Reflections on Istanbul, Turkey

Last week Lisa, Drew and I took a trip to Istanbul, Turkey. It was a 9 hour bus ride from Sofia. The trip had three purposes for us – one we needed to be out of Bulgaria for 5 more days to allow our 90 day tourist visa to take us to our end date of June 6th. We were also able to visit and stay with some of our new friends living in Istanbul – they have 4 kids and Drew loved his time with them. We were also blessed to see our good friends, Chris and Holy Justice from Kansas City, who were there at the same time, visiting their brother Scott, who is a journalist living in Istanbul. It was a great long weekend and a blessing to see one more unique part of this side of the world.

Istanbul was very different than what we had expected. I don’t know if it was better or worse than expected – just different. For some reason in my mind I expected Turkey to be more like a middle-eastern Arab country – given their strong Islamic culture. However the parts of Istanbul I saw reminded me very much of Eastern Europe. They actually had more in terms of shops and restaurants than Sofia does, but it still had more of a European feel, than I had expected. The stark differences being a Mosque on every other corner and the large number of people. Istanbul is a city of over 16 million people – and there were people everywhere. As an example - we went out to a popular square on a Friday night and when we came home at 1:00AM the streets were still packed with cars.


We spent a day seeing the sights of Istanbul – highlighting the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. They were nice, yet it made me wonder how a Christian stronghold – St. Paul’s original mission field, Turkey being home of the 7 churches, the previous Christian capital named Constantinople – is now, in relatively a short period of time, a Muslim mini Mecca, with 98% of the population being Muslim. The multiple spires in the air over the city are a constant reminder of that fact.

I have become more interested in the events occuring in Turkey, give we now live so close, as Bulgaria is a neighboring country. We have become very aware of the instability there. Just a month ago three believers (one German and two Turkish men) were brutally murder in Malatya, Turkey. (for more information, Google: Tilman Geske - the German who was killed.)

Two days ago a bomb exploded in a mall in the capital of Ankara killing six and injuring over one hundred people. Political elections are about to happen and everyone is concerned. Tens of thousands march in protest against the ruling party.

So I admit, my experience was not that of your average tourist. We still enjoyed the trip and had a great time with all our friends. I guess you could say my perspective is changing - which could be a good or bad thing... I'm still working that out.

Bulgarian Spring Photos

Randam pictures taken this spring in Bulgaria

Thessaloniki Pictures

We know this is a bit late to post to the blog as we actually went on this trip back in early March. However I just found this cool new feture of Picasa Web Albums to display slide shows - so here it goes...
(PS - to read about the trip we mentioned it in the March update)

Spring Update

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter holiday with your families. Once again we have been so impressed with how the Bulgarians celebrate Easter. Based in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, everyone greets each other with “Christ Has Risen,” answered by “He has Risen Indeed!” There are even a few billboards in Sofia that say “Christ Has Risen” – never mind they are right next to billboards of naked girls selling something. Unfortunately, it is an accurate picture of the culture - stooped in traditions with little personal relevance.

Celebrating birthdays and major holidays now for a second time in Bulgaria has been a reminder to how long we have been here and how far we have come in “adjusting.” We have greatly enjoyed our time here. We have learned a lot and we are hopeful that we have been able to give back to our new Bulgarian friends.

Our time here is now short – about 6 weeks remaining. Like always, things seem to get pushed to the end and now I find myself very busy. I am preparing my second year’s assessment of UTF’s business practices and will present them to the director and the board. I have been busy transitioning items to the UTF Staff – the Alumni Program is now in capable hands, we have a communication plan in pace and the job descriptions have been finalized. I have also been busy evaluation and implementing some standard Project Management procedures for SEND International.

The need is still great as UTF continues to pursue the “Campus for Tomorrow.” If you have followed my reports, you will know they have come across a number of “glitches” in trying to build new facilities. UTF is now making some headway as we have received the new revised cost estimate of the new building and are pursuing financial options. Please keep UTF in your prayers as they continue on this journey.

Lisa’s belly continues to grow and Drew is still not convinced that a “baby” is in there. I suggested that maybe mommy got hungry and ate a soccer ball – but he didn’t fall for that one either. When I ask him why mommy’s belly is so big, he promptly replies “it is not big!” to his mothers delight. He does know he is having a sister, but for now the baby lives at the Dr.’s office on the TV screen. He has also said that he will get his sister when we go to America. So, we’ll go with that, for now.

Mom and baby girl are doing very well. Please continue to keep them in your prayers as we have a very busy two months ahead of us. Lisa is packing, we have a trip to Turkey planned in May and the first week of June we head for home, with a few days stop-over in Rome. Quite a bit for a 7 month pregnant lady. We will spend a week in Detroit MI with our mission agency and then spend the remainder of June in Decatur. After the 4^th of July holiday we will move onto Des Moines where we will temporarily settle down to await the arrival of our new little one around the 3rd of August. Please continue to pray with us as we continue to lean on the Lord as He guides and directs us through this new transition.

With sincere love and gratitude,

Marc, Lisa and Drew