so much to say...

i just can't keep up with this blog. forget about the journal i've been wanting to update since we moved here.... There's so much to say!!!!!!!!!!

today was an amazing day.....

7:15 we dragged ourselves out of bed

7:30 breakfast for 2 at the kitchen table, it's saturday morning the house is still quiet and the rule is 'enjoy while you can'

8:30 we leave the house, and walk up(i mean CLIMB UP) to Taxim Square. if you've been here you know what i mean. Istanbul is stinking built on a million hills!!! wow, i just had to let it out.

9:00 catch bus 73 to Sirinevler (lit: 'the sweet houses') found 2 empty seats on bus!

9:45 arrive at the school, pick up lesson book, greet Zubeyde the secretary (who once meant to jokingly tell Jediah to be quiet and said -in a direct translation of Turkish: Cut your voice! we had a good laugh at her expense)

10:00 lesson starts, 2 breaks and lesson ends at 1 pm

1:15 pm we grab a turkish hamburger... no comments

1:30 pm Jediah leaves for an unknown adventure (which ended up being a 3 hour walk on the majestic ruins of the walls that once surrounded Constantinople, there he met many homeless people that broke his heart, he bought some super glue -that looks and smells more like water- from one of the homeless guys at the little 'bazar' they had set up on top of the wall) hopefully we can download pics from his cellphone, they are incredible

1:30pm I show up at the cell phone store next to our work place to meet with Deniz and Rabia. the idea is to teach them english and who knows what else could come out of this. Deniz ended up being busy with customers but 5 other young guys and girls joined Rabia and I and we had a great hour learning about I AM, YOU ARE, etc and that personnal pronouns must always be used in English, contrary to turkish. I am sick = Hastayim (lit: sick am)

3 pm catch metro and tram instead of bus to avoid traffic

3:45 arrive home for quick snack and shower, zumrad and alfya are painting the last room in the house. (Larry is here from New Jersey, visiting for a few days; P Julian and Natela just left after staying with us for 10 days. pray they will be let back in Moldova)

4:30 tram to Karakoy, then ferry accross Bosphorus to Kadikoy where Umran is waiting for me.

UMRAN: please pray for her. I met her on outreach and decided to meet again for coffee. She is 20 yrs old, a university student (to become a fashion teacher), she wears the veil and very strict length of every piece of clothing yet with a touch of colorful artistry. She listened to me -as though i were an apparition from heaven or maybe something else- and found out she prays at the mosque 5 X a day, which is somewhat rare around the city of Istanbul. I told her of my visit to certain mosques and she promised to visit my church one day. We plan to see each other next week.