Ekmek var mı?: June 2012

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Max and Isaiah's Visit Day 2

Max and Isaiah shocked us by being willing and able to get up and get going on their first morning! I had planned a really lax morning because I figured that they wouldn't be able to get up. Maybe that's just me and I don't have jet lag to blame!

For the morning, we planned to give them a taste of our normal lives here. They took Noah to school with Justin. Then I put out a big breakfast that is pretty typical here.

Afterwards Justin toured them around our neighborhood in the car. Then they prayer-walked through our neighborhood. Here are some of their pictures:

View from one of our windows

A mosque being built near our home

Looking out the windshield

One of the busier streets with lots of shops and restaurants

A small fraction of our part of the city

laundry

After a thorough tour, Justin took them over to meet our team leaders for a quick tea. It was a last minute thing, because I didn't think that Max and Isaiah would be up and functioning as early as they were. So, I was so glad that our TLs were free and flexible!

After that they came back home to gear themselves up for some sight-seeing on the other side. First, they walked the girls to school.

Max, Lucy, and Callie walking to school

After they dropped the girls off, Justin took Max and Isaiah to the other side.

At the main intersection near our home waiting for a minibus.
Justin is probably telling the guys to jump in and hold on for dear life! HA!

Isaiah posing down at the pier

The commute to the other side includes a boat ride. It is one of our favorite things about the city!

One of the two bridges that span the continents

Historic mosque on the water's edge

They started sight-seeing at this city's equivalent of New York's fifth Ave.

The street is closed to cars and it has this historic trolly that goes from end to end.

Justin introduced the guys to döner sandwiches. YUM!
It is meat that is vertically roasted (the Greeks call it Gyro) and then thinly shaved off.

They explored this tower

On a clear day, the views from the tower are beautiful

The size of this city always surprises me

Isaiah has a talent for being able to photograph himself!

After getting the bird's eye view from the tower, Justin took the guys to the city's best baklava restaurant.

I didn't like baklava until I ate this!

Trays and trays of all sorts of sugary, nutty, flaky pastry goodness

Then they continued on across this famous bridge that spans the Golden Horn.

This bridge is always packed with fishermen.

Then, back on to the ferry to return to our side of the city

The sea around the city is packed with jellyfish.
The locals say they don't sting, but I'm not brave enough to test it!

Poor Max! He will be forever taunted for this picture!
They got in a taxi at the pier and out of habit, Max put on his seatbelt.
Isaiah teased him mercilessly about how insulting that was for the taxi driver and that NO ONE wears a seatbelt here.

The guys came home to spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, good conversations, and lots of laughs. It was so fun to hear their take on the things that they had seen and experienced. I am so amazed at how much I have just gotten used to over the past 5 years. Seeing things through fresh eyes again is such a treat!!

The Funny Thing about Blogging...

Yes, I'm alive and quite well actually. That's the funny thing about blogging. When life is great and things are busy and good, I have plenty to blog about, but not much time to do it. When life is slow there's plenty of time to blog, but for that life of me I can't remember a phrase from any of those blogs that I am constantly writing my head.

We've just returned from a week at our organizations' regional conference on the Aegean Sea. Well.. most of us returned. Noah and Callie went straight from the regional to a camp for third-culture kids. They went last year and couldn't wait to go back. So, it's just Justin, Lucy, and me until Saturday night when the bus comes rolling in.

The regional was fantastic this year. I feel like the Lord met me and spoke to my heart in some really healing ways. Corporate worship was a rare treat. There is just nothing like singing songs that engage your heart with a big group of people. (~~Personal rant~~ Side note: STOP taking church for granted. The body is one go God's best blessings to you, even if it's not perfect!!) I loved time to just worship and hear teaching from the Word!

So, I am feeling renewed and spurred on to live life here to the fullest. The Lord is teaching me some things that I hope will really take me deeper with Him and that is exciting! I am praying that the overflow will be a blessing to those around me.

In other news, my dear friend, Mindy comes to visit on Monday. She will be here for almost 4 weeks! I am hoping that we laugh... a lot! Her time here will include a major road trip, time spent on the Med, and lots of visiting with local friends. She has an amazing testimony. The Lord has really done some great things in her life and I am hoping to get the opportunity to share those things with our neighbors and friends.

Pray for us!

Friday, June 8, 2012

Noah's Birthday Party

Noah's birthday fell on the last day of school. So we decided that after the kids got their report cards, Noah could invite a few friends over for a party. This year Noah really wanted to go bowling. So, in the end, we decided to head over to the mall near us, eat at the food court, go bowling, play a few games, and then have ice cream at a cafe.