Can Ignorance and Hate Prevail

During my Turkish lesson today, we talked about the missionaries in Turkey.  As you may recall, the 4 Elders that were sent from Bulgaria to Istanbul left the country of Turkey in July.  Is seems that they were denied visas because someone complained about their activity.
The first set of Elders 4 in number that were specifically called to serve in Turkey finish their training this weekend.  These Elders have been in the MTC for sometime learning Turkish and Preparing to be the first to serve their whole mission in Turkey.  From what I heard from one of their language trainers, Cemal (pronounced Jemal) they are amazing young men.  He told me that one young man came up with the phrase "Bu konu ile ilgili bir ayetim var" which translates to "I have a verse about this subject".  This approach is quite a unique way to make every conversation open to a religious discussion.  Even though the Elders cannot knock doors or actively pursue teaching opportunities, they can have conversations.  Cemal was very impressed with this idea and told me it was a very unique way to share the gospel without really initiating the discussion.  I suppose that would mean one would have to really understand the scriptures to be able to use a scripture for every discussion.
It is amazing how there are more opportunities available if we only look for them.
Unfortunately, it appears that the person who complained to the government about the missionaries is a former Branch President that apparently used the Church to profit personally with charitable funds for wheelchairs.  He is no longer a member and is acting to disrupt the work.  It is a shame when personal gain becomes the focus and simple love is not enough.  Only the good suffer.
The new Elders will be sent to New York and attempt to locate Turkish people in the big apple until the visa issue is resolved.  Who knows when the Elders will return to Turkey.