Assignment completed!
Just got back to our hotel, and with the 8 hours difference in time, the first of our Sunday morning worship celebrations is beginning at CLC Tinley Park as I type this. But Chris and I completed our 'assignment' for this missions' trip a little while ago by doing a 'tag-team' sermon at the Ankara church where our friends, Ihsan and Cigdem Ozbek are pastors.
All in all, I feel this trip was very profitable for further developing the relationship that we've begun with the Ozbek's, as well as beginning some friendships with other workers here. We definitely sense that Turkey is a major assignment for CLC in this season of our ministry, and the need here is simply mind-boggling: 70 million people in the country, and only about 3,000 born-again Christians! Selah - let that sink in for a moment.
The rejection and outright persecution here is beyond anything we Americans can even relate to, as the Malatya murders a few months ago certainly confirmed. In fact, this afternoon enroute to the hotel, Chris asked Ihsan what the general public's reaction to the murders has been, and he quickly replied, "that we deserved it"!
I hope that you will take time to join us in praying for the Turkish church - as smaller as she is and as much as she's been 'beaten-up' this year, we nonetheless believe that God has some big things in store for this entire land where so much of the New Testament took place. (Did you know that all 7 of the 'churches of Asia' in Revelation were located here? Or that Noah's ark rested on a mountaintop here? Or that Paul established churches here, including one of the largest in all of New Testament history?)
Our 'assignment' really won't be complete until our prayers of "Do it again, Lord" are answered in this place - but for now, I'm ready to be home and back to work at CLC!
Hope to see you Tuesday night with Bishop Garlington!
All in all, I feel this trip was very profitable for further developing the relationship that we've begun with the Ozbek's, as well as beginning some friendships with other workers here. We definitely sense that Turkey is a major assignment for CLC in this season of our ministry, and the need here is simply mind-boggling: 70 million people in the country, and only about 3,000 born-again Christians! Selah - let that sink in for a moment.
The rejection and outright persecution here is beyond anything we Americans can even relate to, as the Malatya murders a few months ago certainly confirmed. In fact, this afternoon enroute to the hotel, Chris asked Ihsan what the general public's reaction to the murders has been, and he quickly replied, "that we deserved it"!
I hope that you will take time to join us in praying for the Turkish church - as smaller as she is and as much as she's been 'beaten-up' this year, we nonetheless believe that God has some big things in store for this entire land where so much of the New Testament took place. (Did you know that all 7 of the 'churches of Asia' in Revelation were located here? Or that Noah's ark rested on a mountaintop here? Or that Paul established churches here, including one of the largest in all of New Testament history?)
Our 'assignment' really won't be complete until our prayers of "Do it again, Lord" are answered in this place - but for now, I'm ready to be home and back to work at CLC!
Hope to see you Tuesday night with Bishop Garlington!
posted by Pastor Jerry McQuay at 9:13 AM
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