UPDATE FROM GEORGE IN TURKEY

Am taking advantage of the generosity of another one of the attendees who has lent me his laptop to type up a short message to home. Today was an exciting day although our daily 6;30 am walk on the Mediterranean beach was interrupted by scattered showers. Since the wet sand was not going to be any fun, we opted to walk around the property where nicely paved sidewalks lined the outer walls. Then we noticed that the mountains that sorround the east and west sides of this port city of Antalya were far more visible from this vantage point despite the low hanging clouds of this morning. It was also somewhat a sad morning as two of the people we have been prayer-walking with every morning are planning to head home tomorrow. One a is senior pastor at a church in NC and the other is guest lecturer from FL. Speaking of these guys, one of them just had to have his picture taken while taking a swim in the Mediterranean and he sure picked the coldest day to do it. Anyway he did not chicken out and the huge waves did not deter him either. I can’t wait for my copy of his photos. We must have struck it out so well because one of the guys was an Awana kid all the way from Cubbies and he appreciated that I would serve in that ministry. Today was a half-day of actual child care work as we joined a busload of folks for a short trip to Antalya city, the port, the grand bazaar, the tourist spots, and to see what a modern Turkish shopping mall was like. It was nice to walk around and to give you an idea, according to Milt’s pedometer, we walked 15,000 steps (or 6.9 miles). This is not atypical either as we’ve been probably averaging walking 6 miles a day since we got here. Tomorrow, we get a break from a rather hectic week with the kids. It is not easy20managing a room of 14 kids with ages ranging from 6-14. Prayers have really been answered as we the Lord has been able to instruct us how to construct a childrens program that would hold the interest of the youngest and the oldest of the group. Mind you these 14 kids speak different languages, in fact we opened yesterday and today in prayers of 6 different languages with Dick ending it in English. All the lessons, games, crafts, bible stories, missionary stories are being done with the help of three translators. Oh yes, a prayer of thanksgiving for the Lord melding together this group of 5 child workers so that we could be of one mind and one heart as we deliver the program. Because many of them do not have the benefit of Sunday school or any type of bible lessons in their place of ministry, all of us workers are acutely aware that what is at stake is that the children gain a positive impression of Christ, how much He loves them, and how Christian kids also know how to have good clean fun. Our days are quite full. We start around 6AM and get ready for a 6:30 beach walk. Then we shower, get breakfast and get ready for daily 9AM worship. Childrens program starts 9:30, lunch at 1:00, then resume at 4pm and close at 7PM. We then have booked meals with the parents of the children during the lunch and dinner hours so that we get a chance to meet them in person and talk about their ministries. We try to get an internet connection around 10pm and try to get to bed by 12:00. Every day is a full day. But thanks to your contuinuing prayers, we are renewed every morning.