First Sunday at Church

I know I'm really late in posting about this but better late than never, right?

So real quick, Jordan has been here at camp in Eskisehir (meaning the old city).

Its beautiful, right?

So that means Kawika and I have been left in Istanbul to fend for ourselves for a bit! Well, a couple associated with the team knew I would be alone so they called to check on me. Their names are Murat and Ceren (they both speak English!) and they have this cute little boy named Aras, who loves to hold Kawika's hand during car rides.

As you can see, this is Kawika's first friend in Turkey! Too cute. Well they are the sweetest family ever. They knew I was alone in a new city and extended their friendship. They took me out to dinner on Saturday for some traditional Turkish food. I loved it! Lots of lamb. Anyways, they asked me about my plans while Jordan was gone (which really wasn't much more than Netflix lol). The only thing I really wanted to do was go to church on Sunday. I had found where the church was located on the iphone map (which isn't reliable) and showed it to them. They were concerned that I wouldn't be able to find it or find parking so they offered to drive me. (Let me just add that for them to drive across the bridge to the Asian side and then back over to the Istanbul side is completely inconvenient BUT they did it happily and I am so appreciative of that). Believe me, I never would have found the church building in a million years if they hadn't taken me. Not only did they take me to church but they also waited near by for the next five hours so that I could stay for the entire duration. Talk about an example of service. I am so grateful because I really needed to be there. So if you guys read this, thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you!

As I mentioned before, this is a tricky building to find. It doesn't look like the normal chapels back home. It looks more like a house and I thought I would recognize the standard "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" sign but no such luck. There's signs pointing to the entrance but those are  all in Turkish so I thought I might be trespassing into someone's home but luckily Ceren was there to help me out. We found the back door entrance and I still thought we were walking into someone's kitchen until I saw the picture of Joseph Smith and then I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. We then saw a woman sitting near by and as I approached I quickly realized she was American, spoke English, and was a senior couple missionary. I can't even begin to explain to you the relief I felt at some familiarity. I was an hour early so we sat down and chatted for a bit until others began to arrive.

Our branch consists of probably 40-50 members. In all of Turkey there are a total of 10 missionaries, 6 being in our branch. The first elder I met is from Mesa, Arizona. The second elder I met (Elder Clark) is from Calgary, Alberta. I then met a sweet girl (Melissa) from Chandler, Arizona. She speaks something like 6 languages and is a fellow Sun Devil!!!! Are you kidding me? "Its a small world" is no joke. Apparently there is also a Tongan lady in the ward (whose husband works at the Embassy) but she was out of town so I'm excited to meet her this Sunday. There are members in our branch from all over the world including the states, France, Taiwan, Nigeria, Mexico, and of course Turkey! It is such a cool branch and I'm so excited that we get to be a part of it.

You know how people always say that the church is the same everywhere they go and blah blah blah. I never understood it. I have sincerely tried to empathize but I just could not relate. Until now. For the first time in awhile, I felt at home. I didn't even realize how much I had missed that feeling of home until I felt it there.

During Sacrament, whoever is speaking speaks their native tongue and then someone else is on a mike and translates it to English or Turkish. So everything is repeated and it takes a bit longer. I thought it would be annoying or maybe take away from the Spirit but honestly I found that I got more out of the meeting than I ever had before (and even so with a newborn in my arms!)

This is the room where Sacrament takes place.

Just outside of the Sacrament room is this cool staircase. There are either three or four levels in the building but right now I can't remember.

On the third level is this balcony. 

This is the view from the balcony...

Just off to the side is this small building. I believe it is used as the primary room. However, I don't think they really use it much. I'm not sure that there are very many children in the branch. At least this past week, Kawika was the only child/baby in attendance.

And finally, this is my cutie all ready for church.