Getting Ready to End this Chapter

It is crazy that I have lived in Istanbul for the past six months. I have met so many great people and made friends that will hopefully last a lifetime.

Just wanted to send some shot-outs to some great people I have met here...

Whitney Rose...you are such an amazing, mature person. I have enjoyed every moment we spent together. Right when we met I knew we would be good friends. You have been more of a sister to me than a friend! I love you dearly and will miss all the sleepovers and Sunday afternoon's together. Please come visit in Chicago and I will definitely visit in Australia!


Lenka! You are such a kind and generous person. I have has so much fun spending so much time with you (with the exception of the past five weeks!) and getting to know you. I hope that life brings us together in the near future, and possible in Chicago for a wedding!!! And I love this picture of us, it is hilarious!



Armando, Jen, Joshua, Jaden, and Jeremy! I love you all. You have been so helpful and open to listening to and helping process all the confusion between Avat and I. Thanks Armando for taking time each week to teach Avat and Jen for allowing him to be away from you and the boys. Jen thanks for just talking me through so many issues in such a short period of time. I have learned a lot from you all and I really do love your boys. They are great because you both are great.

Dobrinka, an older sister who really took care of me and helped me out so much. God used you to bless and I thank you so much for giving me a beautiful cold place to live in the summer, food to eat and someone to talk to and learn from. I am sad to leave you during this hard time for you. I will continue to pray for you and your family during this next year of transition. Thanks so much for all you did for me. I hope to reciprocate the acts of kindness to someone else someday soon! Hopefully we will be able to see each other in the states. Love you! (Picture to follow shortly!)

AVAT. So much to say here. It is hardest leaving you. I know that God has brought us together and in His timing He will bring us together again. We pray and hope that it will be a short time but we know that His will is best for us and we rest in the hope of His good and perfect will bringing us back together, in the US! I love you and am grateful for your willingness to grow in Christ and trust in Him for everything. You are a great example of leaving everything and following after Him. Continue to trust in Him and His will for our lives. It will be a hard separation but will make our next meeting even more joyous!!! There is a saying in English that "absence makes the heart grow fonder!" (This was our last picture together...;()

Thanks again everyone for your friendships and you help while I was in Istanbul. I love you all and can't wait to see you all again!

Coming Home

After much thought, consideration and prayer I have decided to come home for Christmas and stay. It is a hard decision to make for one reason, Avat. We have been dating since just two weeks after I arrived in Turkey and have really grown in love together. He is really sad and I am really sad but we both feel that God is separating us for a reason and in His perfect time we will be reunited!

It leaves our relationship at the point where we are at the mercy and grace of the US government. Praying that they will grant him a visa to come to the US in about five months. After the arrival we will get married. Yes that is right folks we have decided that we are going to spend the rest of our lives together and are leaving it in God's hands. Please continue to pray for him and his spiritual growth, safety and comfort during this long waiting period. I will only have to wait about five months surrounded by friends and family. He on the other hand will be waiting alone in a not so just place.

It is bitter sweet leaving here and being away from Avat but I am so happy and excited to see my family and friends. I was going to wait and surprise everyone but couldn't hold it in any longer. These next two weeks I have to prepare paperwork for Avat and spend some quality time with him and then the next week will travel to Greece for a day and possibly Ephesus. Thanks for your prayers through this season of my life. I love you all very much and can't wait to see you all so soon!!!

Prayer Needed, But when Isn't it!

The past few weeks have been extremely challenging at work and pretty much down right unfair. I am rethinking my commitment to stay for the entire year and need prayer on whether I should stick through it or come home early and finish the few classes I have left for my middle school endorsements. It is a hard decision to make because it will be hard to be away from Avat and also I don't want to give up working here but the system is just corrupt and unjust, in all areas. Pray for me for wisdom, guidance and peace in the choices I will make this week.

Love you all and can't wait to see everyone either this Christmas or late January. Thanks for your prayers.

Visitors from Home

The past two weeks my cousin and two of his traveling friends came to Turkey to visit. It was so nice to have people from home come and see where I live, meet my friends and just experience the culture I have been experiencing.

here they are Mike, Steve and Tim

They stayed with me in Istanbul for three days and went off and did some exploring on the west coast before meeting up with me and Whitney in Capadocia. Here are some pictures of our time together! Enjoy.


Whitney and me in the underground city, representing of course!


Whitney, Mike and Tim having a brief discussion. Tim was a little too tall for this underground city!


Enjoying the view from in the valley.


It was very nice to be in nature and see green grass and trees and a stream.


Sunsets are very beautiful here.


In the Hot Air Balloon before take off!

That is it for now. I will post a lot more pics on facebook, this takes too long!

Only in Turkey

The other day my work mate and I went out to dinner and so I had to get back on the bus in bumper to bumper traffic to go home. The bus was so crowded, just like the highway, so I had to stand next to the driver. As I was standing there looking out the window there was a horse drawn trailer...on the HIGHWAY, in bumper to bumper traffic. I mean imagine driving down 90 in the evening after work and all of a sudden a gypsy collecting boxes pulls up next to you on a trailer being pulled by a dirty horse. SO CRAZY. I really wanted to take a photo, and I had my camera, but I could not do it. Next time.

The Turkey Blues...

Yesterday I had a meeting with the principal, who unfortunately was not at my interview, regarding my Christmas holiday. She was shocked to hear that I was going to be gone for two weeks. My department head told her that no where do they give two weeks for Christmas. I got really defensive because after living in the states for 28 years, I have had two weeks off for Christmas, while working and being in the education field as either a student or teacher. It ended this way, I would only take 6 working days off.

Then last night and this morning I couldn't stop thinking about it and have come to the hard but wisest decision that I will not be coming home for Christmas. Instead I will be spending the holiday working in a country that does not celebrate it. I am so sad and extremely homesick now, not knowing when I will be able to come home again. At least I have Avat to spend that Saturday with.

Me and Avat

I think that it is really funny that I am going to write a blog about this but since I am so far away from everyone at home I thought that it would be best to write this than to make all the phone calls!

Most people know the background to the story but I will give a short summary. I met Avat at church the first Sunday I was here in Istanbul. A friend told me a bit about him and his story and I was intrigued. We then met formally at a baptism and I just had this funny feeling about him. I started to pray and pray and pray about it and God kept, and still is, opening doors for us to get to know each other.

After that Sunday we have talked almost everyday, even when I was at home in the states!

Since being released from his detention he has had the opportunity to talk with his pastor and his mentor who both gave him the same advice, and asked him the same questions. One of which is, "Do you just want to be with Rachel to go to America?" This question is interesting to him because he never desired to go to America, he always wanted to go to Germany, so his reply is always, "I just want to go where God sends me and I pray that it will be with Rachel!" Today when I talked with him he asked me why people don't ask me, "Rachel, do you want to be with Avat so you can go to Kurdistan." He then laughed and told me, "Well I don't even want to go there so I guess that is why!"

As for his current situation now that he has been released. He is being sent to a city that is 8 hours from Istanbul. It is a small city and conservative, meaning religious. This is going to be a trying time for him in his walk as well as for us and our relationship. PLEASE pray for him and his safety and for God to bring other believers across his path. He will need to find a job and a place to live. So those are the three requests he needs answered soon. He leaves in about 6 days. Next is that God will open the doors for either the UN to find him a country to accept him as a political refugee. If this happens he will be able to go to another country where he would love to go to school and grow in his faith and understanding of the scripture so that he can go into full time ministry.

This is a lot I know. God is continuing to answer our prayers by keeping him safe in detention, having the UN accept his case so he was not sent to his native country, and we have continued to grow closer to each other through great conversations. His English has really improved so much since I first met him. (He also speaks 3 other languages!)

Thanks for caring, praying and reading. I will try and keep this more updated as to what is happening and how God is working in our lives. Love to you all. It is a great comfort to have people so far away and who have not even met Avat to be praying for him.

A Long Day

It has been awhile since I updated my blog. Since returning to Istanbul all I have been doing is working!

We are into our third week of school with the kids. Everyone kept warning me about Turkish children, apparently they have never worked with CPS kids ;)

I made a very big purchase this weekend, a new bed! The bed that came with my room was causing me to have bad back pain so I broke down and bought a bed. I am currently waiting for it to arrive.

Last week I had a really bad sinus infection and have been put on 5 different prescriptions, the good thing here is medication is cheaper than at home AND you don't have to have a prescription. You can just walk into the pharmacy and they hand it over.

That's it for now.

Visit Home

Since arriving in Istanbul back in June I had secretly started a countdown to my return back to Chicago. Moving here was a major life change and there was a lot of adjustments I had to make moving halfway across the world. I was looking forward to returning home. The day was arriving and two days before leaving Istanbul I finally felt at home.

My trip home to Chicago was all that I could have wanted it to be. I was able to eat the savory foods I had missed and spend time with family and friends. It was fun to tell others about my experiences here in Istanbul and about all my relationships here. All those stories brought me to realize that this is where I belong for the time.

Now I am back "home" and have really come to enjoy my new city!

Here are just a few photos from my trip home...(my camera was replaced, hooray!)



Me and Allie, I love her!



Maggie and me!



Super sleepover with the girls!



I was able to walk Morgan to her first day of 1st grade!



taco's from Garcia's with Javi, yummy!



BBQ Pork sandwich, which I will never have in Turkey :(



She is the prettiest little girl, EVER! and I LOVE her!



One last stop before the airport...Target with the Rills! Thanks for the ride!



Made it back home the next day just in time for the sunset...thanks Lenka for helping me get home!

Until next time...

girls night out

attempting to be a whirling dervish

me and my good friends whitney and lenka

on the crowded tram

Ramazan Turkish Style

Traditional Turkish Man

Men all Lined up to break the fast and get some free food

whirling dervish prepares for his dance

and the spinning begins, pretty amazing

New Job Starts Tomorrow...

My new job starts tomorrow and I am excited. I just want to begin. Everyday last year of subbing was like my first day, so this year I am looking forward to just one first day and really enjoying my time here in Istanbul.

Please continue to pray for my friend Avat. He is going to the UN tomorrow and applying to be a refugee, he really needs this to happen and avoid getting sent home.

An Extension

I was looking forward to starting my new job teaching at Fenerbahce Kolegi this Monday. In preparation for the big day I asked the HR representative to meet me in my neighborhood and show me where I need to go to get on the bus. Anxiously waiting for the reply I instead was called and told that work would not be starting on Monday, but a week later on the 24th. WHAT?!?!?

In any other circumstance this would be the greatest news. More time to spend with family and friends if I was at home in Chicago, or I wouldn't mind to go on a mini European adventure to Germany and possible Prague.

The time I have been given is a blessing and I look forward to using my time wisely and exploring the free areas of Istanbul.

I will post some pics of recent adventures with Whitney, we went to the Islands and had such a great time laughing...

Homesickness

I guess it is normal when you are living far from home that you just really miss home. It is not so much the things and places in Chicago, it is the people. I miss my mom and spending Sunday afternoons with her and sometimes my grandma. I miss hearing Gladdy's loud voice making some kind of comment to me, I miss coming home and seeing Lynn knitting on the couch. I miss spending my Friday nights with Maggie and seeing Anna at work, and I admit I miss the good food we would eat at Mrs Murphy's. I miss going to Sara and John's and playing with the girls and talking to Sara as she cleaned the house. I miss talking with Amanda and Josh when Sara would be out running errands or at school. I miss taking the girls to Jason's Deli with John on Monday nights after Morgan's gymnastics. I miss seeing the Rills and dancing with Olivia, Mei and G-money.

What I guess that I am saying that no matter where I would love to travel to and see, people are what matter most. For the time being I am seeking God and His wisdom for my immediate future (this year) and if it is only a year, I know I can make it but to everyone at home I miss you all.

I also really miss my sunday school class and all my Bethel peeps. After watching the vacation bible school videos I missed not being there to help out. If I had a camera I would post pictures, soon my camera will get repaired, I hope!

I knew I would be bad at this!

Everyday that I am on the bus or something really funny happens I think, "Oh I should blog about that." When I get home I crash and never do that.

Officially I haven't worked in a week. It has been a fun filled adventure this week. I have done a whole lot and spent a lot of time with some good friends. I realized this morning though I really do not like having all this free time. I enjoy working and being busy. Maybe if I was home and surrounded with all my family and friends I would enjoy all this free time a lot more but I am here and I want to begin my new job.

There are a lot of highlights living here. For instance, my laundry is done for me along with cooking and cleaning. I am living like a queen here, but only for 10 more days. My view out the front window is breathtaking. The sea and the far off islands is just beautiful. I will have a friend take some photos next time she is here.

With highlights there are also lowlights, I really miss my family, my friends, my car (it takes me no less than an hour to get anywhere), all the good restaurants in Chicago...

It is true absence does make the heart grow fonder. I look forward to being home in 33 days, hooray!

Change

Life is always about change.

When I started college I knew I wanted to be a teacher yet after 7 years, on and off, I graduated with a degree in Communications. My first job was an assistant 4th grade teacher. So I went back to school and began a masters program and earned a teaching certificate, which I was able to teach one year in the classroom. The second year I lost my position and had to substitute teach all last year. I ended up coming to Istanbul for the summer to be a private tutor for a family, that only lasted a month and now I have a contract to teach for a year here. I have moved two times this summer and after August is over it will be 3 times.

Don't get me wrong I do enjoy the change no matter how stressful it can get. As I reflect on all these changes and adjustments to my future I see God's hand there in the midst of everything.

I am extremely blessed and excited to see how much more life continues to change. Who knows where I will end up next? I am thinking I will be here for more than a year, but that may change tomorrow. So I praise God for what He has done for me up to this point and try to reflect my gratitude in service to Him today and try not to think to much about tomorrow.

Focusing on The Positives

First of all want to wish my good friend Abbie a Happy Birthday. I would post a good picture from our past here but I didnt bring any photos with me and so I cant do that :(

On Abbie's birthday I signed a contract to teach at a school for ONE year in Istanbul. How exciting!!! I can see God's hand in this entire situation and how He provided me the opportunity to do this and protected me in many situations. Today I decided to read Psalms and sometimes I choose one by just opening up to a random one and today one of the verses says: Psalm 146:9a The Lord watches over the alien

Now although I am not really an alien in terms of science fiction, hahahahaha, I sure am an alien here in Istanbul. I do not know the language and really I thought I was street smart but not here. The whole situation of hopping into a strange man's van just put things into perspective for me.

TO end it all I feel like Satan is attacking a lot here at the same time that God is opening doors and growing me in my faith. I pray that I remain obedient and sensitive to the Lord's leading.

A Life of Comfort

As an American citizen I never realized how easy and comfortable we have it. We can go to almost any place in the world and someone somewhere will speak or at least understand a little bit of English. We can choose whatever religion or none at all to follow. If we want to pack up and sell everything and move to a foreign land we can do just that, with some limitations!

Living in a foreign place I have discovered this reality. It makes me praise God for putting me in this situation and pray for those who do not have these freedoms I was born into. At the same time it also makes me realize that although I have this comfort now, it can be taken away at any moment. What would I do without this freedom? I have never been put into a situation where I had to choose my faith or comfort.

I praise GOD for this grace He has bestowed on me and my family and friends in America. I now pray for the many people I meet here so far away that do not have these same rights. So many of them have fled their homes in search of freedom and lost everything material on the way. It is a challenge to me in my faith to be willing to be uncomfortable in situations in order to serve and love the people I am blessed with meeting and share God's love.

Please pray for the people in Istanbul who are refugees and are living a life that lacks comfort, safety and freedom. I pray that the truth of God's word would be brought to them and that they will realize that this life here is temporary and if they should choose to believe and follow Jesus Christ, they can share in a life of hope of a future in the presence of the Almighty.

I pray for you all back home and hope that you are having a great summer. I miss everyone terribly and can't wait to finalize a job for the fall in order that I can come home for a short visit in September. Love you all!

Friends

Me and Whitney on the Bosporus

Avat and I at church

Adjusting

Since I have arrived I have felt like a true foreigner. From getting off of the plane and not being able to communicate with anyone to find where my driver was or from jumping in the wrong car, to forgetting my cell phone on the bus and trying to coordinate getting it back. I have witnessed God's grace again and again and I praising Him in everything.

I have found a great church here and the fellowship of believers is so encouraging. I enjoy Sundays the most. I am refreshed, encouraged and find strength from the sermon as well from the time we have together at lunch. I have met some really great people as well at church, which is a HUGE answer to prayer. In fact I met two good friends. My friend Whitney, who is from New Zealand and is nanny for a family from Texas. I was blessed with the opportunity to stay with them this past weekend. It was so nice to be in a house with six kids who all spoke English! I loved it. The other person is Avat. He has an amazing testimony and we spend a lot of time talking and getting to know each other more and more. Please be praying for him as he grows more in his faith and also seeks God's will for his complicated life. A life that we in America would never have to experience. My heart is burdened by his pain and suffering but encouraged as well by his desire to grow in knowledge of God and His word.

This week please pray for me for wisdom in choosing what school I should accept a position at and whatever school I choose, that the paperwork for my visa will be completed quickly. Also I am going to have to tell the family I am living with that I will not be here full time any longer. Lastly, that I can find a nice apartment in a SAFE and quiet neighborhood.

Thanks for reading and praying for me. Today I really miss my family.

I have broken down and started a blog!

So I thought that I could just survive this new journey to Istanbul with just updating my status on facebook but after yesterdays encounter with "lost in translation" and getting in a van with a stranger I thought maybe I will just write a blog.

Life here is going well. I don't really love living at my job, but just like life here on earth, this is temporary at the moment. It got me here and after this week I will have been on three interviews. It is amazing how after a few years of patience I am finally being offered jobs that I really want to do, teach!

It will be interesting in the next few days to see what happens in terms of offers from the school and where I will end up working. I can truly say that this past year of working at a different school has really prepared me for my career here.

Also, for those of you who don't know I had been praying that I would meet some good Christian friends who I could grow with. Well God has answered that prayer as well. This Friday I will be going to Bible study at the church I have been attending, Praise God.

One last thing if you could pray for me as I would like to make a decision soon as to a job for the school year, some friends who are praying about joining me here that God will open the door for them to come, and one prayer request I am can not broadcast on a public sight. SO thanks to everyone home in Chicago and anywhere else who is interested in what I have to say.