A Visitor's View of Turkey: From Arkansas to Seattle to Puerto Rico to Moscow to Ankara

Back in my college years at Ouachita, I made a friend very early on. M and I were on the same hall, we had classes together, we ran with the same BSU crowd, we pledged the same sorority, and we even took a mission trip together to Taiwan. But even beyond all our common interests, we had a deeper connection, which was God. During those years, she dated a guy, I told her he may not be the one. And she was there for me when my relationship with a guy ended (and well it should have! It was not CC!) We took road trips together, I spent weekends with her.

And then Mr. Right came along for her. S, her Mr. Right,  grew up as a TCK in Ecuador. He was different than most guys we knew. (Now, I can piece it all together about why he was so different...and realize I have 5 "different" kids under my roof.) But when he came along, I said, "Now you've found him." And so right after college, they married, and I was honored to be in her wedding. A couple years later, CC came into the picture, and she flew in from her current home in Seattle, and she stood by me in my wedding.

Life went on, and we stayed in touch. M and S suffered a tragedy in their early married years from which many would never recover. But losing a set of twins born prematurely (after several years of waiting) pressed them even closer to the Lord. And then, He graciously gave them a second set of twins; this time, ones that He intended for them to raise here on Earth. After more years, S, who speaks multiple languages and has a global perspective, was hired by the FBI. They spent some years in Puerto Rico. And then this year, he was offered a job in Moscow. Which is 3 hours from us!

And so, a Fall trip was planned to Ankara. They arrived, and CC covered my classes so I could take them to Ulus.

I also let Sweet Cheeks have a skip day, since the twins are her age.

They enjoyed Ulus so much, every aspect.

We would only have a few days together, but we made the most of it! More on our day tomorrow!