Chicago In Pictures

My sweet sister-in-law Becky and Brady's 2nd birthday cake.

Brady got his own kid-sized wheelbarrow for his birthday.

Brady is VERY orgainzed.  Here's some of his handywork.

Brady and my mother sitting in the wheelbarrow that was getting assembled.

Brady wearing my brother's gloves and "working" in their backyard.

Me and Brady before taking him to the zoo for his birthday.

Me holding the newest nephew, Kason

Istanbul in Photos

A Post Before the REAL Post

Hi all (sheepishly ducks head)...I promise I am alive.  I just got back on Monday late at night from a week-long visit to my family in Chicago.  I have been out of the loop and promise for an update and some pictures ASAP. 

I have returned, however, to most of the previous blog's list of "to-dos" and have hit the ground running back here at home.

Update or post coming soon...promise!
Erin

Busy, busy, busy!

I have been too busy for  my own good.  I apologize for the lack of posts since leaving for Turkey.  Upon my return I have been going non-stop:

1.  Final tallying of the commitment forms from the Turkey event.
2.  Helping a friend edit and write a book.
3.  Writing curriculum on the side for a zoo down in California.
4.  Developing a lesson plan for Friday's Sozo Kids (which I am teaching this week).
5.  Getting my yard under submission! (read: weeding the whole thing, mowing and weed wacking)
6.   Unpacking from Turkey and re-packing for my trip to Chicago next Monday.
7.  Starting a new workout routine with a personal trainer.
8.  Oh yeah, just normal working hours, church, and friends too.

Phew, that's a long list.  I have meant to update on the rest of the Turkey trip, and, as you can see, just have not had time until now:

After the conference got started, I did not see much of it!  I spent a LOT of time for the conference in our "bunker room" where all of the photocopying, printing, powerpoint-making, and detail finalizing occurred.  My time was spent, finalizing the workshop times and rooms, making sure the rooms were stocked with what they needed, getting sign-up sheets in the rooms for the workshops, photocopying workshop and plenary session materials, helping check in participants, arranging speaker transportation back to the airport, tracking payments and budget for the event with the tourism agent/travel agent we worked with to plan the event, helping pass out materials, developing a powerpoint for the final day, and just general troubleshooting for the event. 

The final day of the event was my birthday.  Praise the Lord, the event was over by 1pm, and we were cleared out of the hotel and on our way to downtown Istanbul by 4 pm.  As a "thank you" for helping, Martin, the lead coordinator paid for my taxi into Istanbul, one of my nights at a hotel in Istanbul, and bought me dinner that night.  He, a friend of his named Roedolf, and I shared the taxi into downtown Istanbul and had dinner in town that night.  We walked around downtown Istanbul a bit after dinner (which was AMAZING...really the food as a whole in Turkey was absolutely delicious) and had coffee and apple tea (basically apple cider) and some Turkish Delights.

The next day I woke up and took a tour bus for the morning to see some sites around old town Istanbul.  We stopped by the Haghia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Obelisk (where four-horse chariot races used to be run), a rug-making factory, and spent an hour and a half in the Grand Bazaar (basically a big giant outdoor covered mall).  I met a gal on the tour named Toby, who turned out to be in town for just a day on her way to Israel. She was an Orthodox Jew from London and we made a plan to meet back up later that afternoon at the Grand Bazaar to do some more shopping.

I went and grabbed some lunch: grilled chicken kebabs, and then headed over to the Archaeological Museum for two hours, which was just heaven for a history buff like me.  I then met back up with Toby at the Grand Bazaar for some more shopping.

The Grand Bazaar probably deserves a whole post on its own, but I will say this, Turkish vendors are NOT shy about luring you into their shop!  As a whole, I felt Turkish culture slightly more aggressive and "in your face" than America.  Yet, there was not any outward anger and at no time did I ever feel like my safety was in jeopardy.  Turkish culture is also a bartering culture.  Once you step up to a booth (or even just glance that way) it's kind of like the shopping process has begun.  For sure once you ask a price, you are expected to buy, unless you really can't come to an agreement about a price.  For example I saw a vase I just adored, and the price (while jacked up to accommodate the bargaining process) was WAY too steep for me. It was pretty clear by the look on my face that there was no way I was going to be able to afford this vase, so the bargaining process ended pretty peacefully.  However, my friend Toby could not seem to figure this whole thing out and was pretty stuck on the western way of shopping....ask the price, browse the merchandise, no negotiation, etc. 

At one point she stepped into a vendor's jewelry booth and proceeded to look at probably 6-7 pieces of jewelry, asking the price on each piece, not bargaining, and then putting it down.  I think the vendor finally figured out that she wasn't probably going to buy and basically shoved us out the door.  He began yelling at us in Turkish and then in English "if it's free you like it!  If it costs money, you don't!"  We hustled out of there. 

Some of the lines we heard to try to lure us over to their booth were pretty comical: "Ladies, I can help you spend your money here!" "Leather, you want leather?  I have leather...you NEED some leather!"  All in all, it was pretty fun.  I managed to bargain my way into four cashmere and silk pashminas, a box of Turkish Delights, a "Turkiye" sweatshirt, and a Turikish tile for my kitchen.

After shopping, Toby and I headed to a Starbucks and chatted for probably an hour.  I asked her lots of questions about being an Orthodox Jew and in turn shared the gospel with her.  I'm not sure if anything will come from this, but we are now "friends" on facebook and I continue to pray for her.

I went out to dinner by myself that night, wandered around old town Istanbul a bit, then went back to my hotel to pack as I was leaving at noon the next afternoon.

The hotel, which had an amazing view of the Bosphorus and lots of other cool sites, had a free breakfast, which I ate the next morning. It was an amazing breakfast and puts our hotel's continental breakfasts to shame.

I negotiated a ride to the airport with a taxi driver (I told you it was a bargaining society...even taxi rides are up for negotiation) and headed home...purchasing some Turkish coffee at the airport.

I arrived home at about midnight on Friday night, May 1 after being gone 10 days....and woke up at 6 the next morning for work.  It was a trip that was a lot of hard work, but so worth it.

I'll post pictures later!
Blessings,
Erin

A Real Picture of Freedom

When I arrived in Turkey, I was met at the airport by a driver who picked me up and drove me to the hotel of the conference, which was over an hour outside of Istanbul.  I was the first to arrive of the group into Istanbul, as I had booked tickets to arrive early so I could sight-see before the conference.  Those plans got changed up when my friend who was supposed to meet me there couldn't come due to the volcano.  The last-minute decision was made to go to the venue hotel rather than stay in Istanbul.  I was grateful that I had someone to meet me there, even if I was disappointed not to be in the city.

When my driver dropped me off at the hotel, the gentleman at the front counter and I had a comical exchange.  He was not expecting anyone from our conference to arrive for two more days.  I am sure this was compounded by the fact that I knew zero Turkish, and his English, while good, was clearly not his first language.

Somehow I manged to communicate that I was there for a conference.  He said something about it starting "last Sunday," to which I replied, "No, next Sunday."  He called someone on the phone and about thirty seconds later, a very lovely woman came into the lobby and greeted me.  Somehow we figured out that yes, starting *last* Sunday, a women's conference started in the same venue.  We quickly figured out that I was *not* supposed to be there for that conference, but for the one starting *next* Sunday.  It was quite funny.

At this point I had been awake for over 24 hours, and I needed desperately to take a short nap.  So, after settling into my room, I set my alarm for two hours later, and fell asleep.

I woke up, took a shower, and headed down for dinner.  I saw the 50 or so women from the conference in the dining hall, but not knowing Turkish from Gibberish, I assumed that these women were from Turkey based on their dress, hair and makeup.

After dinner I went upstairs, got some work for the conference done, and then went to bed, waking up the next morning at 6AM.  Throughout the next day, I stuck mainly to my room, working on the conference, and watched some movies online; only heading out for meals.  I saw the women again throughout the day eating in the dining hall, but still assumed these were Turkish women.

The next day, late in the afternoon/early evening, the rest of the leadership team arrived to begin final prep for the conference.  While we were touring the facilities' breakout rooms, we ran into some women from the conference and began to tentatively speak to them.

It turned out that these women were not Turkish at all.  Though, by looking at them, you would never know it.  These women were dressed to the nines: full hair, makeup, jewelry, nails nicely done, and in full "western" clothing.  However, these women were not Turkish.  They were Iranian women.  They were Iranian women in Turkey for a Christian women's conference.

Think for a moment about those two words. Christian. Women.  I don't think you can find two more persecuted descriptors in Iran than those two things.  Even in our own country where there is still discrimination that occurs, there is no fear of death (at least at the hands of our own government).  These women risk death for what they believe on a daily basis.  This is so true that these women have to leave their country to have a conference.  I teared up as we were talking to them....looking at what they were wearing, the joy on their faces, the freedom they felt by being in Turkey.  I knew that when they returned home, they returned home to full burqas, fear and truly being the least of the least.  In many Muslim countries dogs have more respect and are treated better than women.  No where is this perhaps more true than Iran.

Their conference ended the day ours started.  However, we invited them to be a part of any of our first day they wanted to. Some of them could not come to the conference as they were returning home that day, but about 20 of them agreed to come as long as no photographs were taken (which there weren't any taken the whole conference, nor was anything recorded). 

Now, keep in mind, that our conference was specifically for Christian leaders from the Middle East.  However, we did not, up until this point have a single person from Iran there.  There were many reasons for this, one being that Iranians speak Farsi, not Arabic....but the real truth is that Iran is so closed and hostile, that there is really no way to know who believes what in that country.

On Sunday the conference was just getting started when these 20 women arrived.  Some spoke a little English, some spoke a little Arabic, and so they sat in the back as things got under way.  The leader of the conference was going down a list of countries represented there, and having everyone from that particular country stand up when their country's name was called.

Even without the addition of the Iranian women, these men and women have something that as a Westerner, I do not....they too face persecution, imprisonment, hatred, and threats.  Even without the addition of these Iranian women, the sheer courage, strength and fearlessness in the men and women in that room was enough to blow me away.

But, as "Mohinder" began to explain that there were some "special guests" in the room, the atmosphere changed.  He asked these Iranian women to stand, and as they stood, the whole room rose simultaneously in a thundering standing ovation for these women.  All two-hundred plus Middle Eastern men and women rose, acknowledging these women, honoring these women, blessing these women.

I stood in the back of the room and wept.  I stood in the back and prayed for each of those women, knowing that even that very day, they would board a plane, and somewhere along the route home, they would don their burqas, remove their makeup, jewelry and nail polish and step off the plane as once again the lowest of the low.

Yet at the same time I know that these women are blessed.  These women are blessed to know persecution in a way I have yet to experience.  I know this because in Matthew 5 it says that

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

It also says: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven."

And in Luke 21, "All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life."

And finally in 2 Tim 3, "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived."

They have the kingdom of heaven in a way I don't.  They have a reward that I don't.   They know something about Jesus and life that I don't.

I was humbled by the amazing Chinese believers at the conference last year in Hong Kong, and I am humbled by these believers too.

Blessings,
Erin

Called to Call2All?

One of the purposes for this trip, in my mind, was to come to a conclusion about whether working for Call2All full time was something I felt I would do.  I prayed ferverently about this before I left, hoping it would become clear.  I am grateful that I feel this has happened.

The bottom line is this: I don't want to, nor do I feel called to do administration.  This is what I'd be doing if I were to move to Kona specifically to work for Call2All full time. 

I had a short talk with Martin, one of the Call2All staff members in charge of the conference while I was there about this decision.  This was a divinely orchestratd appointment because Martin had no idea of my wrestle....so he was able to speak about the situation.  What he said was this: there is not currently full-time work *in* Kona.  However, if I wanted to continue to stay in Tacoma and just help out as I have been doing with the conferences once or twice a year that I "had a good thing going." 

If I moved to Kona, I'd be doing two things: admin for the organization part-time and doing event coordinating the other part time.  If I stay in Tacoma, I can actually continue to help with the events (which is separate from the admin aspect) from here and not have to move to Kona to do the other part-time admin (oh the magic of technology like the internet that allows something like this to even be possible!).  I could continue to work and then help with a conference or two a year. 

I actually really enjoyed doing the conference once it got started.  I enjoyed meeting the people involved with the conference.  I liked a lot of aspects of the conference....I do not think I'd really be happy doing full-time administration work.

This does not mean I won't do a DTS, that is still an option on my radar screen.  It does not mean I won't continue to explore other international options, but I feel confirmed in my heart that specifically moving to Kona to do admin for Call2All won't be happening.  I feel confirmed in my heart that doing what I have done for them for the last seven months, which is helping to coordinate events, will continue to happen for now, from Tacoma.

In fact, there has already been an ivitation to help with their conference in India sometime this coming fall. 

Blessings,
Erin

I'm Baaaack!

I'm still alive. And, I am back on US soil.  However, I have come down with a cold and my brain is not functioning well enough for a proper blog post.  I do have a few great stories about my trip rumbling around, and I will be back to post as soon as possible.

Also, just on a small side note....I also feel I have some pretty good answers regarding working for Call2All full time.  I'll write about that as well.

Meanwhile, off to the store to get some food and cold medicine.

Blessings,
Erin

Turkey Stuff(ing)

Here are some highlights of Turkey so far.

1.  I have been here three days and have yet to actually *eat* turkey.  Grin.
2.  I have, however, been LOVING the Mediterranean way of eating.  I have had loads of dried fruits, fresh veggies, different cheeses, fresh milk, eggs, and honey-covered desserts.  Yum.  I could eat this way the rest of my life.
3.  I can see the Mediterranean from my balcony.  Heaven.
4.  To the untrained ear, Turkish sounds an awful lot like a scandinavian language. 
5.  When language barriers can't be crossed, hand gestures and pointing works great!
6.  The Turkish people are very hospitable and nice.
7.  You know you are not in America when *everyone* smokes and it is done *everywhere,* even in the dining room while you are eating by the dining room workers!
8.  Turkey is an odd mix of different cultures.  I have seen some Indian influences, some Arab influences, and some Western influences.
9.  There is a mosque not too far from the hotel.  The call to prayer, five times a day, is an eerie sound.
10.  Turkey does not appear to have much of an Islamic fundamentalism.  I listened to a Christian radio station on my way to the hotel from the airport.  Much of what is on TV looks and feels very American (some are even American shows dubbed in Turkish) and European....some skin, tight clothes, etc.  Only the older women wear head scarves.  I have only seen one burqua and that was at the airport. 

On a few personal notes:
1.  This is the second international trip where jet lag has been little or no consequence.  I have been able to pretty seemlessly transition into Turkey time.  The first day I arrived at the hotel at 1.  By this time I had been away more than 24 hours (I cannot seem to sleep on planes.....anyone have any hints on HOW to?).  I took a couple hour nap, woke up, took a shower, ate, tried to get some work done and then was in bed by 9pm. I slept until 6 the next morning.  I was dragging by about 4pm the next day, but took a brief nap and then stayed awak until 10pm.  Today, the third day, I woke up at 6:30 and seem to be fine so far.

2.  I really do not like traveling alone.  My friend who was supposed to accompany me on the first leg of the journey had to cancel due to the volcano ash from the volcano erupting in Iceland (don't even ask me to pronounce it...Eyjafjallajökull, anyone? anyone?).  I was the first to arrive in Turkey from the crew working the conference.  Sigh.  Being here alone three days has been lonely and not so fun.  If the hotel was closer to downtown Istanbul (instead of over an hour away), it might be better because then I could actually go somewhere and see some sights.  Maybe the extra day at the end of the trip will make up for this if I can make it into downtown Istanbul.

That's all for now!

Blessings,
Erin

Birthdays, Bios and Turkeys Oh My!

I have been thinking and praying more about this whole birthday thing from my earlier post.  I am pretty sure the whole reason I don't want to celebrate my birthday this year is because there is a part of me who feels like if I pretend it's not happening, then I'm not really a year older. In addition, I am also pretty certain I don't want to get my hopes up for some shin-dig and get disappointed. The last few years my birthday party has been very anti-climatic. I just don't want to repeat of the last few years. I know this isn't a good attitude to have because I am coming to the conclusion that we all need to be recognized by those closest to us.

For example, my bio and picture are NOT going up on any ministry web-site. I am actually *very* happy with this. In the past, I have really wanted to be acknowledged for what I do. My attitude about this has changed a lot in the last few years. It is not that I don't want to be loved and cherished....but that needs to come from individuals, those closest to me and the Lord, not from people I either barely know or don't know at all. I think about verses that talk about people who walk around showing off their accomplishments and how THAT is their reward (Matthew 6:2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."). As humans we are created to be encouraged and loved,....to not do so is to be withheld from. But, we were not created to be worshiped. Any time I crave recognition, I am craving worship. So, on a public basis not to care if I am known for what I do is a good thing. On a private basis, we all need to be acknowledged and encouraged.  Which is why my apathy, bordering on hopelessness, regarding my birthday is probably not a good thing.  We all need to be celebrated.

On a slightly different note, I am now not going to be in Istanbul alone for a couple of days. A friend who works for an airline is shifting around her schedule to meet me in Istanbul for a couple of days before heading off to a couple of other countries. This is a *huge* answer to prayer.  Additionally, I am now only $85 short of my total amount needed for my half of the plane ticket.

Blessings,
Erin

Rooted and Grounded

In nature, a tree that goes through periods of dryness is better able to withstand longer periods of dought as well as storms.  Times of dryness can stimulate roots to penetrate deeper into the soil in search of groundwater.  Trees that go through this are trees that are better able to survive drought and storms than those with shallow root systems. 

Some people have the gift of faith.  These people are like trees who have a tap root that grows down deep from the moment of germination.  When storms blow or drought comes, these people have this gift of faith to get them through. 

The rest of us, like me, have faith that needs growing and development.  Rather than being fully convinced from "germination," our faith has moments when we are fully conviced of the truth of God's character and have other moments when we doubt. For us, we need periods of dryness and drought to force our taproot down if we will seek the Lord in those moments instead of whithering up and dying.  The whole purpose of seasons of desert and drought are to cause our roots to go deeper in search for living water.  The deeper our roots have gone the easier it is to withstand bigger storms and longer drought, while those whose roots have not gone deep are easily uprooted.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. He has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

Eph 3 "..that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

A lot of my last few blog posts have probably come across a bit "bi-polar" as a result of my current "storm" in life.  The journey into believing the truth of God's character has been a bumpy/windy one especially the last two and half years, but more specifically the last few months, and I have not arrived at a place of peace with it yet. My taproot is still on its journey to deeper waters; growing, seeking, searching, and winding around the burried boulders in the way.

On the one hand I while I know the truth in my head, it has yet to fully penetrate my heart. Or, rather it penetrates it on some days (those are the joyful, excited posts) and not on others (when you get angry, disappointed posts like the one from last week).

In general, the body of Christ does not know how to handle people who are in seasons of the Lord allowing storms to come into their life.  There is no one but Him who can give any of us a greater amount of faith.  Anything good we have comes first from Him.....especially faith. (Eph. 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.) 

I need more faith.

Blessings,
Erin