First looks at Cairo

Art, Music, Pyramids, the Red Sea - and FAITH!

Please keep us in your prayers as we go on a faith adventure to Cairo, Egypt! We fly tomorrow morning and will be there until Sunday. Our prayer is that Pastor Matti's art exhibition would be a huge success both spiritually and financially. We also will be having a classical music concert and we are hoping that will attract alot of people. Egypt promises to be a new and exciting experience, with lots of unforgettable moments! But we don't just want to be tourists - we want to leave a lasting eternal mark on the country!
So thank you for your prayers!

There is so much LIFE in Istanbul!

These are just a few pictures from the past week or so. As you can see - Roger is quite the entertainer!...and I am quite the cultured art enthusiast! No, not really. But I met my friend Asli (at the same place we met Murat) and she invited me to her art exhibition. So we made it a girls night out! It was such a great time - being with Gulshoda and Chirin, sharing about our lives. We are from three very different worlds - and there is no doubt that God has brought us together!

Welcome Murat!

This past weekend, we went on evangelism at a very old and famous Catholic church on the popular walking street. We chose this location because its a good place to find people who are sitting available to talk, and perhaps are spiritually searching. This church is mainly a tourist attraction, with very few active services. But the building is breath taking, and to Turks it is something different and interesting. Most Turks know very little about churches in general, and the only knowledge they have of it is from the older Orthodox churches that remain in the city. So it is to these locations that they know to come if they are searching for God.
On Friday, Umid and Roger noticed a young man named Murat out on the steps of the church while Umid was speaking with a young couple. Murat waited patiently to speak with us until we were finished with the other conversation! First he asked Umid if this was his church and then said that he came to this church because he has questions about God and no one has been able to answer them. He worked at a mosque as a waiter serving tea, but he never was told about God. So Umid eagerly proceeded to share the Gospel with him! Afterwards, Murat was so interested and wanted to come to church. Umid promised him that if he came to church, he would hear about a God who loves him from the Bible.
The next day, we went back to the same place, and lo and behold there was Murat again! He was so thirsty for God and for the truth. Umid spoke with him for almost an hour on the steps of the church. Then then today, he came to the Sunday morning service and listened attentively to Pastor Matti's message. At the end of the service, P.Matti ask if anyone wanted to receive Christ as their personal Savior and to raise their hand if they wanted to. But Murat didn't raise his hand. Then afterwards, Roger was speaking with him and we understood that Murat DID receive Christ, but he was afraid to raise his hand in case there were any muslims there. When we assured him that he was surrounded by fellow believers and it was safe, he said he wanted everyone to know about the decision he has made! So during the rap, he told everyone that he was now a Christian and thanked Umid and Roger for bringing him to God. Everyone clapped, and many of the men came and embraced him. It was quite a sight to see.
We bought him lunch and shared more with him about what it means to be a follower of Christ. He has many questions, specifically about the difference between the God of Islam and the God of the Bible. For instance, he wanted to know if the God of the Bible considered His followers as slaves or as children. He wanted to know if God thinks its a sin for a woman to uncover her head in public. He wanted to know if he had to change his name to a "Christian" name. It was sheer joy to be able to reveal to him a glimpse of the awesome loving gracious God we serve!
Please pray for Murat, that he would grow in knowledge and faith and also that his family would come to know the God of the Bible as well!

Liz's first birthday in Istanbul - so blessed!!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my!

Proverbs 22:13 "The lazy man says, "There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!"

In contrast to this verse, in II Samuel 23:20, one of David's mighty men tracked down a lion and killed him in a pit on a snowy day.

These verses are discussing to very different approaches to life. The first, is one of spiritual slothfulness that is covered up by excuses. The lazy man simply does not want to venture out, and so he uses the lion (whether real or imaginary it doesn't matter) as an excuse to stay at home.
But the mighty man of God does just the opposite! He not only leaves the safety of his house, but he goes after the lion! Rather than seeing the lion's tracks in the snow and running the other direction, he takes the challenge and follows him. With this decision, he is taking a step of faith and putting aside his own fears. And he is rewarded with a trapped lion and an easy kill.
In our spiritual lives, we have two options and they are very clear - whether we want to admit it or not. To cover up our spiritual laziness with excuses will keep us from growing and will keep us from experiencing victory in faith! How can we see the glory of God revealed in situations if we run from them? How can we grow as disciples if we make excuses not to abide in the Body even when we don't feel like it? We have to follow the tracks by faith, putting aside any excuses or fears, knowing that victory awaits us if we obey.

This may seem like an abstract idea, but it is so practical to our lives! So often we have the quiet but strong urge to just hide away, never step out in faith, and just be safe and comfortable. But there are lions to be slain!! Our lives are FULL of opportunities to see God work in incredible ways. But if we never leave our "house" (our place of comfort) because of the lions, what a sad future we have chosen. Our call is to be more than conquerors in Christ - who has already won it!

Hopeless, the heart grows sick.

We had our usual Wednesday night service tonight and Pastor Matti asked Roger to preach the main message. Its really an amazing thing for me to watch MY husband preach!! I don't know if you know Roger's testimony but suffice to say that it is an epistle to the miraculous grace and mercy of God!
His message was about hope. In Proverbs 13:12 it says "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes it is the tree of life." There are so many whose hearts are sick because they have put their hope in something that will never fulfill them. Every day they are thirsty and find no relief, they are hungry and find no nourishment. After some time, the heart will eventually become sick, with longing and dissatisfaction. Perhaps God intended this so that we would search for the Truth. Christ said of Himself, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14) and then later He said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:35) No one else has ever said these kinds of things or claimed these kind of promises to be true. Christ speaks of eternal life! That is the lasting, fulfilling, awe-inspiring HOPE that a heart can firmly cling to.
Hebrews 6:17-20 says, "Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 1God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf."
This message is so encouraging to our eternally thirsty souls! What greater hope can there be than Christ Himself, who conquered death and offers you life? Take hold of that Hope lest your heart grow sick.