Monday Feb. 24, 2014
We met with an investigator with the Elders today. This is a 40ish y/o man who is a Karate and health instructor who is looking for something in life.
He is divorced without children and would like to start a family. We told him it's never too late! During our conversation in which the Elders translated, our investigator said; "you know Turkey IS the center of world and all religions come back to Turkey". We told him the Gospel of Jesus Christ is more than a location, that the Gospel is experienced in a person's heart. He kept talking about Turkey and what an important region of the world it is. We told him how much we enjoy living here and hope to see more sites of this fascinating place. The Turkish people are prideful just like every other race on earth. It will take time to have the Lord soften them to be able to hear what the message is really about. Our lesson was on prayer and our investigator read from the Turkish version of the B of M. It was amazing to listen to him read, see the young elders teach, and realize that the work is really going on here!
Yesterday we went to the Grand Bazaar in the old old section of Istanbul. We saw the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia and will go back to tour both of them very soon. We covered alot of territory to in order to find our way there and back to our apartment while the Bauers are still here to help us find our way around. We so appreciate the other missionaries! We were on the train coming home and I had my wallet stolen! The train was very crowded and a couple of men stopped dead in their tracks as everyone was getting off, and we all piled up behind them. I took my hand out of my pocket to keep from crashing into one man and that's when it happened. My Temple recommend and drivers license and some missionary pass along cards were in it, no credit cards, thank Heaven!!
Maybe they will benefit from the pass along cards. One can only hope and pray!!
I'm so excited about learning more and more about the Gospel and how it applies in our lives. What a great plan Heavenly Father has for us. What an enormous amount of love He has for each of us. I wish people could accept the Gospel and get on with repenting and growing closer to the Lord, letting the refinement take place and experience the joy of knowing what we know.
I hope all is well at home!
We love you all,
Sister Ercanbrack
Monday, February 24, 2014
Günıdyın dan Istanbul. Hello from Istanbul!
Written by Elder Ercanbrack
Time is going by quickly, we are rather settled in an apartment in the Levent District
of Istanbul. It is about three quarters of a mile to the church building. Needless to say
we do a lot of walking. My pants are getting loose on me. I think it is the walking and not the diet.
The food is good but different. There is a bread sold by cart vendors on almost every street, that is
called Simit, it is round and forms a 8 inch circle, and is covered with sesame seeds, and is sort of soft
to the touch, and very tasty. We have one almost every day.
We walk most places we need to go, that is with in a mile or two of our apartment. We do take the bus
often to go to pay the water bill (Ishi, Water bill in Turkish) or the electrik (Turkish spelling, close to English), there is no system set
up in Turkey to pay the utilities by check or by internet. So one must go in person. We would go nuts if
we had to do this in the states. The banking system is cash only, no checks. So we depend on the ATM for cash
and everything is paid in Turkish Lira. Dollars are not accepted. If you try to pay with anything but TL, they will point
in the direction of the Doviz, (currency exchange), and ignore you after that. They do have a underground metro train,
that we have taken when we need to go 5 or 10 miles away from our apartment. It is very efficient, always loaded to the hilt,
and smoking is not allowed on the metro system. The other day we went to the Blue Mosque, and the Hagia Sofia, on a very crowded
train, and Sister Ercanbrack got her purse stolen. A pic pocket thief reached into her pocket and took it.
Luckily there was nothing to valuable for the thief in it. They did get some pass along cards, her drivers license, and temple recommend.
Time is going by quickly, we are rather settled in an apartment in the Levent District
of Istanbul. It is about three quarters of a mile to the church building. Needless to say
we do a lot of walking. My pants are getting loose on me. I think it is the walking and not the diet.
The food is good but different. There is a bread sold by cart vendors on almost every street, that is
called Simit, it is round and forms a 8 inch circle, and is covered with sesame seeds, and is sort of soft
to the touch, and very tasty. We have one almost every day.
We walk most places we need to go, that is with in a mile or two of our apartment. We do take the bus
often to go to pay the water bill (Ishi, Water bill in Turkish) or the electrik (Turkish spelling, close to English), there is no system set
up in Turkey to pay the utilities by check or by internet. So one must go in person. We would go nuts if
we had to do this in the states. The banking system is cash only, no checks. So we depend on the ATM for cash
and everything is paid in Turkish Lira. Dollars are not accepted. If you try to pay with anything but TL, they will point
in the direction of the Doviz, (currency exchange), and ignore you after that. They do have a underground metro train,
that we have taken when we need to go 5 or 10 miles away from our apartment. It is very efficient, always loaded to the hilt,
and smoking is not allowed on the metro system. The other day we went to the Blue Mosque, and the Hagia Sofia, on a very crowded
train, and Sister Ercanbrack got her purse stolen. A pic pocket thief reached into her pocket and took it.
Luckily there was nothing to valuable for the thief in it. They did get some pass along cards, her drivers license, and temple recommend.
All of which can be replaced.
The Branch in Turkey consists of about 50 active members, and maybe 20 to 30 visitors. The visitors may or may not be members of the church. We have a lot of curious investigators, they come to church to see what we are all about, and to have cookies
on cookies Sunday, or a little food on linger longer Sunday. It is interesting to see the complexity of their traditions upon a belief
in Jesus Christ. But usually once they are converted, they are very dedicated and faithful. This Branch needs members, the
people of Turkey are very good people generally speaking, but they need to change. We pray daily that something will change them. The Elders are very active in searching out any who will listen, and they go in all directions seeking in this sprawling
city of approx. 20 million. We are their support, we occasionally feed them, help them with their lessons, and go with them to some of their appointments. All in all the work of salvation is a slow process here. We are planting seeds. We hope it falls on fertile soil.
Sister Ercanbrack and I have received callings in the Branch. She is the YW Pres. I am the YM Pres. and She teaches seminary,
I teach Gospel Doctrine, and also clean the church every Saturday. We have both been put in charge of the Youth Conference
for Turkey, assigned to us by the Mission President Wilstead, to take place in Ankara, the 16-19 of May. Not speaking much
Turkish, this is quite a task. Also we are busy planning a youth trip to the Freiberg Temple in April, they youth get to go annually.
We are very thankful for the scriptures, where would we be without them? As a missionary I have quickly come to appreciate
the written word. The scriptures have come alive for me. in the course of teaching these lessons, I am amazed at how the Lord
has prepared what is written in the scriptures for us. The lessons for our edification and exaltation are there.
Time to go do a little grocery shopping, this is our preparation day, and it is raining. So I need to convince my companion that
she may need to get a little wet (where the umbrella doesn't reach).
Daha Sonra Görüşmek Üzere, Tanri Çok yaşa!
Elder Ercanbrack
Monday, February 17, 2014
Hi Everyone!
Istanbul Turkey is an amazing place! As you can imagine, the sites and sounds are so different than we are used to. The Istanbul Branch is alive and well, and the missionaries here are so enthusiastic! These young missionaries have learned the Turkish language so well, I'm jealous but we'll keep studying!!
Terry and I talked in church last Sunday and a young man came up to us afterward and said he was searching for the right church. I was kind of excited, then he said he thought old people like us should investigate other religions. Between his broken English and our seriously limited Turkish, our conversation did not go very far, but the young missionaries took him to the next class, so hopefully his searching will come to an end soon. The missionaries brought 11 investigators to a Valentines party last Friday night, so we'll see what happens with these people. Please add the Istanbul investigators to you list of people you pray for!!
We study every day from Preach My Gospel and the scriptures. I love the Gospel so much, and my love for it absolutely increases each new day. It's so hard to believe that all day, every day is devoted to studying the Gospel and being involved in it in some way. I'm almost giddy to think that that is what my life is all about! New insights are frequent, and I feel the Lord is blessing us for wanting to share what we know. I have the feeling, when we are out walking, that I want to stop people and say; "Want to hear about something that will completely change you attitude towards life for the better?" Why didn't I want to do that at home?
Please keep working hard to study the Gospel as I know you all do. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is life itself, and to feel His love is such a sweet gift. How fortunate we are for every person who has gone before us and have left a such a vitally important legacy we can cherish!
We met a couple at the grocery store last Saturday who are from Spokane, Washington. The woman said she had worked for a podiatrist named Dr. Romney, who was a Mormon, while they lived there. Her husband works for the American Consulate here in Istanbul. We told them we were full time missionaries for the church and they were so surprised there was a branch in Istanbul! We invited them to church Sunday, but they did not come. Maybe the thought that the church is here will work on them and they will visit us one day.
My life style is seriously and completely different from home! We have to plan our shopping trips to not buy too many things, only those that will fit in a little shopping (soft suitcase type) bag on wheels. We buy a few things and pack them home and the next trip we buy a few more things and trek them home. I'm getting stronger and in better shape each day! I call on my marathon training saying,"you can do this, you're getting stronger and stronger..." and most of the time it works. We did take a Taxi home from shopping today because even Terry was pooped!
I hope everything is going well at home. I haven't started working on my quilt yet. We're getting more settled every day, so I may pull it out soon.
Istanbul Turkey is an amazing place! As you can imagine, the sites and sounds are so different than we are used to. The Istanbul Branch is alive and well, and the missionaries here are so enthusiastic! These young missionaries have learned the Turkish language so well, I'm jealous but we'll keep studying!!
Terry and I talked in church last Sunday and a young man came up to us afterward and said he was searching for the right church. I was kind of excited, then he said he thought old people like us should investigate other religions. Between his broken English and our seriously limited Turkish, our conversation did not go very far, but the young missionaries took him to the next class, so hopefully his searching will come to an end soon. The missionaries brought 11 investigators to a Valentines party last Friday night, so we'll see what happens with these people. Please add the Istanbul investigators to you list of people you pray for!!
We study every day from Preach My Gospel and the scriptures. I love the Gospel so much, and my love for it absolutely increases each new day. It's so hard to believe that all day, every day is devoted to studying the Gospel and being involved in it in some way. I'm almost giddy to think that that is what my life is all about! New insights are frequent, and I feel the Lord is blessing us for wanting to share what we know. I have the feeling, when we are out walking, that I want to stop people and say; "Want to hear about something that will completely change you attitude towards life for the better?" Why didn't I want to do that at home?
Please keep working hard to study the Gospel as I know you all do. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is life itself, and to feel His love is such a sweet gift. How fortunate we are for every person who has gone before us and have left a such a vitally important legacy we can cherish!
We met a couple at the grocery store last Saturday who are from Spokane, Washington. The woman said she had worked for a podiatrist named Dr. Romney, who was a Mormon, while they lived there. Her husband works for the American Consulate here in Istanbul. We told them we were full time missionaries for the church and they were so surprised there was a branch in Istanbul! We invited them to church Sunday, but they did not come. Maybe the thought that the church is here will work on them and they will visit us one day.
My life style is seriously and completely different from home! We have to plan our shopping trips to not buy too many things, only those that will fit in a little shopping (soft suitcase type) bag on wheels. We buy a few things and pack them home and the next trip we buy a few more things and trek them home. I'm getting stronger and in better shape each day! I call on my marathon training saying,"you can do this, you're getting stronger and stronger..." and most of the time it works. We did take a Taxi home from shopping today because even Terry was pooped!
I hope everything is going well at home. I haven't started working on my quilt yet. We're getting more settled every day, so I may pull it out soon.
I love you all and love hearing from you! Tom you made me cry with your sweet sweet pictures! BTW the internet goats need to be fed twice a day (little pigs) and we give them treats when we have alot to do on line!
Keep me posted and send pictures!
Love you,
Nancy
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