First im sorry i havent updated this in a while the internet at school is really weird right now because one its Turkey and two the new guys dorm doesnt have internet and because of that internet all of campus is out of whack. i dunno? ok so there is a lot to go over i hope i can remember it all and have it make sense. so here it goes, classes were postponed for a week because the guys dorm was not finished so men could move on campus so classes couldnt start, so we had a week off. the dorms still are done really, our bathroom floods and there is construction dirt and dust all over the room. so the international office planned a trip for us all to go on during that week. We first went to Cappadocia, this place is ammazing! There are pictures on facebook, the ones of the caves and carvings and all the white rock! Early Christians lived here to escape persecution, it is soo cool! You can see beds they carved out of rock, shelves, windows, its really really cool. We also went to a valley near by that is the same rock and cave dwelling but this place literally is an oasis in the middel of the desert. it is beautiful, i dont have pics of it because my camera ran out of batteries, sorry guys but take my word for it. There is a river running through the valley that feeds apple trees and grape vines and so many trees and grass it is beautiful. we all picked our own grapes and had a feast. So while i was hear i couldnt help but have a somewhat spiritual experience. I mean in the face of certain death God provided these people with an oasis in the desert which provided every need even protection. i mean that is awesome! so it was so cool to see how God has provided for these people and this idea came up again later this week, ill cover that in a bit. While in Cappadocia I had a great convo with my new found friends from Holland, South Africa and such and we talked about religion and more importantly spirituality. It was great! it is amazing to hear what other people think about God and Christianity, they spoke of how the church has been percieved and how they percieve Christians and such and it was great to hear and then respond to because so many people have been hurt by so called religion. oh i almost forgot, we went on a hike on these hills just a few of us and we explored some caves and dwellings and when we were walking back to town we were further away than we though, so we started walking up this long long road to town and the tractor driver drove by and just stared at us. we were a little confused but we waved and he stopped. we ran up to him and he gave us a ride to town on his tractor hauling sand, it was so cool, and he didnt ask for a sigle lira, how mnice of him haha. (the currency is lira here) anyways, on to Konya, this was a short stop. Konya is where the Islamic sect called Sufi or Suffy or Suffi-ism was created. (not sure how to spell it) but we saw this tomb of this guy Roomey, this guy who stressed spirituality and mysticism in faith and so created a new sect of Islam. It was kinda cool, form this the whirling dervishes were founded, they are the guys who spin for a long time and it is merely a form of worship really. its interesting. the hotel we stayed in was a freaky nightmare of a place, everything was pink and they had mothballs everywhere. the lights were white crystal and the carpet was pink too it was so weird i felt like i was living in bubble gum or some old cat ladies house. ok from there we went to Side, you will see pictures of Roman ruins i took there. This place was beautiful, touristy too though. The Mediterannean is soo warm! The ruins were great too, in Turkey they dont really block you off from any history with gaurd rails of nets, so i could touch and climb on these ruins and it was so cool. We went out on the town that night and while we were eating dinner this shop owner guy came up to us and asked if we wanted to share is water pipe (hookah) we were like... ok. so we went into his shot of plates and glasses and weird airbrush paitings and we drank tea and smoked peach hookah and watched the Turkay football team play on tv. it was great! so that all ended we went to bed. the next day we drove up the coast to Fetiye, a beatiful little beach town, there we stayed in bungalows well they were more like tuff sheds with beds in them but bungalow sound better. here we just kinda relaxed, a lot! a day and a half of just beach lounging, it was great! We then drove back in the night and made it back to Istanbul at 11am, i then stood in line for 4 hours to move into the new guys dorm. it was not amusing, if there is one thing to know about turkey it is that it is unorganized and inefficient. so two things. but we got a new room and its half way finished like i said before. ok back to what i was saying about God providing, i have been worried and praying about just being a follower of Christ while here in a place that is 99% Muslim, i was just worried about not have a faith community or fellowship whatever you wanna call it. but this is not to say that much cannot be learned while you are on your own, God has worked in great ways in me all while I had no other believer to talk to. but after many prayers i meet a guy in the international office here and he is a MBA student from america who is a Christian, so out of no where i have a brother in Christ, and he invited me to church this weekend. also just today i met a new girl from Germany and we got to talking and she is also studying religious studies and she is a believer. its just so cool! where there is seemingly no probability of meeting a follower of Christ, God has put two right in front of me. I guess when i talk about it now its not THAT cool but i am just so happy that i dont want to write it off to coinincedence. i read through 1 John just the other day and right at the end he says, ch.4 "14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." wow! i read that the nigth before i met the guy in the international office and before i met the girl. so cool. remember to pray always, it is so freeing in a way, just how because of Christ we can call God father and speak to him like a father, like a best friend and he hears it all and responds. so thats my experience till now, i write again about classes and how Turkey again has no real rules, expectations, procedures, its just kinda do whatever and if it works out great. they have a saying here,"inshallah" it means if God wills it. so they say this with regards to everything. if you plan to meet for lunch with someone they say inshallah, so if they dont show up they are off the hook, it was Gods will that they did not show up. just another way people have used the name of God to excuse actions. great.
5 comments:
"insallah" is much more than an excuse to get out of not turning up places... if you think about it, it is actually pretty cool.
Like you said, they use it for everything, which kind of shows that they are letting Allah control all aspects of their lives. I could try really hard to meet you for lunch, but if it isn't in God's plan, it's not gonna happen. I wish my mindset was more like this... Thinking and asking of God for everything.
Anyway, I know you are having fun, Insallah.
Paragraphs, Brit. Paragraphs.
Paragraphs indeed ;-) Much easier to read that way.
Anyway, like Glen said, "inshallah" is much more and I'm surprised that so many people interpret it negatively. Especially you, a man of faith. I see it the same way as Glen, although, like in many places, a lot of people here are religious without spirituality, which is bad and religion is used (or abused) for the will of the ego.
Anyway, a few comments :-)
Nice post! Interesting to read about other experiences from international students.
I had one question... About the part from John ch. 4 that you quoted... I want to put it on my website but if I take the text would it be like:
"(quote)" - 1 John 4 14-15?
How do you write it? I have no clue about quoting the Bible.
Another thing about Konya. The branch of Islam created there is called Sufism and was created by a poet, lyricist and mysticist called Rumi. So if you're interested in looking up more about their beliefs, having the right names should help you on your way ;-)
Nice read. Come check out the blog I'm keeping over at basbasbas.com. :-)
Comments very welcome ;-)
Ok guys maybe it is more than just a saying to get off the hook. I know and agree that being so open to Gods will that you even put your lunch plans up to Him would be great. But when do you know if the person is using it for the actual purpose of being open to God's will or just giving yourself the option of not following through but not being accountable because you have written your fault off on God's will. i am no theologian but im sure it would be considered a righteous act to stand by your word even if it is just for lunch plans. so dont get me wrong i am open to these people actually living completely according to God's will but i am not about to degrade the importance of sticking to your word. also i dont think it would ever be God's will to stand up your friend at lunch. just because these are social norms does not mean they are unrighteous.
ok bas you would quote it like this:
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." -1 John 4: 14-15.
I will try and do paragraphs next time! haha i was in a writers fury when i wrote this last one.
yeah i was and am interested in the Sufism. i talked with Terry about it for a while and got an idea of what it is about. Thanks for the comments guys!
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