I'm sorry. We've had the full collection of pictures uploaded onto Picasa for a while now. Most of you have probably already stalked facebook enough to see them anyway right?
https://picasaweb.google.com/turkeymissiontrip2010
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
We're Back!
It's back to the streets we know. The team arrived at church around 8pm tonight. There were no flight delays and no lost luggage! With a long morning of goodbyes, we finally left Turkey early in the afternoon on Sunday.
We arrived in Munich on Sunday evening and hotel shopped near the center of town. After dropping stuff off, we took a walk down to the Marienplatz. The pedestrian-only street along the way is lined with fashion shop after fashion shop and is still beautifully lit for the Christmas season. At the center of the city is the historic "New Town Hall". After staring at it for ten minutes, we finally went in and ate at a beautiful restaurant, the Ratskeller.
A short night of rest and we were back on the S-Bahn, endless security checks and a long flight to Chicago.
On the way back, one of the many types of stories that was shared about the trip was the appreciative words from the families. This is an opportunity that they rarely have on such a large scale and feedback was hugely (I checked, it's a word) positive. It's going to take a week to sort out all of the new facebook friendships.
We will have many more (about 4,000 more) pictures posted to a picasa album after they have been organized. Thank you for your encouragement and following us the whole way!
We arrived in Munich on Sunday evening and hotel shopped near the center of town. After dropping stuff off, we took a walk down to the Marienplatz. The pedestrian-only street along the way is lined with fashion shop after fashion shop and is still beautifully lit for the Christmas season. At the center of the city is the historic "New Town Hall". After staring at it for ten minutes, we finally went in and ate at a beautiful restaurant, the Ratskeller.
A short night of rest and we were back on the S-Bahn, endless security checks and a long flight to Chicago.
On the way back, one of the many types of stories that was shared about the trip was the appreciative words from the families. This is an opportunity that they rarely have on such a large scale and feedback was hugely (I checked, it's a word) positive. It's going to take a week to sort out all of the new facebook friendships.
We will have many more (about 4,000 more) pictures posted to a picasa album after they have been organized. Thank you for your encouragement and following us the whole way!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Years in Ephesus
On New Year's Eve, the group enjoyed an adventure to Ephesus. The off-season in Ephesus makes for a much more pleasant experience, especially while tracking a group of children and high-schoolers. Most of us still have to take in the meaning of much of what we saw. One of the neatest things to experience was having a short teaching time in the same theater that the ApostlePaul was in (though not to teach)
To allow the younger children's workers a chance at the city of Ephesus, we took turns watching the littlest ones. It's amazing what you can do in two hours with a bag of every color of pipe cleaner imaginable. These were the cutest kids you could ask for, and that's before you even hear their accents!!
We rang in the New Year with a talent show. Many of the families serving in this part of the country put on unique an fun acts, but Peorians (Ben and Holly) had a shot as well! It was a blast with even the youngest kids stealing the show. There were so many acts that we almost forgot to celebrate midnight!
The next day, our special five-course meal before the talent show did not seem so interesting. We were served several more authentic dishes than we were used to throughout the week. Here, Brooke points to one of the appetizers she later found out was likely a guilty party. I do feel a little bad telling her to try everything. Today, Brooke and Becky were out for the count most of the day, as were several kids.
Our trip is about to end. Today was eventful with two teaching sessions, a short scavenger hunt around the resort and lots of free time. Tomorrow Afternoon we ship out for Munich and a late night on the town. Don't be surprised if the blog is quiet... Lord willing, we will be home Monday night. Talk to you then!
To allow the younger children's workers a chance at the city of Ephesus, we took turns watching the littlest ones. It's amazing what you can do in two hours with a bag of every color of pipe cleaner imaginable. These were the cutest kids you could ask for, and that's before you even hear their accents!!
We rang in the New Year with a talent show. Many of the families serving in this part of the country put on unique an fun acts, but Peorians (Ben and Holly) had a shot as well! It was a blast with even the youngest kids stealing the show. There were so many acts that we almost forgot to celebrate midnight!
Our trip is about to end. Today was eventful with two teaching sessions, a short scavenger hunt around the resort and lots of free time. Tomorrow Afternoon we ship out for Munich and a late night on the town. Don't be surprised if the blog is quiet... Lord willing, we will be home Monday night. Talk to you then!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Time Is Flying By
I was just talking to Kara bout how fast the week is flying. It may feel like our flight out of O'Hare happened over a week ago, but the days In Kusadasi are melting together as if everything happened just today.
It looks like it's too late to give you an account of today's events. And we didn't have time to round up pictures. There was alot of teaching time crammed in today with Angie and Holly taking on Ephesians 2 and 3 and then plenty of fun watching the smaller kids while their parents toured Ephesus.
Tomorrow is our opportunity for the tour and we will actually get to teach in one of it's amazing amphitheaters. The weather is turning out to be beautiful and the team is doing great! We couldn't have asked for more connections and fun times with the kids. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!
It looks like it's too late to give you an account of today's events. And we didn't have time to round up pictures. There was alot of teaching time crammed in today with Angie and Holly taking on Ephesians 2 and 3 and then plenty of fun watching the smaller kids while their parents toured Ephesus.
Tomorrow is our opportunity for the tour and we will actually get to teach in one of it's amazing amphitheaters. The weather is turning out to be beautiful and the team is doing great! We couldn't have asked for more connections and fun times with the kids. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Kusadasi Kapers
Today we hit the ground running with our big event, the Kusadasi Kapers. This was our adventure race, not to be confused with the resort adventure race we are having on Friday. With clues prepared by Holly late the night before, six teams set out to compete with other teams solving riddles, researching facts and performing challenges. A morning storm made the day somewhat gloomy and the race-time drizzle slowed things down a bit. But most of the kids got involved and figured out most of our clues and contests. Even though most groups got through the clues pretty well, there was one clear winner who's methods will be analyzed...thoroughly! Results to be announced tomorrow.
I was able to get some uploading done on Picasa. Click here to check out the album. It is only a small fraction of the photos taken in a day. If anyone has trouble using the link, please let me know. There are new security options available on Picasa.
In the evening we had our first official teaching time with the two age groups split up. Tim gave his talk on chapter 1 of Ephesians and the younger kids continued learning about Esther. Parents feedback about the younger kids time has been HUGELY positive and the workers in that group (LEAH) are just loving it!
Our time with the older kids is also going well, though with much more craziness going on in schedules and preparedness. Very few teens seem to be uninterested and we still have alot of fun lined up.
Tomorrow is a full day of teaching (two sessions), afternoon break and them movie night with the kids. Perhaps we will have more time to talk about the families we have been getting to know!
I was able to get some uploading done on Picasa. Click here to check out the album. It is only a small fraction of the photos taken in a day. If anyone has trouble using the link, please let me know. There are new security options available on Picasa.
In the evening we had our first official teaching time with the two age groups split up. Tim gave his talk on chapter 1 of Ephesians and the younger kids continued learning about Esther. Parents feedback about the younger kids time has been HUGELY positive and the workers in that group (LEAH) are just loving it!
Our time with the older kids is also going well, though with much more craziness going on in schedules and preparedness. Very few teens seem to be uninterested and we still have alot of fun lined up.
Tomorrow is a full day of teaching (two sessions), afternoon break and them movie night with the kids. Perhaps we will have more time to talk about the families we have been getting to know!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Suffering For Jesus
The team has decided to convey the disparity of our situation with you in hope that you might better understand how to encourage and pray for us. The conditions are awful. Every morning for breakfast, a vicious gang of cats stalks Leah, just waiting for their chance to pounce. Birds from inside the hotel swoop in over your heads while you try to gather some food. Lyall and Sheila's marriage is going to require some serious repair after recent confrontations. Torrential rain has made it impossible to go outside. Power to the hotel has become iffy at best, and the team is utterly exhausted.
Truth is there's a good story to each one of those woes and the only downsides at the moment are simply that we are getting tired. Some bodies are confused and everyone has done plenty of walking and had a late night. For the rest of the week will have to fit planning sessions into every nook and cranny.
Today was a little more relaxed until our evening activities. We met families as they trickled in and we spent more and more time with them as the day went on. By the end of the day we had a full conference of over 150 people. The kid's attitudes are surprising us almost always in a good way as the younger group is not seeing any difficulties for the rest of week and the older group is looking forward to what's in store!
Our team is finally complete with Janna Banana arriving in the early evening from Prague!
Our big adventure out on the town is scheduled for tomorrow morning so it's time to sign off.
Truth is there's a good story to each one of those woes and the only downsides at the moment are simply that we are getting tired. Some bodies are confused and everyone has done plenty of walking and had a late night. For the rest of the week will have to fit planning sessions into every nook and cranny.
Today was a little more relaxed until our evening activities. We met families as they trickled in and we spent more and more time with them as the day went on. By the end of the day we had a full conference of over 150 people. The kid's attitudes are surprising us almost always in a good way as the younger group is not seeing any difficulties for the rest of week and the older group is looking forward to what's in store!
Our team is finally complete with Janna Banana arriving in the early evening from Prague!
Our big adventure out on the town is scheduled for tomorrow morning so it's time to sign off.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Walkin' On The Edge
Good Afternoon. For those who haven't checked yet, we are 8 hours ahead of our Illinois friends. So it's just before midnight here, but you're just getting off of work on the same day. You can always leave comments here on the blog. We will get them quickly thanks to a solid free data connection on one of our phones!
This morning we got to sleep in. Breakfast at 8am. Wooo! If you're late, you sit at the end of the table. Leaders are no exception.
The rest of the morning was spent preparing for some activities and the arrival of several families later in the evening. Plenty of goofing off as well. Before you knew it, lunch time came around again. It feels like all we do is eat so far.
The afternoon was spent in downtown Kusadasi (KOOSH-A-da-sih). We explored for fun and to seek out interesting facts and sights for the kids to seek out as we take them on an adventure race later in the week.
The most memorable part of the excursion must be the fortress island for which the town was named. Kusadasi means "Bird Island". The ruins were easy to explore without realizing what you were and were not allowed to do, like walking along the cliff edges.
Next was shopping at the local bazaar.
We finally got to spend some significant team time talking about the trip and sharing what we have learned as we studied up on the missionary biographies we had read. Late in the evening, a large group of tired families finally arrived which allowed us to meet and great several kids at a slow pace.
Again, I apologize for not being able to upload all of our pictures at once. It's late again. Tomorrow is more planning, exploring and meeting the rest of our conference families in the afternoon!
This morning we got to sleep in. Breakfast at 8am. Wooo! If you're late, you sit at the end of the table. Leaders are no exception.
The rest of the morning was spent preparing for some activities and the arrival of several families later in the evening. Plenty of goofing off as well. Before you knew it, lunch time came around again. It feels like all we do is eat so far.
The afternoon was spent in downtown Kusadasi (KOOSH-A-da-sih). We explored for fun and to seek out interesting facts and sights for the kids to seek out as we take them on an adventure race later in the week.
The most memorable part of the excursion must be the fortress island for which the town was named. Kusadasi means "Bird Island". The ruins were easy to explore without realizing what you were and were not allowed to do, like walking along the cliff edges.
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Next was shopping at the local bazaar.
We finally got to spend some significant team time talking about the trip and sharing what we have learned as we studied up on the missionary biographies we had read. Late in the evening, a large group of tired families finally arrived which allowed us to meet and great several kids at a slow pace.
Again, I apologize for not being able to upload all of our pictures at once. It's late again. Tomorrow is more planning, exploring and meeting the rest of our conference families in the afternoon!
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