Greetings everyone! Abbey reporting back to you! 

After our time in Istanbul, my team headed to Ankara. This is the capital of Turkey and is home to 13 universities. When we were in the Dominican Republic last month, we spent time vision casting our ministry in Ankara. University ministry was one idea we all wanted to try. We hoped to meet university students and begin building friendships with them. 

So, one morning, we prayed about what to do that day and felt led to go to Ankara University. My team and I went to lunch, then headed that way. Right when we got to the gate of the university, we were stopped by a guard. Using Google Translate, we tried to explain we were just visiting and wanted to look around. She told us we were unable to go without a student ID and that she couldn't let us in. 

At one point, I think we asked for a visitor center and, to my surprise, it worked. My team was able to get in and she pointed us toward the campus. We passed a faculty building and saw a cafeteria, but no visitor center where we were hoping to find college students to meet. This place was dead and empty. We slightly forgot about COVID and also forgot that it was summer break, but we were still hoping to find someone. 

As we approached the cafeteria area, we noticed a young woman sitting by herself. One of us went over and asked where we could find the visitors center. To our surprise, she told us they didn’t have one but we could go to the faculty building behind us and they would help us. We told her we wanted to meet people and get to know the culture more. We asked Haya more about herself, where she was from, and what she was studying. She is 23, from Palestine, and is studying general neurology. 

After we shared about ourselves, what we’ve studied, what we’re doing in Ankara (it always shocks people that we would choose Ankara because it isn’t touristy), we asked if she had plans and wanted to maybe hang out. She told us she was waiting for friends, but would show us the university museum. Her friends came shortly after and were willing to join our tour of their campus. We headed to the medical building, and after getting permission from one of their professors, we toured one of the medical wings. Along the way, they showed us fetuses and microscopes. Pictures of cells lined the walls, and I soaked in God’s creation. Seeing blown up pictures of the tiny cells that make us us, amazed me. 

We made our way into a lab with a machine that was able to show us a woman’s ovaries and how cells split. It was fascinating to me how much technology has progressed, and it amazed me how they believed that Allah was the one who created this, not God. My emotions were mixed with amazement and sadness. We spent a good chunk of time looking at the machines, and had the opportunity to ask questions about what one of the professors was showing us. After our time there we made our way to the museum which included a gallery with old medical equipment and study space for students. 

This is part of the museum and study area, where we spent the majority of our time. 

Haya and her friends walked us around and explained what the different machines used to do. They showed us old medical tables, ophthalmology equipment, and explained a lot of the history of their school and the medical field. This space had a little bit of everything, and after wandering for quite a while, more of Haya’s friends showed up. We all went outside to part ways, but exchanged contact information so we could hang out again. 

The museum was filled with old equipment and arrangements showing how doctor's offices were. 

Our time of ATL has been challenging without the structure that a ministry host can bring. Sometimes it’s hard to feel like we're making a difference. The Lord was so faithful to put a university on our hearts that morning and orchestrate meeting Haya and her friends at the exact time we did. It was an encouraging reminder of why we are here - to simply love people and show them His truth. This is where I am going to press pause on the story and bring you the second part soon!