The Great Race

Today we completed "The Great Race" which is essentially like a scavenger hunt with places we must visit, certain modes of transportation we must use, and specific tasks we must complete. It is all designed to accomplish two main goals - The first goal is to become familiar with the city and how to move about. Secondly, we are to interact with as many locals as possible in order to accomplish these tasks. Being tourists with very limited knowledge forces us to rely on His help and the graciousness of the people we interact with to find our way about the city.


After having ridden on a bus, a ferry, a metro (subway), a motorboat (smaller ferry), a dolmus (kind of a cross between a taxi and a van), and having walked for miles, we have much more confidence in our ability to move about this vast city. The next several days will be exciting as we seek to plant seeds of the Truth that will hopefully yield a harvest well beyond when we leave this beautiful place. I have posted a few pictures of the days events below. I hope you enjoy the pictures a fraction as much as we enjoyed experiencing them firsthand. Until tomorrow......





This picture is actually from the day before as we strolled along the Bosphorus Strait. We were at a dock that brought passengers across the straight from the Asian side of the city. The Bosphorus Strait connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara (which eventually connects with the Mediterranean Sea).

This appearred to be a big brother playing keep away from his little brother. It seems sibling rivalry/conflict knows no cultural boundaries. Eventually these young boys' father stepped in and broke up the squabble, leading the younger boy away with a firm hold on his arm.















We shared a dolmus with this lovely mother and her young son. He was more intersted in his ice cream bar than he was in us. Can you blame him? On that note, if you ever get a chance to try a Magnum Ice Cream Bar, DO NOT PASS IT UP! I highly recommend the chocolate/caramel flavor.
















These three older gentlemen were having a quiet conversation on a bench near a playground. Perhaps they had grandchildren playing nearby? Regardless, how much wisdom could be gained from a conversation with these three wise men? But do they know "the way, the truth, and the life" or do they know the account of the "three wise men" or their very own lostness? Hopefully, with time more people like this will know the One who sent us.