Hello Everyone !!

I’m very excited to be sending you my first proper prayer letter from Izmir, Turkey !

Many thanks to all your support and prayers leading up to my departure and also especially since I’ve been here.

I praise God for He alone has sustained me and shown me His amazing love. He is faithful, patient and always a shelter in our time of need.

 

I had an initially unsettling start, due to accommodation issues.  It was hard, but God reassured me in this time that I had been obedient to Him in coming here and to trust Him.  After a couple of weeks things settled and I was able to move into another room in the flat and I now have a permanent place sorted from April and for the rest of the year - praise God.   The flat is in a good location as it is just 15 minutes walk from the church and close to many people in the church.  It has a supermarket on either side of it and it’s close to all the restaurants, shops, etc in the centre of town - all pretty convenient which means I don’t spend as much on travel as I had initially budgeted for.

The course is going well, although very tiring !  I have Turkish lessons Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday morning and Friday afternoons.  Monday afternoons I visit the family I was originally living with and spend about 4 hours around there, practicing my Turkish and having a meal with them, which I really enjoy.  Tuesday’s I go to an 8.30am prayer meeting and then onto class.   In the afternoons I tend to practice my Turkish and relax before heading to Lifegroup.  Wednesday is my day off.  Thursday afternoons I do practical work in the church.  Saturdays are a busy day with Biblical lectures in the morning and going into the community in the afternoon.  I have set up a regular meeting with some friend’s neighbour’s teenagers who I practice Turkish with for a couple hours with.  Saturday evening I then help in the older youth group, (15-19s), which has been good fun.  Sundays thankfully give me a lie in, getting to the church around 1 for the prayer meeting, followed by the church service (2.00 - 4.00pm).  A couple of times a month I help with the younger youth (11-14s); this has been good as most of them are English or fluent in English, so I’ve been able to have more of an input there.

 

Church has been great, with people responding weekly to the Gospel we’re seeing a great harvest here.  They have all-night prayer meetings every couple of months, were people stay until 6.00am praying - they’re pretty incredible !  At onoe of my first all-night prayer meetings here I saw a massive angel, standing worshiping the Lord with us.  I am also really enjoying the Tuesday prayer meetings. The first one I went to I had just arrived and was feeling pretty daunted by being here.  A couple of ladies were praying with me and I saw an angel in front of me and felt it hug me - very reassuring !  I knew God had sent His angels to be with me and protect me, which was later confirmed by a picture my Dad had for me a few days later, of God sending angels to surround me and protect me ! 

 

In the prayer meetings I’ve had a few visions and brought a few bits of scripture.  Last week in the prayer meeting I had just read this:
1 Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  

 

I was sitting praying by myself, thanking God for this and opened my eyes and saw gold dust on my hands.  It was so exciting ! It's happened a few times since I've been here and it's like God is smiling down on me telling me He's proud of me and it fills me with pure joy.  It's like the child-like faith that Jesus talks about in Scripture, where the complications and confusions of life and the future all don't matter and I just soak in the fact God loves me.

Since I’ve arrived it’s like a whole new chapter in my relationship with God has opened up. I’m hearing from God a lot more and a lot clearer, especially in the prophetic.  I feel so privileged and amazed that the God of the whole universe chooses to speak so intimately to me and my prayer is that I would honour Him with my whole life.

I’ve been encouraged with the relationships I’ve already managed to build through God’s leading. It is so great that a couple of my friends from my summer in Turkey live in this city - I've been out with them and their friends a few times where we have got into conversations about the Church.  Please pray this would develop and they would come to Church.  I also am happy with the relationships that are developing in the church.  My prayer is through the little Turkish I know I can be an encouragement and blessing to those I encounter.

I’ve really enjoyed having a couple of mates over these last few weeks - good fun and nice to have some company around too.

Many thanks to all for your love and support.  I thank God for all of you as you are a blessing to me.

Keep in touch

Rachel