New Year, New Day, New Location

Well, since our last post, we have moved from Istanbul to Antioch, which is known here as Antakya. We had an INCREDIBLE last few days in Istanbul, but you will have to read about that when we send out our snail mail update once we are back in the states. We cannot write about it on here for security reasons. We have been in Antakya for a little over 2 weeks now, and it has been absolutely amazing. We are just 12 miles from the Syrian border, and it is absolutely beautiful here. Exactly what you would imagine the backdrop to any bible story would look like. There is so much history here it blows my mind. This week we took the boys to a museum where they had mosaics from the 2nd century AD and old Hittite artifacts from the 13th century BC. Quite amazing to be in a country that is thousands of years old when you come from one that has only called itself a nation for a few hundred years. We spend our days making friends, and have really been able to form some genuine friendships. The hospitality here puts us to shame...complete strangers will invite you in, feed you a fabulous meal, including dessert, and then sit around and drink tea with you until the sun goes down, and you have to walk home because the buses have stopped running. We are enjoying ourselves SO very much. God has been beyond faithful, and exceeded all of our expectations. We have so many pictures to share, it's hard to choose which ones to post, so here are just a few...we'll post some more soon. We love you guys, and thank you so much for your prayers while we are here....keep 'em comin'!