Day One

I am the same yesterday, today, and forever...the alpha & omega...God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...I am with you wherever you go.

These words came to my mind as I was chatting with one of the women I am working with here. I was listening to her tell me of her life, her God-ordained and recent marriage to a wonderful man, and to her dreams of the future. All difference of language, culture, and circumstance were stripped away as I saw in her what I know in myself: humanity. We grew up in completely different places, barely spoke the same language, yet we share an incredible kinship in that we have desires for our lives, people we love and have been impacted by, responsibilities that keep us grounded and our heads not quite completely out of the clouds, and most significantly a faith that keeps us grounded in our Savior. Elementary discovery, I know; but when you are thousands of miles from everything you know to be familiar and comfortable such similarities are more than comforting, they are faith-building. Our God is BIG. And man does He love us!

Speaking of love - that could be the only thing that could have caused the Lord to provide for me as He did on my 17 hour trip over here. You hear stories of the little (or big) miracles that people experience getting through tough spots...well my day was full of them! I wont list them all, but some of the most important. First, my friend Brittany was there at the very beginning to guide me through the intimidating steps of Seattle International flights. Thank you! I stumbled across a neglected luggage buggy which made my walk much quicker and more pleasant! On the flight to Turkey I was given a middle seat on a completely packed flight, which would have been very hard to sleep in to prepare for jet lag! Last minute the attendants went out of their way to switch me to an aisle seat - for those of you that have flown you know how much of a comfort this is! I sat next to a very sweet Turkish woman whose outgoing personality instantly relieved my uneasiness of going to an unknown culture.

Upon arriving at O'Hare I began looking for a way to get to my terminal, not worried as I had 3 hours to locate it. That surety should have prepared me instantly No one at that airport aparrently checked to make sure their directional signs were even close to accurate and time began to tick away as I was no closer to my gate. Praise the Lord, without even a question needing to be asked for directions I was drawn into a little group of complete strangers who were all trying desperately to get to Terminal 5 before our plane(s) left. Two hours, a wheelchair, a tram ride, and lots of walking later with only enough time to call my family left - I made it to my flight!

One particular blessing happened at the bookstore. As I was going about my duties I heard a very familiar voice come on over the radio - my perplexed look turned to a smile when I realised it was my very own home radio station based out of good ol' Walla Walla coming out of the speakers! A little touch of home that made me feel much better than it should have. :) God is with me no matter where I go. His word is being spread in Turkey - I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my ears!

In short, my bags all made it to the baggage claim, complete strangers offered assistance when I needed it, my host made it on time through incredibly congested traffic and we have had a wonderful time ever since! I have a cocker spaniel roommate and two lovely Turkish coworkers who are not delaying on my Turkish language lessons. So tesekkur ederim (thank you) to you all for your prayers! Please keep my friend Bri in mind as she is also in the midst of her travels as well. Gunaydin!