Turkey Trip

I'm back in China now after spending three weeks traveling around in Turkey.  My friend Kim and I spent time in Istanbul, Ankara, Capadocia, Selcuk, and Ephesus.   Prior to going I had never really thought about Turkey as a place that would be good to tour and see, but I'm glad I went!  There is so much history, different culture, pretty cities, and amazing ancient ruins to explore!  The Turkish culture is very relational and when you go into a store to buy a rug, or even just to look around, be prepared to sit down, drink some Turkish tea, and talk, before you purchase anything.  I drank more tea there than I do even in China!  My very favorite place in Turkey was Ephesus!  It was so beautiful and absolutely amazing to actually see a place that's in the Good Book!  I stood in the very theater that is mentioned in Acts 19 where Paul was when the riot took place! Crazy!
One of my favorite moments with the Father was as I was sitting quietly on a crumbling stone wall at Ephesus, just being still as I looked out over the beautiful rolling hills.  I heard some faint low clanging bells in the distance and it wasn't long before there appeared a whole flock of sheep being led by their shepherd.  The whole picture before me felt like such a loving gift from above, that was meant just for me.  Such a blessings.

It was cool how China felt even more like home to me after being gone for three weeks and then returning.

Anyways...I'm starting my first day back to school tomorrow. Yikes, time always goes so fast!  I'm excited to see my students again and get back in the swing of things.  Thank you for continuing to lift me up.