Turkey: Day #4 – Perge

So, today I had the awesome privilege of visiting the ancient ruins of Perge.  In the Bible it is known as Perga and was a place that Paul visited twice during his adventures.  It was really cool to see the pillars and walk the same roads that he must’ve walked when he was alive.  This is going to sound weird but it kind of reminded me of different video games I’ve played that are centred around that era because they felt very similar.  It was surreal in some ways and inspiring in others.  We are visiting one of the best preserved amphitheatres in the world tomorrow and I am really looking forward to experiencing that bit of roman construction too.  You begin to see just how civilized society was back then.  One photo I got was of a marble slab that had the symbol of a hook and knife on it, the symbols for a butcher.  So cool.  It made me think of Sean (my brother), and the stall he might have had if he was a butcher back then.

We came back (this was in the afternoon) and I had a great dinner with my fellow YP’s that are here.  There are 8 of us from the same district so it’s really fun to hang out and connect and I also met someone new from Lebanon.  A fearless but passionate man who invited me to visit him and see the work in Lebanon.  I am very excited about this and would like to see it happen sometime next year.  I also met up with someone who is taking a team to Uganda in August who has invited me to join him.  That one, I am seriously considering and will have to evaluate it a bit more before I make my decision.  I’ve been wanting to get to Uganda for a while and this seems like it could turn into a multi-year, church-based partnership that would compliment the work we are already involved with in Uganda.  So, things are happening and it looks like my travel abroad will be picking up instead of slowing down in the near future.  I wasn’t sure it would happen quite this way but thought it might.  God is clearly working through this gathering to create new partnerships and inspire people to a global perspective of the Great Commission.

Our main session tonight was really, really good.  By the way, the worship has been fantastic.  Anyway, the main session was really good and I felt convicted and encouraged at the same time.  Convicted that the noise of ministry was seeping into the experience and transformational process of holiness and encouraged that God loves me and approves of me no matter what difficulty I’m going through.  This past year has been incredibly intense and I don’t think many people realize how isolating and lonely it has been at work.  I am so thankful that God saw fit, this year, in his time, to send Lindsey.  She has been an incredible encouragement and support and she has really helped me get through this year.  So, I bought her a couple of things from the local artisans while I was out this afternoon.

Anyway, here’s a video that shows you exactly where I was and what I was doing and how cool Perge is.

Turkey – Perge Tour from theadvance on Vimeo.