“Tell me Barnabas: You have been in Turkey now for almost 10 months. What’s it like?”

The best part about living in Turkey are Turkish people. They have big, warm, Mediterranean hearts. It’s their culture to do anything to help a stranger, and that has made our introduction here very interesting. For example, one day shortly after our arrival, Esther and I were out walking. We were not lost, but a lady saw us with a map and wanted so much to help us that we couldn’t resist her. She ended up actually getting us lost trying to help us!

Recently, while searching for a car to buy, I met a man and his son who were selling theirs. After test driving their car, I told them I wasn’t interested. Even so, they said they would help me, and they spent the rest of the day driving me around to different car lots and giving me advice.

The Turks are very social, and tea is a big part of every day. You can always see men carrying tea glasses, even riding bicycles while balancing a tray of tea. As Americans have doorbells, Turks often have tea bells. Push the button, and it rings the neighborhood tea man, and he will be there almost instantly with tea glasses filled.

“Is life in Turkey much different from how it was in the States?”

Yes. I think city life is almost as big of a cultural adjustment for us as living in Turkey. Fortunately, God has provided us a quiet spot near a forest. But in two short minutes, we are in the thick of honking cars, crowded busses, and the buzz and blur of city life. Differences? There are many, some big and some little, but all are manageable. Some random items: It is polite to kiss the hand of an older person. Gasoline is nearly $7.50 a gallon. The grocery store has an entire aisle of olive oil. Toilets often don’t have bowls—only foot pads. When we finish eating dinner with friends, it is customary for them to bring lemon cologne and pour it in quantity on our hands until some spills on the floor. Tastes are very different. For example, bright orange and green are popular furniture colors. When we go out to lunch and order rice and green peppers and french-fried potatoes, without asking, they put about two cups of yogurt over all of the potatoes.

These kinds of differences are many, but I think the biggest difference here is not our lifestyle, but our livelihood. For me, having a hidden identity has been more difficult than I expected. In every conversation, I have to be careful to guard my past. When telling stories or making conversation, my pastoral work becomes “my counseling work,” church members are “friends,” evangelistic series become “motivational seminars,” mission trips that added stamps to my passport become “business trips,” etc. Putting this kind of muzzle on my mouth has been tough! It is a filter on the last 20 years of my life. Every day as I step out of my house, pick up the phone, or step into the presence of a Turk, I must assume a slightly filtered identity. This becomes taxing and certainly makes life different.

“What would visitors from the States notice quickly about where you live that is different from an American city?”

Well, they might be surprised to see children working. Eight-year-old boys carrying 200 sesame-covered bagels on their heads is something I’ve never seen in Detroit! A boy walking with a dirty shoeshine kit over his shoulder or selling small packages of Kleenex to drivers stopped at red lights is a common sight. The stores are all small here, and the products, whether ironing boards, plastic kitchen items, or office chairs, overflow the tiny shops and spill out onto the sidewalks. I think you would also notice how little respect cars here give to traffic lines. Drivers are polite, but a car’s “personal space” is about five inches. I think visitors might also be surprised at how modern some parts of our city are, how expensive it is to live here, and how secular it is.

What has been your most rewarding experience?”

I think one of the most rewarding moments was when Viraj, one of the Adventist Turks here, told me about a private conversation he had with my Muslim friend Akrem (Akrem doesn’t know that Viraj is an Adventist) one day when he stepped into Akrem’s nutshop. As the two chatted, they began talking about me. “Barnabas is having a great impact here,” Akrem volunteered. “He really is making a positive impression on this whole community. He is having a much bigger impact than he even knows.” For a man who doesn’t know that I am aiming to have an impact, I thought that was a most interesting comment and one that certainly filled me with joy.

“What has been more difficult than you thought it would be?”

It has been a lot more painful having my little boy away from his grandparents and aunts and uncles than I thought it would be. Family is important to me, and denying them the daily pleasure of seeing our boy grow has been difficult. Our families have been very supportive though, and in the bigger picture, we all understand this thing is about God being with or apart from His children forever.

“What is the general attitude of the people toward Americans?”

Most everyone I have met has expressed their love for Americans. People feel that through the Iraq war, American leadership has made some really bad choices with questionable motives.

They are able, however, to separate American politics from American citizens, and they treat us kindly.

“What would you say has been your greatest challenge?”

This winter, the combination of cold buildings, long school days, few furnishings for the house, not enough warm clothes and blankets, daily public transportation with a small child, etc. took its toll in sickness. Because of school, we didn’t have much time to shop and didn’t want to spend money as we expected our shipment of things from the States to come soon. Slowly, over time, we had to fill our apartment with necessities. Finally, on April 20, eight months late, our boxes arrived!

“You are living in a country where Christianity rose and was wiped out. Later, Adventism rose and then nearly died out. What do you see as possibilities for the future? Are you really hopeful that something can happen?”

Absolutely! I can see that God has a plan to bring Turks to Him in great numbers. We have seen much spiritual interest here. It is true that the Adventist church is nearly non-existent here. But we owe a lot to other Christians and mission organizations for their faithful seed-sowing over the years. (There are well over 300 missionaries of different denominations in this country. We have met many from Korea, Brazil, and Germany.)
My wish is that our church would be as creative and global in its investment in mission here as other denominations are. Just last week while I was in a Turkish man’s office, he pulled open a drawer and took out a New Testament in Turkish. He said he had just ordered it from an advertisement in the newspaper and intended to read it. What a surprise!

Similarly, two weeks ago, while I was sitting with a Turkish friend at his workplace, he opened the newspaper in front of us and showed me an ad for a Josh McDowell book on the subject of Jesus’ resurrection. It gave an 800 number for a free copy. He said he would order the book. This kind of advertising takes money and manpower (it’s no small thing to package and distribute several thousand books.) But most of all, in this country, it takes permission. Adventists are not currently a registered group. There are advances being made in this area which I am not at liberty to discuss in this magazine. Whether above ground or underground, God’s cause will win in His way and His time.

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