Here it is so far

So It Begins...

So I’m in Turkey. How did this come about? I am not really sure. It started with a Facebook message from Caitlin, one of my best friends from college. She asked me if I wanted her job. She was working as a Nanny in Istanbul for a 9 year old girl and 6 year old boy. I laughed and wrote some sort of soothing reply about only having 3 months left and it was gonna be fine. You see Caitlin was having a hard time and it was not a great experience most of the time it seemed to me. Well then bright and early one morning I received a call on a frantic last minute summer camp recreation Wal-Mart run. It was Caitlin. Caitlin had not called me on a phone since she left at least 6 months ago. So immediately I was like what’s wrong and then came the question again, do you want my job? Was she serious? She was trying to pawn this terrible job on me and I couldn’t believe it. I said no and I can’t believe you’d even asked. I wasn’t mad it just seemed dumb.

Well as I approached my accountability partner and told the story she was like why not go. I did a double take on the phone. Was she not listening? Caitlin had such a hard time and what is a point to ministering to the rich man anyway. I wanted to help those who needed it. If I was willing to spend my life in a hut in Africa why wouldn’t that be where I should go; not many people want to do that I think. Well, I was convicted. Even as I hung up the phone with Caitlin I couldn’t let it go. As time went buy the feeling persisted so I said, “all right God I will go to Turkey.” I am not gonna lie, I was totally expecting an Abraham Isaac scenario. God puts up what seems an impossible request, I say yes, and then it’s a well done my good and faithful and I’m ready to get back to my life. Instead God changed my heart.

Over the next few days God revealed to me that I was looking at missions all wrong. I was more concerned with the outward than the inward. I wanted to feed orphans and destroy physical poverty because those people have it worse. The rich man can figure it out by himself. The Lord showed me it is not the outward but the inward. Spiritual Poverty affects every country, a very race, and every level of the social ladder. If it is not about souls or loving individuals my heart was in the wrong place and I didn’t need to do mission work at all. The next revelation was that God will send people where he wants them. Just because I’m not feeding baby orphans in Africa doesn’t mean no one is. God is in control and apparently I am prideful.

From the time I accepted until now I have had confirmation in dreams, gifts, and even words of knowledge. The amount of peace I have is absurd. I feel like I strolled in to Turkey like it was no big thing (we shall see how long that lasts.) God’s hand is all over this. He has been preparing this place for me. He passionately loves this family and in his extravagance found it suitable to send an 8 year old in 23 year olds body from Jacksonville Fl to share his love. Every day my mind is blown.

What does this mean for you? This is a mission’s trip for the 7 people living in this house. I need your prayers and intersession. Encouragement will be fine too. I desire to see God move here in a powerful way. I know this won’t be possible with out a fight. So as I suite up every day in the armor of God pray for me and for the family, as well as praying against the evil one, authorities, and principalities. Get creative. Let’s bind and loose stuff baby.

Thanks to you all.

With Love.

Official Day One (8-20-09)

So Caitlin left today… and with her every scrap of light I could see. You could feel it; I could feel it. The kids surprised me because I expected them to at least like each other but they are very mean at times. I started crying when I first heard it. The parents have a nanny, me, so they are absent. Even when they are there they make it worse because the just give in at the first wine. I am a mom with no authority. I caught myself saying today well only 364 left. It is only the first day, what happens at day 40? Caitlin says it will be fine by then but I am not convinced. I clearly need the Lord and I know I am supposed to be here hearing because the task at hand seems impossible. But God will break these hearts of stone. Last night Caitlin and I prayed and the Lord showed up. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit on my mouth as she prayed for tongues as the ability to pick up the language quickly. I really only want to speak so I can talk to the other workers in the house and tell them I appreciate them. Then I was given a song to sing that I am taking it as a prophetic word and it is the song from the prince of Egypt “There can be miracles.” It is a song of rejoicing for the freedom from bondage and I know that it is gonna happen in this house. That is what I cling. Even today I prayed God you have sent me here so help me now please or it is gonna be bad. Well thank you for all your love and support and I know I am not alone.

P.S. On a weird note the favor I seem to have with my patron is oddly high. Wonder where that is coming from? (Sarcasm of course).

P.P.S

Almost forgot. If you are wondering what we did today here is a quick recap. Woke up and sent Caitlin off. Did homework and TV for an hour. Played soccer and hung out until 3ish. Ate a late lunch and then for way longer than it should ever take prepped for the beach. A thousand hours later we walked to the beach and played soccer for about 3 hours. I had Turkish Tea, which is very yummy. Took a swim in the sea. Then dinner shower and the kids went off. I stayed around and talked to my patron. Put the kids to bed for an hour. And now I am here. The parts I left out are all the Turkish conversations where I sit clueless and the wasted time during nothing waiting on someone to get ready to go. This seems far less overwhelming than it actually is.

Prayer Requests

-Soft hearts

-Blinders to be removed

-Protection from the works of the enemy

-Against outside influences

-Continued favor with my patron

-Strength through wisdom and faith

-Love to pour out from me

-My short rests will seem extremely long

-Bonding with the daughter

“I Believe In Me” (8-21-09)

So today while at the beach I had an interesting conversation with one of the girls who is a playmate of the kids I nanny. I was reading a book “When Heaven Invades Earth” by Bill Johnson and she asked me, “Why does heaven want to invade Earth? What did we ever do to them?” Now she is very sassy and snaps her head around enough to make other people’s neck muscles hurt. I said, “No that’s not what it’s talking about.” She looked at me and rolled her eyes, “Well I don’t understand because I thought heaven was a nice place you went when you died.”

Me: Yes but…

Her: Well then why does it want to invade us?

Me: No it’s not like that, its about the power of God…

Her: What are you talking about?

Me: I’ll explain if you let me finish a sentence

Her: Well I’m waiting

Me: Ok so heaven, you said it was a good place where you will go when you die right?

Her: Right

Me: So this book talks about how God doesn’t want to wait until heaven to be your friend

Her: Why?

Me: He loves us. He sent his son Christ…

Her: Who is Christ?

Me: (pause) Jesus, the Son of God

Her: Ah yes I’ve heard of him.

Me: Yes well He died and three days later rose so we could be in relationship with God

Her: Oh ok. Well I’ve heard of God and Jesus and stuff like that before but I don’t

believe in him.

Me: Really

Her: Ya I don’t believe in anyone, well except myself. I believe in myself

Don’t tell me kids don’t know or understand the world. She’s eight. She has already declared herself the god of her life. This is why we must speak truth to all ages. She understood and knew. We must speak truth the world must know about Christ and the awesome gift he has brought to us. Otherwise the dark stays dark and people who can’t view themselves properly envision themselves as gods, even at eight.

On another note I have had my reading privileges revoked during the day because I need to play with the kids. “You see,” as she explained, “You are young and athletic.” I am still not sure what that means.

Breaking Point (8-22-09)

I want to quit. This is the hardest thing I have ever done. These children are bad. That is just the best word. They cry and get their way. If I say no their mom says yes. Their parents want to make them happy since they are never around they figure giving them what they want makes up for it. Today at the beach there was a hair pulling, name-calling, WWC Smackdown at the beach today. The fight was over a soccer ball. A tiny neon green soccer ball sent to me from the bowls of hell. The boys stole it from the girls so they chased each other around the resort and then started throwing punches. So I am forced to physically split up the pair, the girl taunting her younger brother to tears. There were no innocent parties. I keep trying to picture and treat them as if they were my children but you see I have no children. I also would have some sort of authority over my own children. Here I have no power because the parents contradict everything I say. I will not quit because this is where I am supposed to be and I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt. But I don’t want to do a half ass job. Love must be conveyed. Pray for me. Pray for the family. I need to be excited about this or I am going to break. This is only day 3 and I am already feeling defeated. I know I have the power of God on my side but I need to feel it and walk in it or I am done. I knew this was going to be a challenge but there was no way I could have known the full extent. (Caitlin you may smile an “I told you so” here. Nah really its cool you tried to warn me.)

A Thought about The Rich (8-23-09)

So today my travels brought me to an enormous house somewhere on the Aegean Sea for a Turkish BBQ. Once getting there the kids were immediately split from their parents and sent to play. The moms and dads sat around sipping alcoholic drinks while the kids did pretty much whatever the heck they wanted to. Soon the parents are whisked away on golf carts to some other location for more drinks and whatever else. In all this I wonder what is happening at the house that is worth you spending a grand total of an hour with your children on a given day. You look and on a row of chairs inconspicuously placed is a group of nannies. If you were to look at these nannies you would see hardworking mothers with wild hearts caged by servitude. The best way to tell if someone is a nanny is by the watch. The rich don’t really seem to wear watches and certainly don’t have any concept of time. Some will have awful gaudy big gold watches but those are really class indicators rather than timepieces. It is these brave women (and sometimes men) who do the dirty work. Teaching kids to dress and brush their teeth. They are a ragged army and demonstrate the most amazing picture of servitude. They have given up everything to work for these people who don’t even know they exist.

Now at the risk of sounding bitter or jealous, a thought about the Rich. So apparently Abercrombie and Fitch is a big deal here and it is hilarious. Today grown men pranced around in A&F polos with their collars popped dancing to “I kissed a girl and I liked it.” It looked like a frat party gone bad. I just couldn’t believe how foolish it all looked. I laughed.

Solace in the Form of a Soccer Court (8-24-09)

My favorite part of my day while on vacation with the family is Tea Time. It is not because of the tea, the delicious breads, or cakes. No, Tea Time means the football court is cool enough to play a soccer match. All the frustrations of the day seem to melt away as I sing worship songs and crush that miserable green soccer ball. The kids refer to me as the professional soccer player and it is funny to see how excited they get when they trick me or score a goal on me. I am really not that good but never the less beating me is like climbing Everest or at least eating some good cake.

I started to think about the amount of pleasure this short 2 or so hours brought me and I realized it is really the only selfish pleasure I have. Really it is the only thing I do that I enjoy. As I stood in goal blocking shots I began to realize the selfish nature of me. As a servant my time is not my own. I eat, sleep, pee, swim, dance, play soccer, etcetera when someone else wants me to. It is an odd feeling when nothing is about you. I can’t even make it be about me. I thought back to when I was young and in Kids Church and hearing someone say to us kids that God doesn’t want robots. But after this experience I am not sure. Now don’t freak out I don’t mean a lack of relationship because if I said that I would be denying the power of the cross and the whole point of Christ. What I am saying is when we are told that we are not robots we just kind of meander about doing good deeds to make ourselves feel good. The type of servitude Christ calls us to is radical. Not only must we die to self to serve God but also we must die to our selves to serve others, the picture of Love painted by Christ now seems so radical. We like robo slaves must serve those around us in love with such reckless abandonment that we don’t worry about when we will get to pee. To be honest, I am not sure I can do that outside this job. This job hurts. Everyday I feel myself being smashed over and over by the Designers chisel as he destroys my flesh. Selfishness causes the heart to harden I think. I feel the fight. I have never felt it quite like this in the US, even at camp. Pray that I might find joy in my transformation. (Selfish prayer but at the same time I believe God is investing in me as well.)

On a different note, there is this chubby kid who always plays with us at the beach and he came over to the house tonight. Now he doesn’t speak English, has a goofy smile and kid of waddles as he walks. I will from now on refer to him as Turkey Leg because he is kind of like Ham from the “Sandlot.” So Turkey Leg comes over and the family dog just starts barking and going nuts. Nothing would calm her and he is terrified. Even when he would talk she would angrily bark. The funny thing is the dog, Caramel, is a toy poodle form Minnesota. I am not sure why the Minnesota part is so funny to me but I just feel like it adds to the story. So please picture with me this chubby short kid running from this yipping poodle terrified. I belly laughed, a lot. Maybe you had to be there but the people who were here weren’t exactly laughing. So maybe I’m just mean.

Things to pray for:

- Mother will realize the importance of seeing her kids grow up and get rid of nannies.

- The whole house will come to know Christ

- Mother will have a softening of her heart

- Softening of all hearts

- Dreams and visions for the house

- The power of God to fall on this place

- Peace between the siblings

- Strength for me

- Love to invade me and through me pour all over the place

- Divine appointments

- Patients for the Lord’s timing

- 1 Corinthians 13 (I recite it a lot in my head these days Jared.)

- The Kingdom come

St. Catharine -or- Cheesecake in Turkey (8-26-09)

Missed yesterday because I had a religion talk with my Patron and her friend who is staying with us. It was worth not typing. The one thing I enjoyed most about yesterday was a slice of cheesecake. Benny the Jet and I went to pick up Turkey leg for our usual soccer at the beach but in Turkey picking someone up or stopping to say hello turn into a very long engagement. This engagement was very pleasant though. I discussed politics with Turkey Leg’s grandfather with out a problem with the language. You see he had lived in New York for some time. I was given a slice of homemade cheesecake and made fun of the French. I don’t really mind the French it was just fun to think that France is a punching bag even in Turkey. But the best part was the home itself. It was warm and felt lived in. It wasn’t styled or themed. There was not expensive modern art on the walls or anything weird. Most rich homes around are very impersonal. So I sat in a rocking chair eating cheesecake while basking in the warmth provided by random Native American art pieces.

For the last few days one of my Patron’s college friends has been here. I will refer to her as St. Catharine because that is what she is. She talks English with me for one and for two she sweet talks the kids into doing what they are supposed to do. She swims with the kids and I as well as plays games with them. For me I am excited that she acknowledges my existence. Today we talked about the United States and what the countries consensus of Obama is. We also talked about health care and other American quirks such as irrational spending/consumerism. St Catharine, my Patron and I watched Angels and Demons last night and then talked about religion. My Patron believes in God but many roads, essentially Universalism. While the St. doesn’t seem to have made up her mind outside of the fact that she is Anglican but for some reason can’t have communion. It was an interesting talk and I hope to continue it.

Yesterday I had a talk with my Patron’s son, Benny the Jet for our purposes, about death. He told me he was scared to die and sad that everyone was going to die. So I told him that I wasn’t scared to die because I believed Christ…

“Who’s Christ?”

“Jesus”

“Who’s Jesus?”

“The son of God.”

“Who is God.”

“God is the creator of the universe. He created you, me, stars, earth, every thing.

He sent Jesus to us because he loved us and Jesus conquered death. Destroyed it.

So know I don’t have to be afraid of death. At least that is what I believe.”

“Jessica do you know what I believe?”

“What do you believe?”

“I believe in the tooth fairy.”

“Ah.”

So ah ya. I feel like even if they don’t believe most 6 year olds in the US at least have an idea of who Jesus and God are. My heart broke. We both cried. It was an odd dinner conversation. Pray that it will burn in his memory and God will fan that spark into a flame.

Benny the Jet, St. Catharine had a fun swim this morning. The beach we use has a dock going out into the flat, crystal clear Aegean Sea. The area is roped off to keep boats out and has two floating docks out in deeper water to sunbathe. We swam out to a floating dock were Benny the Jet would squirt us with this squirt gun covered in foam to kill us then shoot our belly buttons to bring us back. This game, dubbed Frankenstein went on for about an hour. We also swam later that day with Turkey Leg who is way too scared of me to push me in. It is funny because Benny the Jet is all about it and Turkey Leg just looks on and laughs nervously as he is called to join in. I smile.

Football was good. Normal 3 or so hour warm up before our court match. Cast of characters is as follows (All names have been changed for integrity purposes):

- Myself

- Benny the Jet. He is to soccer as Benny is to Baseball.

- Turkey Leg. AKA Pout Face.

- Pepper Ann. Sassy 9 year old from New York City. Catch phrase, “Are you going to eat that? “–or- “Can I have a piece?”

- Bumble Bee. Pepper Ann’s younger brother. Likes Transformers, superheroes, and try’s to carve the Harry Potter scar into his forehead with a toothpick almost everyday at lunch.

- Bambino. Very chubby Turkish kid who speaks no English but looks like a mini Turkish Babe Ruth. He even has a short-billed hat slightly cocked to the side. He is terrible and is one of those kids who you would say, “And you’re just happy to be here aren’t you?” Last game we just started spinning around in circles in the middle of a play.

- American Dad. Pepper Ann and Bumblebee’s dad. Takes over when his kids aren’t quite doing well enough. Very much that dad as well as the stereotypical young rich New Yorker with the exotic Turkish wife. He is nice but is the arm candy in the relationship. I like him a lot.

We had a good game. Turkey leg would fall over and cry foul every time I would steal the ball. Usually I am like whatever but today I kept calling his bluff and he didn’t like it. Hence the pout face comment. He is 11 and he needs to not fake sports injuries to get the upper hand in a simple street soccer game. American Dad was funny but really had no idea what was going on. Pepper Ann was the announcer and yelled a play by play. Turkey Leg was getting angry because she was giving team names such as the Hotdogs, Hamburgers, and Barcelonese.

The biggest deal about last night was a conversation I had with my Patron and her friend St. Catharine about religion. Like I mentioned earlier my Patron believes in a God and however you get there is fine. The thing that did encourage me though was that during college she didn’t believe in God and thought people who did were weak. So 12 year long baby steps but what is twelve years to God? They talked about how religions aren’t liberal enough. They talked about how religion is all about following rules. I don’t think anyone had ever explained the gospel to them. Church why is it that we are now viewed as Pharisees? When will walk in the power of the God as mighty love warriors? I guess the question starts with me.

The last thing we should pray for is fear. This family is plagued by fear. Even young Benny at 6 is terrified of death. The fear of sickness and death plagues every decision they make. No air conditioning or very low amounts, changing your swimsuit every time you get in the water, and not playing in the sun at all ever under no circumstances during the heat of the day. My Patron’s daughter, Princess Peach, is terrified burglars are going to come. Sometimes I think she doesn’t want to go to bed but other times it is genuine. We must pray against the spirit of fear.

I love you all. Thank you for praying with me and for me. May we all be known for the joy that overflows from us during our trails.

Prayer Requests

- Death of my pride

- Genuine love from me for this family and them for me

- Quick and ever growing bonds

- Quick learning of the language

- Heart and head revelation

- Softening of hearts

- Dreams and visions for all parties

- Interpretation of before mentioned dreams and visions

- Love love love

- Removal of the Spirit of fear

- Against the spirit of the Anti-Christ

- Falling of God’s power

The House My Patron Likes (8-27-09)

Today was our last morning swim with St. Catharine. I am sad to see her go because she was extremely fun to have around. Benny the Jet brought a float and pretended to be a water taxi and drove us around the sea. It wasn’t a bad deal. I went from the dock to the floating dock for only 10 Euro.

After this we went to this house that my Patron absolutely loves. She talks about it all the time. An extremely wealthy family owns it. I feel my Patron really wishes she had the amount of money required to buy that sort of home, which is absurd because she has two homes and a boat. But that is the problem with money you can never have enough no matter how much you have. While at the house my Patron kept asking my to play with Princess Peach. I tried to explain that it is better for Princess Peach to simply play with the girls her own age she was playing with. But my Patron insisted saying that I needed to spend time with her. This was frustrating because even though I am all about investing in people, Princess Peach wants to play with her mom not me. It was really a moment of my patron passing a motherly duty on me so she didn’t have to worry about it. I will invest in Princess Peach just not while she is playing with her friends.

After soccer, swimming, and pizza with corn (I know right) we left the house and returned to the beach for soccer with Turkey Leg and the gang. We played for a while and one of the resort staff, Valentino we’ll say, came and played as well. He is a regular at our evening soccer matches. He likes Benny the Jet a lot as well as having had a crush on Caitlin. The crush was the biggest piece of summer gossip among the kids, extremely scandalous. Everyone is starting to leave. So after the game we said goodbye to Bumblebee, Pepper Ann, and American Dad. Turkey Leg leaves tomorrow and that is going to be sad for Benny the Jet I can assure you. On a more positive note Bambino said his first English word to me today. He said, “Look” and showed me a drawing of himself playing soccer. I pointed and said, “ (Insert actual name here)” He smiled a big goofy smile and went back to working on the grass.

We have traded St. Catharine for my Patron’s husband Baba. So now the dynamics should be very interesting. Benny the Jet stayed up waiting and then didn’t want to go to bed so he could spend time with his father. It is very sad to see. Benny looks up to any older male he can find. He needs a role model. Pray for a solid role model for Benny the Jet. The same goes for Princess Peach. She is turning into a Patron Jr. and it is no good.

As a side note, Valentino brought Benny and I Cokes after the match and I burped so loud Benny jumped. My burp startled him enough to make him jump and we laughed hard for a solid five minutes until I scared him with a second burp. Like most 6-year-old boys he is all about burping. I bond however I can. My motto is “never miss an opportunity”.

Prayer Requests

- Role models for the kids

- Time to invest in Princess Peach

- Softened Hearts and minds

- Move of God

- Over flowing love from me

- Rest for me

- The ability for all parties involved to hear God

Turkish Santa (8-28-09)

So today’s adventures started with an early morning accident. Benny got up to pee but didn’t quite make it. It didn’t faze him though. I changed and cleaned him and we were back to sleep. When we woke up the second time we got ready and went down to the beach to say our farewells to Turkey Leg. Can’t say I was too sad to see him go. He was a bad sport, winy and used bad words and encouraged Benny to as well. After our goodbyes we hopped on the boat and were off to a friends house for Benny.

Now this kid, Mogely, is a true wild child. Usually he and Benny the Jet play chase games the entire time they are together. There was a lot of yelling today as well as a game of run and hide from the nannies. It is a terrible game. Their house was supposed to be a take on Miami but I just thought it was odd. It was decorated with tons of ship stuffs. Not one porthole but eleven as well as a bunch of signal lights, spotlights and crazy junk. In the room we played in, which was a bedroom, there was a large charcoal on blue canvas of a seductive naked lady. It was huge and the only thing on the walls as well as one of the few things of color in a completely white room. But by far the weirdest decorative piece was in the den/living room area. It was a wood carving about three feet tall of an eagle on a tree branch screeching at a hand. But the hand wasn’t attached to anything, just a random floating hand.

The man who owned the place was Mogely’s grandfather and the namesake of this piece. You see he was a rather round jolly man just like Santa except the white beard was on his chest and not on his face. He was a Turkish Santa. The point of interest for me though came from his man boobs. They were very large. So naturally I began to ponder Santa Clauses man boobs. Do you think he wears a wonder bra while delivering presents to the children? Shouldn’t someone say something to him about his diet choices? It is not safe to be that old and that fat. I guess I never thought about the fact that a man as large as Santa would have to have man boobs until today. Anyway that was really shallow and pointless but it was fun too I think.

Tomorrow we are going on the boat. My Patron had me pack for either one night or four. Welcome to my life. Missed my life today but the Lord showed me two excellent verses in John:

- If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will be my servant also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. John 12:26

- “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” John 12:27-28

Even as it becomes more difficult to put up with the nonsense that goes on around here it is my hour to be here. For this purpose I was brought across the globe to this family. So. Father, glorify your name. I love you all and miss you very much.

THE BOAT TRIP (8-28 to 8-31-09)

Sit right back and your hear the tale, the tale of a faithful trip, that started from a tropic port aboard a medium sized yacht. So my Patron comes up to me and says we need to pack because we are going on the boat for either one night or four. I laughed she stared. I didn’t bring my computer so here is the Reader’s Digest version of my boating adventures.

The first day was rough. When the boat is moving all is well and I get to stand on the deck and sing as loud as I want with my ipod because no one can hear me. Sometimes I don’t sing I just strike an adventure pose and stare into the waves while listing to the soundtrack from Treasure Island, ya the one with Charlton Hesston. But when the boat stops the trouble begins. It really wasn’t bad but there was bunches of time were I sat around not needed but had to be there. It is the most awkward feeling in the world. Also, the rich travel in packs so the kids would hop from boat to boat just to watch tv and that was stupid.

On the bright side I had a very interesting conversation with one of the dad’s on the trip. We discussed history, politics, and religion. He is an atheist and he says he just kind of fell into it. He has read the bible and the Koran and after much thought discredited both. We talked about rule-based religion. It is amazing how Christianity is perceived. Here it is seen purely as a rule based religion. Now I am not surprised this is how we are perceived I just wish we as the Church would stop trying to crawl back under the law because we set an impossible standard and paint a wrong picture of what we are doing here in this world. He told me he didn’t need religion to have morals and that religion has caused more harm than good. Our conversation ended on good terms and then we got off the boat at Pathos, Greece for dinner. The thing is, we didn’t have dinner until 9 o’clock. But I guess that was fine because we did have ice cream at 7. These people have no concept of their children’s hunger schedules. In between ice cream and dinner we sold rocks. That’s right, rocks. The parents thought it would be a good idea to let their kids sell stones to tourists and guess who chased the kids all around the street? Ya that would be me. What kind of parent thinks it’s a good idea to let their kids peddle on the streets where they are vacationing. Then at dinner one of the kids let out a blood-curdling scream because she thought she saw a bee. I was so overwhelmed that I got dizzy. It was a rough day. But Baba said something that made me laugh. He took a nap and when he awoke I asked, “Did you have a good sleep?” His reply, “Like a rabbit I’ll say.” I laughed out loud. I have no idea what that means. The next day was fun. I had a very fun swim with Benny the Jet and met a German nanny who spoke English. We got to talk and that was great! I like talking to people in English who aren’t 6. The last day I was feeling pretty bad. I was done. But I was blessed with an hour to myself. The moms took the kids and I got to explore some ruins and a church on the top of a hill on the island on Marati, Greece. It was awesome and very much needed. God is lavish in giving gifts. Over all it was a good trip.

Now for a rant. I title this rant “The Tragedy of the Rich.”

Rich children have no imagination. I’m not talking about imaginative people who become rich but people born into extremely wealthy families. Now I realize that is a bold statement but the more I see the more it proves to be true. Now they can imitate fine. Benny the Jet will narrate our soccer games but always gives himself the name of a famous soccer player. I told him to put his own name in and imagine he was a soccer super star but he just asked me what imagination meant.

“Pretend”

“What’s pretend?”

“Make-believe”

“What’s make-believe?”

The boat trip added a large amount of credibility to my theory. The kids became board very quickly. Now if I was 9 and on a boat near an island I would have had at least 12 game scenarios worked up in the first 12 minutes. I kept picturing Josh, Jeremy, David, Daniel, Mary Ruth, Rebecca, Evan, John, Abigail, Caroline, and Mary jumping from boat to boat with broom handles, hockey sticks, or just regular sticks. Pirates, shipwrecked, D-Day, Napoleon’s escape from his island prison, Titanic, Peter Pan are just the surface. Indian Jones, Gettysburg, and Capture the Flag would have been awesome in the ruins. You know you have imagination issues if you get board at the beach. We must stop trying to entertain our kids all the time and let them work it out themselves. Stop putting television, game systems, and even nannies in the way of their imagination growth. I understand that not al people like to imagine, Dani, but it is important, in my opinion, because it helps reasoning and problem solving as an adult. That is all.

Today 9-1-09

I have been here a long time and just realized it. Pray for me. I feel ineffective. I know that is not true but I am ready to see God show up in power. It is hard to show the love of Christ through servitude when that is simply what your expected to do. Need God to help them get it. That is the only way anything is going to happen. I know God is going to move and it is going to be radical. I pray and sing worship song over them often.

Prayer Requests

- Pray that God will provide revelation.

- Dreams, visions, and Holy Spirit encounters are also acceptable to pray for.

- I am in tune with the Holy Spirit

- Comfort. I need to feel God’s presence.

- Rest

- Healing for the family

- Against fear. Weird spirit of fear thing going on here

- Bonding with the family

- Love oozes off me

- Salvation

- I am pretty sure Benny the Jet is going to be a major player in bring the gospel to Turkey when grows up. I am pretty sure he is going to be a major player in his country.

- My patron needs to take over my job. Time to raise her kids.

Thanks for your continued support. I love you all.

Some Things (9-2-09)

First off I am typing this in the morning while my Patron has taken the kids to her mom’s. This is so awesome! It is actually the third right now but last night I took sometime to pray and be with the Lord so no typing.

Yesterday was a great day. We hung around the house for a while and then we went to the beach. Had lunch and then went to play with some friends. Captain took us around in the boat and that was super fun. I have decided that I really love boats. I think I could live on one actually. Then we played soccer, of course, followed by Disney card matching with Princess Peach. Peach and I had a very good bonding day yesterday and for that I am grateful. I need her to trust me and respect what I say. I want her to value my opinion so I can invest in her life. But that is something the Lord is going to have to work out. For a 9 year old she has a very hard heart. Yesterday we talked about why it’s not ok to treat others how they treat you. I explained that on a grand scale that is how wars are started. She said yes but I would win. I will tell you this. When your beliefs sound irrational to a child you start to feel a little crazy. Christian beliefs are truly contrary to the world. I understood that older people who have lived life already believed Christians are crazy but not so much for children. But the children think we are just as crazy as the parents think we are.

So here is just some random stuff I noticed. Since I have been here I have been looking in the mirror a lot more. Not an introspective thing but the literal mirror. I am fascinated by my reflection. At first I thought I was becoming vain then I had a revelation. I am excited to see my own face because it is the only familiar face, or thing for that matter, that I see. I also eat like I do when I work camp. For all you camp people, its that feeling like you don’t know if you’re gonna make it to that next meal so you eat quick and everything you can find. I imagine it is the same as how prisoners eat. Caitlin says not to worry because they thing it extremely dirty to eat after others. Still. Well I know its weird but I thought I would just let you all know.

Well I love you all and hope to hear from you soon.

With all my love.

Catching Up (9-08-09)

Okay so it has been a long time since my last writing but my life isn’t that interesting so it fine. One thing that happened since I wrote last was tea with the help. There were four of us. Myself, one from the grandmothers home, one from I don’t know where, and then Cinderella. Cinderella works for my Patron. I call her Cinderella because she is a servant girl with a heart of gold. We all sat around and had Turkish tea and lots of delicious treats. That is the one very nice thing about the rich man he eats very well.

Another good story comes from a conversation Benny the Jet and I had with a random old lady. Benny and I were looking into a neighbors yard when she walked up and began talking to Benny in Turkish. After a minute she looked up and asked:

“Do you speak Turkish?”

“No English.”

Ah. Are you from England?”

“No America” (Slight laugh)

“Good. Americans can adjust to Turkey. English can not. Do you like Turkey?”

“Yes”

“How long have you been here?”

“Not quite a month”

“So you don’t know if you like it or not.”

Turkish with Benny

“He wants to know why I am so dressed up. If I am going somewhere.”

Then she walked off. It was weird but a very amusing conversation for me.

I also had a miracle 10 minutes off and got a chance to dance. It was a great chance to worship. It was great to celebrate the freedom that is going to take place in this family. Played soccer as usual but I was a bit stressed so I didn’t tone it down as much as I usually do. That’s right I roughed up a 6 and 8 year old and was proud of it. They decided it was time to switch teams when they were at 4 and I was at 18. I smiled.

We took another boat trip and this time Grandma came with us. I like her and I believe she is warming up to me. On the trip my Patron decided to play some beach tennis with Baba. She came back very sore and swore never again to use the racquets she was using. They were normal wood beach tennis racquets but she was shore she had pulled a shoulder muscle and had whiplash. She also had trouble carrying her 10-pound dog through the airport. Now I know I pick up stupidly heavy stuff because I am crazy and need to prove my worth and it would be wrong to hold other people to that. But come on. Whiplash from beach tennis? I laughed a lot once I got by myself.

As I believe I have said the rich travel in packs were ever they go so as not to get board. On our boat trip Princess Peach’s friend Baby Britney and her family came along. I call her Baby Britney because she thinks she is a pop star and is a bad influence in many ways on pre-teens. Any way, I think her mom might be on drugs because she constantly acts like she’s high. So it was very entertaining when she busted out a red swim cap and some crazy big goggles for a swim in the sea. She looked like an alien. I laughed hard. Then she got in a boat and did some wake boarding. She was decent. And that was even funnier. But maybe you had to be there.

One of the coolest things happened the other night though for sure. I was going to go to bed but started talking to my Patron. Whenever she drinks she is very willing to talk to me especially about religion. She started asking questions. So after a couple of hours I had shared the gospel with her and also got into the trinity. I found out that the reason she was no longer was atheist was because she got very sick in the tenth grade and had a lot of time to herself to think. During that time she discovered a strength that she decided was God. She prays sometimes and prayed more when she was younger but was afraid of it becoming to routine. When she stopped praying Princess Peach asked why. When we finally went to bed I danced around and began praising God. She is looking for something. I just pray that we don’t only have these conversations when she is drunk. God is faithful. Pray for her.

I am now back in Istanbul and I am pumped for school. We actually went to their school today to get supply lists and such. It was weird to be in a grade school again. They smell the same wherever you are in the world I am now convinced. It’s that odd smell of linoleum, pine cleaner, and small child. Then we went to the biggest mall I have ever seen to get supplies. I ate at McDonalds and even though at home I would call it McNasties it was the place of dreams today. A little slice of familiar. I found a Turkish translation of the New Testament when I was cleaning my room and I am pumped. God is on the move. The kingdom is forcefully advancing and I am pumped to be a part of it.

Today I meet the nanny next door who is from Seattle. Praise the Lord for an American! She has been with her current family for three months and is wonderful. She was a philosophy major kind of. You see she went to a college with no grades or majors. But we talked a lot about our lives and philosophy. It was great. She is a mover and a shaker if she will get up and attack. I like her. Pray for her because she has no god but is spiritual. I think we are gonna be good friends. I don’t know any female philosophers so I am going to call her Lady Aristotle.

Thank you for all your prayer and support. Pray that I will drip with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Pray that God be glorified through this crazy adventure and prepare to be amazed with the work that will be accomplished here because it will be more than anything we could hope for or even imagine.