Istanbul: Committing to the mission
The Announcement
Thanks for the greetings, everybody. I'm torn between celebrating like I'm eight years old and taking time out to meditate and be grateful. I just want to share that I've accepted a leadership position in a food and clothing distribution program for refugees here in Istanbul. I start in two weeks and am very excited about it.
The Hand
Not sure if you know the story, but I visited Istanbul five years ago. It was part of a spiritual trip I took that spanned Greece, Turkey, and Italy for two weeks. When I returned home, Paolo asked me what place I most wanted to move to, and I said, "Turkey."
A year and a half ago, we didn't know we would be living here. We were getting ready to go back to Manila. We discussed our next steps, and I said I planned to train for a trip to Mafraq, Jordan at the Zaatari refugee camp. I felt like God was calling me to them. It's funny how He moved through the hearts of people, whether or not they knew about it, to give me a shortcut, and now I'm here doing exactly that. It would be foolish of me not to believe it was His hand behind this complicated process to move people across the world so His work can be done.
The Work
Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees worldwide. Of the 3.6 million Syrians who have sought refuge in Turkey, more than 500,000 are in Istanbul.
This work is important to me because it is women and children we are helping.
Studies show that women that are cared for tend to be healthier. They enable better health care and education for their families. This combination of factors can help lift households, communities, AND NATIONS out of poverty.
Every girl should grow up healthy, safe, empowered, and able to fulfill her dreams. And as I told Him in one of my quiet times, "Here I am. Send me."
We don't know how long we'll be here for, but we are committing to the mission. Our goal is to bridge the divide--to comfort those who grieve, to feed the hungry, to care for the poor.Thank you for all your prayers and encouraging words, it really helps especially when tasks get overwhelming.
Please keep us in your thoughts, but more importantly, please pray for the people we are helping and the country hosting us all.