Bayramınız Kutlu Olsun / Happy Holidays

The first and nearly only sign of the
upcoming holiday.

Well it is another cool fall day here in the great country of Turkey.  The weather is definitely changing, but for the most part it is comfortable and pleasant.  I am trying to increase my exercise now that my foot is feeling better and I am limping less and I have a lot less pain.  I am quite proud of my scars and need to find some see through shoes and socks so that I have more opportunity to show off my beautiful feet.  There is no doubt that my feet are my best feature and should be shown off at every occasion.  Perhaps I will pursue my dream of becoming a beach bum and spend the rest of my life without shoes.

We are anticipating the upcoming Holidays with more trepidation than last year.  Last year to some extent it was a sacrificial gesture to step away from the noise and clamor of the thanksgiving and Christmas season and experience the uniqueness of simply being with others who had given up the holidays to serve.  This year it almost seems to be too much to give up and we are missing our family and friends.  A traditional thanksgiving meal surrounded by loved ones would be much appreciated.  It would be amazing to eat one of Nori’s pies.  Unfortunately making pies here seems to be nearly impossible and our oven would never hold a turkey.  Oh well, we will survive and live to eat another day.

 

Depiction of life in a Turkish prison.
Nothing to do but bang your head.
Wait a minute I think that is me.  Special
underware and in Turkey;-(

None of the 6 elders had received an invitation to share the holidays and we also are on our own, so we will share the holidays with the young elders.  They are allowed two whole hours to eat and relax.  They are such amazingly obedient young men.  We are always amazed at their commitment to their calling.  I cannot even imagine the difficulty of their assignment.  Each day they go out and walk the streets, visit public parks and ride public transportation.  They cannot show any visible sign of being missionaries and can only say they are volunteers for their Church when they can initiate some conversation.  They roam the City until 9 PM every day.

For your information we have moved, again!  This is the 4^th move in 13 months not counting our first 3 weeks in a hotel.  We debated and talked and debated again.  Nori gave me the final decision and I decided there was no need to move for the remaining 5 months so when I declared my decision, she simply took away my right to choose and we moved.

This time the move is just up a 35-step marble spiral stairwell and into the apartment vacated by our good friends, the Edwards, just a week ago.  Off course not a thing in the apartment was up to the same standard that we had in our apartment so we had to move out all the things and I mean all the things the Edwards lived with for their year and a half and we moved in our stuff that has accumulated from Istanbul, Izmir and who knows how many senior missionaries.  Not even their pots and pans were good enough so it was a total move.

The dreaded marble steps from our third floor land down to the old apartment on the main floor.

Then we had to help move the Elders into our apartment.  In reality our apartment was smaller and it was crowded when we held family home evening, so maybe it is a better thing, but I still would have chosen to leave well enough alone.

It is amazing how much stuff collects on a mission.  I realize there have been senior missionaries in Turkey since 1996 and that would mean about 14 couples collecting stuff.  Of course us guys just love adding new baskets, dollies, dishes and a plethora of knick knacks to our home life and how could you serve a mission if you did not have matching rugs and nice curtains.

 

The 5 young Women and Nori's counselor Annette along
with the stocking hats on display.

Nori as usual has been doing wonders with the Young Women.  She is so amazing when it comes to setting up a program and initiating the youth program for the Young Women.  If absolutely nothing else happened on our mission, the Young Women in Istanbul and Ankara at least had a few months of having the program ran as perfectly as it can be run.  We both really like the new youth program and all the features to teach and encourage the youth.  She has set up a plan to make hats for the poor and to have both the young Elders and a local Charity; the Jesuit Relief Services have stocking hats to give to individuals.  The girls love her.

Well we wish all our family and friends (if we have any left) a wonderful Thanksgiving and the best of the Holiday Season from Ankara Turkey.