Yeni Kayıt

I've arrived in Turkey and I thought I'd take a moment to tack on a new post.  When I got to the site all the links were in Turkish!  It shouldn't have been a surprise to me, but it was.  It took me a moment to figure out, but in case you're wondering "Yeni Kayıt" means "new post." 

This was good for me.  I've spent the day getting around Istanbul on my own.  I did reasonably well and was getting a little too sure of myself.  This is my 5th time coming to Istanbul, so it's reasonable to expect that I should be able to get to church and visit a friend's house on my own.  Still, I'm pretty proud of it.

I've heard it said many times and again today, "Take lots pictures when you first arrive in a new country because before you know it none of the things that you're amazed by then will be remarkable as you get used to being there."  The difference today was that I had a vivid illustration in my mind as to why.  To get to church I had to hop on a dolmus.  This is a bus that in Turkish is literally called, "full" and they usually are.  After getting off the dolmus I walked along the Bosphorus river and up a small street.  It wasn't until 4 hours later that I walked back down to the river that I realized, I never looked up.  A view that once was a reason in itself to walk down to the river  was something I took for granted. 



I love feeling comfortable here, but I don't like taking the beauty and mystery of Turkey for granted.  



Tomorrow morning we start the drive to Kosovo.  Please pray that the border crossings go well.  We think we have everything in order, but you never can tell when someone may be having a bad day.  If everything goes well we can make the trip in one day.   



I've always enjoyed traveling like this, especially with people I want to know better.  Sometimes the journey is just as important as the destination.  I'm excited to learn more about the 2 other men that I will be traveling with.  We'll arrive in Kosovo tired, stinky, and closer.