Random Thoughts for the Bye Week

Since Clemson doesn't play this weekend, I thought I'd spend a little of this free time by throwing out some random thoughts I've been having lately. Some of them are serious, some are not, and none of them match. But since I have some time and thought you'd all get a kick out of this, here it goes.

First of all, I hate politics. I know that as a citizen, I have the responsibility to care about my government. I should vote and make my voice heard. The government is supposed to be by and for the people. I know all that stuff. But these past elections came and went without me even noticing. It's not because I'm overseas either. I didn't vote in the last presidential election when I was living in the States. Why? Because I am not impressed with the canidates that get nominated and honestly, I don't know enough or care enough to make an educated decision. When I get back to the States, I will do my part, I will learn what I can to make a good decision, and come the time, I will vote. But I refuse to "get into" politics. It's just too stressful for me.

Which brings me to my second thought. As Christians, we should be able to live together, work together, and love one another, despite political and even theological differences. I love theology as much as anyone, and think it's a vital part of any Christians life. We should know what we believe and what we don't believe. As a Christian, everyone has a theology, it's just that some are more thought out and fuller than others. And I love having theological discussions, even though they can be just as, if not more, heated than political discussions. But here's the kicker. When it all boils down to it, we're all on the same team. We're all fighting the same fight. Whether you believe in predestination or free will, the angelic languages or known languages, hymns or modern praise music, I don't care. As long as we're preaching Jesus as Lord, let's work it out. I know there are some essentials that we must agree upon, but we must be able to live with the fact that people will not always agree with us on the non-essentials. And you know what, they're not supposed to! When Paul was faced with this question, of what to do with people who have come to different convictions on an issue, he responded with, "One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. LET EACH ONE BE CONVINCED IN HIS OWN MIND." If you believe something is wrong, it is wrong for you. But that may not mean that it is wrong for someone else. Have convictions, know what you believe, but don't try to pressure others into believing the same thing if they have come to a different conclusion. And for those of you being pressured, forgive your brothers and sisters and let us all live in peace. We are to prove we are His disciples by the love we have for one another. Let's get to it.

If I was going to form my own country, I would throw Dickey Betts, John Fogerty, and the Marshall Tucker Band in a studio together to write my national anthem. I love the Allman Brothers Band sound. Dickey's guitar work is amazing. He is credited as the main writer for "Jessica," "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," and "Blue Sky," which are some of the sweetest sounding songs your ears will ever hear. Fogerty, though harsher sounding, is just as good. His lyrics really speak about life in the South. And the Marshal Tucker Band is most assuredly the greatest band to have come out of South Carolina (sorry Hootie). It takes real guts to try and make it in the South with a flute in the band, but they pulled it off. "Can't You See" is one of the saddest songs I know of and "Heard it in a Love Song" is one of the nicest. Whenever I hear that flute rise up sharply, I am taken back to memories of riding through Kershaw County with their greatest hits in the cassette player, the radio up as loud as it would go, and every window in the Blazer rolled down. That's home.

And last but not least. I am tired of talking about girls (nothing personal to all my girl SPACE friends out there). To watch the guys around here drool over every attractive girl that walks by is very frustrating. I promise you that half of every conversation I have with a guy here has something to do with a girl. It's really getting old. Like I have said many times, we are not promised wives, we are not commanded to marry. Let us focus on the things we have been commanded to do and hope for the things we have been promised. Then, if God does bring a woman into your life, you can be truly thankful for the BLESSING you've been given, instead of feeling like you have finally found meaning in your life. There is more to this life than getting married guys! I will praise my Father and thank him endlessly if I am blessed to marry a wonderful Christian wife, but I do not think I deserve it, and I do not think I NEED it in order to live a happy and fulfilling life. Get over it guys.

There's supposed to be a really nice meteor shower tonight, so if the city lights and smog doesn't block your view like it probably will mine, I hope you will venture outside and enjoy the show. I am a nerd when it comes to stuff like this, but I really enjoy laying out and watching meteor showers. God's natural fireworks display. Have a great weekend!

I'm in!

That's right, I got the visa. It really was that easy. I JUST walked in, said hey to the man at the counter, he smiled, opened a safe, and out popped my pretty little visa. I'm set until November of 2008.

Other exciting news is that I had a big fat juicy T-bone for dinner, along with a delicious baked potato, and a nice salad with a big glass of sweet tea. To top it all off, we had a chocolate cake served up with some very good chocolate ice cream. The occassion? Tom Tom's birthday! The little guy turned 8 (I think) and we had a big dinner with cake and ice cream for him. I think they're having another little party for him, and for the neighbors, on Saturday, but tonight was for "the family," which I am proud to say, includes me now. He did seem to like the headlamp I got him, and is as anxious as ever to go camping.

And finally, since everybody and their stinking brother has MSN Messenger here, I now have Messenger on my computer. If you too have it, and want to add me to your list, just ask. Have a great weekend!

Here's the little bugger that cost me so much money and caused me so much anxiety.




PS- Bekar means single, so don't worry ladies, there's still hope. (wink!)

Rub a Dub Dub, No Water in the Tub

So this morning I wake up around 9, as usual, and stumble into the bathroom to brush my teeth and take the morning pee, the same way I do every morning. I have my pee, flush, and get the toothbrush ready to fight my morning breath. I just turn the water on slightly to avoid knocking my toothpaste off the top of the bristles. Sometimes our faucet can really shoot that water out and this new toothpaste I bought likes to just sit on top of the brush instead of clinging to the bristles. It may have something to do with the cold too, since my tube is hard as a rock in the mornings and the paste comes out in a perfect cylinder shape everytime. But anyway, I brush and brush and brush and when my mouth starts to taste clean again, I spit. I'm done, just wash away the left overs of last nights drool from my toothbrush and get on with my day. I turn on the faucet and nothing comes out. I turn it off and back on again. The only thing that comes out of the faucest is a low growl that kind of sounds like an angry cat or maybe a high pitched empty stomach. Either way, it wasn't water. So my sink is filled with toothpaste foam and crumbs of last night's supper. The worst part of all, and maybe the most surprising, is that I was actually going to shower this morning. Oh well.



**UPDATE**
So after I posted the above about the water not working, I did some reading and had a nice lunch. I tried to kitchen sink after I ate and sure nuff, the water was working. So I grabbed my towel and my new underwear and headed to the shower. It was such a nice warm shower too. UNTIL, the power went out. Funny stuff. I get the water back and lose the power. Luckily I was thinking quick enough to move the shower head before the water turned icy cold. Unluckily I had just soaped up a good portion of my body, including some unmentionables, that did enjoy being rinsed with the ice water.

The power was still out when I came home, but my neighbors was not. I didn't really know what to do, since our "breaker box" is really just four switches behind our door and all of them were still in the on position. So I cooked dinner and read some by the light of my headlamp. When it became obvious that my roommate wasn't coming straight home from work tonight, I called the Boss to see what I should do. He told me that there's usually another breaker outside the apartment, just on the wall where anybody can mess with it, and that I should find it and if that didn't work, I would have to find our super. Well, sure enough, the one switch up on the wall outside the apartment was switched off. Either some little kid heard me in the shower and wanted to pull a prank or today was just not my day.

PS- I go tomorrow to pick up my visa. I JUST have to walk in and get it. "JUST"

Score One for the Home Team!

Well, about to be the home team. Thursday's trip went much smoother. I walked in and threw my paperwork down and was helped almost immediately. As I struggled through the conversation in Turkish, a man standing next to me offered to translate for me. When I told him I had a biology degree, his face lit up, as he was a micro-biology professor at the local university. I couldn't understand everything he said to the man behind the counter, but it definitely sounded like he was pleading my case for me. It was great. God provided. I was only in there for a little over an hour, paid my dues, and was told to come back next Thursday to pick it up. So maybe this time next week, I'll be set for the next two years.

The other major news from this first part of the weekend is that I went to a coffee house thing that some people put on here in town for Turks wanting to practice their English. I walked in to the room and there were maybe 7 or 8 Turks scattered around with the 5 or 6 Americans I knew there. I gave out a "Good Evening" in Turkish and found me a seat. Later, one of the Turks was talking to me and told me that when I walked in, he thought I was a Turk. He said I looked just like the typical Turkish university student and when I greeted them in Turkish, he just knew for sure I was a Turk. I almost hugged the guy, which would've been quite culturally inappropriate. It was the best compliment I have received since I've been here.

Oh, and the Tigers play in about 7 hours. We will win tonight dang it. I refuse to lose to Chuck Amato. Go Tigers!!!

You JUST go in there and hand them this...

Riiiiiiiight.

The "J" word is starting to sound more like a cuss word to me everyday. I get a chill everytime I hear it. I know that there's going to be trouble to follow.

So Monday I took out the last bit of the money from the bank and typed up the letter that I need to take with me to get my visa. All I had to do Tuesday morning was go to Rod's house, print out the letter, and head on downtown, where'd I'd copy my passport, exchange my dollars for lira, and go to the visa office. Well I left my house sometime between 9:30 and 10, and got to Rod's a little after 10. Wouldn't you know it, but between my house and Rod's, the power decided to just quit working. So me and Rod and Tom Tom had a nice little conversation that lasted the entire hour and a half the power was out. We went to a cafe to get some lunch and I gave up on trying to get to the visa office. The treasurer leaves at 2, and there was no way I was getting there before two. So I just exchanged my money and got my photocopies and got ready to go today.

So Today I got up a little after 8 and had a shower and a cup of coffee, so that I'd be wide awake and ready to go when I arrived at the visa office. I spent a little time reading and left around 9:30. I arrived at the visa office about 10:15 or 10:30 and spread all my beautiful paperwork out on the counter. Almost two hours later I was still standing at that counter. It wasn't until just before noon that they told me that the boss wasn't there and that he would be back at 1. So I left to get some lunch, already frustrated and mildly angry. As a side note, during lunch I found a little shop with some really cool looking scarves, but the woman wouldn't sell me one. I couldn't understand why and I just got more frustrated and angry. So I get back to the office a few minutes after one and the boss still isn't there. They tell me he is coming and I go sit outside in the chilly air. A few minutes before two, when the treasurer leaves, I went in to see what was going on. If I didn't see the boss before the treasurer left, I couldn't pay today and therefore, would be delayed another day. Well, as I expected, the boss wasn't there. It's not that they didn't know WHEN he was coming, they didn't know IF he was coming. SO, after spending four hours in this place, I was told to come back around 9 or 10 in the morning and the boss would be there.

So Tomorrow, I will try again. I would appreciate some prayers as you read this. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be questioned tomorrow. That is why they had to wait on the boss, he's the one who asks all the questions. Pray that things go smoothly, that I will keep my integrity, and that I won't give away information that I will regret giving away.

It's all about the Benjamins baby!

Well, the Benjamins and the Grants.

That's right, I currently have a stack of six thousand American dollars on my desk in the form of forty one hundred dollar bills and twenty fifty dollar bills. Now before you start thinking I joined my friends from yesterday, let me explain.

To get a two year tourist visa, I have to prove that I can support myself during that time. To the Turkish government, that means that I have to have two hundred American dollars for every month I want to stay. For those of you who didn't graduate from Clemson, that means for a two year visa, I'll need $4800. On top of needing that money, I need almost a thousand dollars to actually purchase the visa. So, with all that in mind, the company kindly slid me a few Gs last week and I promptly took them from my bank account. I've never, ever, had this much money in my account, and never have I ever even seen this much money at one time in person. Life sure has taken a turn for the strange lately.

So tomorrow is my second trip to the visa office. Step one is to go change this money into Turkish Lira. I need the receipt of my exchange to prove I have the money here in country. Step two is to make copies of my passport, entry visa, and bank receipts. Step three is to take the copies, my receipt, and the letter I am writing tonight (in Turkish) requesting to stay in the country to the visa office. There I will complete steps four, five, and six. Step four is to complete a short form (in Turkish) with my personal information for while I'm here. Step five is not a given, but I'm guessing that it will probably happen. Step five is to field even more questions about why I am wanting to stay here, what will I do here, who do I know here, etc. If all that goes well, it's on to step six, which is to actually pay for my visa. Step seven will be to go pick it up, probably early next week.

Please pray that all of this goes well and that no matter what happens, I will glorify Christ in my words and actions.

And since I don't know if I'll ever have this much money in my hand ever again, I took a picture of it, so I can remember what it felt like to be rich for a night.

Life Continues in Bizarro World

Man, I'd love to tell you guys about all the great times in my travels, but life here is just too exciting to ignore.

First of all, for whatever reason, I got dressed up today for church. Usually I look decent, but today it was cold, which meant I needed to wear a long sleeve shirt under a sweater to be comfortable. So since I was going to be wearing all that anyways, I figured I ought to make the best of it. My amazing sense of style was accented even more by the fact that it seemed like pretty much everybody else in church kind of took the day off when it comes to dressing nice. Usually I look like the bum of the group, but today I was the star, and to prove it, I have included a picture. Feel free to heap your praises on as you see fit.



BUT, if that was the most exciting thing that had happened today, I wouldn't even bother writing. There is more. After listening to a sermon covering the first few Ten Commandments, and actually understanding a good bit of it, the pastor, my roomate, the White Guy, the Shark, a girl from church, and myself were walking to the bus stop. We were talking and having a great time when I heard a crash. I looked over in time to see four teenagers break a car window, steal a bag from the backseat, and take off for the street. Well, like any good Samaritan (or ex-Game Warden), we all gave chase. My buddy Hasan cleared the fence in the middle of the road first and got one of the guys. One other gave up when it became apparent that we had them. The other two got away. We called the cops and when they came, the pastor and my roommate went with them to give a report. On the way to the station, they just happened to catch the other two guys. Apparently they didn't come too peacefully and my roomate gave one of the a nice side angle kick to the middle thorax. For those of you who haven't been to the police academy, that means that he kicked the crap out of the guy right in the gut!

In a stroke of irony, my roomate met a cop at the station that had worked his case back when he was beaten and left for dead. He ended up being able to share with quite a few cops while they were there.

Anyway, I included a portion of my conversation with the thief. It's kind of a loose translation, but you'll get the idea.

Thief: You can't get 'em all, Chris.
Me: That's a fact.
Thief: How come you're doing this, then?
Me: Because I ain't got nothin' better to do.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

What has happened in this world!? Two weeks ago we were blowing away Georgia Tech and getting all the love ESPN had to give. We were called "the best one loss team in the nation." Since?

We were flat out embarassed in Blacksburg last weekend by Virginia Tech and we just lost a game to Maryland that I can not believe. First of all, we had over 400 yards of offense. We did not turn the ball over at all. We only had one penalty. BUT, we also did not have a TD all game.

Maryland kicked a FG on the last play of the game to beat us by 1. Un-freakin-believable.

I'm going to go stand out on a ledge for a few minutes.

Orientation/Vacation Part 1

As you can all see, I haven't posted in over two weeks. The main reason for that is the fact that I've been traveling for most of that two weeks. We had a three day "orientation" in Istanbul. It was a great time to fellowship with some old friends and to see some of the city. From there I took a few days to tour Cappadocia with an old friend named Yeshu. We also took a day trip down to Tarsus while he was here. I'll try to post some things about the last couple weeks over the next few days to kind of give you an idea of what I saw and did. I'm also working on finding a place to post all these pictures I have of the last few weeks, so keep your eye open for that. We'll start with my time in Istanbul.

Here’s my thoughts on the three major sites I saw in Istanbul in order of when I visited them.

1. Sultan Ahmet Camii or, in English, the Blue Mosque. I was surprised at how it was ran. First of all, I know it’s a mosque. And I know it’s a major tourist area. I guess it just never connected in my mind that it was both at the same time. There were herds of people going in the whole time we were there. Everyone was noisy and just standing around looking at and taking pictures of the beautiful tile work that covers every inch of the walls and ceiling. That I expected. But also, you couldn’t wear your shoes inside. And on top of that, there was a roped off area for people to go pray. Again, I expected that, but the mixing of the two, large groups of foreign tourists and devout, praying Muslims, never occurred to me. Honestly, it didn’t stop me from talking or from taking pictures of anything. But at the same time, my desire to be respectful to the people I am trying to reach made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

I will say that the tiles were magnificent. I had read and seen pictures of the tile work and thought that it looked okay, but wasn’t really impressed. It was only when I saw the scale of it, with thousands of these floral arrangements painted all over the inside of the massive building, that I truly understood the reason everyone praises the place. It really was pretty on the inside and worth the trouble of taking off your shoes to go in and see it.

2. Ayasofia or Haggia Sophia or, in English, known as the Church of the Holy Wisdom. Man what a place. You walk in the huge iron door into what would be the “sanctuary” and it is almost overwhelming. If the Blue Mosque is big, this thing is HUGE. It really was larger than life. It just stopped me in my tracks with the sheer height of the ceiling. And yes, I know there are tall buildings everywhere, but I don’t know too many tall buildings built in 537 AD! It really is an architectural wonder that this massive, domed building could be built as long ago as it was.

But once you recover from the shock of how big it is, it is kind of disappointing after that. Not disappointing because there are no cool things to see, but disappointing because you just know that it was simply out of this world before. But when the Ottomans came, they either destroyed it or plastered over it. Luckily, they didn’t destroy everything, and even the plaster helped preserve some stuff, but it only retains a fraction of the beauty it once had. But overall the place was absolutely stunning. A must see.

3. Kariya Kilise. I’m not sure what that means in English and I’m too lazy to go look it up right now, but it’s another church that was converted to a mosque by the Ottomans and then into what is now, a museum. This was, to me, the coolest of the three. It doesn’t have the size that the first two have, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in volume. There are more frescoes and mosaics crammed into this small church than there were in the Ayasofia. Much like the Ayasofia, some of these were destroyed and all were plastered over, but thankfully, they have weathered the years much better.

The best thing about this little church is trying to figure out what all the scenes are. There were a few tour groups paying someone to tell them what they were, but the best part of the whole thing to me was trying to remember all those New Testament stories and trying to figure out which ones were being represented in the artwork. The mosaics were absolutely amazing and it gave me my first glance of the frescoes that I would see more of in Cappadocia. An added bonus to this museum was that it was just a few blocks from the old city wall, which I promptly climbed with my buddy Josh. It gave us a nice view of the peninsula. This was the best 10 lira I have spent in this country.

GameDay in Clemson

I am writing this the at the same time as the previous post, but for obvious reasons, I did not feel that they should be together.

So, if you haven't heard, there's a big game in Clemson this weekend. We come into the game now 6-1 and ranked #12 in the nation. GT is coming in, also with just one loss, and ranked #13 in the nation. We are the two teams that look most likely to make it to Jacksonville, site of this year's ACC Championship. However, for us, with our one loss coming to BC (oh, how I hate them), it is a must win. Another loss to an ACC opponent could mean that we are out of the running for a trip to the championship game.



9 of the last 10 times we have played GT, the game has been decided by 5 points are less. And, unfortunately, GT is 3-1 in their last four trips to Death Valley. Our biggest strength, our offensive line, plays into their biggest strength, their zone blitzing style of defense. Our biggest weakness, our special teams, also is their biggest weakness. It's hard to tell what will be the difference in this game. Will James Davis continue to score TDs on a record setting pace? Will Calvin Johnson have another big game like he did last time he came to Death Valley? Will Gaines Adams get a sack in a record six games in a row? Or will Reggie Ball take advantage of his overpursuit to have a big day on the ground? Who knows. It seems like a dead even match up, but something has to give. Games don't end in ties anymore.

I think we're the better team. We are playing at home, in front of a sell out crowd, under the lights, with the national spotlight on us. There is something special about Death Valley at night. We will win our homecoming game. I say Proctor throws for a TD, James Davis rushes for one, and we pick up one somewhere else (maybe special teams?), Jad makes one field goal, and until he proves that he can do this right, he misses another EP. Tigers win another close on 23-17.

So with that out of the way, let me make a confession. I miss Clemson awfully bad today. With all the hype around this game, with us being so highly ranked, and with GameDay coming to campus, I just miss it awfully bad today. But before you get too worried, I'm not talking about homesickness or culture shock or anything like that. Just wish I could be there, for one day, and then I'd gladly come back. Looking at the webcam on Clemson's website of beautiful Bowman Field, covered in homecoming floats and the ESPN stage in the background brings up all the affection I have for that place. For years I threw frisbee on that field hoping that someday we would be back in the national spotlight. Now we are. If we win today, we will be knocking on the door of the top 10 and will have given ourselves a pretty good chance of winning the ACC and going to our first ever BCS bowl. All this happens the year, the one and only year of my life up to this point, that I CAN NOT go to Clemson. The last two years, in CO, I chose not to go to Clemson, mainly due to a lack of money, but this year, with so much going on, I would gladly pay it to be there for this game. So no I'm not homesick, I don't regret coming here, I'm not battling culture shock, I just miss my home, Clemson, SC.

Prayer Request!

I got an email this week that two Christians have been arrested (not in my town, but in this country). Judging from what the email said, and assuming it was a reliable account, the police came into their home on a charge of illegal gun possession. But now they are being charged with disgracing the Turkish republic, inciting a riot, and talking bad about someone else's religion. Apparently the gun stuff was just made up so the police could enter their house and do a search. These charges may sound a little silly, but they're serious, and carry long jail sentences. Pray for these people!

I shall be telling this with a sigh...

Visa Application, part 1

So all you have to do is go down there, ask for a two year tourist visa, they give you a sheet of paper telling you what you need, then you go back with what’s on the paper and they give you a visa?

It’s that easy.

It’s that easy?

That’s about how the conversation went with my coworker, GI Joe, who just went through this process. However, whenever someone says, “It’s that easy,” beware! It’s never “that easy.”

Yesterday I went down to the place where you apply for visas. I walk up to the gate around the building and read a big sign in order to find which door I need to go in. I find the office I’m looking for and start to head in. Here’s where I made my first mistake. I look at the entrance and see a few guards standing by a door. To the right of the door is a sign that says “entrance.” To the right of the sign is a large gate, about the width of a two lane road, standing wide open. So I headed towards the huge gate, thinking it to be the easiest way in, only to be yelled at in Turkish by one of the guards. Apparently you have to go through the door, not the gate. So I’m in and I find another large sign to make sure I know which door to go in. It’s pointing me towards a door right in the middle of the building, though most the people go in the door to the right. But I think to myself, “Well, they’re all Turks, maybe the foreigners are supposed to go in here.” So being one traveler, long I stood and look down one as far as I could. Then I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.

I go in the door and see nothing but a flight of stairs. I go up and find a small group of men standing there. Obviously I looked lost because one of the men asked me something in Turkish that I didn’t understand. So seeing my lack of language skills, he points me to an office and tells me to sit. The nice man in the office asks me what I want and I tell him I want a visa. Then he asks me something that I couldn’t understand, laughs, and says, “One minute.” A minute later a policeman comes in the room and beckons for me to follow him. He leads me to another, larger, office, and seats me in front of a nice shiny desk with an important looking man behind it. The man begins to speak to me in English, though not very good English. He asks me what I want. I told him I wanted a visa, a long term visa. So he begins, “How long do you want the visa for? Why did you come here to begin with? Why do you want to stay? What will you do for two years? How you will afford to live? Did you come alone? Etc. etc.”

To say I anticipated this would be a lie, but I had gone through these questions in my mind already, deciding what I would and would not tell them and how I would answer the questions in a way that kept my integrity intact without compromising my position or my teammates here. So I feel that I handled the questions fairly well. And please, don’t misunderstand me, this wasn’t an official interrogation or anything, just a very curious man.

After he was satisfied with the information I gave him, he told me that a man would be coming to get me and to take me to the visa office. I thanked him and he went back to work. I noted his name plate on his desk, which was made of glass and looked pretty schwanky. It had his name overtop of “Komiser.” You guessed it, commissioner, also known as the Superintendent of Police for my city. I wasn’t just questioned by a policeman, I was questioned by the top policeman in the whole city.

So I went with the other officer down to the visa room. They had sent this officer because he spoke pretty good English and he served as my translator. Another, chubbier, officer was in charge of the paperwork I presume. He was the one telling me what I needed in order to get the visa. But either he had done something bad wrong yesterday or the bossman over the visa department just didn’t like me, because he was very angry. The boss kept coming over and yelling at the chubby guy and giving me dirty looks. I’m not sure what the “evil eye” looks like, but I think I got at least one yesterday.

So there with the chubby guy, I got the same questions as before, and a few new ones. They wanted to know how I was going to afford to live here, what I would do, if I was alone, who did I live with, what did he do, where did he work, how did you meet him, etc etc. I answered their questions and just rolled on. The chubby guy explained how much money I would need, that I would need to copy my passport, bring five pictures with me, write a letter requesting permission to stay in the country, and complete two copies of a visa request form. “Great,” I said, “Give me the forms and I’ll be on my way.” Not so fast! The forms must be completed there in the office. And not only that, but the letter I have to write must be in Turkish, and should be written in the office too.

So what did I get out of this whole deal? Well, I got good practice at answering questions. I was able to practice the art of “staying in my box” under pressure. I got to meet the top policeman in Adana. And, most importantly, after my almost hour and a half in the belly of the Adana police station, I got a four inch by four inch sheet of paper telling me what I need to get a tourist visa. I have to collect these things (money and pictures) and return another day to complete step 2. What is step 2? As Tom Tom would say, “Only God knows that!”

Parrrrrtaaaaaaay!

Well, not really.

Everybody asks what I did for my birthday, so I decided to tell you. I got up and went to church as usual. Struggled to understand what was being said (still don't know what passage he was preaching from, but it's somewhere in 1 Peter). Argued for Christ over Muhammed with my friend afterwards. Played pool for 2 hours with another friend. Had to play one game by cell phone light thanks to a thunderstorm that knocked the power out and the fact that the pool hall is underground. Went to the bakery to buy myself a pastery to serve as a cake. Got it for half price, with a complimentary pink candle, because it was my birthday and the register dude wants to go to Miami someday. Came home and got hammered on a one litre Coke with the roommate. That was pretty much it. No great fanfare, just another day in Central Asia.

The day after my birthday is always sobering too. First of all, you just got done with a day where everybody was giving you happy birthday wishes and pats on the back and what not. Then you just go back to being same old Joe, or in this case Chris, and nobody really pays much attention. And then you have to go through and make a list of all the people who didn't wish you a happy birthday for one reason or another, *cough* Gouge, and figure out if they're still your friend or not. But when all that is over, I look at my life, and say to myself, "Man, I am 24 years old." No, it's not old, I'm not trying to imply that, but man, life just keeps on going. It doesn't slow down. I don't get time to warm up, to practice a little, to get my act together. I keep living and everyday I am confronted with my sin and the fact that even now, almost seven years after meeting Christ, I have such a rough time staying on the path. I look at the world around me and I know that this is a hard place where the Gospel is struggling. But then I remind myself, you've been here two months, and you've only shared with one Muslim, and then it was in a very broken and hard to understand way. Two months in and I can barely get around town trouble free. I can't tell people where my apartment is, and yet I desire to tell people where my heavenly home is. Man it's frustrating. Though I'm 24 years old, my language skills here are on the level of a 6 year old. I still wallow around in my sin like it's my first week with the Lord. And I think to myself, man when will this all change. Maybe this is the year.

Here I am at 24, in case you thought something might've changed. It hasn't. And to my joy, the beard is back baby.








In other news, when I am done typing this, I will make a trip to the Foreign Affairs Ministry or whatever they call it, to start the process of getting a visa. I am going to try and get one that will last for the next two years, so that I can stay with no problems. There are two things I want to happen today. I want to start this process, which includes gathering some information and filling out some paperwork. I know I can't do it all today, because I have to have some pictures made and I need to do some money transfers, but to get things started would be great. Secondly, and it's more of something that I don't want to happen, is I don't want to get interrogated. On the one hand, it makes me excited to think about being interrogated and mentally slapping these guys around. They'd never get anything out of me, that's not what I'm worried about. It would just be really nice to walk in, smile at the lady behind the counter, get my paperwork, get out, and get on with life here. We'll see in about an hour if that's God's plan or not.

I'm All In.

Those were the first words I heard the other day as I turned on ESPN. It was the final table of a No Limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament that a seasoned pro lost to a newcomer on a very stupid play. We can discuss the ins and outs of poker later, but first, let me tell you what makes this story remarkable. I was watching ESPN! I have found a way to watch ESPN on my computer. Now granted, my internet connection isn't fast enough to actually watch it in my home. To save money, we have the slowest internet connection offered. However, if I go to my boss' house, where he has splurged for more speed, then I can actually watch ESPN. Unbelievable.

I had to install Windows on Eve (my Macbook) to make it happen though. This I sincerely apologize for. After I installed it and opened it, I knew it was wrong. I bought this computer for her speed, power, dependability, and other things, but what has made me fall in love with her, more than the things I have mentioned, is her beauty. She's the prettiest computer you've ever seen. All the screens, buttons, programs, everything runs so smoothly and looks so good doing it.
To see that ugly Windows screen, with it's glossy buttons, unorganized program lists, and that ugly color scheme (the Window's blue surrounding that scene of podunk Kansas is horrible) on my beautiful Mac screen was an abomination. I have left it on there, with the hopes of watching my Clemon Tigers on ESPN, I promise, that once the football season is over, so is Windows on my Mac. I'm sorry you have to do it Eve, but sometimes love hurts. My love for Clemson means I must make sacrifices, and I am asking you to make this sacrifice for me. Please forgive me.

But speaking of Clemson. Well, let's just say that Temple is the worst team in Div. 1-A. They had a 18 game losing streak coming into our game Thursday night. Despite that, we couldn't score a single point in the 4th quarter. I don't know what is wrong my Tigers. We just can't close out a game. But wait a minute, I know what you're thinking, "Crap, did Clemson lose to Temple?" haha, not exactly. We might not have scored a single point in the 4th quarter, but we did score 63 points in the first 3 quarters. It was nice. We ran the ball all over them and were nearly perfect throwing the ball. Our next two games will be tougher. We have GT next. Luckily, it is in Death Valley and we have a few extra days to prepare. But they are good. They will be tough to beat. And the game that I have been dreading all year, the trip to Blacksburg to play VT on a Thursday night, just four days after our game with GT. Whoever was involved in making our schedule obviously hates us. We must win both to have a chance at being in the ACC championship game. If we do not, at this point, it would be a disappointment. I know I said we'd go 10-2, and I agree that is reasonable, but I don't want to see it happen. 11-1 is so close. Let's do it Tigers!

A lot happened this week, and then again, not a lot happened. Monday was fairly normal. We had Bible study in our house again and it was dealing with holiness. It's probably a good thing I didn't know enough language to speak, because I don't think I agreed with everything that the leader was saying. However, someone else brought up a good question that caused quite a discussion, so I wasn't the only one who thought things sounded funny. Tuesday was one of the longest afternoons of my life. I was just trying to mail some paperwork to Istanbul, but it wound up taking me three and a half hours. I didn't find the shipping place my boss told me to go, so I went downtown. I got wrong directions from two people before I found someone who could show me where to go. The crazy part is, he spoke English. Well, that's not really that crazy, except that while we were speaking English, he whipped out his Georgia driver's license! He went to Southern Polytechnic University near Atlanta, where my former coworker at the GDOT is currently enrolled. Small world. I have his name and number, and we will keep in touch. Then I had some language lessons with a man from church at another family's house from church. They fed me the best meal I've had in the country. Beans and meat with rice and salad. Sounds plain, but it was amazing. I didn't feel 100% Wednesday, but we had a nice prayer time with the team that night. Thursday I had to be at the office most the day, so I just studied and read. Les Miserables is a good book by the way. I had read it in French, but had forgotten most of it since then. It's a good read. Thursday night I had a big discussion with my roommate about how to handle a guy at church who's been slandering some other church members. It's a sticky situation. Pray for that one. Yesterday the school had a picnic for the kids. We went to this awesome place where a small river has carved a gorge in the hills about an hour from here. It was a really cool place and quite relaxing, which was nice after not sleeping Thursday night listening to my Tigers.

So I know it's long. Give me a break, I've been busy! I'll be better about updating this week.

The Moops Day 2

So I've had the moops for two days now. If you don't know what the moops are, go watch Seinfeld, it'll educate you and just generally brighten your day. They've been brought on by things, not just by accident. Yesterday it was a combination of having a pretty boring week (hence my lack of good blog material) and a slightly disappointing talk with the boss. Today it was something that happened at school.

So I help at the American Co-Op on Fridays. Right now there are only 6 kids. I don't teach. They have DVDs of teachers that were recorded at some Bob Jones-ish private school in Florida. Judging by the way the teachers dress and look, you'd think they were recorded in the mid-80s, and they may have been.

As a side note, before I get into the story, for the Bible classes and oral reading assigments, the kids have to memorize and read out of the King James Version.
Come on people, let it go. I understand it was THE Bible for hundreds of years, but really, no one talks like that anymore. Kids don't understand it. Sometimes it sounds less like the kids are reading Scripture and more like they're reading some Germanic cookbook with a lisp. Let them read something a little more contemporary!

Anyways, so back to the story. So of the 6 kids, 4 are alone in little rooms by themselves with a TV and a DVD player, also known as their "teacher." For hours on end they listen to these people ramble on about whatever with the only real interaction being when they have a question or when it's time to take a quiz. To prove how little the supervisors do, I read "The Old Man and the Sea" before lunch today and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" after. So needless to say, in the mid morning, when the power went out, I was excited. The two younger kids were just starting spelling, which I could handle (since it's on a fourth grade level) and the older guy I was over had just started science, which I happen to know a lot of thanks to Time Magazine's Public College of the Year in 2000, Clemson University. So I thought this would be a golden opportunity for me to do a little teaching, help the kids learn, let them have a little fun, and get them out of their own little dugeons. So I decided that we would play Yahtzee, with me quizzing them as we went. Unfortunately, I'm not the only supervisor in the school, and not all supervisors agree with this type of approach to learning. The other lady (who happens to be the mother of two of the kids I was with) came in. She came in the room and said, "So, are you guys going to get started on homework?" I said, "No, I'm going to do something with them." To which she replied, "Oh, you mean you are telling them their homework." And I said, "No, I mean we were going to do an activity together." At which point you could see in this lady's face sheer terror.

Now look, I know what the contingency plan is. The power goes out pretty regularly here. I guess that's to be expected in a "developing country." We've talked about what should happen in a time like this, and I know that protocol says they are just to stay in the torture chambers and do homework. But come on. Here is a Kudzu League educated, strapping young 23 year old biologist offering your son very personalized tutoring in an interactive environment. You'd think this lady would be all over it. Nope. Instead, she was visibly flushed in the face as she told me that they should be in their rooms doing work, not out here playing games. It's not like we weren't going to study as we played. I had the books opened in front of me already. Let your kids enjoy it for once. The real kicker to me is that today they started a weekly thing where on Fridays instead of study hall all the kids have to give a short presentation of something they did in class that week to the rest of the kids. Why? Because they're too isolated. Well what the heck. I'm un-isolating them and letting them learn in a different and more exciting way.

So all these thoughts are racing through my mind. My usual rant is coming together in a mental outline and slowly starting to take shape as key words and phrases are finding their proper homes in the places where the verbal jab will deliver the most effective blow. I was primed and ready to do what I do best, to state my opinion. However something else crept up inside of me. It snuck up behind me as I sat there in that chair. It wasn't a shock or a fright, but more like an old friend coming up and wrapping their arm around your shoulders with a smile and a "How ya doing?" It slowly started to take over for my tirade like a warm blanket being pulled up to your chin slowly on a chilly night when you're half asleep. Maybe you can blame the moops or maybe it was a product of it. Whatever caused it, I was and am glad my old friend Apathy came back.

I just sat back in my chair and said, "Whatever man," in that solid and thick Southern accent that only a man from Piedmont can muster up, and then, only when accompanied by a slight fling of the hands skyward and then around to the back of the head. So I sat back, legs outstretched, hands behind my head, and listened as they were given their assignments and ordered back to their rooms. You could see the joy fading from their faces and they slowly made their way back to their solitary confinement with muttered "yes m'am"-s. The lady took one look at me but didn't say a word as she left the room. All I could do was look at the clock, shrug my shoulders, and say out loud to no one in particular, "Ain't it time for lunch yet?"

In other news, our English teaching company is legal now and should be offering classes in about a month. Praise God. My friend Mark Win sent me an email containing a great quote from D.A. Carson that was in line with my view on expectations. Thanks D.A. And Clemson plays Wake Forest tomorrow. We've lost the last two times we have went there to play, but this is, in my opinion, the best Tiger team we have fielded in a long time. To say I'm nervous may be too strong but to say I am confident would be too. I'm "cautiously optimistic." I'm calling for a 35-20 win and hoping it's not that close. And I've made it half way through Ramadan without being physically assaulted or verybally abused. At least I think so. I have no idea what that guy was saying to me in the market the other day. And speaking of having no idea, I had another "meat" sandwich the other day. Again, I have no idea what it was, but it was good.

Go Tigers! No donkeys.

Point America!

Actually, if you want to get technical about it, we won 3-1 tonight, but I'm not talking about soccer or hockey or any of those excrutiatingly low scoring games. Let me explain.

So all the men from church are coming here on Mondays for a big Bible study. The Shark (a national) showed up first to help me a little with the language. Then the Mexican came (a Mexican worker) to be followed by a new character in the blog, the Dirty Brit (who is, yes, British). I have no reason for calling him "dirty" except that whenever I think of British people, I was think of "those dirty Brits" for whatever reason. So anyway, you have the four of us and my roommate, Special K, all sitting around talking. They're talking Turkish and I can only understand part of what they're saying. I could understand enough to know they were talking about how lazy and undisciplined Americans are, because my roommate was complaining about the Americans he is teaching now and how they won't do their work. I couldn't understand all that was going on, but I knew that all the snickering they were doing was about Americans. The thing was, all of them were in on it. The Dirty Brit and the Mexican both were cracking jokes about Americans. Usually I don't even get involved in a discussion on the merits of America as a nation and our politics and such, but I just couldn't stand to see a British man and a Mexican guy running down my country to these guys that already dislike America thanks to their Islamic heritage. So finally the Dirty Brit says to me in english, "Do you understand what we're saying?" I said, "No, not all of it, but I get the impression you're making fun of Americans." He says, "Do you agree with it?" It was at this point that I had a decision to make. I could do what I normally do and dodge the question. Say something like, "Well, we're not all the same" or "I don't really keep up with politics" or whatever I have to say to get away from talking about America with Muslims. But I remembered, these men aren't Muslims. There all solid believers. So do I have to dodge this question still? Call it defending yourself or pride or spite or whatever, but tonight I decided I didn't have to dodge the question. It was time to fight for my country. So with a sly grin I said, "You know, some of it may be true. We may be a little undisciplined and we might not carry ourselves in a way that is demanding respect and honor a lot of times, but you know what? Even with all the faults you guys have mentioned, I am pretty sure we've beaten every one of your countries in a war." At that point there was much laughter and I went around the room pointing, first to the Dirty Brit, "American Revolution, a bunch of undisciplined savages beat the best army in the world," the Mexican, "Mexican American War, beat you guys for Texas and decided to take New Mexico and California too," and finally to my roommate, "Oh yeah, and that little thing called World War 1, where we dismantled the great Ottoman Empire." At that point there was a great uproar of laughter. When it finally died down, they were looking at the floor and slowly shaking their heads from side to side and mumbling "You're right" very quietly.

So things to pray for (Shea). Pray that these guys will continue to pursue holiness (which is what Bible study was about) and that they continue to study the Scriptures on their own. Pray that I can get the paperwork done that I need to get done. I have some business stuff to take care of before Friday and I have to apply for my long term visa before the end of the month.

"I'm cooking it and you're eating it!"

That is how the Shark described my complete domination in pool today. Once we went to one on one action between myself, the Shark, and (new character here) Herman Mellville, to be called Herman from here on out to be distinguished from another important man in my life story, Herm with the Perm, but that's a whole different story, anyway, once we went to one on one action, I won 12 games of 8-ball and lost 4 or 5, I didn't keep count of the losses. The Shark, named such for his amazing billiard skills, only won 5, and Herman could only muster 2 wins, though one was against me. By the end of the evening, I had become "well learned," a phrase that can also be translated "well cooked" or "well done" (speaking about cooking). Take that however you want.

Anyhow, for a couple prayer requests (Shea): I am almost finished translating my testimony, so pray that I finish that and get to share it soon. My language helper guy finally got a job, which is a praise, but it also means I have to find some other way to study the language during the day. Pray for somebody to help me there. And pray for the church here as it is going through some hard, but exciting times.

"There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness. And there is a Catskill eagle in some souls that can alike dive down into the blackest gorges, and soar out of them again and become invisible in the sunny spaces. And even if he for ever flies within the gorge, that gorge is in the mountains; so that even in his lowest swoop the mountain eagle is still higher than other birds upon the plain, even though they soar." - Herman Melville, in "Moby Dick"

I'm crazy. Crazy for feeling so lonely...

This is for you Shea. You promised to pray, so you're getting something to pray for.

I really have nothing planned to do this weekend, so pray that I make wise use of the time to learn some language, make a new friend or two, and deepen a relationship or two. I need to visit my friend Mr. Kelly, hopefully I can get some pool in with the Shark on Sunday, and, Lord willing, maybe I'll learn a word or two of this gloriously awkward language.

So I was reprimanded today for going to see a Willie Nelson concert. I was told that it was "not glorifying to God." When I gave the expected reaction of utter confusion, the initial blow was followed up by "you know it wasn't glorifying to Him." Of course, being the young and disrespectful little you know what I am, I said, "No I didn't know that. You'll have to tell me about it later." So what the heck? What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to think? Is it wrong to like Willie Nelson? Did I dishonor Christ by going to that concert? First of all, is Willie really all that bad to begin with? I mean, I am a huge Willie Nelson fan. He is by far my favorite country singer. And off the top of my head, I can't think of one song of his that is sexually explicit, anti-Christ, or includes cussing. Secondly, the concert was held in the Tabernacle, in Atlanta, GA. It's an old BAPTIST CHURCH. And thirdly, and most impressively, Robbie Gouge and myself got into this show on sheer determination, a fraternal bond with the scalping community, one desperate white guy, and eighteen dollars in cold hard cash. If God isn't happy with that, I don't know what I can do. So please, give me a break. Can all my heros really be cowboys and yet still be faithful? Can I live in the promisedland and listen to Willie? Are there not seven spanish angels that think it's okay? Everywhere I go, even to the mendicino county line, I wonder, is this Graceland or the city of New Orleans? It's too late. My mama done let her baby grow up to be a cowboy. I'm a highway man and I'm on the road again with Poncho and Lefty. And although it's always on my mind, you won't see these blue eyes crying in the rain, because there's nothing I can do about it now. (If you don't understand the last half of that paragraph, I highly recommend that you pick up the double CD "The Essential Willie Nelson" and give it a listen. It's good music and I think God will be okay with it.)

I was honestly taken a-back by it. I didn't really know how to respond. If I am genuinely in the wrong here, please someone let me know. I am just not seeing it. But until God sends me some sort of message to steer clear of Willie, Waylon, and the boys, I will continue to be a faithful fan and a regular listener. And to those who condemn me for listening to such filth, I leave Willie's own words, "Forgiving you was easy, but forgetting seems to take the longest time."

"Anyone can be a fisherman in May."

-Santiago, in Hemingway's epic novella, "The Old Man and the Sea."

This week has been quite wonderful compared to the discouragement of last week. The weather has been incredible the last three days. It rained for a few days last week and cleared the air of the dust and haze, leaving us high fall clouds, a great view of the mountains, and temperatures about as perfect as they can be. But there's more than the weather to be thankful for today.

Tuesday afternoon I took a trip downtown to talk to some fishing shop owners. I'd passed these little shops before and wanted to stop in to find out where I had to go to do some trout fishing. The first shop I entered looked pretty good, had a wide selection, but nobody in the store paid me any attention. So I shook a little dust off the ole feet and went to the next shop. As soon as I walked in the door I was greeted by two different people who were very eager to talk to me, even though I told them I didn't want to buy anything. When I asked about trout fishing, I got a few answers and a few confused looks. But again, these people were super helpful. They went and got the shop owner from his home to come talk to me. He came, bringing a map of the area, and sat down to talk with me. He told me about a few different places that were good and a few places to avoid. He also told me of a fishing shop on the way to the mountains that sold fly fishing gear. It was ran by a former employee of his. He called the guy up to see how things were doing and to tell him that he had an American friend there (yes, he called me his friend) who wanted to trout fish. He asked if he had all the necessary equipment and when the best time for me to go would be. When I was ready to leave, the shop keeper gave me his personal business card, an invitation to call anytime I needed anything, the name and number of his friend, and he walked me to the door. I never bought or acted like I was going to buy anything, he was just helpful for the sake of being helpful.

It's exciting to mix the things I love the most, preaching the Gospel and being outside. I will go see the shop keeper again, and hopefully if the Lord is willing, I will share with him. Transitioning from fishing to the Gospel is about as easy as it gets. And if I do visit his friend, it would totally appropriate in this culture to stay overnight. You know, there's no way I could spend the night in someone's house, talking about fishing, and not get to the Gospel somehow. I have said it before in the last few weeks, but really, now I feel like I am doing what I came to do. These types of opportunities are what I've been praying for and now they've been given to me. Pray that I take full advantage of it and follow the Spirit's leading in these relationships (there you go Shea).

The whole experience made me well up with pride too, I must admit. I have never met a group of people more fun to be around, more helpful, and more willing to just sit and talk, than fisherman. I will be the first one to tell you that you can't believe half of what a fisherman tells you (which is why you shouldn't believe half of what I say). But what they lack in accuracy, they make up for in volume. I don't care who it is, where it is, or what it is about, a fisherman has a story that is related, and I promise you, it's better than the last one that was told. We're always trying to out-do each other, that's why the fish get bigger everytime we tell the same story. We're not catching bigger fish, so we just make the fish we have caught a little bigger. I think God understands. Not only does He understand, he appreciates it. Nothing proves that to me more than reading about Jesus calling his disciples. It is commonly agreed upon that James and John (the "Sons of Thunder") and Cephas (aka Simon and/or Peter) were part of Jesus' inner circle. They were the Apostles that were closest to Jesus during his time on earth. John refers to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved," Peter was the one who walked on the water and who was nicknamed "the Rock" for his confession of the Christ (he's not the Pope guys, let it go), and the three of them witnessed the Transfiguration (which has to be one of the coolest moments in all of history). But you know what else these three have in common? According to Matt. 4, they were all fishermen! That's right, Jesus started this whole show with a bunch of fishermen. So I feel that I'm in good company.

Anyhow, I don't know when I'll actually make it up there to fish, since it's about two hours away and I don't have access to a car. The guy said the best time to go would be in March or April, which is typically the best time for trout fishing. But I may have to go sooner. I'm dying to do some fishing and honestly, I have something to prove. I've been on four different continents and have caught fish on two of them so far (didn't get to fish in Europe yet). But even besides just catching fish in a different place, Santiagos words are true. I need to catch fish in the fall and in the winter, because anyone can be a fisherman in may.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

I don't mean to use all these literary classics as blog intros, but they seem to fit. Maybe that's why they're classics after all.

So this weekend was really great, really bad, and really average at the same time. First of all, the great. We had two wonderful times of fellowship with the young people of the church. They have been meeting once a month on a Saturday night for games and worship and this was their weekend. I didn't count how many were there, but it was around 10 or 12, a strong group for this part of the world. They really seemed to have a great time. I say "seemed" because I have yet to learn enough language to really understand what the heck is going on most the time when in big groups. More importantly though, you could see a few of them opening up a little during our prayer time. This is important because, as my roommate has been explaining to me, the young people in this church struggle with fellowship because they are so formal with each other. They have a hard time opening up and being real with each other. Which is why my roomie has decided to invite all the youngsters (when I say this, I mean anyone from 18-35 who's single) over to our place for a meal and fellowship time every other Sunday night. Again, it was a wonderful time of fellowship. Also, after a month and a half of barely a cloud, we've had rain four or five days in the past week and it has turned cool. Nice, cool, dreary, overcast days. I love it. And in case you're unfortunate enough not to have access to ESPN or TigerNet, Clemson did win this weekend. Huge. 52-7. We scored all 7 of our touchdowns rushing the ball, picking up over 300 yards on the ground. And to go along with our dominating performance, Boston College (oh how I hate them) lost to NC State on a last second TD pass. That means realisticly, we decide if we go to the ACC championship or not. BC still has to go to Miami and FSU and is going to host VT later in the year. They will lose at least one of those, probably two, possibly all three. So as long as we can keep winning, we should find ourselves in Jacksonville for a shot at a conference title.

Some of the bad. Well, we finally heard from the guy visiting the Islamic teacher. He is going to continue to see him, and he didn't come to church. He did come to our social thing Sunday night, but did not partake of the Lord's Supper because, in his own words, he is "unsure." It doesn't sound good at all. I found out some other things today that I shouldn't post on the web for everyone to read, but it wasn't good news. It sounds like he may be getting close to being "gone." Obviously it takes a lot to be totally "gone" but he's getting very close to being cast out of the fellowship of people here. It sounds like he is really jumping off the deep end with the Islamic stuff too, but we'll see. On a less serious note, and not nearly AS bad, me and the roomie cleaned the whole house Saturday. I don't ever remember spending that much time cleaning. These people really are clean freaks and even though my roommate claims to be your average bachelor, he's probably one of the cleanest people I've ever lived with. That makes things hard.

Some of the average. I never thought I'd say this, but I watched Fiddler on the Roof the other night. For whatever reason it is my roommate's favorite movie (yes I am living with a guy). He says the people here just really love the movie, that they can relate to a lot of it. Whatever. I think it's safe to say, it won't be making my favorites list anytime soon. Feel free to laugh and make jokes too, I know I would.

Just your average weekend in Central Asia.

You're a Hard Habit to Break

So as all this was going on with the CCC people, there was another dilemma in my apartment. When I walked in the door, my room mate was having a little heart to heart with the White Guy in our living room. I can tell it was something important by the way they were talking, so I just crept on back to my room. I was actually writing the CCC blog during that time and when they were done, they came into my room. The roomie said that he had a lot of work to do, but that me and the White Guy should talk.

Well, come to find out, this is the situation. The White Guy supposedly came to the Lord back in Jan. and has been involved in church and Bible study since. BUT, he is very discouraged right now for a few different reasons. First, and probably foremost, he really wants to get married. I know that may sound a little silly, but you must understand his situation. As a believing man here, you are choosing celibacy as much as you are Christ. There are three single Christian women in this town. Three. The chances of finding a Christian wife are low at best, but realistically, it’s almost none. Along with the wife problem, you must understand a couple other things. First of all, this guy is ridiculed for his faith all the time. He has been laughed at by his coworkers and pretty well ostracized from socializing with people there. Also, and maybe harder, is that he is supposed to claim his religion on his national ID card. You have to show that card anytime you are applying for a job, doing business with a bank, being stopped by the police, etc. That could have very large, and very negative ramifications. To use his words, “When I walk down the street, I do not see anyone who believes as I do. And it’s not that they don’t believe, but that they are against me believing.” It’s very difficult to believe in this country.

But if it was just him complaining about it being difficult, that’d be one thing. The real problem though came when I found out what he’s planning on doing about it. He read the entire Quran on Monday. Of course he didn’t understand it (who can?), so he made an appointment with one of the Islamic religious teachers to discuss what he had read. He says he is searching for God. He believes that if he seeks, God will show himself. However, I mentioned to him that reading the Quran and visiting the local Mosque usually does not qualify as seeking God. God does not dwell in those places. I hope and pray that he realizes this. Because if he is looking to be accepted, then the Mosque is where he will find it. If he wants to marry, following Mohammed will make it easier for him to find a wife. But if he is really searching for truth, then he must come back to the Bible, for that is the only place I have found it.

I write this on Friday. Our conversation was Tuesday night, he visited the Mosque on Wednesday, and neither I nor my roommate have heard from him since. Continue to pray.

Great Expectations

So I had interesting evening tonight. First of all, the new CCC people are in town. Two single guys, two single girls. They swear it wasn't set up that way, but I know how these Christian organizations work. J-MAN+J-WOMAN=Career COUPLE, with a little work. But I digress. We had a pleasant time together I think. I say I think because I had a great time, but, as usual, the verdict is still out on what everybody else thinks. First of all, I did a lot of talking. I was aware of it at the time, but they just kept asking me questions and didn't allow me to find out anything about themselves. This type of situation is never good for me. When people ask me questions, I give them my best answers. That doesn't go over so well with everyone on every question. Generally, the more I talk, the more likely someone is to NOT like me. Key example: All four of the CCC people are from the midwest. I said that the beef didn't taste like the corn feed stuff we get in America. So I asked if they thought the lamb was pretty good. Honest question. But one of the girls got a little red in the face, giggled a little, and the other one patted her on the back and said, "Sue here is a vegetarian." Of course, as only C-Love would say, the first thing out of my mouth was, "You're kidding me right?" Her answer was, "No, I ate chicken the other day and it was a very traumatic experience." Good grief, where do you get these people? I gently reminded her of the passage in Acts where Peter is really hungry and goes up on the roof to pray. He gets a vision from God showing him all the animals, both clean and unclean, and God issues a command to Peter, "Arise, kill and eat." Amen I say, Amen! She didn't agree and the conversation went on to deeper things, meaning I was digging myself deeper into a hole.

I went with the guys back to their apartment to chill for a little while and to just get to know them a little bit. After some shallow conversation one of the guys (who was quite excited at the time) asked me what my expectations were for my time here. "Expectations?" I asked. "Yeah, what do you expect to see God do while you are here?" I don't like this question. I am starting to hate to hear it. It is a question that I think has no right answer, and no matter which way you miss it, you are setting yourself up for hard times. If you say that you expect God to do amazing things, saving dozens, and starting a church planting movement, you are setting yourself up for disappointment if God does not come through for you. If you say you expect to see God save a few, maybe three or four, during your time, yes you are being more "reasonable," but even then your expectations may not be met. This is a hard place, and has been for a long time. Having "realistic" expectations and then still not having them met, may be worse than having high expectations. And lastly, if you say you don't expect anything from God, I ask, where is your faith. I expect something out of God, you must, or you rob God of his power. But what then should I expect? Should I expect a cold, hard, dark place to start bursting with life and light? Do I think I am any smarter, or wiser, or any more filled with the Spirit than the men and women who have gone before me, seeing no fruit? Or should I expect nothing and just be thankful when something happens? Then is my God "able to do immeasurably more than I could ever hope or imagine?"

I have prayed for big things, and I have prayed for small things. I have hoped for big things and I have hoped for small things. I have expected big things and I have expected small things. In all these cases, some of these were aligned with God's will, and some were not. Some came to fruition, some still have not, and some may never. I have found in my short time as a believer that a lot of times, my desires don't align with God's still, and sometimes the expectations I put on God are not Biblical and therefore, not healthy. I still can't tell you what "Biblical expectations" are, and I don't know if I ever will be able to. We worship a God that is able to do anything, yet in his sovereign good pleasure does not do everything. How to balance the belief that God can work miracles with the Biblical truth that sometimes God holds his hand back is difficult at best. I feel myself falling towards a lack of faith sometimes and at other times I find myself throwing caution to the wind knowing that my God can pick up the pieces later.

This is a hard place and has been for some time. There are places in the world where the Gospel is spreading like wildfire. This is not one of them. I knew that coming here. I also know that Nineveh was a hard place and Jonah was a hard man and that God did great things with the two of them. So I don't know what will happen while I am here. I may spend these years here plowing ground and planting seeds that may not grow for generations. I may labor with my brothers here to just keep what growth there is alive. I will thank God for that opportunity. Or I may spend these next few years gathering the harvest that so many faithful brothers and sisters planted and watered long ago. God may grow it up and allow me to be part of something truly amazing. I will thank God for that opportunity. I could spend these next few years a million different ways and I have no idea what it will be like. I will just live it. And until my desires and my will and my expectations are more in line with God's, I'd rather not start telling the eternal God what I, a mere man, expect out of him.

Reaching for the Stars

I like to keep track of some of my personal stats to track how I'm doing in life. There are those records that I've set that I just don't think will ever be broken by myself again, though they may, it's not impossible (ie. not showering for 37 consecutive days, eating at least one pack of Ramen noodles for 10 days straight, and eating a large meat lover's pizza (not one of those thin crust jobs neither) from Pizza Hut by myself in one sitting). Today, I raised the bar on another record of mine, and I may have put it out of reach this time.

In America, you can find churches that start at all hours of the day on Sunday. You've got the truly faithful that still get there at daybreak for early worship and you've got the ones who like to have a nice brunch before coming to their casual, contemporary worship experiences. There are good and bad to both, but one thing remains constant, I have overslept them all. I've attended churches that asked you to be there at 7:30 AM and I've attended churches that didn't start until 12:30 PM, and yes, I've overslept the service at each of them at least once. First of all, I never thought I would attend a church that started later than the 12:30 start I found, but alas, living in a different country has opened my eyes to so many new things. My church here doesn't start till 2:00 in the afternoon. It's really wonderful. You're awake, you've had lunch but long enough ago that you're over the food coma that comes with it, and it's in the heat of the day, when it's really nice to be sitting in the AC for a while. And faithfully and joyfully, I have been there on time, every week, until today.

If you didn't read my post below or your local sports page or anything else worth reading today, then you may not know that your Clemson Tigers upset #9 Florida State in a stunning fashion last night. Well, at least it was last night for the two teams. It was after 6 AM local time when the game ended, and the sun was already up. Of course I couldn't go to sleep right away with the adrenaline of a solid victory still flowing, but when I finally did get in bed close to 9, my alarm was set for 12:30, with plenty of time to shower and get to church on time. However my alarm was no match for a nice breeze, my Mexi-blanket, and visions of James Davis dancing in the end zone. I slept right through it and awoke just in time to watch the clock click over to 2 PM and another of my personal records fall.

At times like these, I'm full of mixed emotions. There's a little sadness in seeing a record fall. Something you've known to be true for so long is not so any more. But there is joy in knowing that you are never done learning and improving as a person. With the victory over the old self, I am filled with the excitement of possibility. If I can oversleep a 2 PM church service, who knows what else I can do? Maybe I can learn Turkish? Maybe I will write that book I've been dreaming of writing? Maybe I can wear one pair of underwear for the entire month of Ramadan coming up? The possibilities are endless.

I got two words for you, JAMES DAVIS

Granted, it was not his best game, no far from it. But when the game was on the line, ole JD came through.

As much as I couldn't believe how we lost last week, I can't believe how we won this week. First of all, we held their offense to a touchdown and a field goal, yet they still scored 20 points. That's a relatively normal looking score until you consider how they accumulated it. They got 2 pts for a blocked PAT return, scored a TD on a blocked FG return, and converted a 2 pt conversion of their own after their one offensive TD. I did not watch the game for obvious reasons, but I did see some highlights this morning on ESPN.com. On both of their blocked kicks, it looks like two or three different guys could've blocked it. We weren't blocking anyone. The guys who did get the blocks honestly could've probably tackled the holder if they wanted to. That's pathetic. As silly as it looked and sounded, it made me extremely happy to hear Bowden say he would not kick it in the second half because if you look at the stats, they only had 204 total yards from scrimmage, and over a 100 yards on blocked kick returns, which accounted for half of their scoring. Our kicking game was their best offense.

But luckily, that was where the complaints end. Even though score wise they did keep it close in the first half, we absolutely dominated them. At halftime they had only gained 80 yards from scrimmage and we had held on to the ball for 11 minutes of the 2nd quarter. We came right back out in the 3rd on our first possession and added another TD almost effortlessly. Then, the FSU defense showed up and really slowed us down for almost the rest of the game. But our defense, despite it's injuries, isn't all that bad itself. Faced with AWFUL field position the entire second half, they managed to hold FSU to just one TD and one FG. Holding Florida State to 11 pts in a half is good, I don't care who you are. When you consider that FSU was getting the ball at midfield almost everytime as well, it makes it even more impressive. In the end Florida State had only 102 rushing yards and 102 passing yards, 204 total yards. Again, that ain't bad I don't care who you are. We sacked Drew Weatherford four times and forced him to scramble for little or no gain another 5 or 6 times. Our defense caused four fumbles as well, recovering on two of them. For a defense that has lost three big time starters and had two other players nursing injuries, they played well, very well. As for the offense, they didn't do too bad themselves. Playing what many consider one of the best defenses in the nation, we managed to rack up 345 yards of offense and do enough to win ourselves the ball game. The Noles seem to control the line of scrimmage for most the night, holding us to 151 yards on the ground. Though that sounds like a lot, over half of it came on three runs, a 38 yarder by Jacoby Ford in the 1st quarter, a 20 yarder by Proctor in the 3rd, and a 47 yarder by James Davis in the 4th. Will Proctor was pressured at times during the game too, but was fairly effecient at 16-30 for 194 yrds. He threw one beautiful TD pass to Chansi Stuckey, had the 20 yrd run for a TD, and threw no interceptions (though it sounded like FSU dropped one that should've been). We seemed very impressive in the first half, but got stagnant for most of the second half. But Rob Spence proved to me why I love him on the last drive. First of all, FSU tied it at 20 and everybody could feel the game just slipping away, everybody but Gaines Adams I guess. He led our defense to force two straight three and outs on FSU in the 4th quarter when the Noles had the ball at midfield with all the momentum. But the second punt gave us the ball at the 15 yard line with 2:22 left to play and you could see the twinkle in Rob Spence's eye I'm sure. 1st and 10 saw James Davis rush for 2 yards. 2nd and 8 saw James Davis again, this time for 14 yards. Then Proctor found Aaron Kelly for a 18 yard pass out to the 49 yard line. That's when Rob Spence made me fall in love with him all over again.


He called in a no huddle, quick snap that caught FSU just standing around and allowed James Davis to take it 47 yards down to the 4 yard line. And if you're thinking we had this same scenario last week with a chance to win but choked, you're right, but apparently Spence learned his lesson. Three hand offs to James Davis later, a PAT that was thankfully good, and your Clemson Tigers had the lead with :08 showing on the clock. It was amazing.



After the game I just sat and stared at the screen much like last week, jaw open and in unbelief. Only this week, I couldn't believe how we had WON.

Spoon in spoon, stirring my coffee

From hand to hand/Wrists to the elbow/Red blood sand/Could dad be god/Crosses cross/Hung out like a wet rag/Forgive you why/You hung me out to dry

Maybe Im a little crazy/But laughing out loud/Makes it all pass by/Maybe we're all a little crazy/But laughing out loud/Makes the pain subside

Spoon in spoon/Stirring my coffee/I think of this/And turn to go away/But as I walk/The voices behind me say/Sinners sin/Come now and play
-David J. Matthews with Alanis Morisette

I felt like being a little dramatic today. Yesterday I spent the afternoon with our "member care" people. They're a staff couple in the country to help people like myself through hard times. They're there to talk to you when your down and lonely, or to pray with you when something terrible or traumatic happens. Generally, they're just trying to keep people from going crazy. Luckily, I don't have any major issues in my life right now that needed to be discussed, so it was a rather enjoyable afternoon. I hope they felt the same way, because we spent an awful lot of time together for them to be bored. But, since nothing came up, I almost feel let down, like I should've had something wrong with me to talk about. I mean, that's what these people are paid to do, talk to people about their problems. The only ones I could think of dealt with showering regularly and what kind of meat I bought the other day (it's good, but I have no idea what it is). Oh well, give me a few more weeks, I'm sure some screw will come loose.

Today was a very average day. What I mean by an "average day" is that I spent almost 8 hours trying to learn another language from a guy who barely speaks mine. Today was mostly just reviewing stuff I had already "learned" but hadn't quite yet mastered. We got in a huge argument over the correct way to conjugate the future tense of verbs, an argument I actually was right about. Granted, I still know next to nothing, but it felt good to actually know what I was talking about once. My language study also includes reading through chapter after chapter of the New Testament in Turkish. If you thought Romans 9 and 10 were hard to understand in English, try it in Turkish!!! But it is very helpful and I appreciate his willingness to come by and stay with me during the day.

I also got an invitation to my first party. Sounds like I'll have to show them how an American parties! "We're coming to your town, we'll help you party down, we're an American band!" -GFR

A Week of Anniversaries

Two big ones were this week already. The first, and biggest, was 9-11. It really doesn't seem all that long ago that I was waking up in Calhoun Courts, N3G, turning on my computer and seeing Spautz' away message that said "They're attacking us," and included a link to cnn.com. I had no idea what it was about, but when I tried to click the link, the CNN website wouldn't load. I went into the living room and turned on the TV in time to watch the second plane hit the Towers. It was, and still is, unreal. So many thoughts went rusing through my head that day. Would it be the beginning of the next World War? Could this be the beginning of Armaggeadon? Would there be a draft? It sounds almost silly now, but at the time, nobody knew what was happening. All we knew was that there had been planes flown into the World Trade Center towers, and the Pentagon. The WTC was the most deadly and most devastating. But for me, knowing that someone had sent a plane into the Pentagon, the center of American intelligence and military, was the most shocking. If that could be done, what else could happen, and when? It was a scary day. I remember walking around in a daze, everyone did, surrounded by people and yet somehow still alone. Everyone was numb, but not because they had no feeling, but because of too many feelings. It was the feeling you get when you've been punched really hard in the face. You know it hurts, and will hurt for a while, but at the time, you feel nothing. That was five years ago.

The second anniversary this week was my One Month in the Country-versary. One month ago today I stepped off the plane into the next chapter of my life. It carries it's own set of emotions. On the one hand, it's sad to leave so many friends and family for such a long time. I think back, a year ago yesterday I was at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, listening to an amazing Dave Matthews Band concert, with two of my best friends, and a new, but good friend outside of Denver, CO. The next day I was wading through a stream shocking fish for the Div. of Wildlife before seeing another amazing show at Red Rocks. Now look at me, just a year removed from that day, but literally half a word away from that place and those people. So much happens so quickly in my life. This time here will be the most time I've spent in one place continuously since I left for college. I know that I have changed as a person more than my circumstances have changed. Two years ago I was immature and unsure in my faith. I had just started to find answers to some very important, but amazingly basic questions about my God. Now, though still learning, I have quite a bit of understanding, and I am trying to impart that to people here. And that's the flip side to the sadness of leaving one place, the excitement of going to another. In one month I have made some very good friends here. I've met dear brothers in Christ who have encouraged me in my faith and amazed me with theirs. What they lack in knowledge, they more than make up for in their devotion. To follow a God that is totally despised by their country, to be exiled by their families, to have little hope of having a family of their own, to suffer in trying to find work, to just claim Christ in land where it could possibly cost you your life to do so, that more than compensates for any lack they have in knowledge. This is what excites me, to be here, among these people, working hand in hand to get the message to their countrymen who have yet to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. It has only been one month today, and I can't wait to look back two years from now and praise God for what he has done in my life while I was here, because at the pace things are going, there will be plenty to thank Him for.

How did that just happen?

This post is pure emotion with no thought involved. If you don't care about Clemson, there's no real reason to read it, unless you just enjoy watching me suffer.

How did we just lose that game? We held them to a stinking field goal in the first overtime! We have a first and goal at the 2! All we needed was a handoff to James Davis and we win!!! Instead, we go backwards and kick a field goal. Then our boys come right back and do it right, getting it down to the 1 after having a 2nd and 26. But this time, instead of trying to be cute, we just hand it off to James Davis and score the TD. Then Jad Dean comes on to tack on the extra point and has it BLOCKED!?!?! You've got to be kidding me. Everybody on the field knows the game is on the line guys, be a man and just hit somebody on the line. There's no reason for any of those defensive linemen to be standing up straight! Knock em on their rears!!! And hey Jad, you're on the 3 yard line, just kick it high! It should never be low enough for somebody to get their hands on anyway! Give me a break guys. These are the types of ball games that good teams are supposed to win, not let slip away at the end. We were 7-4 last year, but we were much better than that. 4 losses by a combined 16 points. Did we not learn anything? Spence, did you not see James Davis rush for almost a hundred yards on these guys in regulation!? Just give him the ball!!!! I love you Rob, I really do, but come on man, those were three of the goofiest play calls I have ever seen, well, at least since last years BC game where you were ripped for your play calling too. Get it together guys. We can still win at Tallahassee next week. This game was ours and we just gave it away. Don't let what could be a great season turn into last year.

And for the love of everything holy, somebody punch Ron Cherry for me. Hamlin's INT keeps us from even going to OT.

This is the maddest and most disappointed I have been since the GT game from 2001. You owe me one Tigers.

Holla at ya boy!

I thought I'd let y'all in on a couple things that have happened recently that have reminded me that from time to time, I am cool. Granted, it's not often, consistent, or really of note when it does happen, but it does happen. The first instance was last night, listening to my iTunes on random. A song came on that I really like and I just looked up and saw what the next few songs were as listed in alphabetical order and was surprised. If all you saw was that portion of my playlist, you might actually think I'm cool. Here it is: "Thank You (Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" by Sly and the Family Stone; "All Star" by Smashmouth; "1979" by Smashing Pumpkins; "Drop It Like It's Hot" by Snoop Dogg; "I am a Man of Constant Sorrows" by the Soggy Bottom Boys; "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden; "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf; and the grand finale, "Mr. Roboto" by Styx. Don't act like you're not impressed. The other thing that made me think I was cool happened today. After frying my brain with the Shark and the White Guy trying to learn this language, I was sitting on the couch staring at some pictures my room mate had up on the wall. They are all pictures out of some calendar he had. The White Guy asked me what I was thinking about and I told him that I was thinking about the pictures, and how I had been to so many of the places. He asked me which ones, so I went up and pretty much told him my life story through the pictures. One was of the low country somewhere in the South, could've been South Carolina, but definitely somewhere in the South where I grew up. The next was of the Tetons. I spent a summer in Yellowstone during college and saw Grand Teton from as close as you could get without actually climbing it, hiking a smaller (but still over 13,000 ft) mountain on the Idaho side of it. Then there were three that were generic Rocky Mountain pictures of Aspens and Spruces. It could've been anywhere in WY, MT, or CO, all of which I have spent a fair amount of time in. And the last one was of an arch in Arches National Park, which I visited during my six months in Grand Junction, CO. All totaled, of the 9 pictures on his wall, I had been to places in 6 of them. The other three? The Great Wall of China, the Sahara Desert, and what looks like Scotland or Ireland. I felt pretty cool.

And really, this is a pretty selfish post I know. But I thank God that He has allowed me to experience such a wide variety of things in my life and met such a wide variety of people from such a wide variety of backgrounds in such a wide variety of places. Obviously, this blessing is still being given, and I hope it continues to be poured out on me. I've had a very exciting life so far, and that's the only way I would have it. Maybe I will write it down in a book someday for people to read about, or maybe I'll pass it along to my kids at bed time (assuming a wife and kids is part of this blessing), or maybe I'll just keep it to myself as a reminder to be thankful for what God has given me, even if it is all taken from me tomorrow. For it is written, "Naked came I from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Job 1:21
PEACE!

Are Evangelicals and Catholics Together?

Who the heck knows? If one of you reading this does, please let me in on it. I've had this discussion twice today and still don't know if I am correct. For what it's worth, here's what I know and think.

The Catholic Church does not preach the true Gospel. I've heard this explained many different ways. I think R.C. Sproul said in one of his books that it was a faith+works salvation. That faith in Jesus was just the first step in a process of salvation or something to that extent. The historic, reformed view of salvation has been "by grace ALONE, through faith ALONE, in Jesus ALONE," and that Catholics take out the "alones." My boss here says it's a matter of authority. That the Catholic Church believes in the Bible, but also in itself, meaning that the ultimate authority is divided between Scirpture and Church tradition. Also, I know there was an attempt a few years ago at finding common ground (called Evangelicals and Catholics Together). Some prominent people signed onto it from the Evangelical side (J.I. Packer being the one that comes to mind), and some prominent people blasted them for it (the book by Sproul I read was that blasting). So who's right? Is there common ground or do we have to compromise the Gospel to get there? The only two people I know that grew up in the Catholic Church are both now Christians, and neither one attends a Catholic Church. So what the heck. I don't know. Any help on this issue would be greatly appreciated.

And on a brighter note, Clemson destroyed FAU last night as planned, 54-6 (I had predicted 45-10, with a kick return for a TD I might add). It wasn't a very pretty win, we did make a lot of mistakes, but it was a solid win none-the-less. We'll really see what we're made of next weekend in Boston. I'll pray about it (aka wait and see how bad Anthony Waters hurt his knee) for a few days before I come out with my prediction.

One last thing. I have to say that today was the second time in three weeks that I have gone straight from church to the pool hall. It seems odd to be the last to leave church, sitting around having chai and talking, then taking a short walk, going down a flight of stairs, and being in a smoky pool room with Shakira blaring on the sound system. I love it. Especially when my team wins, which we did today.