Our team just got back from a long weekend in villages surrounding Antalya. It's widely agreed that the last four days have been the highlight of our time here in Turkey.

We packed into our vehicles, headed into the countryside and prayed that God would guide our steps. We were all excited to pray for places where the good news of Jesus has never been heard. What a cool thing, right? We were going to get the opportunity to bring brand new names before Jesus and ask him to reveal himself.

The reality of the weekend surpassed all of our hopes. The Turkish families welcomed us with incredible warmth and hospitality. We were continually invited into homes for tea. One family spent four hours with us and cooked an entire lunch for all 13 of us from scratch! We prayed simple prayers, showed love and trusted in Jesus to touch their hearts. I appreciated that these people were touched and it had nothing to do with my ability to deliver a good defense of Jesus. When I am weak, God is strong.

The last day we visited an Islamic holy site, a burial ground for a sultan that has now become a place of worship. I literally felt like I was staring at the idol worship of the Old Testament. But we were invited into their worship sanctuary and got to worship Jesus for an hour. We sang our hearts out and focused on the beauty and Lordship of Jesus. It was awesome!

We're having a blast here, praying for the sick, sharing the good news we have, interceding for breakthrough and living in harmony with one another. Sound like the bible, right? Really cool. Thanks again for partnering with me, praying for me and sending me encouraging emails!
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Perspektive 04/24/2012
 
Being from Chicago, I know a thing or two about pizza. And the pizza here in Turkey, well it's just not cutting it. But then I had a weird thought. All these kids grow up thinking this is great pizza and if they ever did try Chicago pizza, they'd probably hate it.

It's like Chinese food. I love the American style Chinese food I get from Wing Wah's on Arlington Heights and Rand. But if a Chinese person came and ate it, he'd probably think it was gross.

So I look at Turkish pizza and think it's gross and say, "They don't know what they're missing." And Turkish people look at my pizza and think it's gross and say, "They don't know what they're missing." And that's perspective.
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Here's a few pictures from Turkey!
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Sex Slaves 04/06/2012
 
Frontline (PBS) follows a man to Antalya--the city I'm in now, I've been to the McDonald's you see--to buy back his wife who was sold as a sex slave.
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Out & About 04/01/2012
 
Yesterday our mission was to go out in teams, learn something new about Turkish culture and find lunch for 5 lira ($2.50).

Sarah and Liz and I ventured into Old Town. Imagine winding streets, Turkish rugs, and buidings that look thousands of years old. We ran into a lot of people that spoke english and I was so suprised how easy it was to share Jesus with them.

You can pray for Antonio. I talked with him for quite a while as the girls shopped. (Good team work right?) He made tea for us and I got to learn about his beliefs and pray for his buisness. The western part of Turkey is very secular so even according to the Koran he knew he wasnt living up to its moral standard. It seems like an easy way to explain why I trust in Jesus. Id like to go back and visit him. He was really easy to talk to and we started a pretty good friendship.

Today we visited a church. An Iranian pastor shared what was happening in his country. Did you know there are at least a million believers in underground churches in Iran? How crazy is that! Everyone was pumped to hear it.

Then we went out and hung out in a park. We played music, danced with some Turks, played hacky-sack and talked with people who were hanging around. We are having a really good time and finding it so easy to share our light with the people here.
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King of the Hill 03/19/2012
 
Liz came across this as she was researching for our trip to Turkey. It helped us get our minds around a bit of the history.
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Here's some really cool images from Spirit and Opportunity, the Mars rovers that have been roaming Mars since 2004. (Images from the JPL and Wikipedia) Sometimes I get nervous when I think about a big trip coming up. I imagine what it'll be like and how it'll feel to be in a strange new place. But it always feels very normal. I have the same emotions, same thoughts. I'm only created to experience the moment.

So it seems to safe to reason, if I were standing on Mars, it would feel very normal. I would get tired walking up a hill just like here on earth. I'd look around at the landscape and sit in the dirt just like home. Travel seems like a large adventure in my head but I really only experience it one very normal moment to the next.
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Monday afternoon,  as the Hawaiian sun seeped through palm tree leaves and ocean breeze caressed our faces Tom Cole, the senior leader of my DTS, wrote ten countries on the white board, "Okay guys, you've got 10 minutes. Ask God where He wants you to go, write down your top two choices and hand them in." Emotions I hadn't felt since the ACT stirred in my belly. I looked the list up and down and saw a lot of exciting choices--China and North Korea, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, South Africa, Turkey and Iraq, Washington DC--how would I choose!

"God, what you think?" I said as I closed my eyes. In full disclosure, the week before arriving in Kona it had accidentally come out that Katie, my sister, was leading the trip to China and North Korea. I decided to keep an open mind but honestly, China sounded pretty cool. It was on the fore front on my mind. So to my surprise, when I closed my eyes it was something new that bombarded my mind.

"Turkey, turkey, turkey, turkey, turkey, turkey." My mind was stuck on a wicked repeat. "Okay, settle down John." I thought, "Just clear your head and listen for God." I closed my eyes, "Turkey, turkey, turkey, turkey, turkey. Really!? Is that you God?"

I allowed myself another minute but decided to put confidence in what I heard. I pulled out my pen and wrote in all caps, "TURKEY." Lest any of you think I'm some solid pillar of faith, I most certainly questioned myself, but felt despair and panic not more than once or twice. It was, after all, an awfully big decision.

However, all fears were laid to rest this afternoon as we gathered together as an outreach team for the first time. The team is being lead by two great people, Nathan ________ (I'm sure I'll learn his last name soon) and Laura Long, one of my sister's best friends. I will be in great hands.

Our mission, now that we've chosen to accept it (too corny?) will be to join the local houses of prayer and intercede for the nation. We believe prayer and worship are the foundation and seeds to revival for Turkey. God doesn't call a parliamentary house to order, he rules and governs through the praying church. And I, along with my nine teammates, will be spending three months releasing God's power and love to the people of Turkey.

I think this trip is going to be a great fit for me. I've been learning a lot about God's plans for the prayer movement and I'm excited to be a part of it. I'll need $6,000 to cover all of my expenses. If you'd like to give a gift please find out how by visiting my Support Page. You guys are awesome, I really appreciate your eagerness to fund the missions God is calling me to. God bless you for your generosity!
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There's an idea at Bright Hope being tossed around that has me intrigued. It's the answer to the question, "How do we make the extreme poor come alive?" We need to make their struggle real and show how Americans can make a difference.

What we've come up with: Field Media Teams. Small groups of talented artists that join our partners and make these communities their home for months at a time. On the lookout for stories of life change and struggle, they integrate themselves with the community, building trust and friendship.

Equipped with video cameras, jibs, dollies, lighting, sound and editing equipment, their solitary goal will be to bring these people living in extreme poverty to life.

They will inspire compassion and showcase the life changing partnerships between indigenous churches and Bright Hope.

Next step: How do we find the right people? Any ideas? Let me know.

Nuru International is out ahead of us and providing some inspiration. This video shows how their team is moving into the community. Take a look:

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