from each of the seeds that were planted!  Next, we had a small time of discussion and then split up for the rest of the day at to go to individual locations and work through a stack of de-briefing papers that we were given.  They had really helpful questions to help us work through and analyze how we have grown and changed and expectations of going home, etc.  It was really helpful for me, but also overwhelming in ways at seeing the big picture, now looking back over the past four months.  I can’t believe that we are already at the end!  After our personal reflection time (which really was a huge encouragement), we all met up at a restaurant to have dinner!  We laughed and laughed and laughed and shared so many stories from our time overseas and joking about culture shock (ironically the menu was in English – that totally threw me off and I actually found myself wanting a Turkish menu).  I guess I’ve lived overseas for long enough when I feel less lost with a Turkish menu than an English one.  I actually couldn’t even pick what I wanted – I ordered the first thing that was recommended to me and it was good. Good thing.

Last Sunday...

One of the first things I realized today when I wrote the date today is that I have officially been here for four months today!  And on that four month anniversary, it was also the first day of good-byes. So bittersweet.  I had to say good-bye to the two families in our house group – both couples and their four (soon to be six) children combined have been such a blessing to me over the past couple of months that I have had the privilege of worshipping with them and getting to know them.  We took our house group this morning to see a Christmas musical at one of the international fellowships in our city.  And bonus! Jess was singing in the choir so we got to see her too!  After church, our whole house group went and got kumpirs for lunch! I was starving and they were delicious!  It was freezing cold today – so thankful now that I do have my winter coat, gloves and hat!  This afternoon, I made my final airport run before I go to take myself to the airport early Friday morning.  Sarah and I also went this evening to say good bye to our supervisors – they are precious and I will miss them a lot! It was fun to sit and drink çay with them tonight.  Since I will be in Asia for meetings for the next three days, I decided to start attacking the packing process today – I know myself well enough that I either need to tackle that job and get it all done at once or it will surely come undone.  So, I have picked out my outfits for the next four days and sorted everything out and put it all in suitcases – it’s truly a miracle it all fit back in there, even with the extra stuff I have accumulated over the past four months.  So now, suitcases packed – I’m exhausted from being gone all day for the last several days…time for bed!

Update: Homeward Bound on Friday

Dear friends and family,

So, yesterday officially began my first day of lasts while I am here in Central Asia...it was my last Friday here, today is my last Saturday, etc.  I cannot believe that these four months are nearly over!  What I anticipated and looked forward to for so long is nearly all behind me now!  But God is good! I have learned so much!  As I begin to think and process over all that I have learned and experienced in the past 17 weeks, I am overwhelmed!  But in a good way!  There is so much to be thankful for! Each day has had its own challenges, but I have loved every minute of being here.

I am thankful for every relationship that I have, whether it has been consistent, or one that just lasted for a few minutes in a divine appointment.

I am thankful for what I have learned about culture (even through my cultural blunders that are surely too many to count) and how many opportunities there are to talk about the Truth when talking about differences in culture.

I am thankful for the Father's work in my life.  He has taught me innumerable lessons, broken me, held me, filled me with joy and love for these people.

I have learned more about Christmas this year than any other year in my whole life - which is ironic being that I am in a country that does not celebrate Christmas.  But it is that absence that has caused me to be more aware of why I celebrate Christmas - I have to seek out the real meaning, when there is nothing tangible to remind me of the Christmas season that American culture has been swallowed up in.

This week, as I spend my final days in a city that the Father has given me a love for, would you please lift up the following:

• Clarity of thought as we spend a few days in de-briefing, a time that has been planned for us to be able to reflect back over the four months and share testimonies of what the Father has done.
• That the joy of the Father would fill me
• Travel safety on Friday - it has finally turned winter here (meaning that it is no longer 70 degrees in December) and flights get canceled more frequently due to the weather.
• The beginning stages of the adjustment back to American culture and readjusting to my own home culture after diving deep and being completely immersed in a second culture for the past four months.
• That I would be able to meet with my friend, "S".  She is a dear friend that I have been able to share with many times while living here and am asking the Father that I would be able to see her one last time this week. 

I am so thankful for you.  Thank you for walking this journey with me and joining me to lift up the work that is being done here!  I can assure you that your laboring has not been in vain!

I trust that the next e-mail I send out to you all will come from America!  I look forward to seeing many of you when I return home!

Love,  Anna

Last Saturday...

No sleeping in for me this morning (I have treasured that on Saturday mornings) – I got up and then got ready in a hurried frenzy (15 minutes flat to be exact) to go to a ladies tea on the other side.  I was blessed to hitch a ride, in a real car and not a bus! It had been weeks since I had done that and I almost forgot how much I like just riding in a car!!  And, on the way it started snowing!!!  It was on the highway just as we were coming around the corner to see the bridge – one of my favorite views of the city (and with snow!!!) – it made me squeal!  The ladies tea was wonderful, and so encouraging!  I got to see a good friend and be encouraged by Truth that was spoken!  Then, for the afternoon I walked down the street (in the snow!! – still exciting, even though it’s not cold enough to stick) to Starbucks – I had somewhere to be later tonight so it was too far to go all the way home.  In the meantime I knocked a few things off my to-do list and  got to have my FINAL Skype date with Michael. Hallelujah! The next time I see his face will be in person! Today was a perfect coffee shop day – cold outside, but warm inside and a chance to get a hot drink. Later tonight, Sarah and I went to a Christmas party with the conversational English club that we have been helping with this semester – we watched “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” ate some food, decorated sugar cookies, and played some games, including a competition to see what team could make the tallest free-standing Christmas tree from 66 drinking straws – my team won, thanks to the engineer major we had on our team!!  It was a great night, even though bittersweet as Sarah and I had to say the first of our good-byes to some of our good friends that we have made!  It was sleeting when we left to come home.  As Sarah and I were trekking through the sleet to the metrobüs, we had to dodge lakes of water all over the walking paths. My heart is beginning to be filled with mixed emotions as I think all that the next week will hold.

Last Friday...

I woke up this morning – one more week left in the country – and it was raining (winter has officially arrived).  I had big plans to go to Sultanahmet (tourist area) today, but the rain suddenly made me re-think my plans – was it really worth it to risk getting soaked and being ok with being wet all day long?  Yes it was!  I decided I really did want to go – after all I only have a week left and still had things I wanted to see!  So, I got ready, got my winter coat out for like the 3^rd time since being here, found my 5 TL umbrella that thankfully I have not had to use for a long time, found some snacks and bravely set out, determined to not let the weather dampen my spirits.  I find it ironic that I am no longer fearful of finding my way on public transportation, but more fearful of the weather ruining my day. 

Today, I went to the Archaeological Museum.  I feel as though I would have appreciated it more if I knew more history of the country (and could read & speak Turkish), but it was still great!  I saw lots of stone, and some bones as well!  I still had time after the museum so I also went to the Topkapı  Palace which had an incredible view of the Bosporus, and thankfully it never poured on me during the day – success!  Also, lots of interesting artifacts at the palace.  After all my touring, I went to the Otogar, where Sarah and I met Christina and Barb (two friends who were serving in another country) and then proceeded to get in a taksi, which took 2 hours to get to our destination!  I’m pretty sure that is a record set that I never want to try and compete with.  But then, the worst part came when we arrived at our destination and the driver told me that the total was 182 TL, when the meter in the mirror only said 82 TL –I looked at him and said “NE?! Çok pahalı!!” (What?! That is very expensive)!   Fortunately, a friend who spoke a little more language came downstairs and compromised at another price – still expensive, but not the full amount.  Finally, we  got home and got to eat dinner at 9:30pm…of course, we ordered Güney :)  

Can’t believe that one week from right now, I will have landed back in America!

Fighting for Joy

Have you ever had to fight for joy?  I mean, really, really fight for it?  You lay in your bed in the morning and pray you can fall back asleep just to wake up with a smile and passion to jump head-first into all that your day holds.  And yet, more than anything else, you desire joy – you desire that the Lord would fill you to overflowing and that you would be content to sit in His presence.  What are all these distractions that strip us from being able to see the Lord clearly in our lives? 

I am finding more and more every day that my relationship and intimacy with the Lord is directly related to my commitment to become more like Him and walk away from temptations.  In short, walk away from sin.  Sin eats away at our very core and strips of not only what is most precious to us, but also what we need the most – a vibrant and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

I have nine days left before I return to America and every day right now, I am choosing to fight – fight a battle that I can’t fight on my own, but I also can’t be naive enough to think that I can sit on the sidelines and hope for a win.  I also know that when I step back into America, my issues and sin will still be with me if I don’t seek forgiveness and healing now.  That would be a waste of the precious little time that I have been given to live on this earth and make God’s name great!  But to be completely honest, this past week has been a battle – not because anyone has done anything or because I am unhappy here, but because the holy God of the universe has chosen to take me as I am, sitting here on the other side of the world away from all the comforts and things that are familiar to me, and break me.  And by break, I mean strip me to the core and show me the filthiness of my heart.  He has shown me how selfishness has stood in my path and how I have clung to it – how wonderful it looked when I first chose to walk towards it. 

The truth God is good has never been so real to me.

Do you know just how good He is?

It hurts and it sucks to be made aware of weaknesses in your life, but it is evidence of the faithfulness of the Lord to continue to prune me and mold me to be more like Him each and every day of my life.  He is so faithful, and like a father who spanks his child in loving discipline, so our Heavenly Father takes us aside and shows where we have gone wrong, how to start walking straight again – and reminds us that He loves…He has and He always will. 

As I sit here today and write, I can say with a grateful heart that as much as it hurts, this pain is good.  Without Christ, I could not say that.  But my eyes are fixed on Him who saves me every day of my life.  He gives me the strength to say “You are good” because He has proven Himself faithful and I know that whatever He chooses to work in me has a purpose.

I do not want to be selfish or prideful – I want to be loving and complimentary and encouraging!

I am thankful that the Lord has shown me sin in my heart and life. I am thankful that He has worked in me so that it disgusts me to see it and be identified with it.  I am thankful for His salvation in my life.  I am thankful, that in all His grace and mercy, even through difficult lessons like I am learning, I am still learning more and more about the Gospel as it becomes more and more real to me with each passing day.  I am thankful for the truths that I read in the Word this week about how the Lord has called us to be His own:

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  1 Peter 2:9-10

My heart’s desire is to finish strong in the next nine days - to go forth in joy into this incredible city and pray for it and share Truth if the Lord allows me an opportunity.  There is nothing that I would love more.  I am seeking and praying and begging the Lord for His joy to fill every part of my being.  I will wait on Him because He is worth waiting for.

But for now - I am thankful to be alive and to see the sun beginning to set over the city.  I am thankful to be here.  I am thankful for pain that will not endure forever.  I am thankful that the Gospel has become more real to me.

And so, as Jeremiah says in Lamentations 3:19-26:

Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness.  Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me.  This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.  The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I have hope in Him.’  The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.  It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord.

I will wait on the Lord.  He is my delight and my reward and in Him my soul finds rest and shelter.  He is enough.  He is my joy, even when joy is a fight.

These two songs,“Not Guilty Anymore” and “Not What My Hands” by Aaron Keyes, have been an incredible encouragement to me recently as it talks about how I am not guilty anymore - I stand blameless before the Lord because, as His child, He has declare me righteous in His sight!  Even when I have nothing to bring before the Lord, He still accepts me and has clothed me in His righteousness. I literally listen to these songs over and over - they speak Truth that gives me something to cling to and rest in. 

Continue to fight strong. 

I will always be learning this discipline, but what I have learned so far is that it is worth it!

I'm Thankful for These People

Getting out of the City

On the rare occasion that we actually get to get out of the majorly congested city with millions of people,

it is wonderful.

This is just a little bit of the beauty that we get to see.

Friends

Thankful for our friends here!