1. Baby-sitting the kids
Who
knew there were so many spiritual parallels between our watching (or
raising) children and our relationship with God? The kids were a blast,
we adored their parents, and it was fun to giggle and be silly and
remember their joy at the simple things in life, like bubbles, or
passing motorcycles.
2. The Hamam
Otherwise
called a Turkish Bath, this was a fun experience to share with April,
Aubrey and Brandy. Washing off some of the World Race dirt that had
been accumulating was really nice, too!
3. Christmas video
Being
silly with the team was so much fun, as was figuring out what we should
put for each of the twelve days of Christmas! If you have seen it yet,
it’s on my blog here. Many, many thanks go to Matt for compiling it all
and putting it all together in fantastic fashion.
4. Christmas
Oh,
of course this is on here! Yes, I love it because it’s the day we
celebrate the birth of Jesus. But it was also a day to relax and spend
with my team and April and Logan. At one point, I looked at Matt, hard
at work on his computer, Aubrey laughing with April on one couch,
Marissa laying down on the other, the smell of food wafting in from the
kitchen, and Colin and Jodi in the other rooms, Skyping with their
families, and I had already talked to mine. An overwhelming sense of
love and joy enveloped me. (And starting a day out with Secret Santa and cinnamon rolls (thanks, April!) never makes a day bad!)
You
may wonder at the blue tongue picture. Here is all I will say: if you
ever have a cough that won’t go away and begin coughing during
Christmas dinner, and Matt Patch happens to have a cough drop in his
pocket, don’t take it! It’s
not actually a cough drop, but a prank candy, which will turn your
mouth blue. Even worse, everyone will be laughing, but you won’t know
why, so you will laugh along with them. You’ll even comment on how you
want to buy more of these cough drops, because they taste like
blueberry candy, not like medicine.
5. Pedicure
The
boys (Colin and Matt) got the girls pedicures for our stocking
stuffers. Great stocking stuffer! April went with us and we just had a
fun time talking and laughing while 22 years of dead skin got sloughed
off of my feet- yuck! But I highly encourage you to go get a pedicure;
who knew they were so fantastic? Apparently, the razor thing they use
in Turkey to get the skin off of your feet is illegal in Texas. Oh,
well.
6. Hearing part of Matt Chandler’s “Jesus wants the rose!” sermon
Logan
had us listen to a bit of this one. A pastor had had people in the
congregation pass around a rose and when he asked for it back, it was
no longer beautiful, but wilted and falling apart. Likening this to
sexual misconduct, he asked, “Who would want this rose?” implying that
no one would want it. Matt Chandler, then, says that it took all he had
not to stand up and yell, “Jesus wants to the rose!” He died for that
rose, and he loves it dearly. He died for you and he loves you dearly.
Your sin just proves you need Jesus- just like everyone else.
7. Doners
Just
a fun food from Turkey! It’s pronounced “do-nair”, not “do-nur”, as
Logan had to tell us over and over and over and over again.
8. Riding a camel
After
seeing a waterfall, we walked out of the park and immediately saw five
camels. YES. Camels are really cute for some reason, and when we found
out it was really cheap to ride one, we couldn’t resist. I won’t lie, I
was terrified to be so high up (my fear of heights is odd, considering
I’m quite tall) and mad at myself for somewhat perpetuating animal
cruelty (making a camel lie down all day until it’s ridden? And who
knows where they take them at night…), but it was quite fun once I
quit screaming.
9. Finding a pair of jeans
My
pair of jeans died in rather spectacular fashion while in Montenegro,
and I’d been trying to get by with my capris and gauchos since.
A Turkish wintry day will get you to buy a pair of jeans, though. Plus,
it meant I didn’t have to wear outfits like this anymore to try to stay
warm! And even though my teammates got great joy out of telling me
what, exactly, was wrong with this outfit, I still think it’s kind of
okay.
10. IGVP
One
thing this trip has taught me is that people are pretty much the same
everywhere. Sure, skin colors, languages, and cultures change, but we
all want to be loved, we all giggle when someone we like talks to us,
we all get frustrated at times and we all laugh. The goal of this
organization is to facilitate reconciliation through photographs that
show our common humanity. While pictures of war and starvation grasp at
our heartstrings, it is the pictures of people waiting at bus stops,
and grandpas laughing at their granddaughters that remind us we are all
human, and we all share this earth, and maybe we could love each other
a little bit more. (Oh, and also cool? This is pretty much Marissa’s
Kingdom Dream, telling stories through words and photos and getting
those stories out there for people. Thanks, God, for throwing that into
her lap!)
And what’s on my NOT Top Ten List?
Getting pooped on by a bird! I knew as soon as it hit my head that it wasn’t an errant raindrop…
