Go to www.joniandfriendstv.org to watch full episodes.

Watch one of my favorite episodes “When Robin Prays” (28 min).

Robin is a dear friend of our family and Sandi, Johnny, and I are in this segment for a brief second. Be blessed as you learn more about what it is like to have Downs Syndrome and view life at a summer Family Retreat.

In the Lord’s prayer Jesus encourages us to pray, “give us this day our daily bread”. This instruction has taken on a whole new meaning since the reality of the recession has affected our retirement and other assets.

Jesus also says to ask God to “deliver us from evil.” At this time in our history, I am concerned as never before with the life of the unborn child and the right of parents to raise their children. EviI has one source, but it takes on many forms. In Exodus it was Pharaoh trying to eliminate the male children of Israel. In Matthew it was Herod killing the young children. While our enemy has always desired to steal, kill, and destroy, the vehicles he is using for this renewed attack on life and liberty are FOCA and UNCRC.

FOCA stands for the Freedom of Choice Act. President Obama made a promise to planned parenthood that the first thing he would do as president is sign this act. FOCA would take away every restriction on abortion nationwide. I have signed the petition to fight the Freedom of Choice Act. I hope you will as well. If you would like more information go to http://www.FightFOCA.com. Signing a petition is a good first step. And so is prayer. I have also recommitted myself to ask God to deliver us from this evil.

UNCRC represents the U. N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which made headlines under the Clinton administration. With incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a strong proponent, there will be a renewed push for the U. S. to ratify this international treaty. While the treaty appears harmless it seems capable of attacking the very core of the child-parent relationship. In order to be proactive I have chosen to support parental rights at http://www.parentalrights.org/.

I have never sent out an email to all on my list until today. It is about timing. We now have a new president with a new government. And we know that the first 100 days of a presidency set the stage for the course of the next four years of an administration. These two items, which are high on his agenda, will have greater and more far reaching ramifications than health care and economic bailouts.

I am writing to you today to gird your loins and prepare to withstand these attacks in these critical first 100 days. We need to present a united and committed front to contest these attempts to kill and destroy. The battle for life affects not only the unborn, but individuals with a disability, and our aged population. The family is the basic building block of our churches and communities. Together they form the fabric of our culture. God created life and He designed the family. May God give us renewed strength to fight and stand strong for the sanctity of life and the institution of the family.

Hebrews 10:39 - But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

1 Corinthians 16:13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Standing in Faith,

Steve

P.S.:  Since I wrote this letter a few days ago, Obama’s first act has been to reverse the Mexico City Policy which had prohibited grantees of the U.S. funding from performing abortions or promoting abortions.  http://www.worldmag.com/webextra/14939

I arrived in the late morning at the airport, having flown through the night.  It is a 7 hour time difference.  Going west is always harder, but the great seats made a huge difference.  Then I found an ATM at the airport to fill my wallet with some Liras and hired a taxi.  He didn’t “speak a da English” but we managed to find our way to the hotel.  I barely fit into the elevator!

Then Larry Milks, who coordinated the conference, and I headed for the Hagia Sofia, Ayasofia in Turkish, to do some site seeing.  Since Istanbul is on theBosphorus Strait, one of the common modes of transportation is by ferry.  For a buck a ride you can go from Europe to Asia in a few minutes.

Istanbul, formerly Byzantium, and later Constantinople, is Europe’s most populous city and is the only metropolis to straddle two continents .  Since we only had a couple of hours to see things we wanted to see one of the top attractions, theAyasofia. For over a thousand years it was the largest cathedral in Christendom, then it was a mosque, and now it is a museum.

Inside

When the Ottoman Turks conquered the city they plastered over the Christian mosaics. But recently teams of experts have restored the beautiful art. Here is a picture of Justinian and Constantine presenting the city and the cathedral to baby Jesus on Mary’s lap.

We also saw the Blue Mosque a short walk away through beautiful gardens.  I didn’t go in but stayed outside and took some pictures.

The purpose of the trip was to conduct a conference for devoted Christians living and working in this region.  I would love to show you their picture, but for security reasons cannot.  I can show you our team though. Several came from a church in the UK to work with the children while their parents attended workshops and many of the school age kids were tested.

The rest of the team took turns conducting seminars and meeting one-on-one with parents to provide educational support and encouragement in a variety of ways.  I did several family seminars and was the resident math expert.

Each morning the team met for breakfast and then trudged to the Turkish-American University offices for the day.  I particularly enjoyed the breakfasts at the hotel.

In the evening we ventured abroad and tried different eateries.  Yes that is baklava.  Don’t covet.

The last night we went to a fancy place overlooking the Bosphorus Strait.  Even though they were advertising fish, I opted for a mix of kebabs.

This is all for the fun pictures and the travelogue. What I am writing now is at a different level. Often on these trips I am so focused on ministering that I don’t get a chance to hear how God is working in this region and the personal stories of the people we have been sent to help. With that in mind I asked questions as often as I could. And while I was there I read some of the history of Turkey and the local paper. Here is one sentence packed with information. Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic whose political system was established in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, following the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I. At this time in history, the mighty Ottoman Empire was being referred to as the sickly nation. It was in danger of being divided up among the powerful nations of the world. Ataturk formed this independent nation, gave it a language, an economy, and an identity among other things. In one room where I was speaking there was a picture of Ataturk on one wall and George Washington across the room. He was their founder of their republic. Now move to today. Here is a nation that feels vulnerable amid allegations of Armenian genocide, deliberations with the Kurdish people, and entrance into the European Union. They have very real fears that there will be pressure from outside to give portions of land away to these groups and have their precious homeland, which they almost lost once, be like what has happened in the Balkan States. Turks fear that westerners are not pro-Turkey but are a threat to their existence. Because of this spirit of nationalism and other issues, westerners are not trusted, which makes it hard to minister. One man I sat next to on the flight back was a member of the UN. He referred to this nationalistic belief as “fundamental secularism”. This has become one of the obstacles in a addition to Islam. I saw very little religious garb compared to other nations I have visited. When you couple these strong beliefs it is no wonder in a country of 70 million people there are only 4 to 5 thousand believers. And it is a strategic country with the Middle east to the south, Russia to the north, Europe to the west, and Asia to the right. I have prayed off and on for this country for years, and have been stirred to pray for the nation, but also my new friends who are laboring valiantly for the King.

I spoke at the homeschool conference in Arkansas Friday and Saturday. Since I wasn’t done until late afternoon, I had a flight scheduled for Sunday morning. As I was just about to return the rental car at the Little Rock airport, my cell phone rang and I was informed my flight had been canceled. After making my way to the Delta ticket counter I wondered whether I should stay and fuss for another flight the same day or just go with the flow and trust that God had other designs. I called home and since I had no pressing commitments for Monday decided to spend the night in Little Rock. Surprise number 1, was just a phone call away.

The day before I had made friends with Chad & Wendy who live in Little Rock and I had their card and cell number. I called and Chad invited me to attend church with their family. After the service we all returned to their home for a delightful lunch. They have four sweet girls, two of whom use MathUSee. Wendy takes hospitality to a new level. If you are ever in Little Rock call and I’ll give you their number Chad is on the staff of Family Life and after a delicious meal gave me the grand tour of their facility. They both have servant hearts. It was inspiring to see a whole ministry devoted to marriage and the family. Feeling like I was dominating their Sunday afternoon I headed back to the airport to return the rental car and check into the hotel.

At the ticket counter I was told that my return flight would be through Cincinnati instead of Atlanta. I was at an airport restaurant ordering dinner to go, when it occurred to me that the new Answers in Genesis Creation Museum was open to supporters and donors on Monday. I had received an invitation to attend but didn’t think I could fit it into my schedule. Hence surprise #2. I hustled back to the ticket counter 5 minutes before they were to close and asked if they could build a few hour layover into my return flight. They did. So Monday morning I flew to Cincinnati, took a taxi two exits west to the Museum and had 3 hours to tour the state of the art facility, see the star show in their planetarium, and sit through a special effects presentation. It was wonderful.

So after a quick call for a taxi, I was at the airport enroute for home. Whew. God is good. As I was driving home I thanked Him for the neat time in Little Rock and Cincinnati. It was then that I sensed His Father smile. My Dad had arranged this special time and I was the recipient. I tearfully smiled in return, almost too overcome to take His love in. God really does love us doesn’t He. I know I love Him.