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| China Largest Bible Publisher |
| In July 2012, the 100 millionth copy of the Bible was printed in China, making it the world’s largest publisher of Bibles. There are an estimated 120 million Christians in China—which means not everyone has a Bible yet. The TM tour to China in November 2013 will visit Amity Printing, which is the only company in China sanctioned by the government to print Bibles. |
What a two weeks we have had together. We had our final meal in the Plaka area of Athens this evening. We said goodbye to our guide, Yannis, who has a great passion for his country, its history and culture
Ruins of the Odeon Theatre
The group of the World of Paul got along really well, and have really been challenged in our understanding of the apostle through the dynamic teaching of Tom Yoder Neufeld. It has been a wonderful ride through the footsteps of Paul.
~ Fred Redekop
This day was one of mostly driving from Samarkand, the “Jewel of the Orient” to Bukhara, the “Holy City of Islam”—with a serendipitous event in Serabulak. We always stop to visit the mosque, where during the winter of 1881-82, villagers invited sojourning Mennonites to use their mosque. (Would North American Mennonites invite a migrant group of Muslims to share our meetinghouses? I hope so!)
Not only did Mennonites worship in the mosque, perform 21 baptisms and two marriages, but several families moved in and made it their home! Others were camped around the mosque, some in donkey stalls. We marveled at the uncommon hospitality shown to historic trekkers, as well as to current ones—our group of 18. But read on! The hospitality continues.
The imam’s brother, Sunatillo Karimov, invited us to his house for tea—the first such experience in TM trekker history. We sat cross-legged on colorful carpets around a low table Uzbek style. We were served tea, dried fruit, nuts, and naan, large, round, flat loaves of bread. Our host’s wife and daughter-in-law kept our tea pots filled, while Karimov and 90-year-old Ziyodillo Buranov entertained us with wit and humor. Here’s an example: After we had been invited to Karimov’s house, Buranov, invited us to his house for tea. I said that I understood Uzbek etiquette to require two refusals before accepting the third invitation, so we could not possibly come to his house today. Buranov quickly solved the problem by loudly repeating his invitation three times! This we clearly understood, even though it was in Uzbek. How we loved his humor and wit! In the end he, too, came to Karimov’s home with us.
As we enjoyed tea, Karimov added a new thread to the Serabulak story. His ancestor was a wealthy local merchant who traded goods, transporting them by camel caravans. As an extension of Uzbek hospitality, he sent the trekking Mennonites away in the spring with gifts and money. He helped finance the trek to Khiva! And on this day, Karimov, also obviously wealthy, entertained us in his exceptionally nice home. As we entered, he gave us a standing invitation to any and all future family weddings, surely another Uzbek custom. Uzbek wives, they told us, were perfect in every way.
As we were leaving, others of the large extended family appeared and wished us well. After an exchange of chocolates (given by the Farquhars) and photographs (which we were eager to shoot), we boarded the bus for another four hours on the road to Bukhara.
~ John Sharp
On Wednesday we spent five hours at the Ephesus site. It was a leisurely walk from the south gate to the north gate; oh, besides losing two of our group for a little bit! We saw many of the sites that showed Roman Imperial power, with statues, gates and buildings. When Paul was writing he was speaking to this reality. Tom did a Bible study at the 6th century basilica of the Virgin Mary. He read and commented on the account from the book of Acts. Following this, we sang two verses of “Lord, I want to be a Christian.” Lois Siemens then read the passage from the book of Revelation “to the angel at Ephesus.”
In the afternoon, we had a cultural experience at a carpet co-op. The guide who showed us around was very good, and his workers snapped the many carpets at our feet. We had apple tea, Turkish coffee and raki to soften our hearts and wallets. The carpets were made from a variety of materials including cotton, silk and wool and were breathtaking.
On Thursday we visited one of the oldest sites of archeology in all the world. On the same piece of ground, the site of Troy has nine civilizations that have been excavated. It goes back to the era of the Hittites, over 4000 years ago. Wow!
On Friday we traveled to the monuments of the Gallipoli war campaign. The battles took place in 1915 and 1916, and had much horror connected to them. The Turks defeated the Australian and New Zealand forces during these battles, and it led eventually to the formation of the Turkish Republic in 1923 following the end of WW I.
Yesterday afternoon, we said goodbye to our wonderful Turkish guide, Erkal, and bus driver, Mahmet the Magnificent, as we left Turkey and entered Greece to explore the next part of Paul’s journey. If you want to follow in your Bibles, look in Acts 16, where it says “he left Troy and went to Samothrace….” We are following this journey for the next five days.
Today is another fine day on our exploration of the world of Paul. We saw a new mosaic in the town of Kavala of Paul the Apostle, highlighting that he was the first convert to enter European soil. After this we explored the ancient site of Philippi, where we looked at two ancient church sites from the 6th century, and the traditional site where Paul and Silas had been imprisoned. We took about three hours to tour the place where Paul had been.
After a short drive, we visited the site where the conversion of Lydia is observed. Tom read the text of Lydia’s baptism, and had a short devotional on the text. One of the songs we sang was, “Have you not Heard of that Beautiful Stream.”
We arrived in Thessaloniki just a few minutes ago, after a visit to the Church of St. Demetrius. This church has played an important role in the theology of the Orthodox Church and history of the city.
As you read this you can see we had another busy day. At times it may seem that we are running in the footsteps of Paul.
Shalom and strength for the journey of faith and life.
~ Fred Redekop
Istanbul has been a two day whirlwind of mosques, palaces, churches and markets. We have heard the different languages of the crowds, the call of the muezzin from the minarets, the honking of the ever dense traffic and the competent information provided by our Turkish guide, Gokcen. We have eaten well, from Turkish fast food on the street to cultural dishes in the restaurants such as “Sultan’s Delight” which included smoked mashed eggplant (some would say it was better than mashed potatoes). And of course you can’t forget the Turkish Delight from every vendor in sight.
An afternoon Bosphorus cruise was delightful as Gokcen commentated all along the way. Our evening ended at the airport as we checked into a midnight flight to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Oh my, the rules do change from country to country. We did eventually get seats and as we were waiting at the departure gate John gave us our first Great Trek story.
We arrived safely at 630am and all our bags were there. For this we are grateful. None of us will ever forget our entry into Uzbekistan. The Uzbek gentleman in front of me commented after almost 3 hrs at customs, “I hope your impression of our country will not be determined from your experience in the airport”.
We know it will improve each hour we spend trekking the Mennonites for the next week.
~ Audrey Voth Petkau
We have arrived in Istanbul, Turkey for the beginning of our Great Trek tour. We are excited to see this city along the Bosphorus Sea. We are excited that we will take a cruise on the Bosphorus which divides Europe from Asia.
Walking from our hotel in Istanbul, we saw lots of dishes with many colors. The restaurants all seem to have one or two guys who are eager to show us a menu and invite us in. We had so enjoyed the cats of the church that were disappointed with a dog outside the gate who was ambitious enough to bark at everyone passing by but seemed too lazy to actually get up and make a serious challenge to anyone.
For lunch we were tempted to eat the familiar – McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King or Subway – but we resisted and had our Turkish sandwich, a donair kebab.
We are still learning the names of our group and haven’t really got to playing the Mennonite Game – figuring out whether you are a ninth cousin or a twelfth cousin. That will be for another day.
~ Joyce and Cleora Warkentin
The weather is great, being over 30˚C during the day. After a few days of exploring the world of Islam, we have begun our group journey with Paul. We have visited Laodiceia and Hierapolis, both mentioned in Colossians. We have also visited the site of Sardis, where there are ruins of a 6th century church which remind us of our earliest beginnings. Yesterday we ended at Aphrodisias, the city dedicated to the Gospel of love.
In Revelation 3, there is a note to the angel of Laodiceia, about being neither hot or cold. At the ancient site, there is a high rock where the cold water from the south meets the hot springs water from the north. We read that text from Revelation. It was a holy moment for all of us.
Fred Redekop
We have had a good two days here in Istanbul. The old sites of Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Chora Church never disappoint. The lines for the sites are long, and the traffic is the worst in 30 years, according to our guide. Today we leave for ancient Nicea. Tom Yoder Neufeld gave a short intro to the world and life of Paul on Friday night, and so today we begin to explore our journeys with Paul by visiting the places of the church, where he might have visited and looking at our own lives with the Apostle.
~ Fred Redekop
Today was a travel day. We journeyed along the Jordan River from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea in 42° C temperature, from lush agriculture to the desert. We saw the sheep and goats feeding on the dry barren hills and valleys under the watchful eye of their Bedouin shepherds. We visited Qumran, the site of the caves where the Dead Sea scrolls were found, and Jericho to see the Mount of Temptation, where Jesus spent his 40 days in the wilderness. No one was prepare to duplicate that feat.
Of course, the highlight was the swim-float in the Dead Sea. This was a double header for Erika Koepke who was the only one to swim in both the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Everyone was excited as we drove from Jericho up to Jerusalem–an elevation change of 1300 metres. The air of Jerusalem is
cooler and cleaner.
Taysir Abu Saada, an Arab Christian, who spoke to our group, with Sebastian and Bishop Joseph.
~ Lorne Smith
Early this morning to avoid the heat we took a walking tour of Nazareth to visit Mary’s Well and the Basilica.
Bishop Joseph and Jeanette Nyakyema from Tanzania
On arrival at Kibbutz Ma’agan, Erika Koepke was the first one in the pool to cool off. Gabrielle even got her first swim. We gathered on the shore of the Sea of Galilee after dark for Communion led by Sebastian and Carey.
Nancy, Erika, Doris and Erika at the Church of Primacy of St. Peter by the Sea of Galilee
Our day ended with a musical concert by Paul and Sebastian in the bar using a 100-year-old grand piano built in Russia. Off to bed for an early start on our journey to Jerusalem.
~ Lorne Smith
We arrived safely in Tel Aviv about 12:00 noon, Israeli time, on Monday to 34° C temperature.
Sebastian, Carey & Gabrielle Meadows-Helmer on Mount Carmel
Tuesday began with an extensive breakfast followed by a meaningful worship time led by Sebastian and Carey with singing accompanied by Sebastion’s magical violin. Today we stood on top of Mount Precipice and marvelled at the incredible expanse of the Jezreel Valley with its lush agricultural fields. We even saw them combining wheat. Mount Carmel and Haifa concluded our sightseeing excursion today. Greta found what she thought was some lovely apricots that turned out to be lemons! After lengthy discussions over dinner, everyone headed off to catch up on their sleep deficit.
~ Lorne Smith
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