Big City Nights

Well, here I am again. So much fun since last I have typed anything here. Flying was a trip. I liken it to a bus ride, except whenever the plane would hit turbulence, and my first thought would be to feel like I was on a bus and a bumpy road, I would then remember that I was 37,000 feet in the air and be mildly uncomfortable. But really it wasn't that bad. Not too long either since I have done the bus trip to PCB twice now in the last 3 years. This has nothing on that.
Turkey is amazing. I love Turkey. The city is enormous. Driving a bit over an hour from the airport to the hotel showed me a bit of that. I was expecting big, but how big, I don't think I was prepared for.
I have been eating traditional Turkish foods, which includes a lot of things I would not have thought I could eat. But I am enjoying it, which is somewhat surprising. We will see if it gets old quickly or not. But food is really cheap and quite good for the price. Although I do not think I need to worry about losing too much weight like I was planning.
Yesterday was our first day trying to learn some language. As soon as we got here I asked Berna to teach me to say "thank you" and "hello" because I could not stand not being able to thank people. But yesterday we learned a few phrases such as our name, where we are from, and good day. The other two we learned, which were of most importance, was how to say "I am trying to learn Turkish" and "This is all the Turkish I know right now." These phrases were important since the way we learned was to practice these phrases a bit then go out on the street and talk to random people to practice our speaking. One man told me he loved me once he figured out what we were doing. It was humbling, to say the least.
Also, the first day we were here we had a scavenger hunt to acclimate us to a few things we would need or use frequently (the ferry, the tram, grocery store, etc.). This was fun since we had to ask random people on the street for directions. Also a nice humbling experience. But then, I think that might have been the point of the tower of babel, but I could be wrong.
So far we have just been doing things to get us used to the area. I still am not totally used to being here, but I am getting there. We moved into our apartment today, so some normalcy is being developed.
The city is huge and a bit crazy. So alive. People are everywhere. Before leaving, when I was back in East Lansing, there were hardly any people there once school let out. Now I am here and floods of people are everywhere. It is amazing. Traffic is wild. No rules. Kind of freaky really. The city is massive and while I think I have my bearings a bit I am not so sure. I have a feeling as I am here longer that will get better.
This week is going to be the first week of checking out the campus, which I am really looking forward to. I am excited to see what happens.
Okay, that is all for now. Keep checking in. If anything exciting happens I will keep you posted (there may be a pun somewhere in that, but I really am not sure). If you are reading this then assume I miss you.
Until again!

Commission and Communication

This past Sunday I was commissioned by my home church. It was an odd experience. In a good way. This is the church I grew up in and that my parents attend. I have not really been a part of the church for a few years now. However, I sent out support letters to most members of the church, including many people I didn't know, and the response was incredible. The church as a whole really jumped on board and supported me big time. God really moved in the hearts of the church and it was such an awesome experience for me to get to see. So then Sunday I was commissioned. Now, seeing as it was memorial day weekend there weren't as many people in attendance as usual, but there were still quite a few. When the pastor asked people to come forward to lay hands on me to pray, a large portion of the congregation came forward. It was quite a sight. This is a group of people who really do not know me that well, yet they have been moved to be praying for me and the team for the next seven weeks. It was quite touching and quite a sight to see the army of believers God had raised up to pray over this trip. I really wasn't expecting that, but like most things with God, He surprised me and blew me away again.

Right now I am in Indianapolis. We fly out this afternoon. Yesterday we got here at noon, had meetings pretty much all day until nine, and then I found the sports bar to watch the Red Wings' game. Which we won, and that was sweet. Also, another summer project, this one going to Africa, was meeting here at the same time. One of the girls from that project (who I swear I knew from somewhere) happened to show up at the bar to watch the game as well. So that was fun since otherwise I would have had to sit there alone with no one to cheer with. We won, by the way, for those who don't watch hockey. I am now sad that if I want to watch the rest of the series I will have to find either a computer or a Turkish bar that is open at 3-4 in the morning and will stay open, not to mention it has to show NHL games, which may be a long shot. But oh well. The team I am going with is great. It should be a fun group. I am really excited. At this point there is no point worrying about anything. God showed up so hugely in getting me here that I am not worried about His provision going forward. So I know this will be quite the experience.
Okay, all for now. Time to go to more meetings then get ready to fly for the next 20(ish) hours.
Until again.
-Tory

Hello

I created this blog so that those who care to follow along on my adventures in Istanbul are able to.

So, as you should have gathered by now I am going to Istanbul for seven weeks. I will be leaving Lansing to drive to Indianapolis on Monday. We fly out from Indy on Tuesday. For those without a calendar nearby, that is quite soon. Like two days. As this is only an intro post I will simply say that I am somewhat prepared, as far as supplies and all that. I still need to pack, of course, but oh well, that is what tomorrow is for. I can not promise this will be updated too often, as internet access will be available, but I may not always have time, as I will be in an amazing city and hopefully enjoying it and being productive and all that. But here is where you may find my musings over the next seven weeks as God will be stretching me in ways I probably could never even imagine. I am excited to see what He has in store for this summer. Of course, prayers would be greatly appreciated. To all of you, my friends, I love you dearly and will miss you all this summer.

That's all for now. Until again.