GREETINGS FROM TURKEY...DAY 4

Jumping right back into the agenda, we won't waste anymore time talking about the Twilight Zone hotel...more olives, more strange vibes...moving on. We set out bright and early again for a full day of exploring/traveling. We began our day at Hierapolis, a cultural heritage city. It. Was. Massive. We started on one end, walking through the cemetery's many, many tombs and ended several HOURS later at the hot mineral springs. It was raining non-stop and very chilly. Some of us (read, *ALL*) didn't really come prepared for cold weather, as the forecast said 50-60 all week. Yikers. It's been particularly difficult, in that respect, but we just keep sloshing forward. :/  Regardless, this city was impressive, even in it's archaeological state. Ruins of temples, bathhouses, theatre, water systems, and on and on. We even trekked to the tippy-top of the hills to the tomb of Phillip, the apostle. They've recently also discovered a church built surrounding the grave. It was treacherous climbing to the top, given the rain/mud/rocks, but it was definitely worth it. Like I said, we ended our time at Hierapolis at the hot springs, where Isaac, Ally, and Ty took off their shoes and socks (remember the wet and super cold weather) and waded into the water. Yea. Full send, as the kids say. 

After we thawed a bit, we headed to ancient city of Laodicea, another of the 7 churches in Revelation. This church received one of the most chilling rebukes from Jesus, that you can see below, but it was even more compelling after visiting Hierapolis, from where the hot water flowed! By the time it reached Laodicea, it was lukewarm...so the people definitely understood these words from John. It was also very obvious how wealthy the city had been so that condemnation wasn't lost on them.

Revelation 3:14-22 And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

The church was one of our favorite places on the trip so far...it was truly a site to behold! It was also cool to see the Council of Laodikeia (AD. 343-381). From there, we traveled on to the Colossae Antique City. One word...bummer. Although we discovered a cool dog and somebody "living in a camper down by Colossae," we saw no such city. They've discovered some random artifacts in the area and used historical maps and descriptions to identify it's location, but the city is still buried under a large mound of earth. SO...we didn't get to dig in (no pun intended...because we literally could have dug in and found SOMEthing!) and sink our teeth into that church history. We did read the book of Colossians, in its entirety, before arriving...we'd all encourage you to do the same! It's very manageable, with just 4 chapters, and will be a great window into this city's historical, Biblical, and spiritual significance! 

We made another long trip to our hotel for two evenings, Movenpick Hotel Izmir, next to Kumhuriyet Square. Suffice it to say, it's absolutely heavenly after our stint in the Twilight Zone! :)  Also, while the food was good at the local seafood restaurant, the best part were the peddlers continually trying to get the Americans to make a purchase. We're talking full-blown paintings, tickets, giant balloons, roses, and light-up wiggling fish, to name a few. :0 And no, there will NOT be a light-up fish in Zane's room, this time next week. Draw the line, people.

Tomorrow is another full day of traveling and visiting the churches of Revelations!

GREETINGS FROM TURKEY...DAY 3

It's much too late right now...and we leave much too early in the morning...so this will be short and sweet! As I mentioned in the last post, we had a 4 am wakeup call, for a 4:30 departure. Worst part was not the early hour. It was missing out on that incredible breakfast from the day before...I promise you, the boxed breakfast didn't even come close. Bummer. Regardless, with box in hand, we loaded up and headed to the airport again...this time with Izmir, modern-day Smyrna, as our destination. The first stop on our 7 Churches Tour, here in Turkey, was Sardis. We decided it would be good to read through the passages in Revelation for each church before our visit so I thought I'd share those with you here, so you wouldn't have to look it up yourselves. Chris was helpful in pointing out the following outline John uses for each letter to the 7 churches. 

Addresses the audience.
Recognition of Christ.
Commendation.
Condemnation.
Promise.
Challenge to Hear the words.
Hopefully, this will be helpful to you as well as you look for each thing!

Revelation 3:1-6 And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: 'The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

Like most of the cities/churches we're visiting, we're looking at archaeological digs/restorations, but it's challenging to hear the words given to the apostle John to deliver to these churches. We also visited the temple of Artemis, the goddess of wild animals and the hunt, domestic animals, and fertility. It was massive in scale, to be sure, but my favorite part may have been the small church erected in the far corner, once the pagan temple had been destroyed. 

We enjoyed a super yummy lunch at Divan Lokantasi and then moved on to our next stop, the city of Philadelphia @ St. Jean Church. The Scripture is posted below...one of only 2 churches to receive no CONDEMNATION from Christ. The city of brotherly love definitely sets a beautiful example for believers today. 

Revelation 3:7-13 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie-behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

Finally, we drove the long trip to our hotel for the evening, Colossae Thermal Spa Hotel in Pamukkale. Ummm...it's hard to put this place into words. It was like an episode of the Twilight Zone...anyone old enough to remember this show? Ah, the old people are probably all in bed by now. Well, look it up...then imagine them doing an episode in a hotel with buffets of olives and Turkish baths for entertainment. :0 Yea...that's it...that's all I'm gonna say about that...because this post would no longer be brief, and plus you can't fully appreciate the whole experience without hearing directly from Isaac, Bryce, and Ally! *Here's your official SHOUT OUT, Ally!!!!* Just ask them...please just make sure we're all there so we can enjoy it, all over again! :) And on that note,

Goodnight, world!

Greeting From Turkey...DAYS 1 & 2!

When we last saw our heroes, they were knee-deep in all things surgical. Ok, that's a lie. It was a solid neck-deep. There. I said it. Suffice it to say, the majority of the past 3 months has been spent in one recovery mode after another. But that's an update for another day...some day! :)

For now, I thought I'd resume the old travel blog so we don't have to rely on Eva's memory once we return back to the states. That's never a good plan. In case you missed it, the whole fam (minus Zane, who's living it up with all the cousins and friends, in multiple states) has ventured across the ocean once again. This time, Paul's missionary journeys are the focus, along with the 7 churches of Revelation. More on that to come. We left the evening of Dec. 26th and arrived in Istanbul just a few 10 hours later. We flew through the night and, for the most part, everyone seemed to do just fine. (If you're wondering...movies, just all the movies...that's how I deal.) The adventures began right away as we had some "issues" on our trip to the hotel. It was supposed to be an hour or so away from the airport...3+ hours later, we arrived! :/ The traffic was so incredibly horrible, the guide thought we'd make it to the hotel faster if we got out and walked/rode metro. The GPS still said we were an hour away, and we'd already been traveling well-past an hour. We decided to just go for it...2 metros, 1 bus trolley, walking the hills and roads of Istanbul...and then, when it was all said and done, our initial driver had beat us to the hotel and then drove to where we were trying to hail some cabs, a couple hours later. For real. The guide said the city of 2 million went to a city of 20 million, with no change in the infrastructure. So...there's traffic...a LOT of traffic. Regardless, although everyone was completely wiped out, it was a fun twisted adventure to start the trip. Plus, we saw the city...a LOT of the city...in a unique way for sure!

The best part about that first night was enjoying a late-night dinner with James and Sarah Kuhle at our hotel, Ciragen Palace Kempinski. The food was incredible, and we had just a wonderful time with this sweet couple! We were so out of it, we forgot to get any pictures though, so we took a picture beside a Christmas tree, much like Sarah had just posted on IG...we'll see how good Isaac's photoshopping skills really are. :) #didn'thappenifthere'snopic

In keeping with the high expectations set by dinner, the breakfast buffet did not disappoint. Really, Eva?!? Is this really worth documenting?!? Oh my, yes...100%. My only regret is my hair taking so long to dry (adaptor wouldn't run my hair dryer so I had to use the baby one in the room. Wet hair for days) that I didn't have time to get seconds...or 6ths, like the son who shall not be named. Anyhoo...it was a bummer that Renee had to sit out for the day, but she was definitely the most-rested when we got back together for dinner that night, as we were all dragging just a bit. You'll see why when you hear all we packed into that first full day!

We started off the day at St. Sophia, once the largest Christian church in the world. The mosaics on the ceilings were unbelievable to see in person! The second "room" depicted the life of Mary, taken from traditional stories that have been passed down through the years, some took quite a few liberties with the facts, but it was still a beautiful thing to see. The first "room" depicted the life of Christ and was equally stunning. My absolute favorite was the mosaic saying that Mary "Contained the Uncontainable" in giving birth to Jesus...what a solid way to describe that miraculous thing we all just celebrated!!

We were able to see the remaining Byzantine walls of Istanbul, which were still massive in some areas, the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque (*where Peyton and Ally had to don the mu-mu skirts like yours truly had to do while in Israel...paybacks), and Chora, the former Christian Monastery that the Ottomans changed to Mosque in the 16th century, and which now operates as a museum. Talk about breath-taking!! This place is really indescribable! It's crazy to imagine all the people down through the ages that have passed through these halls. Of course, once again, there are things that are extra disheartening to see in any historical religious structure. It is truly believed that the spirit of one of the saints is trapped in one of the columns, and that it has healing powers. So people were lined up to stick their thumb in a hole and twist their hand around to receive said healing. It's so heartbreaking to see people so devoted to something that can never do anything for them...and then think how Christians DO have all they need to live an abundant life, and yet many, maybe even most, can't be bothered to live out any sort of passion for the true Healer. Like I said...heart-breaking.

After enjoying another yummy meal, we set off for the Underground Cistern. This place speaks for itself, but it was a really cool thing to see. Funny thing to note, when we first descended into the cistern, it looked as though there were actual royalty seated near the entrance, with people taking their picture!!! SO cool. Oh wait...no, it's a wedding!! AWESOME. Ummm....nope...just a photo/prop booth where random Joe/Jill Schmo were waiting in line to have their picture taken like a Sultan. Dude. This isn't Cedar Point. Move on. Whatever. But there were even Medusa heads carved on giant bases for columns...one was upside-down, and the other was sideways...so the workers wouldn't look directly into her eyes. Duh. :0

Top Kapi Palace was next on the agenda, and that was another unbelievable spectacle to behold!!! Just to walk from one end to the other would take an hour or so, if you're looking at anything whatsoever! The kitchens that fed anywhere from 4,000-25,000...the staff of Moses on display (underwhelming in its stick-ness)...and many other luxuries! We ended our adventures with a brief visit to the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market, where there are over 6,000 individual shops. It was reeeeally overwhelming, but still really cool.

Unfortunately, that pesky traffic got the better of us again, and we were once again, arriving to a late dinner. Food-amazing. Restaurant-superb. Running into the associate dean of Tippee College of Business at the University of Iowa, and Bryce getting to do a little networking-priceless! :)

Day 3 was today...it started at 4 AM. So, yea...you'll have to wait on that one. We flew again, drove again, and walked again today. The end.