One of the most memorable moments on the race was when my team and I had the opportunity to travel outside of our town and go on a 3 day adventure. We all took a backpack, loaded ourselves onto a bus and rode all the way down to our first stop. 

(One of the many orange trees that lines the streets in this cute small town)

 Stop #1! 

We got to stop in the cutest town near Izmir and we got to surprise another team! It was such a sweet moment to see them and getting to have a short visit. While we weren’t there for very long it was so nice to be with another team and see some of my closest friends on the squad. 

(Ruins in Ephesus)

Stop #2!

My team had a goal to see some Biblical sites if we could get there. And we did! We took a short bus ride to go to Ephesus!! It is an amazing place filled with so much history. There was a very large Roman style amphitheater there. This amphitheater is one of the many places that Paul preached at… I’m going to let that sink in for a moment. Paul…THE PAUL! I got to stand where Paul stood and spoke to the masses. This was an amazing moment that I will not soon forget. It was such an impactful experience and I loved seeing a place that has so much biblical history embedded in it. Reading the book of Ephesians and being in the place that it was written for  was mind blowing. My team’s name (Abundance) was based on a verse in Ephesians. “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” ??Ephesians? ?3:20? ?ESV??. So, to experience Ephesus with this team was just another reminder from the Lord of his overwhelming abundance of love for me. 

(The Roman amphitheater that Paul spoke in!)

Stop #3! 

Last, but certainly not least we went to a small touristy town called Pamukkale. It was so cute! There was this whole big area filled with Roman ruins and cute travertines! We were there for two nights and it was a time to relax and just enjoy a few days in a country that wasn’t always the easiest to be in. It was so fun! 

(The beautiful travertines in Pamukkale)

After all of these amazing moments my team and I loaded ourselves back into a bus and headed back to our ministry location. We were refreshed and ready to finish out our time there. 

(A Roman amphitheater near the travertines.)