We just got home from the trip at 1:45 a.m. I am posting the blog that I wrote on the bus ride home:
I can announce that we WON our first game!!! It is so nice to be able to finally get a “W” in the win column. Right now I am writing from the bus. After the game we went out to eat at a restaurant near the gym. Susie and Ali (both agents) came along and ate with us, which was nice. I had tavuk (chicken) kebab (on a stick). The food was great! When I got back on the bus I finished up another Ted Dekker book called “When Heaven Weeps”. The book was tremendous!! If you are looking for a thought provoking book, and a book that you can’t keep down once you start, then this is it!
Well, it is 7:00 p.m. and I am predicting we won’t get back to Ankara until 2:00 a.m. Thankfully, coach gave us tomorrow off which is really nice! I will probably be sleeping for until mid morning.
Tonight the game was so physical! It is probably the most physical one yet! I felt like I was on the floor a lot and that I had been through a battle after the game. It is amazing what they let the girls get by with over here. After the game, Ali and Sooz commented to me how physical it was out there. I can definitely say I agree with them. It will be interesting to see if I am sore tomorrow morning when I wake up or when I get off the bus in seven hours.
Below is a poem that a friend of mine over here sent me! I thought it was pretty neat, and so I thought I would share it with you!
SOMETIMES (by Polly in France)
Sometimes I feel weak and fragile,
But then I read about His incomparably great power
For us who believe.
That power is like the working of His mighty strength,
Which He exerted in Christ
When He raised him from the dead.
And He strengthens me.
Sometimes I feel so tired,
And wonder if this is what burnout is.
And then Jesus says to me,
“Come to me;
You are weary and burdened;
I will give you rest.”
And He does.
Sometimes I’m homesick,
But I know that a sacrifice isn’t meant to be easy.
Jesus said, “And everyone who has left houses
Or brothers or sisters or father or mother
Or children or fields
For my sake
Will receive a hundred times as much
And will inherit eternal life.”
And I believe His promise.
Sometimes it feels like we’ve been here for so long,
And yet we’re just getting started.
Then I’m reminded that
Since through God’s mercy
We have this ministry,
We do not lose heart.
That even if our gospel is veiled,
It is veiled to those who are perishing.
That His grace is reaching more and more people.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
But on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
But what is unseen is eternal.
Sometimes I think I should have said this to “Aïcha”
Instead of that
And maybe I shouldn’t have done that.
And then I realize
That those things aren’t going to save her
Or keep her from Him,
But it is only God who makes things grow.
She’s not in my hands;
She is in His.
Sometimes I listen to my neighbors partying
And wonder what they’re laughing about
While I sit in my apartment,
So pensive and serious.
Then I understand that they make merry because
Tomorrow they die.
And I understand that it’s not wrong to feel this way,
To turn my laughter to mourning and my joy to gloom;
I humble myself before the Lord, and he lifts me up.
Sometimes I try so hard to blend in
That I am hidden.
Then I remember that I’m supposed
To become all things to all people
That I may by all means save some.
But also, a city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand,
And it gives light to everyone in the house.
So in the same way,
I need to let my light shine before others,
That they may see my good deeds
And praise my Father in heaven.
Sometimes I put in a CD
And listen to the words,
“What will people say if they hear that I’m a Jesus freak?
What will people do if they find out it’s true?”
I am surprised that I identify with this.
How is that possible, since I am a worker?
I have to remind myself
That God did not give me a spirit of timidity,
But a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
May I not to be ashamed to testify about my Lord!
Sometimes I don’t understand what is happening.
Then I need understanding and discernment.
For my struggle is not against flesh and blood,
But against the rulers,
Against the authorities,
Against the powers of this dark world
And against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Sometimes I wonder what I’m doing here.
But then I am comforted that
In Him I was also chosen,
Having been predestined according to the plan of Him
Who works out everything
In conformity with the purpose of His will.
Sometimes I feel like I’m wasting my time.
But the Holy Spirit affirms me:
“Be steadfast, immovable,
Always abounding in the work of the Lord,
Knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Sometimes when I pray
I feel like I’m talking to myself.
But I love the Lord,
Because He hears my voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me
Therefore I shall call upon Him
As long as I live.
Sometimes I hear about people
Coming to Christ in other parts of the world.
And I wonder,
“Does God do miracles in Marseille?”
Declare his glory among the nations,
His marvelous deeds among all peoples.
His miracles are not limited to space or time.
So I wait for the Lord;
He will exalt us to possess the land.
Sometimes I am overwhelmed
In the details.
Then I look at the big picture:
Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
For it is God who works in you
To will and to act according to his good purpose.
Do everything without complaining or arguing,
So that you may become blameless and pure,
Children of God without fault
In a crooked and depraved generation,
In which you shine like stars in the universe
As you hold out the word of life.
Sometimes I fear that a church will never be planted here.
So I tell the mountain to jump into the Mediterranean Sea.
This is the confidence I have in approaching God:
That I am asking according to his will.
He hears me.
And since I know that He hears me--
whatever I ask--
I know that I have what I asked of him.
Praise God!
Eph. 1:19-20; Matt. 11:28; Matt. 19:29; 2 Cor. 4:1,3,15,18; 1 Cor. 3:7; Isa. 22:13; James 4:9-10;
1 Cor. 9:22; Matt. 5:14-16; 2 Tim. 1:7-8; Eph. 6:12; Eph. 1:11; 1 Cor. 15:58; Psalm 116:1-2; Rom.
11:33-36; 1 Chron. 16:24; Psalm 37:34; Phil. 2:12-16; Matt. 21-22; John 5:14-15
I will post a few pictures later today :) It is time for me to get some sleep!