I've enjoyed spending this past week with friends here and it's been a wonderful time of fellowship as well as sobering and informative.
It's been a bit more laid back with sleeping in and later nights. I've spent time meeting with less people over tea, dinner or conversing on the dolmus(h)but the time spent with them has been lengthy and I've learned alot from our conversations and just observing the way of life here.

Yauser arrived the same day we did and spent a few days with us here before continuing on her "tour" of Central Asia. Our dear friend has been such an amazing hostess, showing us around and introducing us to her life here. Sarah got to turn 22 here and we had Baklava and ice cream, quite tasty!
We actually needed the candles because as we were dishing the treats the power went out.

My time here has been helpful in processing and bringing together everything that has happened over the last week. It's very evident that life here in this culture, new language structure sounds and letters and social norms, particularly thoughts and regards to women, that are so vastly different from those that I'm accustomed to make living here quite challenging. I'm encouraged by my friends who are persevering in language learning and living under what often times must very difficult and trying circumstances. I'm also uplifted by accounts of and encounters of lives that have been changed and work that the Father has been so faithful to bring about. I'm reminded that He wants us to be faithful to love and pursue Him wherever we may be and that taking up my cross and following Him is not and will not be easy but it is the most important and ultimately rewarding decision one can ever make. I don't know how He is working, will work or even why He works the way He does. But I do know that I need only be obedient and trust Him and He will grant the grace that is required each step of the way to serve Him.