TURKEY | THE LAND OF POSSIBILITY
Global challenge is an incredible way to see the world and to serve people in a variety of ways.
When we submit ourselves to the Lord to be used in the kingdom, the possibilities are endless. Don’t be mistaken, this doesn’t always mean moving across the globe but also stirring up a fire for the Lord in our home towns, our schools, our workplaces – there is so much God still wants to do with a heart that says “Here I am Lord, send me.” A question asked by one of the long-term workers prompted heavy contemplation, “Why do you want to share your story with people?” The question seemed simple enough, but as he explored it a little deeper, it made us wonder about our heart’s intentions. It can be so easy to lose focus on the “why”.
He shared this story. As he was walking through the streets of Asia, he saw this older lady just going about her day. Suddenly a deep supernatural love for her ran through his whole body, nearly moving him to tears. It was overwhelming at first, but soon it made sense. God opened his eyes to His love for people. Perhaps this is our “why”.
Here’s something I read recently.
“I’m inclined to believe that God delights in healing our wounded hearts so as to increase our capacity for love. To receive it and give it away requires a freedom that trauma rejects but glory to God that His Spirit is stronger than our pain.”
Jackie Hill Perry
I, Liana, have experienced this myself – I’ve experienced wounds that I didn’t even realise were there, being brought to the surface and healed. It was as though pieces of my heart were stitched back together before my eyes. And from this place of receiving from the Lord, a new capacity for love overcomes me. Full of joy and peace, I submit my heart to Jesus. He then shows me who He wants me to love as He loved me. That’s why we share our stories.
In our second week, we worked hard with our hands and served a centre for believers through manual labour, picking up litter around the area and having fellowship. Our time in Cappadocia was also blessed. We loved seeing the beautiful mountains of Göreme and the massive hot air balloons while exploring the city. The Lord has been showing us how we need to trust His plan because he is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides. Mariska said…
So for the past week, we were serving in Cappadocia, the hot air balloon capital of the world. Since the beginning of my journey, I had peace about not going on a hot air balloon because it’s really expensive and I’m still fundraising for my year. One of my team members asked me if I was going on the balloon and my answer was: “No, unless someone somewhere in the world decides to bless me”. Less than two days later someone contacted another team member asking if there was someone in the team who wanted to go on a hot air balloon. They wanted to bless someone with a ride!… Needless to say, I got blessed with a FREE hot air balloon ride this morning! I’m absolutely in awe of how the Lord hears His children. I want to encourage you this morning, HE IS GOOD! HE LOVES YOU! AND HE HEARS EVERY PRAYER.
HEARING THE STILL VOICE
During our time in Turkey I, Barend, as the leader of Eastbound had many decisions to make. The constant changes we experienced was challenging. Each week was spent in a new location which implied meeting new people, changing weather patterns, and focusing on different kinds of volunteer work. Our first week was in Ankara and the following week we moved to Cappadocia.
Cappadocia is an area known for caves and hot air balloons. People used to live in the caves that were carved out of the soft rock that is predominant all around the area. We planned on camping in one of the caves during our weekend off. All excited, we made our way to a cave on the Friday afternoon. While walking, my phone rang. The person contacting me told me it’s illegal to camp in Turkey if you are not camping at an official campsite. This we did not know. Wanting to show respect to the person, we decided to make another plan. Two team members headed out to find an official campsite, however, a better option awaited us…
While I talked on the phone, Marize and Mariska engaged with a local who owns a business and a farm. They referred me to him. I asked him questions to make sure the truth was being told. He said he could accommodate us at an excellent price. After some further questions, I had peace to let the team go to this man’s farm. We made our way on the back of a wagon pulled by a tractor. It’s not your everyday sighting – tourists with massive bags on the back of a wagon. Needless to say, many eyes were following us. After a short trip, we arrived on the farm. We set up camp and prepared a meal. After dinner, it was prayer-time.
The group split into three smaller ones. We needed to decide whether we were going to stay for a second night, and if we should take a day of rest. So we prayed about those two issues. The one lady in our group experienced many evil eyes looking at her while she was praying. We prayed for that. I experienced the Spirit telling me to listen to the team. We came together. The one group sensed that we should take our day of rest on the Saturday, while the other group felt we should stay on another night. We decided to pray again. During the second time of prayer, I decided we should stay for a second night and take a Sabbath the following day. After making the announcement, one of the ladies was in some distress and tears. She stated that she could see many evil eyes looking at us. It was overwhelming. This triggered a response of worship and prayer in us. We engaged in prayer for a significant time while worshipping. I was prompted to share a word someone gave me with the team. It said that we would see many lies break during this year.
After our time of prayer, no one was aware of any more evil eyes, and we could enjoy a good rest the following day. Our team desperately needed the rest, and I think it was an awesome move by God. That night I saw again what obedience leads to when you listen to the still, small voice. The prompting was not loud but rather soft and clear.
In Antakya, we were able to serve a centre that supports locals that are still recovering from the damage done by the earthquake last year. Many were left homeless and afraid for their safety.
The centre focused on creating tin houses and providing different kinds of activities specifically for children. Eastbound assisted in the making and painting of the tin houses as well as helping with different lessons (art, english and guitar). In the early times after the earthquake, they handed out food parcels and water that had been donated. We were able to join in on some house visits and eat amazing Turkish meals.
After the week was over, we found ourselves on the road again to Adana where the travel team had a special announcement…
Our first travel challenge in the nations!
We had 3 days to travel over 1000 km from Adana to Selçuk. Some of the teams got to hitchhike along the coast of Turkey through many different cities. This is a fantastic way to see this country. The breathtaking views along the sides of the mountains were definitely a sight to see. One team woke up after the first night spent camping on the coast, and they decided to start hitchhiking early in the morning. Many cars went by and the team decided to rest for a short moment and pray together. After praying, they started up again and a kind man picked them up and took them as far as he could. It was a long enough drive to establish a connection and after he heard our story, he stopped where he’d originally planned to drop us and said, “If you accept, I’d like to buy you a bus ticket”. That’s only a short piece of how the Lord provided for one team, but what we can draw from that, is that even in the seasons of waiting, we must trust that our Heavenly Father will provide, as He always has.
The 3 teams joined together again in Selçuk, excited to see one another. We spent an evening in the vibrant city of Selçuk and the next day, the team explored the ancient city of Ephesus…
It was incredible to walk through such a historic city… Ephesus has such significance to us as a team, as we had studied the letter Paul wrote to the Ephesians the week prior. These large theatres took over 60 years to build. To just sit there and revel in the beauty of it all, while also having an understanding of the context of the people who lived here so many years ago, was such a blessing to us.
Overall, the team really sensed that the Spirit of the Lord is on the move, and as members of the body of Christ, we need to pray into this. We pray for His light to shine through us in every interaction. For we know, with Jesus anything is possible.
Sending love,
Eastbound.
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