To see more pictures of our American vacation click on the picture below:

American Vacation

 

Happy 7th Birthday, Austin!!

We celebrated Austin's birthday with our neighbors and we
look forward to a party at the Tummons' farm as well. 

Bosphorous Strait Day Trip

Before, returning to America, we took a day trip with
Hakan and Eşay on a boat along the Bosphorous Strait and
then had a seafood and fish dinner. They are close friends
and valuable partners here in Turkey. 

Brian and I climbed a steep hill to see the entrance of
where the Bosphorous Strait meets the Black Sea. 

At the entrance to the Black Sea and the Bosphorous Strait
once stood this look out tower and castle. We were surprised
to see a cross posted on the castle, possible signifying the
Constantinople reign before the Sultans took over the city. 

Cappadocia, the land of the once persecuted

This is probably my favorite part of our trip as we explored the
underground caves. The caves were any where from 6 to 8 levels
deep, with passages to squat through and areas to climb up and
holding up to 10,000 people at a time.
I didn't like that part, but...if you look behind me you'll see a
huge stone they used to cover passages or rooms for protection
against enemies. It reminded me very much of the stone used
to cover the tomb of Jesus' grave. 

We got to see many of the small cave churches
scattered throughout the region. They were all
in one room with some art work done on the walls.
It really made me appreciate the freedom of religion
we have in America, and what we would like to see
in Turkey some day. 

The fun part of our trip is that we got to stay
in a pansion that used to be a cave house.
This is it...cool, huh! 

These cave houses lie in a valley throughout the central region
of Turkey. The cone-shaped tops on the rock formations are
due to erosion. The top layer is volcanic rock, and the area
around the caves were easily carved out due to the soft,
sandy rock below. The effect is due to a questionable number
of years of erosion. 

Gina took a trip to the town of Ürgüp in Turkey with her cousin,
Jodi Lambert and her friend, Candace, to explore the area where
persecuted Christians lived in caves build into the rocks and
underground during in about the 6th century A.D. 

Happy Mother's Day

We went on a picnic in a forest outside of Istanbul for
Mother's Day with our neighbors, Reyhan, Şenay, and Ali, and the kids.
It was a great get-away from the city for all of us. 

Carissa bought Gina some çay glasses with strawberries on
them and gold trim and with her own money. 

Brianna wrote Gina a poem in Türkish for Mother's Day, and
drew a picture. 

Anneler Günü Kutlu Olsun!!

At school, Ashley recites a poem in
Türkish about Mother's Day. She was able to
say it in front of about sixty other mothers.
Now...if that doesn't make a mother proud and
bring tears to her eyes...well, it did! 

Emirgan Park Picnic and Tulips, Tulips, Tulips!!!!

We found out the kids would not have school so
Şenay, Reyhan and I took the kids to the park
and enjoyed a picnic together. 

After our picnic, the kids had a tug-of-war match with the moms.
Pictured are Carissa, Beyza, Brianna, Rabia, Cengiz-Han, Austin,
Umut, Kaan, and Ashley. 

After the picnic, we enjoyed a walk and admired the tulips.
Carissa and her best friend, Beyza (since 2nd grade) had a
fun day together. 

Ashley shows off some of the tulips that grow in the park.
This year the Istanbul city planted millions of tulips all over the city.
By the beginning of May all the tulips are gone. Five years has made
a big difference in the beauty and pride of Istanbul and the people. 

During our walk in the park, we went by this large pond,
observed the fountain and watched the ducks. 

Emirgan Park is our favorite picnic spot, and has a beautiful
view of the Bosphorous Strait. It is also great for the kids to
play on the playground equipment (most schools do not have
playground equipment). 

Traveling in Istanbul

Every Wednesday, Gina "hops" on a ferry carrying passengers
only and travels to a friend's house for Bible study. It takes
at least an hour both ways to go by bus, boat and walking, or
longer if the traffic is bad. These boats carry 100s of 1ooos of
passengers each day, and they leave every ten minutes from the
Europe side to the Asia side of Istanbul. 

The Bosphorous divides the city of Istanbul and the continents
of Europe and Asia. There are two bridges such as this one that
takes traffice across the water, but our favorite way to travel is by
boat. The is the 'first' bridge, and we live further north where the
second bridge is. 

Rabia's Birthday

Our family spent the evening with Rabia and her family
to celebrate her birthday. Just some interesting information...
the Turks acknowledge the age of a person differently. For example,
Brianna and Rabia were born the same year in 1997, but Rabia
turned "10" because the she is finished with her 9th year of life,
but passing into her 10th year. In America, we would say she
turned nine years old. 

Gina and Friends make 'Faith Bracelets"

What a great day we had making our 'faith bracelets' as an opportunity to witness to our Turkish friends. These beads were sent to Gina courtesy of Polly Schoen, a friend from high school and college. We can use the beads to witness and tell about our spiritual journey with the Lord Jesus. Gina's friends are from her Bible study (left to right) Terri, Margaret, Lisa, Leesa (she hosted our party) and Jennifer. Thanks Polly! for your creativity and desire to serve us in a fun way! 

Turkish Breakfast with Friends!!

Gina has breakfast with her friends and neighbors: Şenay; Reyhan, her son, Kaan;
Leyla, her son, Selçuk; Türkan; Yeşim and Ashley. Usually we sit on the floor and have
cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, bread, eggs, and of course, çay. Afiyet Olsun!!