New stamp in our new passport!

Well, we got our first stamp in our NEW passports this past week as we entered Turkey. We went for a member care meeting, attended by our folks who do member care in Eurasia, to get ourselves organized into teams under our new structure.





We had a few hours layover in Istanbul before our connecting flight to Izmir so Glenn and I got dinner in the airport at Burger King. Now, we have Burger King in Budapest, so that wasn't necessarily a special treat or even a surprise, but the size of the drinks was a real shocker! They were HUGE! It has been such a long time since I've seen drinks this size! They reminded me of the BIG GULPs that they were selling at Racetrac or Quiktrip gas stations in America a few years back.





Our meeting was held an hours drive from Izmir so we were driven "up country" to a town that is near Ephesus. On the way, we passed a town with this name and, of course, I asked the driver to stop and let me take a picture! He was as tickled as me that my name was on a sign! He said he never can find his name on anything. (It was some Turkish name I couldn't even begin to pronounce.) I understood completely!




We stayed in a really nice hotel on the water. Usually we can't stay in this nice of a place but because we were there during the off-season, the rates were extremely reasonable!




The first order of business was to find out who was going to lead our member care team across Eurasia and then to get ourselves organized into teams so that we could meet the needs of all our personnel. Glenn was named as the Lead Member Care Consultant for Eurasia! We then assigned all our countries (of which there are 80+) to the various member care consultants who will take responsibility for them.

Alvin is very proud of Glenn being named the Lead, but Glenn's response is that you can add another curl to the pig's tail but it's still a pig. :)





Our meetings were from 8:30 am until about 6 pm, with instructions to spend time with each other in the evenings to get to know each other, since for many of us, this was our first time to really get to know the member care folks from the other parts of the world. No problem! We enjoyed playing Farkle with folks in the lobby each evening! I'm pretty social so this was not difficult for me.





Glenn, however, had to use the time in the evenings to take care of some member care issues that were going on back in our part of the world! He had to find a quiet cubby hole somewhere in the lobby to make his calls, which was pretty hard to find (a quiet place, that is) since the rest of us were laughing as we were playing Farkle!





The last day of the meeting was MAP training and since some of us had already had MAP training (I've had it twice before), we were excused from it. Five of us ladies, therefore, had a free afternoon and took advantage of a taxi that was parked outside the hotel to go into the nearby town to do some shopping in the market.




From the center of town, in one direction you'd see the sign that led to the Turkish Market. Another sign led to the Grand Market, and another sign led to the Central Market. The whole town was just one big market and I think the signs were just so you could get your bearings!





We were impressed with their honesty in this market! At least they didn't try to convince us that the Rolodex watches were genuine Rolex! This particular town, Kusadasi, is a port where huge cruise ships bring tourists to visit nearby Ephesus. (Ephesus is important as a historical, biblical town. The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in Ephesus; his letter to the Ephesians is in the Bible.)

Because of all the tourists that come through their town, they have built their economy on the market, selling souvenirs of anything they think will make a dollar or Turkish Lira. Most of the workers in the shops in the market speak English. Mary and I enjoyed a good laugh as one of the shopkeepers called to us as we walked by, "Good day, ladies. How can I take your money today?"




We watched a lady weaving a "Persian" rug. It was impressive. They had a small, beautiful throw rug of the Lord's Last Supper that was gorgeous, but I bet it was about $500 for a rug that was not much bigger than 2 ft. by 3 ft.




We had to return to the hotel as the sun was setting and the light on the white buildings across the port on the other hillside was breath-taking!





There was a Grand Princess cruise ship in the port when we arrived but when we left, in its' place were little, old fishing boats lined up along the shore. It was quite a contrast; the glamour of the cruise line versus the reality of making a living from hard work on a small fishing boat.





Some parts of Turkey brought back fond memories of our time in Africa, and I know this is part of why I loved it. We will be going back to Turkey in February and March for two other meetings, and I am looking forward to it!

Glenn and I are now back in Budapest for two days; just long enough to water the plants, do laundry, and repack our suitcases for our trip to the United States. We leave on Tuesday morning for Indiana, where we will attend a Mental Health in Missions conference before heading to Marietta, Georgia for Thanksgiving and vacation time with our families.

At the end of our time in the States, we will go to Richmond, VA for a member care meeting at our home office, before returning home to Hungary. When we return to BP, all our kids (Kate, Chris, Kari and Jonathan-in no particular order, Kari!) will be coming to spend Christmas with us! (We will all arrive on the same day; K & J from France, C & K from New Jersey, and Glenn and me from Georgia.)

If you live in Georgia, we hope to be able to see you while we are home. If you live on this side of the water and something comes up and you need to talk to us, don't hesitate to contact us! Even though we will be there, we will still be "here" for you!