Late night...Day 2

It is 12:43 in the morning. In the states, 5:43 (although by the time I wrote that it is now 12:44 and 5:44 respectively...but you get the idea).

I'm sitting here by myself in an empty apartment/office. Cars are whizzing by behind me, every now and then a police car zips past, blue lights flashing as they are want to do. Across the street is an old stadium. Above the stadium, were it not dark, are vistas of snow capped mountains. Between here and there...the glistening bay, letting out into the Mediterranean. It is crisp here, a little warmer than home, but once the sun sets, things change drastically. There is little insulation, no heat to speak of except a few space heaters and lined crocs (my first pair ever...does my man card get pulled for that? I'm not sure). I've already picked up a few words of Turkish. Really heady stuff. Merhaba evet saool tesekkur ederim taksi sul domates. For those of you who don't speak fluent Turkish...I just said: Hello, yes, thanks, thank you, taxi, water, tomatoes. Like I said, heady stuff.

Out of my comfort zone? Yeah. A bit. It is kind of a shock when you the first conversation you recognize anything in (other than one you are having) is in German...and you still can't understand what was said. You just know it is not Turkish. Or English. Or Chinese.

Met a wonderful lady named Joy who is helping out for a few weeks. Her name, fits her personality. Full. Of. Joy. We both discovered that I can walk straight through every door in the place without ducking, except for the bathroom. Or WC. Already bopped my head once...and only in a test. Hopefully I won't walk into it straight on at night or I might knock my block clean off.

Met another lady named Kate who works mapping and trying to preserve ancient sites here in Turkey. We talked about the OLDEST known man-made structure in the world...which I forget the name of. They believe it predates stone hedge. Sorry to all my British pals.

This is mostly just an update to let y'all know what goes on...more will follow soon but I've been struck with something multiple times since I got here: generosity.  I was at a market today and a man was about to check out with about fifteen items, his arms were loaded. I walked up with my professor (hereafter referred to as Prof) with two things and he let us go first. Mind you, you may have seen that happen when you have been to a grocery store in the states...but did it happen the first time you ever walked into a store? What are the odds? Seriously. Now add to that. As we were finishing an elderly gentleman walked up...and the man, still juggling his fifteen items let HIM go before him as WELL! I dare you, I dare myself, do that for someone the next time you go to a grocery store.

Beyond this, God continues to work on me. Refinement is a long process. There is a lot. I have a lot I need to pray about. A lot to think about. A lot to observe. All requiring a LOT of trust. Trust and obedience.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

This has been update numero uno from Turkey...or numara bir.

Praying for you all

Grace and peace