Turkey out
This month has not been easy for me. As we arrived in Turkey, I felt
God’s presence overwhelm my thoughts. We prayed for our ministries as we made
our way to Istanbul
and I saw 3 visions. One was an amazing white palace with a bluish purple sky
behind it. The second was this three pronged design with glowing lights behind it.
The last was an angel
with outstretched arms to the sky and her wings were pointed down
and not up. When we got to the city near our hostel I saw the palace, which
ended up being the blue mosque, and the three prong design was on a restaurant
sign with neon lights behind it. The other vision was for the team of girls
that they would be protected in this country by angel’s wings.
We began the
month with expectations of traveling the country doing ethnography. This
ministry did not happen because translators were not lining up and places to
stay weren’t happening. So, a week into the month we sat down with our contact
and came up with a game plan. We prayed and heard our team was going on a
spirit led Turkey
Tour. Our intentions were to play music throughout our trip and make
our way to small towns through larger ones letting God lead the way day by day.
We began by going
to Ankara. The
stay lasted a few hours and God said get back on a bus. So, we got back on a
bus heading to a small town maybe 1 ½ hours east but ended up going 12-14 hours east. As
the bus stopped we realized we were a little farther than our mark. It could
not have been better. 
Diyarbakir
held so many blessings and growth for our team. We left after a translator
contacted us asking if we wanted to travel with him the remainder of our trip.
We met him in northern Turkey
and rode in a van from town to town drinking lots of tea and enjoying beautiful
scenery and all the many blessings we were given. Free places to stay the night, free meals, extremely discounted meals,
and all the bread we could eat. I’ll never look
at bread the same again. The trip was life changing and I found myself
frustrated at times with how much we were on the road, but I know God had
something in it later for me to look back and understand. I haven’t completely yet and am having a tough time with it.
Another thing is I am
not showing myself much grace and I need prayer. I do not like hurting someone
and the feeling after when the tension is so high you can hardly stand. But I
know, unintentionally, it will come. It’s happened some lately and I am a
little down about it.
Turkey is over now and Israel is just
around the corner. I’ve struggled with something since the beginning of the
trip and am now ready to make a commitment. Ironically, the time I decided to
commit is the time the squad was asked to all do it. I will be on a technology
fast for all next month. The only times we are allowed internet use is to write
one blog a week. Please keep my whole
squad in your prayers because this will be very hard. Especially considering Christmas
is just around the corner.
Turkey may be through in our trip, but it does not have to be the stopping place for
prayer. Turkey
needs more of Christ. Their roots go so deep in the Christian background and we must
continue fighting for their salvation.
