Kapadokya, Turkey! Known as the land of beautiful horses (although I have only seen 2 so far)! What a gift!

Since November my team had spent the majority of our time in big cities. Big cities are great, and I love the dynamic nature of the people and experiences that city life has to offer.  However, when we got our host placement in Turkey, we were thrilled to find out it was in such a naturally beautiful location, away from the hustle and bustle of city life for a bit.

In our time here we have built sweet friendships with the warm and welcoming locals of Avanos! This town (and Turks in general) are marked by extreme hospitality! Its been really special to experience and learn from them in this regard. The people here aren’t just agents of hospitality but live lives of hospitality.

Kapadokya (or Cappadocia) a historical location in the Bible as well. Mentioned in Acts 2 and 1 Peter 1, Kapadokya was a place of refuge for early Christians seeking respite from the persecution of the Romans. This region is full of caves and early church buildings tucked in the sides of mountains. Many of these caves are well preserved, with original paintings on the ceilings still in tact.

Our host shared that some of the caves would have a monk or dedicated church member standing at the entrance during meetings. They would stand guard and drop a ladder down to those who wanted to attend the meeting, but also stand watch for any potential threat of Roman soldiers.

It’s been really meaningful to live, serve, and have our feet in towns/villages/caves/places where the early church was being built. The ground has been prepared for hundreds of years for the work that is still being done today. The church may be small, but by no means is it dead. God is still moving in big and small ways in the hearts of people each day and it’s beautiful to see.

Here in Kapadokya we are partnering with a local church, that is the only church in this area! Our primary objective during our time here is to work with individuals displaced by the recent earthquakes, as well as work and support the church/ church body in whatever way needed.

Our day to day varies but generally involves: home visits to the current residence of displaced earthquake victims, conversations with them over Turkish tea, time spent hearing their stories, and provision of whatever tangible or financial help is needed.

We have also been spending time with members of the church. Helping the kids with english lessons, opening the Bible/talking about scripture, sharing meals together, and adventuring together.

In addition to this, we have been serving at church. Each week we learn worship songs in Turkish to sing the following Sunday. We prepare and teach kids lessons for Sunday school. We clean the church weekly, because when your church is built into the side of a cave the dust accumulates faster than you can sweep it up! And each Sunday one of us shares our testimony before our host preaches.

Our hosts have been wonderful and they love adventure almost as much as they love the word of God (which is a lot).  Frequently after house visits, or whatever work we have for the day, they’ll take us on a spontaneous adventure.

Something we’ve learned here is that a lot of life is lived over meals here. By that I mean food and meals are a vehicle for community. So much of our ministry has been spent talking with people and encouraging one another and learning from one another over food. We quickly learned that if someone invites you for dinner, it doesn’t just mean a two hour dinner. It means multiple courses, round after round of Turkish tea (and maybe, if you’re lucky, some dancing)! If a meal is any less than 3.5/4 hours its an anomaly.

We have really loved our time here and we still have a few weeks left in Avanos/Kapadokya. We can’t wait to see what God has in store in the time we have left!

Also I want to say thank you to all of you who take the time to read these blogs. Being on the other side of the ocean means it can be challenging to keep up with all of you, but I pray that these blogs can serve as an insight into the work we are doing and a source of encouragement for each one of you!

Love,

Mikahla