Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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Turkey has been my favorite country so far. It is an amazing place with beautiful people, great food, and hospitality. But is also a very dark place. There is less then 1% of Christians in Turkey (3,000 people out  of  72 million). 99% are Muslim and some practice the Islamic religion, but a lot of the people I met along the way were atheist. I could see the empty emptiness in their eyes and heart. My heart broke for God’s children. I could feel how much God longed to have a relationship with them.As my friends and I would walk the streets I could feel the hunger of this people for something real. But there was no one there to reach all of these people. The harvest was ripe, but there was not many there to bring the gospel.

 

Let me tell you Turkish guys can be very charming. They are flirts! Sometimes I would get so frustrated because I was hit on everyday and asked on dates. I started to ignore guys while walking down the street. I was at the point where I did not want to even look at then or talk. But, God was like look they are my children and they need me. While in Turkey I was living at a hostel and every morning I would wake up for breakfast  the guys that worked there would say “why are you so beautiful?” Or would always throw me kisses. I would just laugh at them. I did not want them to think I was another American going in there ready to sleep with them or something. So, I was like “you better stop talking to me like that.” I wanted to break those thoughts they had so I could be build a relationship with them.
 


So, I became really close to one of the girls that is bartender there and all of the guys that were on staff. I would sit there all night until closing which was like 3am. I would help them clean up the restaurant and serve meals. The girl that was a bartender was from Ecuador and is living with her boyfriend there in Turkey. He is Turkish and practices the Islamic faith. As I got to know Gabriela I was able to tell her that I was a Christian and that I was a missionary. I was able to share my testimony and faith with her. As I was telling her my life story and how God changed my like her eyes got so watery. She told me that there is something missing in her heart before I told her my testimony and I told her it was a relationship with God. That he longed for her and wanted to be there with her. She became a very close friend to me and she shared all of he life stories with me and how she suffered so much in her life. But, in every story God was so evident in everything. I would point it out to her and she would say you are right. I was able to pour God’s heart into her. Not my heart, but HIS heart. One day she asked me do you have a Spanish bible with you? I was so excited, but I only had Turkish bibles with me, so I prayed and asked people around to see maybe they would have one and my friend Trish had one. She was collecting bibles from every country, so she gave up that bible to give to Gabriela. I also got a chance to share my faith with her boyfriend… It was amazing!!! God had used me to speak into these peoples lives!

 

I also became really close to the guys that worked there. They became like my brothers. They would share all of their live stories with me and they would ask me about God. I would sit outside with them for hours telling them how much they are worth and just speaking truth into their lives. Mamoot was a 23 year old guy that was divorced and had 2 children. He has an amazing heart, but you could see the loneliness in him. He lost his family and everything. All he would do is smoke and drink all day to pass the day away.  Speaking life into his life was an amazing opportunity. I know I was just planting the seed, but I know God will finish the work. Please keep him in your prayers.

Turkey has been on my heart and I am praying that if it is God’s will I would like to move there for a couple of years and do full time ministry.  Please keep me in your prayers that God will give me a clear vision of what he wants in my life.