Last summer  I visited a church filled with frescos depicting different biblical scenes.  The frescos were in a bad condition and it was difficult to recognise the scenes- even with the help of  information cards. One such card read ‘Agony in the Garden’ but  all I could see were some marks in different faded colours. The church was a marvelous building…

This past week, along with everything else that was happening in the world, the highest price ever was paid for a single fish. A large bluefin tuna, valued for making the finest sushi, was sold for $736,000 at a fish market in Tokyo. This week I also read how Esau, the son of Isaac, bought a bowl of lentil stew from his…

  Barbeque chicken, spicy bulgur, salad and white Turkish bread – it was the monthly community meal and the garden was filled with the happy noise of children playing and the sound of adults chatting in a variety of languages or English accents!   After the morning worship it was time for fellowship and conversation around a meal.  On Monday everybody would…

Famous Turkish author Orhan Pamuk wrote: ‎”To be traveling through the middle of a city as great, historic and forlorn as Istanbul, and yet to feel the freedom of the open sea–that is the thrill of a trip along the Bosphorus.” The Bosphorus strait divides the city of Istanbul and provides much needed breathing space for the city of 14 million people.…

Whenever I leave my building I immediately step into a street where between a hundred thousand and a million people walk every day. It is not just local people who walk along Istiklal but people from all over the world and all seem to enjoy the experience. The sights and sounds of Istiklal attract a wide range of different people adorned in a…

“What was the highlight of your visit to Turkey?” we asked a couple who was part of a team visiting us for two weeks. There time here had included visiting places like the amazing rocky landscape of Cappadocia, the spectacular travertines at Pamukkale and the fascinating ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus not to mention exploring the rich cultural history of…

I once read about a woman whose body was found in the streets of a busy Asian city. The woman had committed suicide and next to her body was a small piece of paper which read:  ‘Who am I? Tell me who  am I’. This poor woman died in loneliness.  Like many people living in big cities today she became estranged from…

In the Middle East it is very important to follow the right protocol. Almost every social situation has its own rules of what should be said and done and people can be deeply offended when this ignored. So it is important to learn the protocol so that you can approach each situation in an appropriate way. When we read the Bible it…

A few years ago UCI was running a Third Culture Kids seminar and on the first evening the attendees were asked where they felt most at home. One of them responded ‘At international airports!’ We all have places where we feel most at home, secure and competent. If the disciples had been asked the same question they would have probably responded: “On…

“Godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”    (1 Tim 6) I haven’t met too many people in my life who have been truly content with their lives. Contentment doesn’t come easily to us but once…