Jazz...

So, I ended up attending the opening of the spring jazz festival here a little while back, it was at the German Cultural Centre in downtown Ankara. While I'm not particularly a jazz fan, I had a fabulous evening. The pianist (Jens Thomas, German) was outstanding! He used almost every part of the piano to make music, even singing into it with the chords vibrating back. Sometimes he'd be playing a melody on the keys with one hand, plucking the strings inside the piano with the other and then scatting away with his amazing voice. It was unique for sure, but didn't qualify as weird in my mind as the music he made was beautiful. Talented guy, well worth seeing.

This short intro. concert was followed by cocktails with the artist. We had wine, real cheese (Turkish variety is ever so limited) and crackers, plus hors d'oeuvres of various kinds served to us by waiters in white shirts while we mingled and chatted. And the whole thing was free! Trying to figure that one out...promotional I guess.

Nice change of pace from the usual.

Great teeth?!

So I went to the dentist the other day for a regular cleaning (it's been well over a year since the previous) and as this Turkish dentist took a look around (with state-of-the-art equipment I might add) I was informed that my teeth were clean already!! I have never, ever, been told that by a dentist in Canada, not ever.

I don't know if his comment was more a reflection of the type of teeth he normally sees on a regular basis here; or of the obsession we seem to have in North America with aesthetic perfection, i.e. perfect white teeth; or of the money-making industry that seems to be the dental industry in North America...perhaps it was a combination of all of the above, not really sure.

Whatever the reason, I have to say it was so very nice to go to a dentist and not be guilt-tripped or shamed about the status of my teeth but rather praised, praised for not smoking and praised for my efforts at taking care of my teeth:)

Day-in-the-life-of...

Simple blog entry today...'a-day-in-the-life-of-Amy'

Got up, showered, made breakfast (oatmeal) and headed out with Ryan (I live with a couple and their two children, Ryan is one of the coordinators of the school I attend) to catch a dolmush (minibus) to the church for class.

While waiting for the bus, our across-the-hall-neighbour stopped and offered us a ride. On the drive, I enjoyed listening to them small talk and then eventually begin chatting a bit about Alevi beliefs and practices, our neighbour is Alevi.

Arrived at church shortly after 8am, greeted everyone, drank Turkish tea, had devotions and worship time together.

Waited for our Scottish teacher coming in on the overnight train from Istanbul, waited some more, and some more, got a call asking me (I know him) to go and meet him at a nearby park as he'd gotten lost. Got his cell number, called him, found him, brought him to the church.

We all got to know each other then began our lesson on Christian morality/ethics. Learned some principles, some processes, discussed some case scenarios in small groups...

By 1:00pm we finished the lessons. Ate lunch and headed off (Monday is our free afternoon).

Hayat (the other single girl) and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and walk home, we've never done that before. 1 1/2 hrs, plenty of steep hills, and more than one stop to ask directions later we arrived back home. Stopped by a grocery store to pick up some 'Salep' (a favourite drink of mine, egg-nogish, but served hot, with cinnamon) and some active yeast. Borrowed money from Hayat as I had no cash and the machine didn't like my TDCanadaTrust Visa card (it happens a fair bit).

Arrived home and attempted to make some poğaca (Turkish mini stuffed bread things) for the first time according to a recipe from my married classmate, Funda. Very short recipe with instructions like 'add enough flour' and 'till it is right'. Nothing on how hot to heat the oven, how to make the filling...because, well, you should just know that sort of thing, didn't your mother teach you?! Despite all, the poğacas were relatively successful, 4 year old Ruby liked them anyways...

Did dishes, chatted briefly with 17 year old Sarah (from the family that Hayat lives with) who brought over brownies that she had made. Ate brownies, did some work on the computer, watched some Baby TV with Ruby and Jonah, did some more work on the computer...

Enjoyed dinner of mixed rice, lentils and squash c/o Ryan (fabulous cook, no exaggeration). Did dishes with Ness (Ryan's wife) while singing along to Fernando Ortega. Enjoyed watching Ruby dance with her daddy and Jonah with his mommy. Began listening to some downloaded American comedy program, didn't follow most, escaped to go hang laundry...

Got caught up on emails. Finished and sent out a prayer letter. Enjoyed a chocolate banana milkshake (c/o Ryan).

Read my Bible, chatted with God, prayed for people in my world, for my classmates, for the church, and for this nation in general...

Good simple day

Fun in the winter...

I'm not great at keeping this thing up to date. When you don't write anything for a long time you feel like you have so much that you should or could write and so you don't end up writing anything! At least, that's how I operate. So today's will be superficial but I'll get back into the swing shortly here...
We had a church picnic recently at a nearby ski center. There wasn't enough snow for skiing so the t-bars and such were not open but the place was packed. People were having fires and barbecues all over the place. There was sledding galore but I spotted only one plastic sled, the rest were wooden (like this one in the picture that these guys rented) or the plastic bag variety (our sled of choice in the shot below with the Turkish pastor's wife behind me and a Ukrainian friend in front.).

Also available, donkey and horse rides. The small 'lodge' was heated by a log stove and we ate lentil soup and kebab.

Yep, a far cry from Lake Louise, super fun day though!

Snow!

Yep, it snowed here...I'm delighted. This would be the view from our apartment balcony.

Growth

So I just had my first Christmas entirely in Turkish. The Christmas Eve service was in Turkish at a large(ish) church here and then my Christmas dinner was together with a number of those who are a part of the very small church that I attend here in Ankara. I have to admit, to my shame, that I was disappointed to discover that the American family that had invited me to Christmas dinner had also invited the whole church as well...I selfishly was looking forward to a traditional, Western style, English speaking, small family Christmas dinner. Alas, it was not to be, but thank goodness!! It turned out to be ever so much more and so much better than that...

We were a unique mix of Canadian, American, Turk, Korean and Iranian, some solid long time believers, some new and shaky and at least one Muslim. Turkish was the common language and as the evening progressed the conversation turned from the trivial to the profound. It was such a joy to discuss the tenets of our faith with different folks sharing their thoughts and questions, struggles and frustrations, experiences and interpretations. As I sat and listened and watched I was thinking how incredible it all was...this is how we grow in our faith, in community like this. Sunday church has its place for sure, but the depth and growth that I was witnessing and personally experiencing that evening cannot be contrived and can really only happen when we open up our lives to one another.

The new and shaky believers were watching the experienced and solid ones in action (not talking about foreigners here, it was Turks and Iranians who did almost all of the sharing) and gaining encouragement and wisdom from that. They were also able to bring their difficulties and questions to the table where they would never be able to in a Sunday service.

I was delighted that this Muslim lady was also present to listen to our discussion, to see how we interact, to hear our struggles and concerns. She too felt free in that setting to voice her thoughts and questions and experiences. One of the guys mentioned that he had witnessed Jesus in a dream and her face lit up, "really?!" she asked, then she began to share how the other day when she was praying (at the church actually) she felt a presence come and stand beside her, white and gleaming, she said she had the sense that it was Jesus but was actually afraid and didn't want to look up. To my mind came Peter who told Jesus to get away from him, a sinful man, when he first recognized who He really was but before anyone really had a chance to offer anything, she got up to leave as she'd been called away by someone else. We'll definitely be praying and chatting more!

So this discussion would never have come about if it had not been for the simple gesture of inviting folks to be a part of our world. I am convicted. We're well aware that that is how Jesus did it with his disciples--He taught them, true, but mostly they were just with Him, in all the details of daily life--so when, how and why did discipleship get reduced to a once-a-week or twice-a-month meeting to work through a series of lessons in a booklet that summarize the essentials of Scripture and the basics of 'walking with God'?

Solitude and Community

I'm rediscovering how much I love solitude and starting to understand how beautiful and necessary community is.

We spent the last week of classes out in Antalya with a couple who have a retreat type property out in the woods. The topic for the week was prayer and the idea was (for one week) to follow some of the monastic principles of living together--working, eating, playing and praying together, interspersed with times of silent and isolated contemplation. The space was ideal, a warm country style home with a large round table for meals, a firepit outside, fruit trees and a garden, woods all around, as well as a very small rustic cabin this couple had built for the purpose of meditation.

It was a fabulous week.

Seated in that dim cabin with a candle, listening to the rain outside and the birds, feeling the gentle wind blowing through the cracks, smelling the scent of pines, chatting with my maker...I came alive again. How I missed that. Another time was spent in an isolated spot amongst the pines with the sun shining down on me through the gaps in the trees, birds still singing, the smell of the woods engulfing me, and I just stood--arms outstretched--and worshiped.

As we read liturgical prayers together morning, noon and night in unison, did chores together, made jam and/or hung drain pipes together, ate meals together at that round table, worshiped together, cooked together, sat and laughed around the fire together, shared and learned together...I also came alive. How I long for comfortable, embracing, genuine community.

This evening I've had the privilege of having the house to myself and have enjoyed much needed alone time with my beloved, and now I'm anticipating tomorrow morning when I will get to share it with the others in our morning worship time and hearing from them of their experience of Him...

This is our faith--deep, intimate and intensely personal but equally so it is shared, diversified and enriched within a greater whole.