Send Ece and Niyazi to the Baltimore Convention!

Hello dear friends,
We are coming to you again with an urgent request. Your amazing generous response in sending five of our Turks to Budapest this March was truly amazing and we do not take it lightly. It was clearly the work of God in your hearts! Now we are coming to you again. It goes without saying that the International Convention in Baltimore would be an invaluable time of discipleship, encouragement and joy for our Turks. Specifically, we have two Turks that we really believe should be there this year. The total amount that we need, which includes airfare, passport fees, visa fees, food, transportation, lodging and conference registration is about $1300 per person.

First, there is a girl named Ece (pronounced "Ajay") who has been saved for almost 2 years. She met our church through Pastor Joszeph's wife, Zumrad, while they were living here. She is basically our only Turkish female disciple. She is going to be baptized in the coming weeks and is really an amazing woman of God. She loves our church, specifically the categorical doctrine that we hold so dear. She speaks English very well because she is studying English literature in university now. Before becoming a believer, she was an agnostic, even though her family call themselves Muslims. But the love of God and the truth of the Word are now her source of peace and hope. We love her very much and we all believe that this is the year God has prepared for her to go to Baltimore for spiritual refreshment and enlargement of her faith.

Our second Turk for Baltimore is Niyazi. Some of you may know him because he has been to Baltimore once before in 2007. He is our native Turkish translator and a great discipler of our Turkish men. His wife, Irada, is from the church in Baku and is expecting a baby boy in a few weeks. They are an amazing couple who have added so much to our team with their available hearts, humble spirits, and gifted minds. They are truly indispensable to us! Niyazi longs to be at Convention but simply does not have the money to get there right now. Again, I can't say enough how amazing it would be for him to come and enjoy the fellowship and the Word that Convention is so full of!

So, now that you know a little bit about Ece and Niyazi, please very seriously consider supporting their trip to Baltimore. Without your generous help, this simply will not happen. Pastor Matti's latest message was about how God is in control and He has a plan for our lives far beyond what we can imagine, but we must be available to Him! So we are asking you, please be available to God's leading in this matter.

God bless you,
Liz & Roger Robbins

P.S. The best way to give is through the Missions Office (6025 Moravia Park Drive, Baltimore, MD 21206) or online (http://www.ggwo.org/index.php?module=main&action=supportus).

Miriam Abla

This past Sunday we honored a very special lady who we fondly call "Miriam Abla." She is an American from the Mid-West who moved to Turkey about 20 years ago! She speaks Turkish very well and her main ministry is a small book table that she sets up on the street where she meets people and offers them free books about Christ. She is an amazing example to us of a person who has laid down her life for the souls of men, who has become all things to all men that she might win one, who has made herself a servant to all for the sake of the Gospel. We love her very much and wanted to introduce her to you! We ask that you keep her in prayer. Only God knows how fruitful her labor of love here will be, but we know He has used her greatly!

An urgent and important plea

For all those of you who have a heart for the Middle East and the Muslim world, please pray for the finances of our team and our church. We have had the privilege of being a part of the work here in Turkey for over a year now and we have seen the incredible call that God has for these people and this small church. I can't convey with enough emotion how important it is that this work continue, that our full time team members can afford their daily bread, and for our church's rent to be paid so that ministry can continue.
If you are not already supporting the work here, I would urge you to do so. Pastor Matti and the church he is planting cannot go unhelped in these incredibly vital days. Again, please prayerfully consider being a faithful monthly supporter of this amazing church!
In his last visit to Istanbul, Pastor Schaller said a statement that we received with great responsibility: "The Middle East is our last frontier." This frontier cannot be ignored. Please help us!

Our Turkish Easter Play!

Last Easter we had an art exhibition and a concert; but this year Pastor Matti wanted to be even more ambitious so he quickly whipped up a play, with a Turkish script, Turkish songs, and a powerful Easter message! We performed the play twice over Easter weekend and we had about 30 to 40 brand new visitors walk into our church and here the Gospel. The play was simple, but full of meaning! We used black trash bags to represent sin, people put them on as dresses, cloaks, scarves, etc. and seemed to enjoy it for a time—until tensions started to rise and envy, hatred, and borders were created. Jesus finds humanity frozen in this state (1st picture) and he takes the bags from a few and frees them to worship Him (2nd picture)—but then accusations are hurled at him and eventually the crowd attacks him and covers Him with their “sin.” As He lays there, we sing “Look at Him, the Lamb of God came.” After He rises from the dead, all of our Turkish actors go forward singing “I am washed in the blood of the Lamb, and I come to the Cross just as I am…” They line up as the song ends and one by one, they each gave a short personal testimony of how Christ changed their lives. At the end of the play, Pastor Matti gave a powerful message (4th picture) on death and our need for a Savior who can make us “whiter than snow.” The performances, songs, and testimonies were very powerful. There is no doubt that this Easter in Istanbul, Christ was lifted up high and men were drawn to Him!