Turkey 2005: Return

So I'm back. The sight-seeing in Istanbul was fun and relaxing (actually it involved another trip to the music shop area to find percussive pressies to appease the natives at home). In the evening we had a very productive debriefing where we all agreed that the first concert was disastrous but that the others were very successful! Equipment problems were listed as were venue problems (like no earthing/grounding at some of the venues!!). We ended with a prayer and worship time and then said our goodbyes to those who live in Istanbul. The apartment-dwellers (those of us leaving) then packed and tried for a few hours sleep - difficult for me because the cricket that HAD lived under the fridge in the kitchen two weeks ago had decided to move when his home was cleaned and now lives in a hole behind the bed I was using - and he is an enthusiastic night-chirper!!

We re-arose at 3:00 am for the trip to the airport - and were briefly questioned by the secret police!!! In fairness to them, what they saw was a bunch of people sneaking out of an apartment early in the morning with many bags. They were quickly convinced of our legitimate aims, though.

At the airport we went our separate ways after a VERY expensive coffee and some tearful goodbyes.

Lufthansa bought me comfortably back to Paris in two hops and I returned tired but contented to wife and family by 1:30pm.

The afternoon bought more confusion on the great Texas adventure that awaits me - it seems that it is now initially only a week with a longer stint later in the summer - and the evening saw a very ordinary performance by Les Passagers at Place de la Nation for Paris' annual mid-summer's night music festival.

Your continued prayers would be very welcome: for Vince who now has what he describes as the worst-ever illness (food poisoning or something akin); for the contacts made and to be made following the tour; for the hearts of the many first-time missionaries on the trip - that they may be moved to continue the good work they have started; for the Taco team which is still depleted after the departures of a number of key people over the last year; for the next Taco tours (see their site - link in the side bar); and for the "Texas adventure" and what it might bring.

In a couple of days I'll add some post-tour reflections.

Turkey 2005: Last Day

And here we are on Monday 20th June at the end of the tour.

So what happened in between? Well, first of all last Friday was probably the WORST journey of the lot. The air conditioner in the van had broken, the heat was incredible and the roads are the worst in Turkey, but somehow we did arrive in Izmir (ancient Smyrna) at least alive if not kicking! We were playing at an old Anglican church in the east of the city now used by a small local Baptist community. The set-up was excrutiatingly uncomfortable because the concert was outside in a place where there was no shade whatsoever (although by the time the concert started the sun had gone down cooling things a little). Tempers were short - but not badly so. Much water was consumed and eventually the setup was complete. We were then treated to a very nice meal prepared by the church members (making me realize that this was the first time that that had happened on the tour).

The concert was probably the best mix of musical quality and message that we achieved on the tour. The crowd was small (100 or so) but attentive and the local church (numbering 25 WITH children) have a number of contacts to follow up. One very encouraging story involves a non-Christian local mother who came with her small deaf daughter. The little girl had a hard time with the music but when Dorothy and I came on and did our "Give your heart to God" mime (I didn't mention we were doing that did I!!!) she lit up and "got" the message immediately.

After tear-down we left the city to stay in Selcek - which is ancient Ephesus. We stayed in the same hotel as two years ago - with the same Mosque 50 feet from my bedroom window awaking me at 5 in the morning with the call-to-prayer!!

Saturday started with breakfast on the roof overlooking the town and its sundry ancient ruins (Ephesus/Selcek has been inhabited for close on five thousand years!) and then, after a particularly spiritually intense study and prayer time, went to the main Greek/Roman ruins site and, in particular, the massive amphitheatre spoken of in the Bible! Very impressive!

After lunch we drove back into Izmir to the small modern open amphitheater in the middle of town. Again the heat was very intense and we were wilting badly by the time we were done - but we set up in record time - 40 minutes.

The concert was well attended and the music quality was OK. But we were competing for attention with (I am not making this up) a circumcision party going on at the restaurant next door (in fact we had a similar but less intrusive problem last year). I was actually heckled and had a beer can (empty, unfortunately) thrown at me while I was sharing my ubiquitous "Lost In Instanbul" story! Quite an honour really!

After the concert I met a young Moslem man who comes from Izmir but is based in England now. We had an intense conversation over the different pictures of Jesus presented by the Bible and the Koran but parted on friendly terms with a promise to stay in touch.

One sour not on the evening was the theft of Pauline's camera - with hundreds of pictures of Turkey on it.

We stayed at a hotel in the city that night - it was the last big concert, the next day (Sunday) being a smaller affair at the American military chapel in the city centre. We arose at 8:00 for that - and all of us immediately realized that we had had too much sun over the last few days - Vince in particular. We arrived at the chapel (in fact the ancient Catholic cathedral of Smyrna where the Apostle John presided for a while) at 9:00 and set up for a 12:30 "concert" in the courtyard, that was really going to be the protestant church service led by us (we had to set up that early because the catholic service preceded it and we couldn't disturb that). By the time we were due to go on, Vince was feeling so sick from the sun that he couldn't stand! So we prayed and sorted out an order that we could get away with without him - Craig as usual coming to our assistance with his literal bag of tricks! This time I shared my "Cheese in the sock draw story" (I really need to expand by story repertoire) to great amusement and effect - and the lyrics of Faith were finally understood by an audience (they were English speakers).

Afterwards we had an ice cream lunch with the church members, packed up and left immediately for Istanbul - a 9 hour journey that was not as bad as the 4 hour journey into Izmir on Friday but still pretty gruelling. By this time Vince was feeling much better, thankfully.

Anyway, so here we are in Istanbul for a final day of relaxation before heading on out early tomorrow morning to the airport and our homes. We'll be spending today sightseeing probably.

Prayers would be appreciated for Vince and Peter who's health issues, though improved, still persist; for safety in the traveling to come in the next few days; and especially for all the follow-up activities that will continue long after we have left these shores.

I should mention here that the Algeria tour HAS been cancelled and that it looks like I WILL be going to Dallas next week. Please pray for that too.

Turkey 2005

If this is Thursday then this must be ... somewhere between Antakya and Izmir. A very gruelling journey of some 13 hours by bad roads has bought us to Afyon, our night's stop before continuing tomorrow morning for 4 hours to Izmir and our next (and last) three concerts.

The Antakya amphitheatre concert went well with about 600 people coming in to see us during the evening and a large number of surveys filled out. Last night's concert at a restaurant in what seemed to be a remote village in the foothills around Antakya actually attracted more than 300 people and resulted in a another large cache of surveys.

Surveys you ask? Yes, the primary means of contact with the concert-goers is a survey asking various questions about the concert, the person's interest in the subject of the songs (Jesus, of course!) and finally asking if they want to be contacted. These then go to the local church organizing the concert and are followed up by them - they are also used by the Turkey Bible Correspondence Course program run by David Wilson, the tour manager (and MUCH MUCH more).

Izmir will involve three concerts - one at the US army base, one on the steps of a town-centre church (where I played two years ago), and one in the amphitheatre in the middle of town (where I played last year).

You wanna meet the band? Here goes:

Vince is the leader, wrote a number of the songs, plays keyboards and guitar and sings. He is a house-rennovator and music pastor at his church in Canada in his other life!

Pauline is the lead singer. A wife and mother of four with a superb voice, we tease her that she acts like a diva but she certainly does not. She leads worship at her church in Canada.

Diane is backing singer - Pauline's sister-in-law (they married brothers) although her husband died of a brain tumor about 18 months ago. Full time mother of four.

Pete on drums - a Canadian policeman who woke up this morning with BPPV - his first ever attack but boy am I familiar with the complaint. Look it up on Google if you want to know more and please pray for him.

Dorothy, Pete's wife, on backup keyboards, voice, dance, drama, etc. One HECK of a testimony - oh, and a practitioner of acupuncture!

Charles on guitar - he's a Kiwi married to a Yank! They live here in Turkey and are preparing for full time ministry with the Taco organization.

Craig is the illusionist (who's "cut the hand off" trick really DID go wrong the other night - with no serious consequences thankfully). He's from Phoenix Arizona and full time on the staff of Campus Crusade.

Bill - the sound man from Pauline, Pete and Dorothy's church - a very very funny guy with an amazing faith strengthened by passing through the trauma (and removal) of a HUGE brain tumor ten years ago and finding out that he is gluten-intolerant about 18 months ago.

Anders is a Danish intern for Taco who is the deputy tour manager - great guy with an unexpectedly refined sense of humour!

Michelle is the other deputy tour manager who is full-time on the Taco mission team and comes from South Africa. An indefatigable driver who speaks 5 languages (including fluent Turkish, thankfully).

So quite an international feel to the tour party, no?

So - prayers for those three concerts, band-member health (especially Pete) and endurance (it's VERY hot) - and a special subject: I received an email from my company today saying that I have to go to Texas on 27th June for an as-yet undetermined amount of time. That clashes with the Algeria tour (which may be cancelled anyway) and with a Passagers tour in France (which doubles as Family vacation). So I need many prayers that I will make the right response to this in God's eyes, even if that means a response that is detrimental to my career.

Turkey 2005: Finally back on line

Phew that was a hectic few days. When did I last post? Thursday I think - so here is the synopsis of what we have done since:

Friday: Sight-seeing in Istanbul - but I led a small group to the cymbal-selling district (having done the sights two years ago). We did NOT get lost this time (getting lost in an area before tends to give you a much better appreciation of the area than you might think!!) but we were late back to the apartment for leaving for the impromptu concert in the evening - which didn't please the organizer too much! And then everything that could go wrong at the concert DID indeed go wrong - so NOT a great show, but attended by about 250 people and a few conversations were held later by the Turkish speaking team members!

Saturday: Went to Ankara by coach (5 hours) then did a concert in the chapel on the US military base - to about 15 people. The concert itself went well, though, and a non-Christian American couple who were there talked extensively with the chaplain afterward and will be meeting with him again! THEN we stayed with American families for the night - and for me and Craig (the illusionist) that meant staying in a a very luxurious apartment with a charming family attached to the American Embassy legal staff!! REALLY nice shower and breakfast on Sunday!!

Sunday: Chapel in the morning (after the great breakfast) then a concert at a new church plant in the industrial part of the city in the afternoon - terrible electrical problems lead to a below-par show to the youth of various churches - but, again, non-Christian audience members were touched - and that is what this is all about, no?

Monday: 682 KM journey by minibus to Antakya - Syrian Antioch in the bible. Very hot - but since we are all getting on so well it was great fun - and the mountainous scenery was fantastic. We are now staying in a couple of apartments north of the city - very comfortable thank you very much (unlike last year!!!).

And so to today - we do a concert in a huge amphitheatre in the middle of town tonight - many hundreds expected. I have to leave NOW so I'll fill you in more tomorrow, but prayers for the smooth running and effectiveness of that concert would be appreciated.

In Christ,

Martin

Turkey 2005

Second full day of practice. Phew, its hard work but we have our set basically prepared. I ought to say that a) the band is CANADIAN not American (very important distinction) and b) we have an illusionist amongst us who will be performing (in fact he did the old "disappearing 50 euro note" trick - with 50 euros of mine - and it WENT wrong!!! I didn't get it back until MUCH later!!).

Meals are great (baklava for dessert EVERY DAY so far!!), but we miss the coffee!!

Prayers: Vince is still suffering from his chest infection, I'm not sleeping too well (but one of the band is an acupuncturist - so we'll see if THAT works tonight!!), the weather MAY not be great for tomorrow evening's first concert, and the set still sounds a bit rough. Oh, yeah, and they are getting me to sing TWO songs - painful, no??

Off to have a final practice before packing the gear for tomorrow - the morning involves a sight-seeing tour, so a bit more restful.

Turkey 2005: Arrival

Well THAT was interesting! Flight to Frankfurt went fine - three seats to myself. BUT the flight from Frankfurt to Istanbul (arrival 2:00 am) was overbooked. I volunteered to be "bumped" to the first Tuesday flight (arrival 13:00) and was paid 400 euros to do so - which means that the next tour (Algeria) is now completely financed!!! Thank you Lord!!

Arrived in Istanbul to find I was on the same flight as the rest of the band!! That made things much easier for those collecting us. Thank you AGAIN Lord!

It is very hot here and, up until an hour ago, we had no water in the apartment (no coincidence that IMMEDIATELY after we prayed for it the water returned!).

All 11 of us seem to get on really well. We have eaten together, prayed together, done formal introductions and had our first "orientation" session. We start practicing at 9:00 am Wednesday.

Prayers please: That the water STAYS on, that Vince (the leader) gets over his bronchitis VERY quickly, that the practices go well and we "mesh" as a band, that the impromptu concert on Friday will be unopposed, well attended and well received.

Thats all for now.

Turkey 2005 D-1 (or J-1 pour les Francais!)

Well, the Taxi arrives in an hour - the bags are packed, the au revoirs said to the children (who are at school). Not feeling great - I always feel sad when leaving the family for one of these, and "attacks" come all the time with discouragement, fear etc. But, paradoxically, thats how I know I'm doing the right thing.

I'll probably be able to update you all daily for the first few days, then it will be less frequent while travelling - but please keep the group in prayer - but especially keep the family in prayer.

A pre-departure cup of tea is calling me, so I must go now! A demain, j'espere (en Christ!).

Turkey 2005 - the day before

Well, it's Sunday 5th June 2005 and I'm trying to get ready for the tour of Turkey with The River Band. I leave on Monday at 7:00pm and arrive in Istanbul 2:00am on Tuesday. Before then I have to perfect the songs we are going to play, getting used to a new bass while I'm at it (thank you Lord for that!), pack (I HATE that bit - always afraid I'll forget something!), buy a new pair of shoes (probably better to do that BEFORE I pack), and, of course, spend as much time with my family as I can.

The schedule has 8 concerts at the moment, as follows:

Friday, 10 June: Seaside amphitheatre - Istanbul
Saturday, 11 June: American Miltary Base, Balgat-Ankara
Sunday, 12 June: Batikent Protestant Church - Ankara
Tuesday, 14 June: Sumerler Amphitheatre - Antakya
Wednesday, 15 June: Altunvadi Restaurant (Yusuf's Place) - Antakya
Friday, 17 June: Independent Protestant Church Courtyard - Izmir
Saturday, 18 June: Izmir
Sunday, 19 June: Izmir

If you know what Turkey looks like, you'll see that there is one heck of a lot of travelling hidden in there, plus three days of rehearsals at the beginning.

So prayers, you ask? Well for the family I'll leave at home, safety in travelling, conviviality in the relationships between band members (I've never met them before) and, the biggest, a receptive audience and changed lives at each concert.

The tour verses are: Philippians 1:27-29 - pray that we live up to that too (but not TOO much suffering please Lord :-))

Prayers of praise too - the tour is fully financed!!