The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob

It was a full day of walking in the city of Istanbul, seeing much history and gaining a new understanding and respect for the people. I feel it was important for me to gain the knowledge I had during this walking tour in order to get to know a people more deeply and see the beauty in them but also to hear the cry from the heart of God for all nations to come to Him. Over and over again I saw the God of Abraham and Ishmael, not the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. From the very beginning, the rivalry and hatred between Isaac and Ishmael has been great and it still continues to this day. The people of Islam and the people of Christianity are very separated and the distinction is huge, but at the same time I experienced a love and appreciation of the people I did not have before. I am thankful for the many sites I got to see on this day of walking through the heart of Istanbul...so many people, so many searching, so many not understanding who the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob is. But such a beautiful people when you look into the eyes of those who will look into yours and smile. :)

We toured through a castle that many of the Ottomans lived in, a jail of its own with much hatred and jealousy concealed in its walls. The hatred and deception between brothers and mothers, the distrust when one brother would rule and would have to kill all the other brothers so there was no possible way of his throne being overtaken. There was a beauty in this place, but you also knew the roots of much of it was fuelled with hatred for one another.

It was fascinating to hear about the times of the Hittites, the Babylonians and King Nebecadezer (I know that is not the right spelling :) right in the area they would have lived. The stonework of their time was incredible to see.  Although I was not too sure of the ;"staff of Moses" that we saw or the "sword of David" :) but it was very interesting to see all the displays and the armor of those times in the museum here at the castle.

 We also toured through St. Sophia Church which was built 1,500 years ago...amazing how that was built then...and the first 500 years it was a Christian Church, but then Islam took over and it became a mosque for the next 500 years, then there became a division and it has been a museum since. The height, the architecture, the mosaic and the paintings are all what make this church unique and absolutely stunning.

After having lunch at The Pudding Restaurant, where Bill Clinton has eaten :), we toured the Blue Mosque. Here we witnessed a people of much dedication and worship with their focus on Mecca and Mohammad with no tolerance for Christianity, a deep hatred for it actually. Much hatred and destruction has happened in the past here in the land of Turkey where Islam now rules and if one leaves this faith, their lives are at stake. The harvest here is full but the workers are very few, pray to God to send workers into the harvest to be a light and shine for Jesus, no matter what the cost. I have always been spiritually sensitive when things are not right and when Jesus is not the center of it all...and He was not the center in this place. Yes there was dedication and prayer but to whom?? Ultimately, it was a thought that left me physically ill and spiritually burdened and wanting desperately to leave the place. I saw so many precious children (and boys who were having a very special day before they were to be circumcised) with such innocent eyes and my heart was softened. Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow black and white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world. Father, protect the children and as the prayers that are prayed around them that there is no other god but Allah, somehow open their hearts and the hearts of the parents to see that there is but One God, whose Name is like no Other and whose heart is full of love, compassion, peace, forgiveness, mercy and grace and desires all to come to Him through His One and Only Son Jesus Christ. This part of the tour was a sobering one but I am thankful for the eyes that I saw and the smiles I exchanged and the a couple of photos I had with a few precious women.

Once we left the Blue Mosque, we walked through a couple of extremely busy marketplaces, a spice market and a shopping area that was under the freeway where you moved with the throng of people. As much as I love people, I did become a bit claustrophobic :) but I did manage to purchase some delicious Turkey Delight was actually, a delight to eat, :)  I had not expected that. I had tried some by accident in Canada one time and felt it was quite disgusting, but like anything else, when you try a food in the country it was originated in, the taste is completely different and more enjoyable. :) Yes my eyes were also drawn to the Pomegranate Tea and the scarves, which I could not pass by and purchased an...yes I did and you knew I would....an orange one. :)

I am thankful for this time in this very very busy city and for the insight and understanding I have gained. There is much beauty here, but also much lostness. I really look forward to a few days from now when I will be meeting with a pastor of a small church in the country to hear from his perspective how it is to live here as a believer in a place where the number of mosques far far far outnumber the number of churches. A country of 74 million people where only 3.5 thousand are Christians...it will be such an honor to meet this pastor. Please pray for the committed pastors here in this country. 

Flying Moving and a Walkin

I rarely sleep well the day before I leave on a journey...whether it is for a day or a weekend or a couple weeks. There is always so much that goes on in my mind while it is trying to sleep :) I tried to get to sleep by 11 but kept looking at the clock every hour as I did not want to miss my ride, even though my alarm was set.  I got up at 3:20, was picked up at 4:10 am and left Saskatoon at 6 am. We arrived in Toronto 3 hours later (so great that I slept practically the whole time :) at 11 am. Here we had a nice lunch and did not have to rush to our gate right away, as it was not leaving until 4:25. After leaving on time from Toronto, we settled in for the very long 10 hour flight. We arrived in Istanbul at 9:25 am with all our luggage in tact. Yay! Going through customs and getting our luggage and finding our ride took about an hour. Not bad. The traffic was a little crazy but I did not mind as we were busy looking at all the sites around us throughout the drive. By 11:30 we were at our hotel and decided to get settled in our rooms and have a nap. I had just laid down after I had finished posting some pics and an arrival status on FB and I felt the whole hotel room and my bed move. What was that??  Was I dreaming? Was I over tired? Please tell me that had not been an earthquake!! It moved a couple more times a bit more slightly but I was very tired and did not hear any screaming so I was not too concerned and fell asleep. :) Later in the lobby, sure enough, the hotel desk clerk told us we felt a 6.5 earthquake that had happened 300 km away in the Aegean Sea. Yikes! I survived an earthquake within 3 hours of arriving and I was living to tell about it!  :)  I was thankful! I knew this trip was going to be an adventure and I had heard that one of the areas of the 7 churches was well known for earthquake activity....I just did not think it would happen while I was here. Crazy!

Our hotel is beautiful, and there are lovely streets lined with shops and restaurants to walk around on closeby.  Tammy and I took a walk and experienced many restaurant owners wanting us to eat in the establishments. :)  We politely turned them all down as we wanted to walk. And walk we did. So much to see and so many people to watch. Tammy could not believe I had taken so many photos already! :) It was not quite what I had expected but then at the same time I did not know what to expect. I got some great pics of people...and I was very sneaky too. Beautiful children, mothers, fathers and couples walking around on a Saturday afternoon. We crossed a public square and came around the corner to witness the most people that we have ever seen flooded in the street as far as the eye could see!!  Wow!! The photo explains it all! :) May police were around and we did not know why but later at the hotel we were told that there had been a riot in that place the day before. So glad all was well while we were there! We met a few people from the group but we also knew that many more would be arriving around 9:30 tonight. When I came down to the lobby to write this, they were arriving. It will be great to connect with our group in the morning at breakfast. I would appreciate continue prayer as we all settle in for the night and start our touring in the morning. I know God has great things in store for us! :)

Well, unfortunately I am not able to post photos right now so if you would like to see photos, feel free to check out my FB page. Hopefully I will be able to figure out the picture thing out tomorrow. :)
Good night my friends. Time for some sleep. See you tomorrow.

......yay!  I am able to post photos now!! :) So here are a few more... :) Across the street from our hotel behind a row of trees is an area that was sobering to see, I am not sure of the story behind this scene but hope to ask our bus driver today, But it reminds me that life is short and uncertain and even though we are surrounded by beauty, we are also surrounded by hatred and not all people live in peace and unity. May God change the hearts of men...but I also know that man needs to want his heart to be changed....