The Attitude of "Why not?"

            I was very excited to come to Turkey because I knew Turkey had a lot to offer.  I had no idea, however, about the amazing experiences that would be available to me when I got here.  This trip was going to be a time for me to travel with a group of friends around the country and learn more about the country so connected with a majority of the New Testament.  I was excited to be able to walk places that Paul had walked and to be able to truly experience what it must have been like.  I was even able to explore the place where John penned Revelation.  But as amazing and as exciting as all of that was, there were some experiences that I did not know would come and for which I would not have been prepared.

            It is best to start with the flesh eating fish.  I just made that sound a lot scarier than it truly was.  When we were all in Pammukale, an area full of natural hot springs, we got a chance to visit Dr. Fish.  Now, all Dr. Fish is, is a bunch of little fish that eat the dead skin off of your feet.  Sounds crazy, right?  I at least thought so, yet I still was intrigued.  Now, as most people who know me could tell you, I am not always the most adventurous person, but I figured, when in Turkey. . . . So, I went and had little fish eat the dead skin off of my feet, and it was the weirdest experience for the first thirty seconds when it tickled like crazy, but I am so glad I did it, not just to say I did, but hey, my feet were really soft.

Dr. Ramey looking "very happy" (not really) while she gets the dead skin eaten off her feet.

            Then, the day after the fish, I learned that there was a belly dancer in our hotel, who put on a show at night.  I was not sure what to think, but I figured I had to go see what it was like.  I do not think anything could have prepared me for what was to happen.  We did not only get a show from the belly dancer, but she pulled people from the crowd to dance.  I was not one of those people, but a lot of the people she picked were from our group.  One of which was Dr. John Yeatts, a well-known scholar on the book of Revelation, and pastor of the church I attend at school. He truly had the attitude of "why not?"  It was one of the best and funniest things I have ever seen, and it made me realize that if he could do it, I could have too if I would have been picked.    

Dr. Yeatts and the belly dancer

            There was also a day where we had two really cool opportunities, the first being visiting a pottery place.  While we were here, we got to see a master of pottery at work, and he was quite impressive, quickly wowing us with his pottery skills.  After he finished, there was a chance for some of us to try our hand at pottery, and my friend Melanie gave it a try.  Even though she had never done pottery before, she got up there and tried, and was pretty good.  She just tried, and she did not fail, it was really cool to be able to see.

Melanie trying her hand at pottery.

            The second amazing opportunity was getting to see the Whirling Dervishes.  The Whirling Dervishes are a group of everyday people, who could be your waiter, or bellhop, who are also trained as Dervishes.  What Whirling Dervishes do is worship.  To worship, they spin, with one hand pointed towards God, and the other towards the earth.  They are not the focus when they spin; it is not something to be applauded when they finish, but they are there only for God.  It is an amazing thing to be invited to see, and a true honor.  This was just one more thing that Turkey had to offer, that I did not realize would have such an impact.

The Whirling Dervishes worshipping.

            Each of these things taught me something truly important on this trip, the first being that you cannot rule things out through fear.  I may not be the bravest person, but I cannot let that keep me from living my life.  Dr. Yeatts belly dancing taught me that I cannot rule things out because I do not think I can do them or I think I may look foolish.  He got up, without a care of looking foolish, and had fun.  I want to be able to do that in my life.  Melanie showed me that even if I have never done something before and do not know what I am doing that does not mean I will fail, and so I should not be afraid to fail.  Lastly, the Dervishes taught me about worship.  They fully try to take the focus off of themselves and be the conduit to God.  They do not do this ceremony for people but for God, and I want to live my life more like that, living for God, making it about God.  All of these things go together too for if I have less fear, and stop worrying about what others think, I can truly live my life for God, not matter what I am being called to do because we do not always fail like we may think.  Turkey is a wonderful place, with a lot of amazing opportunities, and I am so glad I got a chance to be here.

By Jared Lorraine

P.S. We got to see the Prime Minister of Turkey while we were here, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Erdogan, right there in the crowd, he's easy to spot, you see him don't you?