Easter Fun

I'd like to start by saying that I had a BLAST on Easter Sunday. It was a long, full day that literally lasted from sunrise to sunset (and after). It was jammed pack with worship, prayer, and lots of laughs. We started with a city-wide sunrise service out by the lake. It was very peaceful and quiet at that time of morning and the sun rising over the lake cast the perfect glow on the scene. There are very few things that I will wake up that early for, and this was certainly worth the effort. From there we headed to the international church for a little breakfast and fellowship time. I don't get over to the international church much and have to say that I really enjoyed the chance to spend time with the people who are there. Of course, that could just be the breakfast talking.

But don't think I'm thinking of switching churches. I love the 2 PM start time too much! I got to go home after breakfast and sleep for another hour or two before getting up and getting dressed for our service. We had a full program for our Easter guests and a full sanctuary for our Easter program. There were so many people that about 10 of us had to stand in the back. They all seemed to enjoy the worship to start things. Cobbler John gave us a good explanation of how the death and resurrection of Jesus was foretold in the Old Testament. We had a dramatic poem reading, an interactive reading from the New Testament, a choir that couldn't quite get on the same note, a theatre production that had everyone laughing (though it wasn't meant to be funny), and a great message delivered by our faithful leader. We enjoyed lots of cake and conversation afterwards before the party moved elsewhere.

After church it was back to the international church for a "youth group" party. It's really funny to me that "youth" is the word they use for practically anyone in the church that is still single, with no regard for age. There was a lot of food, good conversation, and a small worship service. One of the Turkish believers gave his testimony and explained why Easter was important to us. Later one of the guys who came pulled this believer off to the side and supposedly gave his life to Christ. I'm skeptical by nature and being here has only made it worse, but it was still an exciting time and I think we should all pray that this was a genuine decision made with the head and heart. We all had a blast as well, sharing a special day with all our special friends.

So, that's the serious side of Easter in Turkey. Here are some light hearted happenings from the day...

At the sunrise service I was talking with a young Turkish believer from the international church. We had met a few times before and we were just catching up on what's been going on in life. In a lull in the conversation he shows me his pants. They have a big brown mark that surrounds a hole in the leg. He says that he was ironing them, but the iron wasn't hot enough. So he left it on the board and went to look up something on the internet while it heated up. He must've waited a little too long because he smelled something burning. He ran back in to see the iron laying down and burning through his pants. Funny enough in it's own right. It was even funnier that night at the "youth group" party when he had changed into some "nicer" pants. The "nice" ones he put on had intentionally had holes cut in them to look "fashionable." You can't make this stuff up.

I humbly admit that the best parts of our Easter program did not involve me. But as you can see here, some of the funnier parts did.

You should've heard us when we first started practicing.


Yes, I said the right words. Apparently, though, I didn't say them the right way.


And lastly, at the international church that night, I was a minor celebrity. I had worn my suit to church because we always try to look nice on the major holidays. When I showed up at the international youth group party, however, I was way over dressed. But it was a big hit with the ladies. I kid you not, I probably had close to 10 or 12 requests for a photo that night. I was slightly embarrassed by the attention. It's a good thing I'm so humble about my stunning good looks.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter as well and yes, I know, I'm about two weeks late, but I promise I'll catch up in the next few days. Hopefully I'll have some pictures from the Tarsus Half Marathon to post tomorrow and some stories from a crappy week.