Ignorant Historian

Day 5: Retreat Ends and a Historical Visit

Ronnica — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:01:04 +0000

The theater where Acts 19 may have taken place

This morning (remember, we’re 7 hours ahead of the East Coast) we’ll be wrapping up our retreat. Once we pack up, our team will be heading off to visit the ruins of Ephesus.

This really is a neat trip, to visit a place where Paul lived. It is my third time though, so I’m not excited about it, but I am excited for our teammates who’ve never been to experience it. Afterwards we’ll likely be stopping by for some Turkish culture by going to a nearby gozleme shop (gozleme is like a quesadilla, but the bread is thinner).

That gozleme shop last trip was my first experience with a squaty potty…and I enjoyed it! (click the link if you want to learn more) They are really more sanitary when you are in public. We’ll likely still run into Western toilets in a lot of places (including the places where we’ll be staying), but public toilets are more frequently of this Eastern style.

We’ll end the day back in our host city.

Please pray:

*The retreat will wrap up well and we will all be energized and encouraged for the tasks still at hand.

*Eyes open, that we’ll seize any opportunities we may be given to love the Turkish people.

*That we’ll not conform to the stereotype of typical American tourists but will be kind, considerate, and respectful of other cultures.

Thank you for praying!

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Day 4: Retreating Some More

Ronnica — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:23:04 +0000

Today we’ll be retreating again, the only full day of the retreat. Continue to pray:

* That we’ll be sensitive to the needs of those we seek to serve

* That the fellowship will be sweet

* That are hearts will be softened

Pray also for the children that we’ll be able to love on them and provide them with fun activities and opportunities to learn!

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Live Update – I’m Here!

Ronnica — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:55:49 +0000

The trip so far as been incredibly uneventful, which is amazing! Though it’s hard to type on this Turkish keyboard, I wanted to let you know that I’m safe and having a good time.

All our bags made it except 1 that had gifts for our friends. We all slept well last night and surprisingly woke up a bit early this morning (as you all were going to bed). We’ve enjoyed our time so far and are catching up.

When we were flying to our final city, I looked out the window at the Turkish mountains and my heart ached for this land. I’m thankful to have this opportunity to be here and love our friends and the Turkish people.

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Day 3: Retreat Starts

Ronnica — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:01:43 +0000

Mausoleum of Ataturk, the founder of modern-day Turkey

As this is posted, it is 7 AM Sunday morning in Turkey (midnight on the East Coast). My teammates and I are likely waking up this morning a bit out of it, it we were able to get much sleep at all. I tend to have a slightly better than average time of transitioning time zones, but I would ask that you pray for my 7 teammates who have made the 7-time-zone jump with me (our 8th teammate most recently was in Africa). Pray that we’ll continue to be gracious towards one another as we adjust and continue to operate while tired.

This evening (your late morning/early afternoon) we’ll be starting a 3-day retreat with our friends. I’ll be teaching the older children (there are 2 8yos) while the adults are in their session. Please pray that as we serve we’ll be mindful of the needs of those we are serving and that God will guide us as to what to teach and do. This retreat is to be a time of teaching and a time of fellowship for our friends, as they get to hear some great teachers and spend more time with native-English speakers than they’re used to.

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A New Day in Turkey

Ronnica — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:00:55 +0000

About now (7 AM on the East Coast, 2 PM for us) we should be landing at our final destination. We will spend the rest of today resting up (hopefully not sleeping until bedtime to help the jet lag!), settling in to the guest house we’re staying in, and probably getting our first taste of Turkish cuisine (for the 5 people on the team who are visiting for the first time…the rest of us get to re-experience the great food!).

Prayers that we’ll be coveting today (and really, all week) are:

* A smooth transition. Since it’s a short trip, we won’t want to spend too much time getting used to the tasks at hand.

* Team unity: that we will work together and not against each other. We’re all used to various leadership positions in the States, so pray we’ll be good followers.

* Wisdom that we will know how best to love the workers and reach out to those in desperate need of the Truth.

Thanks for your prayers…they’re vital!

Photo by rexipe

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Away We Go!

Ronnica — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:23:08 +0000

Today at 1 PM we’ll be boarding our first plane on our way to Turkey! I won’t be able to update as regularly while I’m gone as I’d like (though I’ll try), so I’ve scheduled posts each day of what our original plans were for that day so you’ll know how to pray for our group.

We’ll be traveling from noon Eastern today until 7 AM Eastern tomorrow (2 PM at our destination). Please pray for smooth sailing (metaphorically only, I hope not to see the ocean that intimately!) and an easy trip through both of our connecting airports, especially since our connection at JFK is tight. Pray also that God will provide us opportunities to show His love to those we come in contact with and that we will recognize and take advantage of them.

I look forward to updating you further. Remember as I tell you our schedule, we are 7 hours ahead of the East coast (8 ahead of Central, 9 ahead of Mountain, and 10 ahead of Pacific), so we’ll be starting our day about when you go to bed the night before. Obviously, that will give us a bit of jet lag (okay, that’s generous…jet lag can be a bear!), so that’s another prayer request: that God will give us extra grace to handle it with patience and strength so that we can transition quickly to focus not on our own needs, but the needs of our teammates and the workers over there.

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T – 1 Day

Ronnica — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:18:03 +0000

You’ll notice that the post below is password protected. If I “know” you (I don’t have to KNOW you know you, just if you’ve commented before and/or are a regular reader and/or know me (or of me) in real life and/or have a blog that I can look at to verify you in fact are a real person), please comment on this post (include your email!) and I’ll send you the password for that post (or Jen will if I’m already gone). It’s a key component that’ll make all the posts in the coming week make sense.

I’m looking forward to the trip…starting tomorrow I’ll be posting daily with the details of each day. I hope to also post live updates when possible, but I can’t guarantee that.

See you again on the 16th, blogosphere!

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Protected: Key to the Next Week’s Posts

Ronnica — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:17:41 +0000

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World Travel

Ronnica — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:07:43 +0000

I spend a lot of time pondering. There’s a lot of subjects I ponder (do we all see colors the same, will we sleep in heaven, will we one day have electronic chips in our heads to communicate instead of cell phones), but one that I come back to again and again is the marvel that is modern transportation.

I enjoy reading missionary biographies, and to read about their commitment to the cause is incredible. When they set sail for India or China without having a clue of the conditions they would face, they were leaving for good with no thought of coming back “home.” It took a lot of time and money to travel (not to mention that it was miserable) so it was a one-time thing usually.

And here I am two days away from jetting halfway across the world for the third time to spend one week in Turkey. ONE WEEK.

I can’t get over how easy this is. Not that it’s entirely pleasant or that everything about it is easy, but the stress and worries related to world travel now are nothing compared to what they were 150 years ago.

I know I’m incredibly blessed.

While we’re on the topic, if you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? I always say that I want to go back to Turkey (check), go to Rome (hopefully this summer), and go to Australia (no plans in the works, other than reading the Tomorrow series). How about you?

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Diary of a Single Woman, Volume 1

Ronnica — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:08:12 +0000

My journal entry, dated October 30, 2009

Last night in the midst of one of my typical adventure dreams (in this one I was a part of a group being held hostage) there was a tender moment (can a fake moment be tender?) that sticks with me.

In the midst of the hostage situation, I had my head on a man’s shoulder as we played with each other’s hands. It was something so small, but that’s the desire of my heart…to simply be with someone, even if it’s in the midst of a crazy situation (though preferably not that crazy situation).

I long for that day when there’ll be someone there, all the while knowing that day may never come. Yet I hope in God, trusting His judgment on the matter to be better than my own, asking Him to remove selfish ambitions from my heart. Not that it’s not right and good for me to desire a husband–it is–but it’s not right for me to desire it more than I desire God Himself, more than I desire to follow Him.

So as I continue in this adventurous time in my life, I lean on Him, trusting Him to be enough.

“For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
O LORD of hosts,
How blessed is the man who trusts in You.”

- Psalm 84:11-12

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