Turkey Days 7-8

Sunday in Turkey was amazing for the primary reason that it was when we got to experience our church literally in its infancy in this amazing country.  The muslim religion completely dominates Turkey.  Not only that, but because we are such a trusting people ready to see the Church grow, we are ready and willing to hand over responsibility and trust to people that are barely learning the ropes of the Gospel.  Such is the case in Izmir and Turkey in general.

In Izmir the Church WAS actually growing.  Unfortunately, there was a man with the name of Hussein (what is it with that name????) who worked with the Church and even for the Church to translate and help with the temporal needs of the Church in Izmir.  He became very trusted and he made a lot of money (not a good combo).  Long story short, he took advantage of his situation and when he was caught and ex-communicated from the Church he did what all people that have had power and money do best, he started bad-mouthing the Church and everyone associated with it!  He even threatened the lives of other members to keep them from going.  So that's what Mom and Dad come in to.  UGLY!

Well, cutting to the day, it was great coming over to see the apartment transformed into a very small church.  Mom had Church music playing and there were chairs set up for those that would be attending (we had our fingers crossed that ANYONE would be there).  It looked great.  Connor prepared the sacrament on a small table.  We had guests about 30 min before church was to start.  They were actually new people that Mom and Dad had never met either.  They had come from France (she was French and her husband is a Turk and her nephew spoke French as well).  Dad conducted as Branch President and I quickly realized that he is typically the ONLY priesthood holder at church every Sunday.  He does a great job!  And Mom, well she does everything of course besides conduct and do the sacrament.

Connor blessed the sacrament and Preston then passed it.  I was very proud.  We had Ethan (he is currently living in Turkey, but had lived in California and spoke English) as well as Yigit and Suatt (the twin investigators) who came about 30 minutes late.  It was fast and testimony meeting and it was awesome.  It was so interesting to speak in English and then have it translated into Turkish and French all at the same time!  The Spirit was very strong and it was really amazing to see my youngest (Adin and Mia) be so touched by it.

After church, we had one of Mom's great meals and great dessert's with EVERYONE that had attended.  We then spent HOURS talking and trying to understand each other, but it was a great experience for everyone.  It was also very tiring and frustrating trying to understand each other.  After a couple of hours there I finally coaxed everyone but Dad to get out of the apartment for a walk to see Izmir for our final night.  We walked a long way on the pier and ate at a very nice restaurant as the sun set on our Turkish adventure.  It was sad that Dad wasn't there, but now we know that he truly was hurting and that walk would have been impossible for him.

 While they couldn't actually understand each other, they did speak the same language of computer games (international language).

The twins and us!

 One of the famous Izmir landmarks.

 No beach, but ocean water.

Dad is missing from our sunset dinner.

The next day started a VERY long journey home.  We had to get up at 4am, say good-bye to Mom and Dad, catch a taxi, check all of our luggage in at the Izmir airport, fly to Istanbul, walk a million miles to check in our luggage in Istanbul only to find out that we were there too early to do so, ate at a Burger King, checked in our luggage, waited for our flight, boarded the plane (it wasn't even close to as nice as the one that we flew in), flew a VERY long flight from Istanbul to New York, went through customs, went to another terminal a million miles away, caught our flight from New York to Denver in which we couldn't recline our seats, and then finally arrived in Denver dead to the world.  The entire trip took 26 hours from the time we woke up that morning in Izmir until we actually stepped through our door.

Was the trip worth it?  You bet it was!  We all learned so much and we had an experience that we never would have experienced had Mom and Dad not been there.  I am very proud of Mom and Dad.  They are doing great work there in a difficult situation.  They are homesick, but they continue to serve despite being WELL out of their comfort zone and with a broken foot to top it off!  We skyped with them today and each of the kids admitted that it was a great vacation that will go down in our Grizz-Weaver memories!

And the sun had set on our Turkish adventure...