Turkey Time

First of all, 'Turkey Time' means we're not in Pacific Standard Time...meaning we're still getting used to traveling 18 hours to a time zone that is 10 hours ahead of the one we left. Right now it's 11:30 PM in Turkey, so it's 2:30 Pm in Templeton. It will soon be Saturday while Santa Barbara Presbytery still has 10 hours of Friday left. We're still getting used the change. I have an advantage over Ron and Peggy. I get to stand up, move around and do most the talking. They get to sit in front of computers and push buttons to bring up the video and power point, which can at times be challenge for drowsy eyes. But they did great. We both learned from the first class so that the second went smoother and better in some ways.

Second, 'Turkey Time' means don't panic when at 7:15 (for a 7pm class) arrives and nobody's there...which was the case tonight. That was a discouraging moment for me (though I tried to pretend it wasn't) as I had the thought of "How do I tell people who sent me to teach that nobody wanted to learn?" But by 7:30 we had 12 people show up, which just a little less than what we had in the morning class. Things start in Turkey when people show up...and not before. Definitely something I need to get used to.

Third, 'Turkey Time' means we're here on God's time, not ours, and that it's now about discerning the hands on the dial but the presence of the activity of God. In the Greek, there are two words for time: Chronos (clock time) and Kairos (event time). When Jesus said that "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand..." (Mark 1.15), he uses the word kairos. For me, I want to pay attention to what God is doing because I believe that God IS doing something, no matter who shows up...or when.

Thanks for your prayers and encouraging words. Tomorrow we teach the Teen program. Pray that we will apply well the lessons learned today.

- Charlie