Turkey: Istanbul

Suddenly I found myself strolling down Istiklal street, gazing at a crowd of thousands of Turks. The cloud of black coats and unknown faces passing by so quickly that I barely had a moment to notice individual people. As we were walking, I was reminded of Christ walking the streets of Jerusalem. Thousands of people were passing him by, groping him, bumping him, but one lady really touched him and was delivered. I felt we have the same mission here on these streets. No matter the size of the crowd, I really believe God has those people there, just waiting for us to walk by and reveal Christ to them. As we were walking through the endless sea of people, we came to an old Catholic church. It was this church where we met an amazing girl last year who has been in our church ever since. It was just one of those times. We happened to be in a certain place, walking in faith, and the Lord brought someone to us. It's so easy to be overwhelmed by the masses of people in Turkey, or depressed by the lack of them in Finland, but no matter the place God has these precious people there, waiting. We spent some time there soulwinning and then headed off to eat with the Pastor Matti and the team.

It was such a great trip to be there in Turkey again. I took with me Jope (or Tekno as we know him) from Helsinki. It was his first time in Turkey and I believe he had an awesome time there. I had so much fun with Roger and Lizzy Robbins and to see them in action as missionaries in Turkey was really refreshing. They have a great ministry and I believe the church will really grow because of having them there. It was so great to see my friends again; Umid, Ilhan, Faruk, Kemal, Clifford, Alp, and all the amazing people there. The church there is really a light shining in a dark place. They have the life, the message, and the vision that people need there in Istanbul. Keep Pastor Matti and the team there in prayer as they move into the summer months. Pray that the Turkish people in the church can get visas and come to Baltimore for convention as well. God Bless Turkey.