Although each passing day brings a few more moments of sunlight and the birds start singing just a few moments earlier each morning, the days seem to be getting shorter and passing by all too quickly. Perhaps this is because the reality of me returning home in less than two months has begun setting in. While I am looking forward to coming home for many different reasons, I know my time here is not yet done and I must continue staying focused on the various things the Lord has in store for me here. 

The Gypsy village sleepover last weekend was certainly an eventful one. We had a nice time celebrating the mayor’s birthday and we enjoyed the opportunity to meet a few more people who had stopped by for a visit…and to sample the cake? All was going well, until shortly after 10pm on the Saturday night when a large thermos, which had just been filled with scolding hot water, literally exploded. The boiling hot water sprayed in all directions, but, it primarily hitting the four year old girl who was sound asleep right beside the thermos. Her cry communicated the intense pain and fear she was experiencing, and the room instantly filled with panic. One leg, in particular, was badly burnt and it skin instantly began sagging off. As a couple adults began spreading toothpaste and crushed potatoes on all over her burns, I was able to get in contact with a couple foreign doctors here. Thankfully, they were able to provide some medical advice, as going to the hospital was not possible that evening. The cries of pain coming from this young girl, in addition to not having a clean cloth nor access to clean, cold running water to properly soothe the burns, will be something I will not soon forget. I could not fight back the tears for long – seeing her mother so upset and us not being able to just take the pain away from this young child was heart wrenching. Before the family took the little girl home that night, they allowed us to pray for her and were visibly thankful for the little help we were able to provide – even something so seemingly small as making the call to a reputable doctor.

The following morning, my teammate and I visited the sweet little girl, reinforced the doctor’s advice, prayed with them, and let them know that I would be returning the following day, hopefully with two doctors. Thankfully, the doctors were both able to rearrange their schedules (they are/were here for only a few weeks) and thus able to join me the following day. The healing that had taken place in such a short period of time was miraculous, and seeing the smile back on the little girl’s face was beautiful. Even though one leg and ankle were severely burned on the Saturday night, by the Monday morning she was not only smiling, but also somewhat mobile and playing with her younger sister. The doctors bandaged up her wounds and obviously encouraged by the healing that had taken place. This past Monday I was able to return with one of the doctors and apart from some minor infection around one of the burns, she was back to normal. A miracle indeed! And as if that wasn’t encouraging enough, one of the doctors and I were able to spend some time with the mayor’s wife on the Monday following the sleepover (she’s the grandmother of the girl who was burned), and hearing her talk about Jesus was simply incredible. He is clearly working on her heart and revealing more of himself to her – an answer to the prayers of many. Since well over 90% of this region is follows Islam, conversions about God often arise here, however, talking about Jesus and him as Lord is altogether different. He is truly the difference.

In other news, over the next few weeks there are a couple of new things on the horizon to make you aware of. This past week I finished the teaching assignment I was doing part-time here. Just a wee bit of marking and final report writing are left to be done. Following that, I will start a different assignment, part-time, which will have me creating a series of short videos and capturing photos highlighting various things here in Central Asia. The organization that I am connected to here has created this new assignment for me, which I will be working on until the end of August. The flexibility of this new assignment enables me to continue serving in the community in the same ways, namely the gypsy villages, until I return to Canada this summer.

Also, this coming Friday morning, I am flying to Turkey for one week.  I have been given the opportunity to meet with a lady who is the Director for an organization involved in helping women at risk, more specifically, helping women escape sex trafficking and other forms of abuse. She will be taking me on a visit to one of the safehomes and we likely spend some time meeting together at her office. I am looking forward to connecting with her and hearing about this ministry she is involved with, as well as hearing her heart for reaching the unreached and seeing the church planted throughout Turkey. On a different day, I will also be meeting with another lady who provides counselling for these women and I will likely be attending church with her on the Sunday morning. Interestingly, this second lady I will be meeting started (with her husband) the women’s organization I had the opportunity to serve at during my time here in Central Asia. She has recently moved to Turkey and is serving in a similar capacity there, but I have had the pleasure of meeting her here twice since she has moved. And of course, I will surely do some touristy type things while in Turkey, including checking out Ephesus, before returning back to Central Asia. A friend who I have met here will be joining me on this venture, but will be continuing onto the United States afterward. I would love for you to partner with me in prayer for my time in Turkey. 

I am going to wrap things up here, but I hope to post again shortly after returning from Turkey. Tomorrow I have an early start, as I will be meeting the mayor’s wife from the gypsy village and accompanying her to a clinic here in the city in order to get some medical tests done. Thank you for taking the time to read this update, and for the many encouraging notes you send my way – I am truly blessed and feel so privileged being able to spend my days here.