Turkey...not just a normal vacation

this is my first flashback post, so i'm going to go back and write about my trip to Turkey which started off 2010 for me. sadly i can't seem to remember what happened in 2009...again a reminder why i need to blog more!

i traveled to turkey on 12/29/2009 and kicked off the new year there! i spent 5 days in izmir and about 5 days in istanbul. i decided to go to turkey b/c a really close friend of mine had moved there a year before to pursue God's calling as an m worker. i was really intrigued by turkey b/c i knew so little about the country and the people/culture there, but had slowly learned more as my friend would share about her time there. i was also curious about the life of an m worker and wanted to see/meet/experience a little bit of what it's like living over there. so while this was a vacation trip for me, i would have to say that it unexpectedly became a lot more than that for me.


this is an excerpt from an email i sent my friend after i returned from turkey:

"even after a week being back, i still feel overjoyed by my experience there. the more i think and reflect on it, i see how God really used my time there to refresh me and my faith which was totally a surprise and unexpected for me since i just went expecting a normal vacation...hanging out with a great friend and seeing new things. instead i realized that i not only had a great experience traveling around with you, but spiritually i feel like i just came back from a retreat or m trip (it's kinda like that too b/c i want to share with everyone about it, but have to temper my excitement based on different people's interest levels)."

let me summarize what i learned and why i came back with a renewed faith/spirit:

• b4 going to turkey i pictured an m worker as living the "superstar" life where they are on the front lines doing "amazing" things, but after seeing and hearing some honest sharing from my friend i realized and learned about the difficulties and challenges m workers face. it really convicted me to really pray more for the m workers i'm helping to suppor
• seeing and hearing the stories of the life my friend was living also reminded me that we are all called to live our lives intentionally... wherever we are. every decision we make; how we spend our time, money, resources should be intentional... with the goal of sharing the good news or reflecting God's love. i felt that i had grown too complacent in the way i live my life and that i really wanted to change that which is one of the reasons i decided to take perspectives (that's a story for a another blog post or two)
• i got to meet some other m workers and got to hear about the stuff they were doing in their area. i was also encouraged, intrigued and excited and came back wanting to learn about what God was doing in other parts of the world. the second reason i was drawn to perspectives when i came back
• i also came back with a renewed appreciation for the community God has blessed me with here and how i take it for granted at times and how it really is a blessing. for my friend, it's hard to find that sense of community since there are so few believers around. i was reminded of how God always seems to provide the right friend to encourage me through out the many different seasons of my life

i'd have to say, looking back, that this trip definitely changed the way i viewed things as 2010 began and it definitely played a role in my decisions going forward.... which i will hopefully blog about soon.

note: i just realized that i haven't actually written about what i DID on the trip, so i guess that will have to be another post.

another note: it's kinda weird writing in flashback mode... you definitely have a broader picture/perspective on events that happened in the past when you get to look back at it from a distance.