"Tea Time" Vol. 3

When I last wrote, we were getting ready for a tourist day. I had a tough Monday working while Tuesday began to show signs of some progress. The direction of the next days here could have gone either way. I will ruin the dramatic tension by saying that I went up, way way up :)

On Wednesday, the group traveled all the way to Ephesus in Turkey. I won't say how long the drive was and in which direction less I say things I shouldn't. For the sake of honesty, I WILL say that it was an all-day trip. It is such a gorgeous place!! There is crazy amounts of history in the city and it was such a trip to be walking on ground that I read about both in textbooks and in the Bible.
Our first stop was the last house of Mary, Christ's mother. I appreciated the sign at the entrance sighting sources that increases the locations' validity both Biblically (which is not a word according to this computer), mystically and scientifically. It read of how John (if I recall correctly) was given the command to care for Jesus' mother after his death and how he left to Turkey at a later date. A member of a prestigious church in Europe had a vision of the mountainous location of Mary's last resting place so an excavation was set out. They found the remains of a home and a well at the exact location that was described in the vision. Mystical or coincidental? Totally up to you, but there was definitely some crazy stuff going on in those mountain woods. Hundreds (maybe thousands) of written prayers were placed on a wall just outside the house (which was then converted to a shrine (most likely by Catholics methinks)), 'twas crazy to see.
After going to Mary's house we went to Ephesus (Mary's house was on a mountainside a few miles away from Ephesus) and let me just say WOW. There will definitely be a large mass of pictures uploaded when the team gets home because all the photographers were going crazy. Paved roadways were still in decent condition (probably restored, but it definitely didn't take away from it). The library was this massive three-story wonder made of stone with huge columns. I felt so small and so in awe of the city of Ephesus. We ended our walk through the ruins at the largest amphitheater in the city. Those things were pretty dang massive! It's the same style of amphitheater used for old Greek plays which is cool because I just finished studying Greek plays this past quarter! A few songs later (because some of us like singing in amphitheaters) we headed to a local restaurant that looked more like a four-room house than a restaurant, but the food was great!


So Wednesday was tourist day, which leads into Thursday (at least according to Rebecca Black's song "Friday," but then again, who actually knows the days of the week these days). Thursday I got to switch campuses to work back in our main city. The change of environment is EXACTLY what I needed. This campus was not spaced out with buildings 500 yards apart. This was much more American-styled. Also, one of the locals who was working with the team tagged along with me. Having someone who speaks the local language was insanely helpful. I ended up having a great conversation with a physics (perhaps, or some sort of smart thing that wasn't engineering) major who was 6'3" which is not normal for Middle-Easterners. We got his number, but we weren't able to meet up with him later :(
Thursday was a day I got to really connect with our local friend who was helping the team. This guy has such an amazingly soft heart. He loves ranch and bbq sauce (two items not common to this country) and detests a lot of the local food. He's basically in love with American food. This guy also has been condemned by his parents because of his faith (heavy transition from food to spirituality? yup). He told the team that his friends had first disowned him and then when he brought his spiritual journey to his parents, they no longer wanted anything to do with him. He then went on to say that Christianity has brought him a "better family" than he could have had. This young man has given away all his previous Earthly relationships for the sake of his beliefs. I respect this man more than I could ever express.
Moving right along (because I'm ditching the more cinematic style of telling the story for the sake of chronology), Thursday night's key dinner point: Waffles with local chocolate, kiwis, strawberrys, and bananas. That plus orange and or apple tea = Ian is one happy human being.

*pauses to listen to the post-midnight call to prayer. This Arabic call happens five times a day over loudspeakers throughout the city. This is the thirteenth time I've heard it in the few days I've been here. It is both a beautiful and eerie cry. In the mornings, it goes off around five in the morning and I get to see the curtains blowing in the Middle-East breeze. It is beautiful then. At night it is louder and more distorted on the speakers. It seems harsher and angrier. The weirdest thing is that no matter what time of day it is, NO ONE in this entire city bows and prays when the call to prayer comes. Locals have told me they ignore it; they don't even notice it. A city where the same religious call comes out every day for all to hear and no one cares enough to respect it. Bizarre indeed.*

Friday (today) came rolling in. Today was a late start for me. For the first time all week I slept in past 8:20 and I only woke up two or three time the night before (compared to the four or five times I had been waking up before). The last few days I have been able to walk through the city's streets to cafes and order my food either by myself or with one of the guys so we can start our day hearing about one anothers' lives. This morning I rushed to grab some bread rolls (one of which tasted like it had Shepard's pie inside) before getting to our morning meeting. I was so excited to get to work today. It was our last day on campus so go big or go home yeah? I may never see any of these people again, so I was determined to make an impact on their lives one way or another. With a new partner, I set first on the same campus as Thursday ready to get out of my comfort zone and love some local students.
Our first real conversation lead me to talking with one of the most stubborn atheists I've ever discussed with. I did appreciate, however, his openness and politeness to hearing my views and his friends' were interested in hearing about what I had to say. One of the locals next to this man said he was sad that no one on campus liked the band Thrice. I instantly turned to him and asked, "Excuse me? Did you say you listen to Thrice?"
"Yes yes. We play some songs. You listen?"
"Thrice might just be my favorite band."
"Oh yes! You know them? How you say....post-hardcore? We play melting point of... melting point of wax. You know song? yes yes we play we play."

Basically I made a good friend.

Our second interaction was VERY unique. When we moved cafe's a member of our team had an older student in the beginnings of conversation one-on-one. For name's sake (both because I'm trying to not reveal identities and because I can't spell local's names for the life of me anyway), I will say he introduced his name as "Barrack" (which is what it sounded like to me anyway, though he corrected me a few times during the conversation). This man had lived a year or two in New Jersey working, but had spent the rest of his life in this country. When I got to talk to him about spiritual things, he told me a view that he believed all Muslims should hold. For the sake of blog publicity, I will keep the details and opinions expressed in this conversation private. We discussed the differences between our two religions and he told me he likes to learn about religions that are older than Islam. I took that as an open invitation to share some theology...

*in between this paragraph and the next paragraph, I learned to play backgammon, met a local who wanted to walk with me everywhere even though he knew about 20 English words, and ate lamb*

Tonight we had a "party." A chance for use to introduce some of the people we've interacted with this week to members of our team who will be here when we leave. Barrack ended up coming amongst about 15 other locals! There was much backgammon, chess, jenga, checkers, coffee and tea. These locals are so cool after everyone gets over the whole "hi I'm a random American coming up to talk to you on your college campus." We spent the whole night meeting locals, talking about what it is to be an American, music artists, which celebrities our team looks like and whether or not Borat is a name that is common anywhere in the Middle East.
I haven't laughed as much as I did tonight in a very very long time. It was great to see two nations come together in one place for the sake of having fun and loving one another. Deep discussions were had by some and I pray that the way we love one another and the way that we loved the locals will have an impact on them for years to come if not forever. I would lay my life down if it meant my local friends here were able to know the Love that I live for and travel halfway around the world just to share.

*Insert John 15:13 or Thrice's "For Miles"
I pray that you in the same way can know Love that is as wide and long and high and deep as the Infinite.


As I sit here in my hobo beanie and boxers in a kitchen that I will only see for one more day I say Thank You reader. Thank you for putting in the time to love me with your time. This trip has been such a crazy experience that few will ever get the chance to live. I know I have been talking a lot more casually in these blog posts, but I can't help the fact that this time has taken away my pensive nature and placed in it a "just do it" mentality for the time being. I think that this week has "dumbed down" my language for the time being due to the language barrier that has surrounded me. Thank you for being patient with my lack of eloquence. It is seven minutes 'til one in the morning so I must hurry up and post this so I can quickly scan it for errors and then I can sleep. One last day in this land! Be loved my dear reader. So loved. Not Bruno Mars catching grenades kind of love, but the kind where someone who has lived without fault finds you worthy of laying their life down willingly.

For your sake.

You are a continued blessing in my life. Thank you for those who have been and continue to pray for my team and for this nation. There are so many wonderful and beautiful and righteous things happening here. It has been an honor to be a part of it.

- Ian M. Charbonnet