It is almost shocking to realize it’s May! The time is seriously flying by. The weather has been very rainy and everything is getting so green and beautiful.

We have good news! A businessman from Iraq was walking past the church last month and felt a strong prompting to come in. He was greeted warmly and came back the next week. The missionaries have been teaching him and he is going to be baptized in two weeks! He is such a good man and feels the spirit so strongly. We have one more Nigerian man who is scheduled to be baptized the end of May, so this will be a great month for baptisms! We have two missionaries going home in June and two more coming in July. We also have a Senior couple coming in July. We are so excited to not be the newbies in Istanbul, and to help those coming in get settled.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there! We had a lovely Mother’s day yesterday. Elder Ercanbrack gave a great talk on Mothers, and how this is the day to apologize to your mothers for all the worry and frustration you caused them as teenagers. There were people from all over the world in the congregation and everyone laughed at that. I guess we really are not so different no matter our upbringing! The missionaries were so excited to call their mothers and I could just picture my nephews on the phone with my sisters. How fun!!

We are sponsoring Youth Conference this weekend in Ankara and have been planning a great weekend for the Youth. We have some great speakers and activities planned. I love being with the teenagers. Their energy and enthusiasm is great. These are some of the brightest youth I have met, and their accomplishments so far in life are impressive! They all speak Turkish and are leaders in their schools. They report how their association with the gospel has helped them with their relationships and other activities in life.

I have two sisters having birthdays this month. Happy Birthday to my dear sisters, how I love you good women! Happy Birthday to my other relatives and friends with birthdays in May!

If you have the opportunity to take a vacation soon, you should consider Istanbul. Tourists love it here, and we have visitors every weekend from all over the world stopping in. This is an amazing place filled with fascinating history and sites you would love to see AND you will have us to show you around (for a few hours at least) and a place to stay!

We love you and miss you!

Sister Ercanbrack and (Elder Ercanbrack)