So, some of you may or may not know but back in January the history making blizzard hit Istanbul. In a city like Istanbul they only average about 1.5 inches of snow a year… during this blizzard most of the city was covered in 1.5-2.5 FEET of snow.
During the first few days of this historic blizzard my team was trying to get to our ministry location. We left the debrief location after 2 weeks of debrief and quarantine and it was only lightly snowing with only a dusting on the ground. So we went along with our plan to take a ferry part of the way and then we would get in a bus the rest of the way. So we made our way to the ferry port and we bought our tickets and we were patiently waiting for our turn to board the ferry. All of a sudden a large group of people started yelling at port staff and then they were stomping away. After a while we asked what was going on and we found out that all ferries were cancelled due to rough sea conditions. As a team we decided to just take a bus all the way down to our ministry location a few hours away.
(The view from a hotel room during the storm!)
We took taxis to a nearby bus station and we thought we were getting on a big bus but it turned out that we were getting onto a minibus… we thought this was going to be one of the most uncomfortable bus rides but turns out it was taking us to another, larger bus station for a 5pm bus to our ministry location. So, we waited and waited. During all of this there was a constant blanket of snow coming down.
After a while we asked about our bus and it was cancelled and we were told to come back for a 10am bus the next day. So we were able to find a nearby hotel to host my team of 6. It turns out after a full day of “traveling” we had only made it 3 miles away from our debrief hotel.
After walking 25 minutes from the bus station to the hotel in the snow, we made it to the hotel for the night. The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and then loaded our stuff into taxis and made our way back to the bus station. When we arrived we were told that our bus was delayed and it was now a 5pm bus once again. So we planted ourselves at the bus station and were prepared to wait 7 hours for our bus.
Turns out the roads had been closed because of all the snow that was still falling. So once again we were told our bus was cancelled and to come back the next day. We tried getting taxis but because of the roads being closed it was VERY expensive. So, once again we walked to the same hotel and begged them for another night. That hotel was amazing! They managed to add extra beds in one room so we had a place to stay.
(Finally getting on a bus after 2.5 days)
Finally, after 2.5 days of trying to get ourselves in a bus we finally got one! The city was COVERED in snow and there were still cars abandoned in the snow but we managed to take a 6hour bus ride to our ministry location. We also got to have a short ferry ride (thankful it wasn’t too long since I get sick on boats). We made it! After what felt like forever we made it to our ministry location and were tired but ready to work with our hosts for the month.
Thank You Lord for guiding their steps on the journey they have dedicated to You. Praying for you. ????
This is a great story, Katie. You obviously got to practice a lot of patience. So glad you got to experience something historic while in Turkey. Bless you, girl!
SO CRAZY!! I’m so glad you all were safe. What a story to tell! 🙂