Turkey is considered an unreached nation with 99.8% of the population being Muslim. There are approximately 90,000 mosques and fewer than 200 protestant churches. To give perspective, America has approximately 335,000 protestant churches. 

For the past six weeks, my team of five girls has been living in Ayvacik, Turkey. A town that has no church. The nearest church is over an hour's drive away in Canakkale. We have been living in a ministry building that serves as the home for the pastor of the church in Canakkale, and is under construction to become the first church in Ayvacik. The only two believers in the whole town of Ayvacik are the pastor and his wife, living in this ministry house. Most days, our work is focused on building projects. We have built walls, painted, gardened, and constructed shelving and furniture. It has been such an honor to help construct this space that will one day provide a space for people in this town to come and worship Jesus. 

On Thursdays, our team travels to Canakkale and participates in a life group the church hosts. The church has fewer than ten people who regularly attend, but they shepherd them so well. Every time we worship in Turkish, I think about Acts 11:26, “And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians”. The ancient city of Antioch is located in modern-day Turkey. The location where the disciples were first called Christians is now a nation with fewer than 15,000 Christians scattered throughout. This past Thursday at life group, there were three Bulgarian pastors, an Iranian family, Turkish attendees, and our team of Americans present. Revelations 7:9-10 burned in my heart. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and people and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ’Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!’” One day, every nation, tribe, people, and language will recognize Jesus as Lord and worship him. On Thursday, I was seeing a piece of that heavenly reality play out on earth in a small Turkish church. 

Join with me in praying for a Christian revival in Turkey. God cares so deeply about the nation of Turkey. He desires for his people to know him. He is sending laborers to share the gospel here. The pastor who planted the church in Canakkale (and another church in Biga) is Bulgarian. When he was in his early 20s and had just given his life to Christ, he received a vision from the Lord about church planting with Muslims. Fifteen years later, through many steps of obedience, he planted the church in Canakkale. This pastor has sacrificed everything to see a vision from the Lord come to fruition because he loves the Lord and desires the people of Turkey to know him. Luke 10:2, “And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’” This Scripture is true. Pray for God to send more people to share the gospel and build churches here in Turkey. 

Next week is Easter Sunday! All three teams from our squad will be coming together to put on an Easter Sunday service for the church. Easter is a time when they have a lot of visitors, so we are praying for people to hear the gospel and get plugged into the church. For the past six weeks, our teams have been learning songs in Turkish. I know it will be a special moment leading worship with the congregation in their native language. Join us in praying for this service, and then several days afterwards, we will be traveling to Nepal. Be praying for our flights, our connections have already shifted several times due to the war. I am so excited to see all that God has in store for Nepal. We will begin ministry as soon as we arrive, and then a week later, our parents will have the opportunity to visit. What a gift it will be to have both of my parents in Nepal joining with me in ministry and sharing in life together. I can’t wait! Be praying for all the parents to arrive safely and for them to encounter Jesus in a new way while on the field with us. It is going to be such a special week.

Grace