Hello everyone,
I am writing this as I am flying out of Istanbul from the trip of a lifetime. I feel that it would be inappropriate of me to leave this trip without any sort of reflection to share and a testimony to bring back especially since I had so many people help me raise support for this trip as well as pray for me along the way.
First of all, I want to emphasize how incredible an experience this was for me. Not many people can say that at 19 years old they were able to serve in Athens or visit the seven churches of Revelation in Turkey. For those of you who don’t know, this was my first time out of the country, and also for those of you who don’t know, I broke my foot three days before going on the trip. You can imagine the anxiety I had going overseas for the first time, without my parents, and with a broken foot... I may have shed a few tears at the airport that morning. But I am a Sparks in the year 2023 so of course I was going to endure whatever the Lord threw at me and with a good attitude. As ironic as it is to say, my broken foot opened so many doors for me and gave me many opportunities that I may not have had without it. I will say that traveling, touring, and serving for two weeks is physically exhausting and challenging in many ways. I do not think the hike up the mountain to get to Pergamon or the ancient roads of Ephesus were made for the handicapped, but I endured regardless. My perseverance throughout the difficulties I faced getting around these two countries was a testimony to not only the team that went on the trip but also to our tour guide and all the people around us. You never know who may be observing you, and with a knee scooter and crutches with me at all times, there was definitely some attention on my team and I. My ability to count it all as joy even when I had to go on this $4000 trip with a broken foot presents an incredible opportunity for others to see Christ through me.
If you know me you know that I am a very independent person. I pride myself on my ability to do things on my own. After visiting the specialist for my foot, he told me that I was not allowed to put any pressure on my foot, so I literally couldn’t walk. And not being able to walk takes away a lot of independence to say the least. It forced me to rely on others to get me through the essential parts of every day. I hate to be the slow one and the one that makes people wait, but that is who I was on this trip—completely dependent. I think that this whole experience is a metaphor to remind me how my relationship with Christ ought to be: fully dependent on him. Remembering that through our own strength we can do just about nothing. We cannot walk on our own, the Lord moves every single one of our muscles. When I started to accept the fact that I needed to be very dependent on this trip rather than independent, I got to experience many great opportunities. There were a few things on this trip that I was unable to do and had to stay behind for because they would require too much physical activity and most of those times, I waited with our tour guide. I was able to get to know her and her me. I shared the story of my brother with her, and she told me all about her life from being a gymnast, going to university, being a professional scuba diver, owning a farm, and she was a motherly shoulder for me to cry on if I needed it. She was our guide the whole time that we were in Turkey (8 days) and she is from Turkey originally which is a Muslim country. Though she is not a very strict Muslim herself, she is not saved and considers herself Muslim by association. When she was saying goodbye to our group at the end of the trip, she specifically commended me in front of everyone for my strength and endurance through the whole trip, and she said that although I am only 19 years old, I truly inspired her. This is the perfect example of the fruit of my suffering.
As hard as it is to agree with, it is a privilege to suffer, and I am honored that the Lord chose me to carry this burden and be able to demonstrate this testimony to the people of Turkey and Greece. Many places that I went to, I had to take a special path from the group to get an elevator or somewhere that gave me easier access, and at one point I even got a moped for the afternoon with one of the leaders driving. Whenever I had to go separately, I always had either a teacher or a student with me so that I wasn’t alone. I got to know some pretty incredible people. I had so many deep, mature conversations about the Lord and the gospel. Witnessing each one of the members of my team have such a servant heart and a constant willingness to serve me was a huge blessing and something that I will always remember. I am so grateful for Liberty and the people that go there, they really do have an incredible and inspiring passion for the Lord, and I strive to be as on fire for Christ as they are. So, the last thing that I will say about my first time overseas with a broken foot is this: this injury is something that the Lord willed to happen. It was by no means an accident. When you hear the story of how it happened (I rolled it walking down the sidewalk into a restaurant), it really demonstrates that this is something that the Lord wanted to happen. I was not playing a sport or anything like that, I was literally just walking. I think that the Lord was telling me that this trip was his, not mine. He said that I will be going and serving despite the fact that I can’t walk. And I know that I have been repeating myself several times—you know that I can’t walk, but I am trying to emphasize that the Lord does not error. His plan is perfect, and he uses each of our sufferings for his glory. And he blessed me with a small illustration of the fruit of my suffering which was the tour guide. Even though a broken foot is a small suffering compared to the death of my brother, just being able to see those seeds planted reaffirms my hope. It reaffirms the victory of Christ: he will be triumphant, he is triumphant. It too seems small in comparison with some of the suffering that I saw while I was in Greece: Human trafficking. And this is where I will transition from talking about myself to talking about some of the things I saw, places I served, and people that I met.
I began my trip in Athens, a beautiful but broken city. Just from taking one look around you will see a dirty city, trash everywhere, lots of graffiti, many overcrowded living situations, lots of traffic. If you did not know, prostitution is legal in Greece, granted, under strict guidelines, but you know the ways of the world and the ability of evil to take hold of people and places. It is very easy for brothels to get away with illegal activity and it makes for an easy way to have people in the sex-trafficking industry to work there. With one organization the team did a prayer walk by one of the brothels and saw one lightbulb lit in one of the windows. This means that a John was in the room with one of the girls. This was a very heavy but eye-opening experience because it illustrated the evil so present in the city and in the world, right there in our faces. I hope hearing this opens your eyes and breaks your heart as it did mine, because this is real life. Athens, and the whole world is aching and needs your prayers. So, I implore you, do not let a day go by that you are not praying for the people in the system of human-trafficking. And do not just pray for the people being trafficked but also pray for those who support and run the system. Look at Paul—a persecutor of Christians changed into a figure who authored many of the book of the New Testament. The lord has the power to change hearts. Do not underestimate what he can do.
There are 50 million people today who are enslaved in the system of human trafficking, and it often seems like a hopeless situation. But going back to what I said earlier about my foot, this is something that the Lord willed to happen. There is nothing that happens outside of his control and without his providence. He will use this to further his kingdom. He will use this for his glory. And one day it will all be clear to us, and we will be so glad that he is God and that we are not. So please be in prayer about this and ask God to show you ways that you can help put an end to this evil, evil thing going on in our world today.
Turkey was quite a different experience than Greece because it was the touring part of our trip. We visited the 7 churches of Revelation as well as a few other places along the way. The first thing that we were reminded of as we flew from Athens to Istanbul was that Turkey is a Muslim country and we would see it as soon as we hit the ground. And we did. Most of the women were wearing head coverings and very modest clothes, no pork was available anywhere in the country, there were certain places where it was clear that only men should go. I don’t want to speak for everyone, but at least from what I have heard on the news and from other people is that Turkey does not have the best reputation. I want to say that after visiting, the reputation of the government is in no way an accurate representation of the people there. Most of the people I encountered were some of the kindest people I have ever met. Wherever we went, the people strove to accommodate all of our needs and went above and beyond to ensure that we were comfortable, well-fed, and happy. I was blown away by the hospitality of the country as a whole. If you ever get the chance to visit this beautiful country, do not miss it.
Now for a little bit about the seven churches themselves. In case you are unfamiliar, Revelation 2-3 is a series of seven letters to these churches and I got to visit the ancient city of each. Of course, being thousands of years old, these cities are just ruins, but each of them still tell a story. And I would encourage you to read the corresponding passages of scripture so that you can have some insight into the stories that these cities and churches tell. At each site our leaders read the scripture and did some teaching and then we had some time to explore the place on our own. I will not preach any of the notes from my teachers because I think there are better resources available than me if this is a topic you are interested in, but I will share a few things that the Lord put on my heart as I saw these places. These cities are an excellent demonstration of man’s inability to create anything that lasts. Sure, it was cool to say that I visited ancient places that used to be booming cities, but at the end of the day, I just saw a bunch of broken rocks and remnants of what used to be, not what is anymore. The only reason that these places still hold so much significance is because Jesus is something that lasts. These cities may be in shambles, but his word is still alive and thriving. It holds true even still today. The cities give the testimony of the victory and promises of the Lord. The struggles that the world faces will come to pass. Our cities may crumble and decay, but the word of the Lord remains forever. This is why we keep running the race and persevering. Do you see why we must not place our hope in the things of the world? Nothing lasts!
I am not sure that this poem has any religious significance, but seeing these places made me think of a poem called Ozymandias:
“I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
If that poem went right over your head, don’t feel bad. The only reason I understand it is because I studied it last year in AP lit. Essentially it is about this great statue of someone that used to be famous, mighty, and incited much fear to their people. But as it illustrates, this person is utterly forgotten as all that remains are their two trunkless legs. Many of the cities that I visited had crumbled remains of temples for the gods at that time and just like the poem, these temples were pathetic and a faded memory of what used to be. The grass withers and the flowers fade...
As I am writing this, I realize that I am ten pages and three hours into this reflection so I will spare you more details for now. But I hope this gives you a small glimpse into the past two weeks of my life. It was a very fulfilling trip that challenged me in so many ways but ultimately brought me closer to the Lord and gave me a greater heart for other cultures and I am so excited for other opportunities like this in the future. If this reflection doesn’t speak for itself, I want to say thank you to all the people who helped me fundraise and made this trip possible. I am so grateful for this experience and feel so blessed by so many people who are so generous and supportive. I pray that God would bless you for your generosity and I hope this reflection was an encouragement to you to keep enduring through hard times. I hope that you will put it on your heart to pray for the people of Turkey and Greece. I love you all dearly.
-Bella
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