This is the first newsletter from a young man in our church that went to help our missionaries to Turkey (J & L) for a few months. He plans to eventually become a full-time missionary.
God is good and He has definitely opened the doors for me to be here right now. He has removed all barriers and put very generous people in my life. Thanks again everyone who gave. I would not be here without you.
I left my house at 3:30 am with my dad and Josiah. We arrived at the airport and I said goodbye. The plane left at 6 am and we flew to JFK by 7am where I waited 9.5 hours before I could board the next plane. I sat in coach in the very middle aisle between two Turks. They were very nice, but it was very cramped and I found it impossible to sleep. 12 hours later we arrived in Istanbul, Turkey.
I got my visa and my passport stamped, got my luggage and went to meet with J at Starbucks. Yeah, those are all over the place in Turkey. Along with Burger King and Pizza Hut and McDonald's. We hopped on a bus and went to his apartment where L was waiting. J took me on a three hour tour of the city where I saw huge mosques, palaces, fortresses, the Bosphorous Straight, brides, buses, ferries, trolleybuses, and so much more. I had my first meal in Turkey (a kebop) and a pepper that would make most grown men cry. It hurt. The next day I got to meet the other believers at Beytel. I was able to play guitar with another believer for the worship service. One of the things I will be doing while I am here is training him to play guitar more comfortably for the worship service. Most of the songs we played were recognizable as they had been translated from English. I did lose my place once because I was thinking it in English, hearing it in Turkish, and reading it in Dutch. Not an easy thing to do when you don't know the latter languages...
Together we broke bread and had a great time of fellowship. I was able to play with some English speaking children there who moved to Turkey from N. Carolina. I am staying with J and L for a few days or weeks and then I will be staying in their office building.
Pray for the hearts of the Muslims that we will meet that they will be able to discern the truth from the lies and also for the believers who live here. Pray they will stay strong in the faith and have courage to live their lives for Christ. Pray for our continued safety and for opportunities to be shown to us. Thanks for the prayers everyone! Stay strong in the Lord and courageous! Stay in the Word and pray without ceasing!
Love you guys! See you soon!
--Zurafa
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