Kai comes to visit

Since getting home from Turkey our house has been full.......it's been awesome! You see, Kai came to visit, along with his parents of course. It's incredible to see how much he had grown in the two weeks since we had seen him over the Thanksgiving weekend.

He's starting to smile which of course melts the heart of anyone nearby.

Watching football with Buppa is a mandatory activity for all Beck Grandchildren.....

Mornings are his best time it seems. He loves to smile, tries to coo and generally just welcomes the day with a grin.

Bathtimes are no longer traumatic for him. His favorite time is getting his back washed....can you tell? He is just hanging out and loving every minute of it!

Thanks Heather and Matt for coming down and spending the week with us. You just barely left but already the house seems so quiet. Come again soon!

Istanbul not Constantinople

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night.

Friday morning we were at the Antalya Airport bright and early....and wearing matching outfits!!! Purely by accident but funny just the same!

We were headed for Istanbul(and not Constantinople! Couldn't help but think of that old song.) We only had a few hours there but got to see some amazing sights of the city, starting with a view of the impressive skyline of this city that is in both Europe and Asia.

It is on the Black Sea which somehow touched a heart string of mine since my grandmother was born on the Black Sea and my mother grew up close to it for her early years.

This was our first view of the famous Hagia Sophia, a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum...built in 532 and the largest cathedral in the world for almost 1000 years.

The Blue Mosque was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Istanbul.

It really was a most amazing structure....and pictures really don't even begin to show how magnificent it was.

There was so much more to see, but I just wanted to give you a glimpse of a most incredible day! We're home now and life continues on...but I will cherish the memories!

Mediterranean Sunset

Although I am home again, my body is still not quite sure which continent I am on or what time zone I am in. And I have the most amazing memories that I will cherish for a lifetime.

One of those memories was from my last day in Antalya when I was able to swim in the Mediterranean for one last time. It was so amazing to just relax and enjoy both the scenery and the exercise.

As I watched the sun go down I couldn't help but think about our family back in North America. So right then and there, I wrote the name of all 7 of our grandchildren there in the sand. Although the waves washed their names away, they are forever written on my heart in the same way that we are forever written in the palm of his hand!

It was a moment in time.....forever in my heart!

Today I walked where Paul walked......

Today was the most amazing day!!! We visited Perge, where Paul preached on his first missionary journey(check out Romans 14) It was absolutely incredible...it's way beyond my bedtime but I really wanted to get some of these pictures up to share with all of you back home! Enjoy....

It really was a most incredible day!! God is so good!

Going to the Nations

What an adventure we are on! Everywhere we turn, we hear different languages, and see people from many different countries.....

For Karen and I, this has been an amazing opportunity to interact and network with people from around the world. Coffee Breaks, lunches, dinners and times at night after the last session are times to interact with one another and others who are doing online ministry.

In the conference room, we are seated together at tables that always have multiple nationalities represented. One morning we had 6 different countries represented, from the Netherlands, to Great Britain, Canada, USA, Singapore and Kyrgyrstan.

What's been so fun has been to see old friends that I met two years ago when MinistryNet met in Bangkok...from England, Singapore, India, and the Netherlands. But it's also been a chance to meet new friends that I have been working with over the past year, like Marina from Russia! We have had many emails and skype calls, became friends on Facebook and finally now we got to meet face to face!


Marina is key in her area of Eastern Europe and so last night after the final session she organized a meeting with us along with staff from several different countries where Russian is spoken....what fun to dialogue about how we might partner together in the different countries! God is at work across the globe and we are privileged to have front row seats to what he is doing.

As I walked away from our last meeting last night with the 'Russian' Team I couldn't help but reflect that my maternal grandmother spent her early years in Odessa, Russia, across the Black Sea from Turkey and my mother was born in Romania, a country that also borders the Black Sea. Now here I was in Antalya, meeting with these dear men and women who are doing ministry in Russian and who we are and will continue to partner with in the weeks and months ahead. God is soooo good!

Dinner with Friends

On Sunday evening at the conference we had our first 'working' meal.....talking ministry and strategies as we had dinner with friends, fellow staff from Canada, albeit from a different ministry than ours. There are five Canadians here out of the 175 attendees from 37 countries! What an international adventure we are on.

This morning Karen and I met for breakfast on the Terrace.

We had a guest who was begging beside us! However the Resort gave us express instructions NOT to feed the cats! But how can you refuse a face like this? I did....refuse that is.

I love the way they have trimmed these bushes....breakfast company too!

 

Today we had lunch, dinner and coffee with friends!  I met Michael and Fiona in Thailand. They serve in Malaysia so today we talked about how we could partner with them and help accelerate their work.

We have had a 'Malaysian' lunch, a 'Dutch' dinner, and a 'Russian' coffee after the last session as we met with staff from these countries to talk, strategize and learn from one another. What an amazing time....God is so good! This is the view from the Terrace where we have been meeting everyone! Can't beat the view.

It truly was an amazing day!

Swimming in the Meditteranean Sea

There are times in my life when I can hardly believe all that God is doing and has done. Today was one of those days! You see, I am in Antalya, Turkey, attending an international internet ministry conference and guess what? It's on the Mediterranean Sea! This morning I sat on my balcony and had my quiet time....I could see other conferees sitting on theirs too...

For lunch I met two other friends and we looked over the water as we ate and shared about what God is doing in our lives and ministries...

In between I went for a wonderful swim in my own private pool!! There wasn't a soul it in that early in the morning....of course by this afternoon all the deck chairs were full, but this morning I swam and prayed without a soul in sight.

This afternoon was the highlight though.....here it is! The Mediterranean Sea...and I got to swim in it!! And yes, I did feel like I had to pinch myself. A Canadian Grandmother swimming in the Mediterranean...God is so good!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving

We are home again after a wonderful Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend with Heather and Matt and little Kai, and Jamie and Megan and their boys! As usual we have hundreds of pictures to choose from but I just wanted to post a few that are neat memories of our time together......

It was so fun just being together...seeing Aidan and Jaxon get used to 'Baby Kai', see them having fun with their aunt and uncle, and of course holding and enjoying Kai. We have so much to be thankful for. Too bad we were missing our Texas sweethearts who were thought of often.