A Year Ago Today...

July 16, 2008, Umut and I went on our 1st date. Little did I know that night was the beginning of a new season in my life. And little did I know about the adventure awaiting me. What a year this has been!

Before we left İzmir in June, we went retraced our 1st date at Barinak Cafe and retold each of our perspectives of that special night. But yesterday was the actual 1-year anniversary so we had been eager all week to celebrate.

As we have been reflecting on this past year, we both acknowledge there is much to be grateful for. The Lord's kindness and graciousness to us, both individually and as a couple, has been immeasurable. He has held our hand as we have walked through so many barriers...cultural barriers, relationship barriers, language barriers. And each of these barriers continues to teach us about the Lord's faithfulness while increasing our desire for joy in perseverance.

From July through December of last year we Skyped 4 times a week. Then for 5 weeks at the end of 2008, Umut arrived in America and concluded his visit with a beautiful proposal. In March I arrived in Turkey. Today we are just past the half-way mark of our 13-month engagement (January 8, 2010!!!) and the halfway mark of my 1st stint in Turkey.

My conclusion is this: for the last 4 1/2 months I have fallen more in love with Umut, more broken for this country and more in awe of God's immeasurable graciousness to us.

An Ironic 4th of July

Our new team is quite diverse. We have 2 from England, 3 Americans, 2 Mexican Americans and a Turk. A few weeks ago one of the Americans said to me, "We need to celebrate the 4th of July next week!" And David, from London, asked, "What is the 4th of July?" "Independence Day!", I replied. "'Independence' from what?" he asked. "Independence from...YOU!" We all had a good laugh.

So this 4th of July was quite ironic because the Americans celebrated with a group of Brits. We tried to get them to sing "God Bless America", but we were unsuccessful.

In the video, you will see me celebrating with Umut, and another couple we invited to join our celebration. (The guy is from England and his fiance is Canadian.)

My new home!

I wanted to share with you my new home....it is SO DIFFERENT than my condo in Austin, yet I see God's provision for a great place to live. My roommate and I have little girls come over daily to pet our rabbit and "help" us with our Turkish. Actually, the girls are really good tutors!

Target ripped off the Hittites!

A few weeks ago Umut and I were in a fantastic museum in Ankara. In this museum, there were artifacts from some of the most ancient civilizations, including the Hittites, one of the tribes that Abraham spoke with. While the Hittites Abraham rubbed elbows with were further east than Ankara, the history and culture of this huge tribe were the same.

So as Umut and I were enjoying all the artifacts, made thousands and thousands of years before the incarnation of Christ, one particular treasure caught my attention.

“I have seen this before. I just know it. I have seen a very similar piece of bronze décor.”

So I went online and discovered my inclination was right. TARGET ripped off the Hittites! Now, I am a big fan of Target. I miss Target over here. Turkey needs Target. So perhaps a better way of putting it could be, “Target got its artistic inspiration from the Hittites.”

If the Hittites were still around, hopefully they wouldn’t demand copyright commission. After all, imitation is the greatest form of flattery!