The way of the world...

Last Sunday, January 26th, American Aid Worker Cyd Mizell was kidnapped in Kandahar, Afghanistan. An English teacher at the local university, and an embroidery teacher at a girls school, Cyd worked with the Asian Rural Development Foundation in an attempt to better Afghanistan. A Christian, she was known as a "ministering angel" to many women in the region. As of today, there are no leads as to who kidnapped her and her driver, and there has been no contact with the kidnappers. I urge you all to pray for her safe return, and for a bold witness as she has a chance to minister to those that might not otherwise hear the gospel.

And of course, this is super depressing. I mean, no one's heard anything in 5 days? That's horrible. But here's the amazing thing. Yesterday, 500 women came out and protested her kidnapping and urged the government to find her captors. And that wasn't in the US, that was in Afghanistan. Isn't that amazing??? Can you imagine 500 burqa-clad women in the streets protesting for, esentially, their rights? What an impact Cyd had on these women.

I only hope that by the time I'm gone, my life will have counted for something. That I'll have left a legacy and been an active shower and do-er of my faith, and love.

So keep her in your prayers...and let her challenge you to really live out your faith!

Lost in Translation

I honestly think this picture sums up my past two weeks. Me, delirious from no sleep and attempting to make myself alert with caffeine. Obviously, it's not working, but it somehow has made me look enchantingly stupid. Score one for me. I can't even begin to describe all that happened in the past two weeks; places visited, number of beds I slept in, gallons of coffee consumed, lessons learned about not only Turkish culture, but American culture, and well, culture in general. So, a list will have to suffice. Oh, and by the way. Happy New Year.
- A more appropriate name for America is Freedom World.
- $15 for a Starbucks is absurd. Not that that makes me happy about $5 for one.
- No one should ever attempt Christmas, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New Years, San Diego, Disneyland, and LA in a two week period. Ever.
- Gifts from the heart mean the most. Hand knit sweater? Sending girls in Afghanistan to school? Score two for me.
- 8 person Mario Kart may be one of the funnest things ever.
- 8 person Mario Kart at 3 am? Certainly one of the funnest things ever.
- All we know about vampires is wrong. Edward will teach you.
- Cupcakes with marshmallow in the middle rock.
- San Francisco has good hills.
- Las Vegas has Jersey Boys. Score one for Vegas.
- I think evangelism is one of my spiritual gifts.
- Driving a ridiculous amount of hours on no sleep is one of Jon's gift. Well, that and giving.
- Turks have a lot of assumptions about America, which is pretty funny because I think most Americans don't have any assumptions about Turkey.
- I am now, more than ever, confused by the Turkish culture.
- I am now, more than ever, intrigued by the Turkish culture.
- Individualism kinda annoys me. I never thought I'd say that.

As for this whole 2008 nonsense...make it a good one.