5/27/2009

Our adventure to go to Turkey started over a year ago. As you all know, Bill, Liam and I love to travel. We have been fortunate to enjoy many fine adventures both here and abroad. When considering the Summer of 09 we decided that we wanted to travel, but we also wanted to participate in working towards issues of peace and justice in the global community. Thus called, we applied to the Global Missions program. Our application was accepted and we initially were assigned to a placement in Costa Rica. Ultimately that did not work out as it was deemed important that we should be fluent Spanish speakers. After reviewing some other placements we were offered a position in Istanbul. I had been dreaming of going to Turkey for some time, so this seemed perfect! We will spend about one month in Istanbul working at a school. The school population is made up of Chaldean Christians from Iraq. They are currently in Istanbul as refugees. We'll be helping with lessons, making music, playing sports and helping out as best we can. As the time for departure nears we are getting very excited about this chance to build relationships between new and different cultures.

To prepare for the trip we have been reading books by a variety of Turkish authors, reading historical accounts and of course "surfing the web" for information. Ah yes...and discovering that Turkey has a large number of birds! Many friends have been to Turkey and hearing their stories has been fascinating. I even had the chance to meet a dear, little lady named Betty. She lives in the town in Maine where my folks do -she was in Turkey for years as a missionary and had a very interesting life. Betty is one of those great folks with a twinkle in her eye and loads of positive energy! Right now we are starting the "nitty gritty" tasks of passport copies, putting together the first aid kit and deciding which bags to carry on the plane -all of which will certainly be eclipsed by our arrival at the school in Istanbul.

Our hope is to be able to post regular updates on this blog so that we may remain in touch while away. We hope that you will stay in touch and share our journey of peace. Hopefully with your help we can establish a circle of conscious thought and prayer towards peace.

Many blessings, Bill, Laura and Liam