Turkey { week 1 }

*edited to add: we have talked with our mentors and we cannot publicly post anything connected to the people we encounter. This is just for their safety and privacy. However, we would love to share with you once we get back home! Thank you for understanding, and enjoy the "touristy" side of our trip!


This past week has been a whirlwind. It feels like we just got here and haven't even begun to dig in, but at the same time, it feels like we have been here a while and are finally settling in to our "new home." I think it is safe to say that we love where we have been planted for this season. The atmosphere is different than Texas, yet feels strangely familiar. We have seen kindness and welcoming arms from everyone we have come in contact with. The Smith family has taken us in and started mentoring us on everything from relationships, to parenting, to buying and cooking Turkish food. We truly have been blessed by this past week. The next three will fly by so fast, but we know He has so much in store!

For those that are wondering, we are here as part of Eli's school requirements. It is hard to explain our "task" or "position" while we are here because most of it is observing and listening to a family who has been in our shoes before. We will be involved in everything they are doing - building relationships with the local people, encouraging the brothers and sisters in the area, and living life as a family in our new environment.

This post will probably be long, but I want to fill you in on the details of our time here so far.

We live just outside of a small town, in a nice little three-story apartment in what is called a site (see-tay), which is really just a gated community. The way everything played out for us to live here was definitely orchestrated by God. Ask me, I'll tell you about it sometime!

The back of our apartment. Can you imagine how wonderful breakfast is on our porch?

We do have running water, but it has a very high lime and calcium content. Instead, we get our drinking water from fountains like these all over the city. This water is pumped in from the mountain streams and is so pure and good! This one happens to be at the front of our site.

I am amazed by the way God can use Sarah, at such a young age. She has already made friends with a few other kids in our site and we have had a chance to visit with their parents in very limited and broken English and Turkish.

This friend is two months older than Sarah.

Showing off her new tricks.

We love the little playground right outside our house.

This week we've had the chance to visit two different pazars. These are markets where individual people can sell their own fresh produce, cheese, eggs, nuts, and spices. I only took a few pictures, but I will try to take more next week. These people come from neighboring towns and mountain villages and work so hard to produce beautiful and delicious foods. Their livelihood is dependent on how well their goods sell. In the morning, the pazar is like what you see below. By the afternoon, it is hard to walk because so many people are there buying and selling. It is really neat (and overwhelming!) to observe!

This is only a tiny portion of the whole pazar. There are tents back-to-back, filling parking lots and down several city blocks.

We are in a small town, but it has several conveniences, like a small grocery stores, a few restaurants, and a beautiful bay area. One night, we decided to be brave and venture out into the city on our own. We managed to order food, order tea (a very popular social thing to do here), walk around the boardwalk, and have our picture taken twice! With little to no knowledge of Turkish words. We were pretty excited that we made it through the night so well. These pictures are from the boardwalk. Even though this is in the city, it is so peaceful. My favorite night so far.

People here LOVE Sarah. And I am not exaggerating! So many people were fascinated with her, giving her kisses, pinching her cheeks, and speaking sweet words about her. We have even had two different people ask to take pictures of or with her. I mean, I don't blame them!

I could go on and on about how beautiful it is here. We are perfectly nestled in between the mountains and the sea. In fact, we can see the sun rise over the mountains from our front door and the sun set over the bay from our balcony on the back of the third floor. Our God is beautifully creative. We are so thankful for such a view. 

This beach is within walking distance of our house.

Eli and Sarah went on a hike to the hills behind our house. You can see our site in the bottom right.

View of the olive groves in the hills behind our house. We've been told often that this is "olive country."

Just yesterday, we went with the Smiths and some friends to a waterfall in a national park. We only thought the view from our house was breathtaking - this park, with its river, trees, and rocks left us in awe. We all needed a breath of fresh air.

This picture doesn't do the fall justice. You can see the Smiths' son in the bottom left, about to jump in. That's how big this was!

Eli was crazy enough to jump into the freezing cold water. He said it was worth it. I'll just get my feet wet and keep the rest of me dry and warm, thank you.

The way he loves her blows me away.

I am so thankful for a husband who sees the importance of having pictures of all of us. If it were left up to me, there wouldn't be many pictures with me in them. Instead, Eli is able to capture one of my favorite photos and I am so grateful.

When I look back over our first week in Turkey, I am able to breathe in deep and exhale with an abundant gratitude. God has placed us here for a reason. Maybe it is to prepare us for a future here. Maybe it is to strengthen us as a family without other distractions. Maybe it is to simply rest in Him. Whatever his plan, I am glad to be a part of it.


"I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Ps. 16:8