Merhaba! I am in Turkey!
My team has been in Turkey for a little over a month now. I’ve learned a lot from this culture and the people here, and I wanted to share some of the things that have been sitting heavy on my heart recently.
This culture is highly relational. It is impossible to travel to this country without being welcomed into a home and having much more tea than you desire. There is so much kindness in this culture. You might even get kissed on the lips by someones grandma (ask Mikahla about that one). In this heartbreaking time for so many Turks you get to see the insane hospitality that Turkey is known for in a different light. People have opened their homes, and cared for their family, friends, and even strangers in these times. Some of them are living in homes of family members and some of them are living in homes of people that they have never met personally.
With the ministry that my team and I have been able to work with here we have been doing a lot of house visits with people who have been displaced due to the earthquake. All of them have experienced loss, most have experienced devastating loss. It has been an honor to get to sit and hear their stories. It’s hard to know what to say in these times. I can’t possibly understand how they are feeling. The only thing there is to do in these moments is to pray and listen.
I’ve seen many tear filled eyes as they explain the impact that the earthquake has had on them. I’ve seen parents struggle as their kids rebel in misunderstanding of why they have to leave their homes. I’ve seen people trying to hold it together as they ask “Allah” for mercy. This earthquake has placed tissues alongside tea cups as people grieve their homes, and their lost loved ones.
These moments have easily felt hopeless… but luckily we serve a God of hope. Our God is living and He is near to the broken hearted. We have been called to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15). So, to the best of my ability I will mourn with my friends who have lost so much. I pray that they would find the hope that comes from Jesus. I pray that they would find the strength that we know comes from Jesus in these times.
As we meet with these people and hear their stories, we get to pray with them. What an honor to get to call upon our God in these moments. The spirit of the living God fills the homes that we step into because we carry the holy spirit with us everywhere we go.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body”
2 Corinthians 4:7-10
Our hope comes from the Lord, and it gives us the boldness to pray big prayers. So right now more than ever the people of Turkey are in need of Hope, they are in need of Jesus, they are in need of love. So I hope that as you are reading this you take a moment to pause and intercede for the people effected by the earthquake. Pray for hope and peace to sweep across this nation, and pray earnestly that people would be led to Jesus in the midst of it all.
Thank you for your prayers!
With love,
Lex
