And a poem from July

Help, O Lord
7/27/07

In desperation, my cry goes up,
“My feet know not their way.
My heart is weak; my soul unsure;
O Lord, light up my way.”

In resolution, I seek His face,
“Thy hand I would grasp tight;
Yet if I slip, or if I faint,
O Lord, still hold me nigh.”

In calm assurance, I plead His truth,
“Thy promises are sure;
I will but cling and walk by faith.
O Lord, fulfill Thy Word.”

- MCC

Two Poems from June

My Lord Cares – 6/5/07 (by me)

“He careth for thee”
And not just for thee,
But for all of the “thee’s” on this earth.
He bled and He died;
He lives – glorified,
Declaring “thee” consummate worth.


I John – 6/25/07 (by me)
Love with
Holiness
The balance sought;
Pure with
Charity
Our life-work taught.

The happenings

So, what has been happening in the last while? Well, last Thursday, Dersan (one of my housemates) had a birthday, so we celebrated that. But the power was out, until just after the celebration was done. So, thus a picture of a candle-lit cake.

Tonight is a major soccer match of the Turkish national team, so that will be this evening's important event. A win is crucial for advancing to the next round.

Today I gave a speech in Turkish class on Davy Crockett, so my head is full of random trivia about him right now. (Did you know that he wasn't called Davy during his life? Did you know that he had 6 kids, three of whom were likely teenagers when he died?)

Final note, today is the beginning of Thanksgiving Break at NBBC. So, that's nice for someone special. Bethany's spending the break with a friend in Michigan.

A word or two

şüphelenmiyorsunuzdur - "(I hope) you are not suspecting me" (of the crime)

There was something of a collective groan when we read this word in class the other day. But the teacher rattles it off no problem. :)

şüphelen + m + iyor + sunuz + dur = main verb + negative + present continuous tense + 2nd person + "maybe" suffix

There has really been nothing outstanding to report here in the last week or so. The weather is getting cold and rainy; I've bought a coat for the winter. Other than that, it's been Turkish class as normal; and time with various friends talking and doing random things together. That's why there hasn't been a recent update, but I figured I should let people know I'm still alive... just in case they'd noticed the absence of posts. :)

There and Back Again... Bulgaria

So, details since Friday, the train to Bulgaria left promptly at 10PM, just as scheduled. I was not sensible and instead of doing something minor like homework and then going to sleep, I read The DaVinci Code which I thoroughly enjoyed until about 2:30. Then I slept till being awakened at 3:30 for a long stop at the border, and again on the other side of the border and by customs..., I think I managed about 4 hours of sleep in the 11-hour trip, since I squandered the best sleeping time.
Upon arriving in Plovdiv, I commenced walking about the city. This first picture is of an area of the city that reminded me very much of NC in the fall (weather and atmosphere). The general terrain of the country reminded of Ohio... boring, small hills, and kinda brown.
I wandered the city for basically the entire day, seeing a good portion of it, getting lost only occasionally, finding little eating or drinking spots, learning tidbits of the Cyrillic alphabet, reading more of my book, spending time at the local McDonald's, :) and other various things. The second picture is the Ancient Stadium of Philippolis, according to the sign. The third one is the statue of Philip II of Macedon for whom the city was named (more famously, he was the father of Alexander).
The trip back was far more restful than the trip there although, and although it left about 2 hours late, we were only a half hour late getting back. I got the visa I needed and saw a bit of Bulgaria; mission accomplished.

The only other news that comes to mind is that today we started learning the future tense in Turkish class; it's very difficult to pronounce, but not hard to understand. :)

And this is just an interesting picture I took.

brief update

Well, I have passed Level 2 and am on to Level 3 Turkish.
I am also off to Bulgaria in about 15 minutes... visa renewal and a touch of sightseeing, all in 36 hours.
TTFN

Some news

News items

1. I have continued to have a very good and profitable time doing stuff with Dersan and Duygu. A couple of people have asked how my time with them has been, and it has been very good. We get along quite well and enjoy doing lots of random things together when we have time. Last night I took them out to eat because they have been very generous a number of times, and it was a small way to repay that. The meal was an outstanding Pistachio Kebap (kinda like have chopped nuts in a meatball... but that doesn't do it justice, you'll just have to come try it.) Then, today, I followed them and a couple of their friends around and we enjoyed spending time together shopping ("enjoyed"), eating (!), and playing games. :) 2. Language school: This month's course is all over except for the exams which will be held on Tuesday. Tomorrow is a national holiday, and so there is no school. I have to pass the exams in order to advance to the next level of Tömer. Please remember me in this.
As far as actual language progress this month: the first month's stuff began clicking practically; we learned the imperative and subjunctive moods, the past tense, and how to use the direct object. Some of that is simple and other of it is NOT! So, I will need much wisdom in taking the test.

Final section

I have been reading in Galatians, and just want to mention a few thoughts that I've had, since this was never meant to be just a news blog. :) Gal. 5:13 - For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
During this book, Paul has been arguing for a believer's freedom in Christ (particularly from the Law.) Now, Paul give two parameters for the believer's freedom: Do not use your freedom to give the flesh opportunity, and do use your freedom for loving service to the brothers. The following verses flesh out what this means. For those who want to fulfill the Law, the Law is fulfilled in loving your neighbor, not seeking to gain power over them or attacking them. And there are evidence of whether the freedoms are being used by the flesh or the Spirit (16-23). Consider how a freedom affects the flesh: because if it is really a Christian freedom, it will not encourage the flesh because those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh and its desires. (24) Thus, as believers (those who live by the Spirit), let us walk by the Spirit in humility, reconciliation, and contentment. (25)

Quotes from Bounds

"A holy life does not live in the closet, but it cannot live without the closet."

"[Prayer's] results lie outside the range of human possibilities-they are limited only by the omnipotence of God."
(Purpose in Prayer, chapter 5)

The Dinner Party

And the first thing that comes to mind is a poem about a tea party (author forgotten): We had a little tea party this afternoon at three; 'twas very small, three guests in all: just I, myself, and me. Myself ate up the sandwiches, while I drank up the tea; 'twas also I that ate the pie, and passed the cake to me." Ok, so that was random and free.
Saturday night, Dersan and Duygu invited some of their friends over and we had a fun evening of great food, lots of talking, and a game of Bluff. (Next time they are planning to do Taboo.) We had lots of fun and ended up staying up till after 3am.

Other than that, I'm still working on the Turkish language; today we finally began learning the rules for the direct object in Turkish. That's about all the news that I can think to put up here right now. Till later...