Wednesday

"Got up early for the last time. We left at 8:30am. Arrived at our new friends' apartment and we were greeted by the husband, yay! We were concerned however though because his wife was not there (she had to run to the store). He seemed very excited to see us all again. His wife showed up with her older good friend and fixed us for breakfast:

Potato salad, hard boiled eggs, block cheese, stringy cheese (makes your hands smell like dirty feet), olives, grape syrup (which Amy dropped her potatoes in), tomato based paste, and bread.

After breakfast, the guys immediately headed to backgammon and checkers. The husband pretty much dominated all day. Billy was given the opportunity to share a personal experience from his own life of how God has always been there for him; good times and bad. Cat and Amy went with the wife to her shop and got to see her with her clients. We also got to visit with another worker there. Then, we went back and helped the wife make a lunch of gozleme (equivalent to a quesadilla), Shepard's salad, and oh yes, aran.

The guys played some more games, while the girls started on dinner. We prepared it really early, then drank cay and looked at the wife's pictures. In the meantime the guys left and went on a walk. We also walked around the park and continue our conversations that we had started earlier with the husband. We found some native stuff that we will be bringing home to show everyone. Then, we headed back to our host home.

For dinner-if you can picture a potato sized hush puppy type meat filled food, then you can picture what we had for dinner, along with tomato soup, Shepard's salad, and cheese desert.

We played some more games and talked, then prepared to say our goodbyes. Trent made the wife cry. We left them with some Godly words of encouragement and took some pictures. She presented Cat and Amy with bracelets. When leaving, we could really see that we had made an impact; on us as well as them. We know God has used us and feel so blessed to have hopefully made lifetime relationships. Continue to pray for them. They need your prayers so desperately. She is the only believer in their city and it can literally be a 'give it all up for Christ' sort of deal for him."

They are currently traveling back to the States today, so pray for safe (and on-time) flights!!

More news from the Team......

Here is an account of the team's week so far:

Sunday

"We went to one of the workers' houses and fellowshipped. (We doubled their size!) Had awesome music, a gracious lesson on glorifying God, ate some amazing enchiladas, and then spent some time relaxing. We went out (almost all the way) to the lighthouse at the end of a very long pier. Beautiful sunset. Came back, found some foreign junk food-lots of it, then played some Phase 10. We won't say who won, but let's just say Cat didn't play much and Amy dominated. "

Monday

"Got up REALLY early, traveled to a nearby village, and experienced our first of three days of learning from a native family about culture: traditions, food, and sharing our faith. The husband was not present for the first day because he was experiencing foot problems. (the husband is not a believer)

We ate breakfast: goat sausage (very good), olives, cheese spread w/peppers, bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, grape syrup (aka.cough syrup), and cay. (tea)

Then, we went into town to visit the park. We browsed the native crafts.

For lunch we had lentil soup, cucumber soup (similar to creamed cucumbers), liver and rice, green beans, and bread. Followed by small, but strong cups of coffee. Billy will be bringing some home, so if you want to try some (which you should), you'll have to think of something good to bribe him with or just try some really good sucking up. Then, he might let you try (he's pretty protective of it).

After lunch we went and visited our familys' business. She is a florist, and also decorates for weddings and other special occasions. She is very, very talented! Then, we browsed the city for cay, coffee, cay pots, and toasted corn (which, by the way is awesome!), then back to town to walk and find English speakers.

Dinner consisted of more lentil soup, beans and rice, stew, rice wrapped in grape leaves, and bread.

We sat and talked while having tea after dinner. We got to share some stories of the day and really share about the importance of God in our lives. Then, we went back to our hotel and to bed earlier than usual. "

Tuesday

"Got up early again. Had a short devotion, drove to the village, and went to the worker’s apartment.

For breakfast today we had eggs, tomatoes, cheese, cucumbers, olives, grape syrup, bread, and really good discussion.

Every Tuesday, they have a Bazaar. They have a lot of vendors selling lots of different things: clothes, plants, toys, tablecloths, head scarves, fresh produce, etc. It was about the size of Wal-Mart except out in the open. While at the Bazaar we met a cheese man. We sat and talked with him for a good while. We ate all kinds of different cheeses, bread, and tomatoes that he gave us. We drank nescafe and homemade aran. (For you all on the other team, this is why you had to drink buttermilk.) Buttermilk does not even compare. Let me tell you it is tasty and for Cat and Amy, tasty means trying to swallow it with a pleasant face and keep it down.

For lunch it was soup, manta (yogurt and noodles), and bread.

After lunch, we showed pictures from back home, e.g. ice storm and family. Then, our host took us to a horse farm. It was really fun. It was nice to share with her something she enjoys. We also tried several kinds of fruit from trees that were on the farm. We went back to her home and played backgammon and checkers. Then, her husband showed up for the first time since we had visited them. He played a few games, then we had dinner.

Dinner: soup, stew with lamb/peas, rice, and sweet cheese for desert w/sugar (the best cheese we've ever had).

After dinner, we had coffee while Billy played the wife in Backgammon. Then, he was forced to play the husband. Billy lost. We pray that the husband will be there tomorrow. Tonight was really good and we hope for more conversation tomorrow with the husband. Remember the husband is not a believer. "

Please continue to pray for the team, the relationships they are building, and the seeds they are planting!

Update From Central Asia

Here are some recent events that the team have experienced:

Day1
On their first day they visited some of the tourists sites in the city, then had a lunch of Doner wraps, rice pudding and baklava. Got in some shopping then back to the hotel to rest for a while.They went back down to the waterfront later to see some of the street vendors, then went back to their hotel to enjoy cay tea at the hotel’s rooftop café. They were able to develop some new friendships that first day and get a ‘taste’ of the country.

By the second day, they went down to sit in a park area between two Mosques. They guessed what countries all the tour groups were from, observed chai-men, (they are men that walk around selling tea) and conversed with each other. Then, they took two taxis to catch the boat to their next destination. The boat ride lasted about 2 hours, which was like an oversized bus on the water. (And really, really uncomfortable for napping.) Settled into their hotel, then had a Turkish-Italian meal (aka. spaghetti) with our friends. Then they went back to the hotel and ‘tried’ to sleep. They were being “entertained” by the night club next door and the mosque speaker right out our window.

On their third day Trent & Billy went to the barber. Trent got a haircut, Billy got a shave, and they both got their ears ‘torched’.

I later found out this means they had their ears waxed. Yeah….sounds like fun to me!!

In the meantime, Cat and Amy explored the shopping area while seeking out English speakers. Then, they met up and ate lunch at the park, which only costs them $12 for everything. Then they traveled to a resort village with the intent to look for individuals to start building relationships with. As soon as they got there, they chatted with a guy who ran an ice cream place. Then, they broke into two groups, guys and girls. The guys went one way, the girls another looking for people who spoke English.

"Here is the guys story: We were looking for people who spoke English, but everyone we found had the intent of selling things. Trent encouraged Billy to go into a particular shop and the worker directed us down the street to another store. When we went into this other store, one of the girls spoke good English and before we knew it, there was an older man who started speaking to both of us. He asked a lot of questions, as did we, and we shared tea & nes café (instant coffee). After about an hour, the man took us to a bookstore to find a particular book about the Ottoman Empire. This man just happened to write historical articles for the local newspaper . However, they did not have one in English, so he was going to find a book in his library and get in touch with us later. We met his wife, son, and daughter and had some great conversation with them.

Here is the girls story: We wandered through a couple of shops and found a couple of younger girls who spoke English, but none could speak well enough to carry on a conversation. We were not having much luck finding very many girl English speakers, so we decided to just do some walking. We decided to walk towards the water by a playground that seemed to have several moms there. When we got closer, we noticed two girls sitting by themselves. We approached them and started talking. They didn't speak much English, but encouraged us to sit and talk with them. We conversed through charades, laughter, and what little of the language each of us knew. After about 40 minutes, we decided to walk up towards our meeting spot. As we were walking, they showed us their boat. They ended up teaching us some of their language and we just had a great time.

We met back up with the guys, introduced all of our new friends to each other, then headed back to the town we were staying in. We grabbed some dinner, then went and spent some time with our friends that we had shared a meal with on the first night there. We shared tea, some of us more than others. Trent had 14 glasses. And we also played a very, very long game of phase 10.

God revealed Himself so greatly to us! He answered prayers, gave us direction, and just filled us with joy. We've been so blessed already and are so excited to see what He is going to do in the next few days. "

So as you can see, they’ve been pretty busy already. I do want to mention that the tea ‘glasses’ are very small and only hold about ¼ cup of liquid. I will update as I receive more updates from Billy.

Bragging Rights

Our son Christopher was on the Yearbook staff this year at his High School, and he got to design the cover! Here is a picture of the front and back:

















And here is the acknowledgment page:














GOOD JOB CHRISTOPHER!!!

Well, we've had quite a bit going on in the ole' Grady house in the past week. I had a great Mother's Day; was able to spend time not only with my own mother, but Danny's mother came in for a visit as well.

Monday evening we had a nice dinner with the graduating college seniors (another 'gift' the BSU provides for the graduates every year). Tuesday morning Billy flew to Chicago to get VISAs for an upcoming trip overseas which was a blessing in itself because he was able to use his accumulated miles and it only cost us $80!! He was to return that evening arriving here around 9:30. He was able to meet up with a good friend from China and she helped get him around the city and to the Consulate. He obtained the VISAs and headed back to the airport with about 4 hours to spare. Got to his gate, looked at the flight info screen and everything was on time. ...well at least he THOUGHT so.

He just happened to look back at the flight info screen about 2 hours before his flight was to leave and noticed THIS time it said "CANCELLED". HUH?? He went to the flight counter to verify this and sure enough, it was cancelled....and apparently HAD been for most of the afternoon!! The lady asked to look at his e-ticket and she noticed that the flight time said '8:00 a.m.' which was was that morning's flight time was! She looked again and they had already booked him on the NEXT MORNING'S flight!! Well....not sure why the flight info screen wasn't updated when he got there, but it wasn't. They gave him a discount voucher for a hotel room, but considering he would just have to be back at the airport by 6:30 AM....he decided to stick it out in the airport all night. All he had brought with him was the VISA information, and his camera. He didn't need anything else because he was coming back the same day! Luckily though he did have his 'ZUNE' player with him and watched some movies he had downloaded as well as talk to some other individuals in the same situation including a lady from Canada who was very nice, so he wasn't totally bored. His flight left on time Wednesday morning and he was back home by 9:30 a.m.

Thursday night was the banquet for the High School Band; we enjoyed good food and some good music. Chris was able to be in the jazz band this year, so they played a few tunes. And our niece that is graduating sang a song with them as well.














We actually had a relatively quiet weekend, which gave Billy some time to prepare for his next trip back to Central Asia; his team left this morning from St. Louis at 9:55 (which meant he had to leave here at 5AM to drive up there). Please pray for a safe flight and a great experience for all while they are over there.

Senior "Mugging"

Every year at the MSU- BSU they have a "Senior Mugging" night. NO, they don't kidnap the graduating seniors and mug them....they actually GIVE them a 'mug'...hence "mugging"!!

This year Billy had offered to have it at our home, and at the same time burn off some brush that has been accumulating in our backyard since the ice storm. We were going to roast hot dogs over the 'bonfire' and just enjoy the outdoors for a while. Well.....God had other plans. We had been getting rain off and on all week, and Friday morning Billy and the rest of the BSU staff made a decision to have it in the BSU basement due to the chance of rain.

Well it's a good thing they did!! Just about the time it would have started, a pretty big storm developed and moved over the northside of town; it was quite a 'gully-washer'!! So we all kept warm and dry and still got to enjoy grilled hot dogs and hamburgers.

There were 5 students this year that qualified for the 'mugging', and they basically call the person up to the front of the room; the director tells us a little bit about them and then invite the others there to tell 'stories' about how they met that person, or a funny story about them, etc. They are then officially named a "BSU Alumni". The BSU also takes the seniors out for dinner at a local restaurant as well.

Another year of school is almost over....can you believe it??

Back In The Swing Of Things

Well, we've been back in town for almost a week now, and it's been kind of hard getting back into a 'normal' routine. Vacations sure do spoil you when you don't really have an 'agenda'!!

This month will be plenty busy though with end-of-school activities not only on the college level, but high school as well. There will be college 'senior' activities, and the high school band will have their annual banquet in a couple of weeks. We also have a niece graduating this year from high school. (we have 1 more niece and 1 more nephew to go along with Christopher!)

Our daughter and son-in-law have been in Phoenix visiting Danny's older brother; they have a 2yr old daughter named Catherine, so she is not too much older than Sydney. Here is a pic of them both together:










As you can see, Sydney is just a little bit more 'filled out' than Catherine! I think they all had a good time even though they were only able to stay a few days.

Billy will be taking a team back to Central Asia the last 2 weeks of this month; we were able to visit the same area while we were there and it is a beautiful city. I'm afraid the customs agents will begin to wonder if we have property in that area with Billy visiting so often!!