The Long Road Home

After a great night of food and fellowship, we got up ready for the long trek to Istanbul. As we were eating breakfast we were discussing the guys that live in danger for the gospels sake. When you are in this kind of situation you must have already determined that you would give your life if necessary as Christ did for us. That is not really the concern when you have this level of commitment there are two things that become the most important in life. We must finish the task that God has given to us. And while we finish this task we want to complete it with honor. It is hard to think in these terms when you are faced with this level of danger on a regular basis. I believe this is one of the major problems with American Christianity today. We are at play, and therefore are simply doing what we have to do to get by. Those days for the committed Christian are long gone.

So, we all piled back into the taxis that we came in originally and headed back for Irbil to catch our flight. There was a brown out on Sunday night as the storm blew in. I felt right at home when I noticed that it had rained dirt on everything the next morning. So off we go. The van is quiet as people are sleeping or zoning off into the great nothingness of the land that surrounds us. The trip is not long, just two hours. As we arrive at the airport the security checks begin. Before I get on the plane I have been checked at least three times. I had a great time on the flight getting to know one of my brothers from Mexico as he shared pictures of his family and what God was doing in his ministry, while my brother from home provided comic relief to my right. As we were coming in for a landing I hear, “he’s coming in hot!” and we bounced off the tarmac and landed safely (PTL).

Now it’s time for Passport control and we are out the door headed back to the hotel. I must say the hotel here in Istanbul was a well-received sight. We were able to do a bit of souvenir shopping before we took off for dinner at the mall. It turns out that Istanbul has some malls that make American malls look like strip centers. It is amazing to see how the rest of the world desires to imitate the very thing that I am trying to get away from. My choices to eat were Moe’s, Arby’s, Pizza, and the like. Everyone was dressed just like I was. If I had awoke in this mall I would have thought I was in America somewhere. The food still wasn’t as good but they tried. We then sat down in a place like Starbucks and had some great discussion on world strategies for finishing the task. I was honored to be a part of the conversation.