A Week in the Life Episode 10

After all of my traveling, I returned home and immediately fell ill again. I hadn’t fully recovered from my previous illness from two months prior. I laid low for a few days trying to recover. Then one day I just felt better. Having lost my residence card, I realized I needed to go to the immigration office to see what I needed to do. I was surprised to find the office rather empty. They told me I would need to pay some fees to order a new card even though I would have to renew my current permission in less than two months. I paid the fees and then returned home to meet up with my roommate and eat some lunch.

She and I then went to the census office to register her in their address system. I explained that she lived at my address but her name was not on the rental contract. They asked to see my id card along with hers. I told them mine was lost but I had a photocopy of that as well as my passport. They said they didn’t think I could do it without my actual id card. What!?!? We have my contract, my passport, a note saying she lives with me, and her id card. Why can’t we just register her address?!? For a place that regularly treats rules as suggestions, when they stick to their rules, it can be maddening. We had to go to the address registration director’s office. He said we would need to get a form from the immigration office stating I am in fact applying to get a new card. It was a good thing I had to return to the office anyway. 

J and I returned to the immigration office together. We asked them about a paper to take back to the census office and they said they had no idea what the guy had meant. I did have a copy showing I had sent off for a new card.

As we were leaving, we ran into Mr. Moses, the office director. He invited us to come to his office and asked if we would drink tea with him. I told him that we didn’t want to hold him up and that he must be busy. He insisted we stay since we rarely get the chance to chat. While we chatted he said he should invite us over for dinner sometime. We marveled that we have such favor with this particular director. 

On another day, I went with the American kids here to see the movie Moana in the theater. Most movies here and all the kid movies are in Turkish. I’m happy to report that I was able to understand a fair amount of the movie. 

Speaking of language, I recently did an interview with a Turkish teacher to see what level my speaking ability is at. I’m happy to declare that on the ACTFL scale I am at an Advanced-Mid level. This means that I am at level 8 out of 12 in my language. Let me tell you, it is something to celebrate. 

I bought an “adult coloring book” type puzzle for J for her birthday. It seemed like a good idea at the time but due to the fact that the entire thing was black and white made it stinking hard to put together. We had spent about 6 hours working on it to get it to 80% completion. 

The following day, our cleaning lady came over. I had just woken up and needed a minute to wake up before I started speaking Turkish. About ten minutes later I decided I needed to make sure she hadn’t destroyed the puzzle. I had assumed when she saw how hard the puzzle was and how close we were to finishing that she would leave it alone. I had assumed wrong. Our exchange went like this:

Me: Where is the puzzle?

Her: I put it back in the box.

Me: (Eyes wide) Like broke it up and put it back in the box.

Her: Of course.

Me: I could cry right now. Do you know how many hours I was working on that thing?

Her: (Shrugs) I had to clean the dust off the table and the puzzle was in the way. 

Me: I can’t believe this. I really think I will cry. That thing is so hard. I wish I had told you to not touch it. 

Her: (Shrugs again) You should have put it on the dining room table or put it on something that could be moved. 

Me: (Yeah right like that would have made a difference.)

I went into the kitchen and sat down to complain to the Lord about it. He reminded me it was a puzzle and asked if I would let an inanimate object steal my joy. Nope. Not today. I put most of my frustration away and got on with my day. I relayed this event to my friend and he asked if I fired her on the spot. Lucky for her I found my joy again.

I have no self-control when it comes to puzzles so of course I started working on it again that night. The picture below shows how little was salvaged. I did find that we were able to get it together a little quicker the second time around because we could recognize where each pattern went roughly in the grand scheme. 

We finished the puzzle, with pride, after a few days. I decided to transfer the puzzle to a piece of cardboard so it could be easily moved. As I was transferring it, it kept falling apart. I think this puzzle is the bane of my existence. It’s like 2 steps forward and 1 step back with this thing.

Kadie is back in town. She is on her winter break from teaching. J and I met up with her and her mom. We ate dinner out together and then took a trip to the mall to do a little shopping. Kadie had brought me a gift. In it was a pack of almonds, which are famous in her city, a magnet, and a Christmas ornament. I thought the ornament was especially thoughtful. I loved catching back up with these ladies.

I also stopped by to visit AB, my Turkish grandpa. He lectured me for about 20 minutes on why I should settle down and get married. He told me that when he was a youngin’ his dad tried to get him to choose a girl from his hometown to marry. He liked the bachelor life and didn’t want to settle down. Then one day he went home and his dad told him he had already promised him to a girl from another town. His dad had been asking around for a girl for AB. He just went along with it because, according to him, you don’t talk back to your daddy. He met her afterwards and they were married 5 months later. They have been married for 40 years and are happy. I told him it was an interesting ordeal. He told me that even for Turks it’s very different. Usually with arranged marriages the two families have known each other for years but in his case, the two families knew relatively little of each other. 

John the Baptist

As he sat in the prison cell, he wondered how long he had been there. Those first days and weeks he had kept track. He had given that up a while ago, along with his hope of being rescued. He had thought the Chosen One would have made a move by now. He thought he would have been rescued by now. But days had turned into weeks and weeks into months and here he still sat. 

He thought back through events, trying to figure out what had went wrong. Had he missed something? Had he read the signs wrong? Heard incorrectly? Was he wrong to speak that way with such a powerful man? 

Rebuking the king, telling him he was in the wrong, was what had sent the king into a rage. He ordered the soldiers to bind him and throw him in the dungeon. Wasn't it always right to warn people of the sins that lead to death? Wasn't this the role of him who was "to make straight the way of the Lord?" Why did he feel so bad if he had been in the right. 

He began to trace his cousin's history. He had first heard of the miracles surrounding each of their birth stories. He grew up knowing that he was a fulfillment to prophecies and would be the forerunner of the Messiah. His life had not been normal as a result. He had not cared that people made fun of his strange clothes. Then there was the day that he baptized his cousin and everyone heard and sensed Jehovah's voice and presence, affirming that He was the Son of God, He was the Messiah. He was the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world. 

He had been so sure. But now here he was in this cold, dark dungeon. He had been here for months and there was no news from him, no rescue. He was disappointed and the doubts began to creep in. Was he really the anointed one or had he been duped? Was Jesus just another false prophet? He was ready to die for His Lord and for righteousness sake, but if it was all for a lie, what a waste his life had been. 

One day his faithful friends came to visit. They had been keeping up with Jesus, following him from place to place. They reported to him all that Jesus was doing. They told of the centurion’s servant that Jesus healed from a distance. They also told of the unbelievable how Jesus had raised a widow’s son from the dead. 

He knew there was something different, something powerful about Jesus. But if he was who John thought he was, why had he delayed in coming to him. He confided his doubts with these friends and sent them to Jesus to gain assurance. He waited for what seemed like days for an answer, he waited for a redeemer. Surely when Jesus got word that John was in prison and struggling he would come right away. 

When they returned, he was a bit disappointed that Jesus had not come with them. Nonetheless, he was still hopeful and waited eagerly to hear some snippet of good news. His friends said, “We asked him what you wanted us to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ At first he didn’t say anything but kept working. He healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and he restored sight to many who were blind. Then he turned to us and said, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear...” John recognized these words from Isaiah about the Messiah. Of course, Jesus was the Messiah with these kind of miracles. Why had he doubted? His friends continued, “and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” John began to feel encouraged. He was already finishing Isaiah’s words in his mind, he was waiting for the line that said the captives would be liberated. But as the friends continued, he noticed they had left out that part and replaced it with, “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me." 

He began to weep as he understood the implications. He would die in prison. But he would die knowing that it was for righteousness’ sake and not a lie. This was the encouragement and reminder he had needed. He would hold his head high on that day knowing he was dying a worthy death for a worthy Lord.  

As I read this account of John the Baptist recently, I wept. Jesus could have rescued John out of prison but he didn’t. He didn’t even go visit him. He left him there. John was his cousin, his forerunner, the prophet calling people to repentance on his behalf. Jesus would later say that John was the greatest man who had ever lived. And yet he left him in a hard place that would lead to death. I wept because God’s love for us doesn’t always mean that he rescues us from jail, trials, or death. Sometimes he leaves us there. Sometimes he leaves us in places to reveal our doubts, to reveal what is truly in our hearts. Following him will mean suffering. He promised this to us. I wept because in John dying, he received a greater reward. For those who die for the sake of righteousness, it is a reward rather than a waste. It is interesting that after John sent messengers with his doubt, Jesus still said that he was greatest of all who had been born of women. 

He Leads Me in Paths

For his name’s sake

“He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

I’ve been meditating these past few weeks on this verse. What does it mean that He leads us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake? He leads us into places for the sole purpose of bringing about more righteousness into our lives and fame for his name. Another way to put it is that he leads us into places for our sanctification. Sometimes he leads us into the valley of the shadow of death paths of righteousness or in the presence of my enemies paths. 

Recently I have found myself on some righteousness producing paths. He led me on the lost my wallet while on vacation in Europe path. This included a turn onto the lost my residence permit to return to my country path and another onto the hours spent on the phone trying to cancel and replace credit cards. After that, he led me on the plane cancellations due to unusual snowfall path. That was followed by the sick again after months of illness path. My latest path was the labored over and almost finished puzzle that was broken up and dumped back in the box. 

And as I lean into him more because I’m on these paths, I hear him whisper, “I am far more concerned with the condition of your heart than I am with giving you easy paths to walk on. Sometimes I bring you into these places to see where your joy and trust lie. Does your joy come from the ease of your circumstances or does it come from me? Does your joy really come from a puzzle or a wallet filled with paper and plastic? Will you bless me both when I give things to you and when I take them away? Will you let a broken up puzzle ruin your day? I want your whole heart. I want it to be dripping with righteousness but you’re not there yet. Your heart still needs some work and because of this, I’m taking you to special paths to work on those areas.”

So he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to see how these paths have really been a place for his goodness and mercy to chase after me. In the meantime, I want to find him there. I want those hard paths to mean my heart is more fully his. I want to continue to find my joy in Him, not in the easy paths. 

Vacation - Travel Day(s)

In my last post I wrote about how my flights were cancelled but I was too tired to deal with that stress. The next morning I learned there was a shuttle going to the airport to help folks get rebooked on flights. I stood in line for two hours before rebooking my flight for the following day and getting a hotel voucher. Luckily, I was standing in line with a few friends. I was thankful to not be dealing with that stress alone. I was ready to be home but glad for a quiet place to hunker down while the snow melted. 

Long airport line

After an evening and morning of reading, blogging, and playing cards, a few of us who had been stranded due to the cancelled flight had made our way to the airport. Two of the friends were my roommate and my summer roommate. If you’re going to get stranded, it might as well be with good friends. We were pessimistically hopeful that the plane would actually leave. Hundreds of flights had been cancelled in and out of my layover city. One stranded friend had had 3 cancelled flights already. 

Our flight was delayed but we did eventually leave. Once we landed in my layover city, I understood the reason behind all the cancelled flights. There were piles of snow on the runway and sheets of ice as well. 

Once inside the airport, I had the privilege of waiting in the passport control line for an hour and a half wondering if they would let me in without my card and without a major hassle. A friend who had entered the country the night before had had to stand in the long line twice. It was already almost midnight and I did not want that to happen. I prayed all the way through the line. At the last minute they opened up spaces in the lines reserved for the country’s citizens. I chose a line with a woman hoping for favor. I talked with her in her language and that seemed to help. I explained that I had lost my card but I do have permission to be there. She told me to go to the Passenger Documents Check Desk and get a piece of paper from them. I asked if I had to get back in the big line. She told me I could get it and then come back to her. At the check desk, the worker used my passport to look up my number and how long I had permission to be in the country. He wrote that date on the paper with my name and sent me on my way. Five minutes later I was back with my lady friend and she stamped my passport allowing me back into her country. 

My connecting flight had been cancelled the previous evening. I didn’t worry about rebooking until I knew for sure the first leg would actually make it. After hearing horror stories of other friends waiting in five hour long lines to rebook, J and I decided to just do a bus back to our city the next morning. We knew we could make that trip in about 8 hours and were we to have a non-cancelled flight, it would still take longer than the whole bus trip. We were able to stay at my summer roommate’s house. I was thankful too because we didn’t get out of the airport until midnight and didn’t get to her house until after 1am. We hopped on the bus the next day which was sunny and clear. We made it back to our city in about 6.5 hours. I was so glad to be home and so happy to get to do laundry. It had been 17 days and I had worn my clothes multiple times. I was ready. 

Vacation - Prague - Final Days

While I was in Prague, I got some advice that I should go to the embassy there to see if I could get a travel document to help gain entry into the country since I didn't have my residence permit. I took a taxi and two friends to do just that. The driver asked if we wanted him to stay and wait. I declined since I didn't know how long we would be. As he drove away I realized the place was closed. Did I mention it was cold and snowy? I was able to talk with a security guard. He told me to come back at 9 the next morning. I noted that the working hours were between 9:30 and 12:30. Who gets that job? I asked if he could call a taxi. He gave me a number to call instead. Luckily one of my friends had internet on her phone. We used the Uber app instead to call a driver. It was quick and cheap. I am a fan. 

The next morning I called the embassy before going. The security guard had recommended I do this in case I needed to bring something with me. I called and the man was a little rude and stated he could not help me in any way. I asked what I should do. He suggested I get an e-visa to gain entrance. The problem with this approach is that I would then be in the system twice. He said to do it anyway and hung up quickly. I had had enough and was fighting back tears from ALL the wallet stress. A friend came up and gave me a quick hug. 

In addition to sightseeing, I was in Prague for an expat conference. One of the features of the conference was doctors appointments with American doctors. I had already been to the general practitioner for my ongoing two-month long cough. He basically told me I was suffering from post viral symptoms and might have to struggle through for another month or so unless I get sick again due to having a low immune system. Great! Just what I wanted to hear. He did give a few things to help me feel better soon. 

Well on this particular day I had signed up to see the "girl doctor." I don't trust the ones in my city. Unfortunately the stress of the week had caught up,with me. When he asked how I was doing I melted into a puddle of tears pouring out my woes to him. He was kind and understanding and even prayed for me. I find it very comical now. 

On my last day in Prague, some friends and I did some more sightseeing. We started at the castle. They had some kind of processional as we arrived as shown in the video below. 

Entrance to the castle

Stately looking building

Required selfie with the unmoving soldier

Snow covered Prague

Lami with a snowman friend

Statue with a small Eiffel Tower replica in
the background

We walked down from the castle and over to the Charles Bridge. We grabbed some lunch at a cafe on the Old Town side of the bridge. The tomato soup was delicious. After lunch we walked around Old Town for a bit.

View of castle from down below

We climbed a bridge tower for some good
views. We were up high.

I loved this old corner building

Jumping for joy on the Charles Bridge

More Christmas lights

The Clock Tower at night

We met up with some more friends for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. It was such a treat since Mexican food is almost nonexistent in my country. I was having a good day until I got the message that my flight was cancelled. I wanted to pitch a temper tantrum. I was TIRED of dealing with adult phone calls, logistics, etc. 

I tried to figure out what to do. I ended up emailing a friend for advice on how to get rebooked and then went to take a bath and have a good ol cry about how stressful my vacation had been. There were piles and piles of snow in the city where I had a layover. After the bath I tried to switch airline companies so I could fly into another city. For some reason it wouldn't take my credit card. I gave up and went to bed. 

Vacation - Prague - Days 6 & 7

I awoke on day 6 and slowly made my way down to breakfast since it didn't end until noon. My friend and I had wide eyes of joy as we saw the beautiful buffet of American type breakfast foods. Bacon, sausages, fried potatoes, fried eggs, fresh squeezed orange juice, smoked salmon, waffles, donuts, croissants! It was delicious. After breakfast we returned to the room. I read and slept. After a short trip out  in the cold I came back and took another bath and listened to a sermon. It was a nice introvert day. It took the crew until nightfall to take down the stage from the party the night before. 

After an introvert day, my friend and I were joined by another friend. The three of us proceeded to do some sightseeing in Prague. We first went to Wenceslas Square. The square honors the real man referred to in the song 'Good King Wenceslas.' He was a ruling duke in the former Bohemian government. He was given the name king after his death. I learned that his mom had killed his grandmother while she was reigning. Then his brother killed him while he was ruling. Nice family huh?

The Christmas markets were in full swing. There were also lots of Christmas decorations and even some nativities like the one below. I, of course, had to reenact the silly wise man pose. 

We saw lots of beautiful old buildings and neat facets of the city. 

We made our way to the old town square. We took a turn around the square before coming to the astronomical clock tower to watch the clock show. The 12 disciples make an appearance in the window while the clock chimes on the hour. 

Below are some sights from Old Town Square.

St. Nicholas' Church 

Inside the church

We also saw this statue of John Huss. I didn't know much about him. I read a little here about him to learn about his importance. Apparently he was a priest that helped pave a road towards the Reformation. He spent his life calling out the Catholic Church and was also highly committed to the supremacy of the Word. He was eventually burned at the stake for his adherence to these things. 

John Huss

Church of our Lady

Snowy park

Snow, a Christmas tree, and Church of our Lady

Trdelnik - a hot cinnamon roll type pastry
cooked over these coals.

We walked on and came to Charles Bridge. It was built to connect Old Town with Prague castle and served to foster trade between Eastern and Western Europe. It has two towers on one side and a third on the Old Town side. It is marked by statues of saints long the way. 

The single tower

Snowy river view

Double towers

Street view

Vacation - Prague - Day 5

We woke up early and had breakfast at McDonalds. I had my heart set on a yummy sausage biscuit since neither sausage nor biscuits exist in my country. I was disappointed to learn they had neither. I settled on a ham and cheese breakfast sandwich. We successfully boarded the train to our next city, our next country. We were finally figuring out the train system. 

The train ride to Prague was not quite as quiet as the other two train rides. Since it was New Year’s Eve there was a group of youngsters playing games and drinking beer at 9 in the morning. This meant they were laughing and talking loudly. I put my earbuds in and zoned out. The ride through the countryside was nice and beautiful with ice in the trees and frost on the ground. 

We arrived in a Prague and took a taxi to our hotel. Upon arrival we learned that there would be a huge and loud New Years Eve party at our hotel. This meant security at the doors and a giant stage. We left our bags in our room before setting out to find some lunch. We decided on Subway. I had had Subway twice since I left home two years ago but both sandwiches had some weird pink substitute for the pork. I fixed that on this trip. Actually I have had pork at least twice every day so far.  

After lunch I decided to take advantage of the bathtub and soak some of my wallet losing stresses away. After the bath, I took a taxi to meet up with some friends who were staying in an apartment across town. These days have caused me to remember some of my early days of moving to my current home. I was without a phone, without language, and without cultural knowledge. We drove to a busy street and the cabby assured me we had arrived. I didn't see the apartment's name so I didn't want to get out. We argued for a bit and he assured me it was correct. My friends had given me their wifi name and password. I was relieved when I was able to connect to it and meet up with them.

We walked down the street to a Mexican restaurant. The owner wouldn't let us in explaining he had been booked solid for three weeks. Lucky for us there was a taco takeout place right next door. So we celebrated New Years with tacos. None of us complained. 

After tacos, my friend's mom taught us how to play Bridge. The American Cando would have loved to learn the game and all the rules. The language learning Cando was overwhelmed the whole time. As best as I can tell, it is similar to Spades but the bidding takes longer and is a way to converse with your partner in code. Instead of saying, "I have a good hand of Spades and think I could win extra sets,' you say, 'I bid 1 spade.' The partner knows from this that you have lots of face cards and are strong in spades. If they are also strong in spades they could say, "I bid 2 hearts." This tells you that your partner also has a decent number of face cards but is stronger in hearts than spades. If you reply with a bid of 2 spades it means "I hear you but I'm not strong in hearts. You could also switch suits to tell that you are strong elsewhere. Or you could switch to hearts if you are also strong in hearts. 

My friend said she likes the game because it makes her continue to use her brain. I commented how leaving my house every day makes me use my brain. I found it maddening to speak in code rather than speaking plainly. I feel like my whole life is translating code so I'm not sure that I want to do that for fun. Nonetheless I did enjoy learning something new and doing it with people I love. And my partner and I won so that made it at least somewhat worthwhile. 

I wanted to return to my hotel before midnight hoping to avoid some of the chaos. It was a little overwhelming to walk the crowded streets of alcohol filled people and see fireworks going off on every corner. The apartment workers called a taxi for me but the taxis were all booked and we didn't know when one would be available. They were leaving work for the night to celebrate and didn't want to hang around waiting. They offered to walk me to my hotel. It was cold and I wasn't sure that sounded like fun amidst all the hoopla. Luckily a taxi came. They asked if they could split the cab with me since they were heading that direction. They said it would make it cheaper for all of us. When we got to my hotel they acted like they didn't want to contribute any money. Reluctantly they did and we parted ways. I arrived back just after midnight to an onslaught of fireworks. These Europeans love some fireworks. The party at the hotel was still going loud and strong. I was pooped though and managed to fall asleep around 1:30.