Hoş Geldiniz

That means "Welcome" in Turkish. We hear of lot of that, and it aptly describes how we feel: Welcomed. It feels very comfortable being here among the people - not a stranger or foreigner (though in some ways we definitely are), but included as part of the body of Christ in this particular expression of His body.

This morning Ron and I attended the Men's Bible Study for the International Church. I gave the devotional, which was fun to prepare for, as I used it as an opportunity to think out loud about some thoughts regarding our imitation of Christ and passionately pursuing the will of God. The rest of the day was spent preparing for the parenting class for children, with a long lunch break in which the three of us broke bread with Jim and Renata Bultima, founders and directors of St. Paul's Cultural Center. It was great to hear the story of how it came to be, the vision for its future, and how they are committed to supporting the Turkish Church that worships there.

In the evening we had a wonderful visit with a couple of the church who are taking the parenting class for teens, though their daughter is only 7. This was the couple that had a devastating miscarriage when the IMPACT team I was on was here in the summer of 2010. Now the wife is 5 1/2 months pregnant and things seem to be progressing well, though there is a chance the child will come early. So we spent time praying for a healthy baby, an uncomplicated delivery, and one that comes in God's good time. We were also treated to a mini-concert as the husband played a couple of instruments and sang for us.

As the couple shared their journeys to Christ, and to each other, it was interesting (an moving) to hear of the special ways God would speak and lead them into his will. It is as if, lacking the many support structures that we are used to in the churches and well-developed ministries in America, God involves himself in more "miraculous" ways. We've noticed this several times in which the timing of answered prayer, the nature of the prayer experience, and the circumstances surrounding their coming to Christ bear unmistakable signs of direct activity and intervention by God. It is as if the Holy Spirit functions in ways reminiscent of the book of Acts when the gospel was penetrating the pagan culture of Rome, remarkable things would happen. Anatolia was fertile ground for the founding and growth of churches - Antioch, Ephesus, Colossae, Galatia, the 7 churches of revelation, etc - it is tempting to hope for just such an inroad of the gospel in Turkey again.

Charlie

Yilmaz playing the Saz