A word from Nori

Hi everyone!

I think I have finally figured out how to post on here!  Yay for me!

Istanbul is certainly an interesting place.  The people are very nice and very helpful.  If you're standing around looking confused (a frequent state for me lately) they offer to help in any way they can.  Often they don't even speak English, but they will find someone who can if they need to.  Often body language and gestures is all it takes to make your point, but English is always appreciated.

I think my Turkish is only getting worse instead of better.  There is an American professor in our Branch that has lived in Istanbul since 1978.  He teaches the Elders once a week and he invited us to come too.  Today was our first day.  We are waaaaay behind the Elders and did not understand much but after class he explained to us that often we Americans learn to speak, read and write a little Turkish, but our ears are not trained to hear it.  That is definetly what is happening to me.  If I say one word of Turkish then they think I speak it and they take off like crazy and I don't understand a single word.

We are getting used to the culture shock but enjoying ourselves.  I am way out of my comfort zone, but the Lord is helping me to feel comfortable.  I even went grocery shopping last Saturday by my self!  What you do is you take a little shopping cart (like the one Dorothy uses for her oxygen tank) and you walk @ 3/4 mile to the first store.  First you go to the fish market, then the market with the best produce and finally to the "big" grocery store (about the size of my house).  That is where you try to decipher what things are from Turkish labels, you buy what will fit in the little cart and you walk home the 3/4 mile only to find out you have no where near enough ingredients to make a meal.  The whole process takes about 2 hours.  I bought another cart yesterday and from now on Fred will go with me so we can get twice as much. :-)

This week they have told us to just get settled and get the lay of the land, but we do have a project.  There has been help given in the past to the school for Refugee Iraqi Children that Fred referred to above.  These children are all Christians.  Most of them are orphans and many of them have seen their parents killed.  Iraq will not take care of them at all because they are Christian.  It looks like there is sort of a commitment to them to help them with something for Christmas but the Priest that the other missionary couple worked with has gone back to Nigeria because of Visa problems and can't come back for 90 days.  Time is very short and we are left not knowing what we should do.  I'm sure the spirit will guide us and it will work out.

I really miss everyone and hope that you will either post on here or email so I can stay in touch.  I can see where this could get very lonely.
Nori