little provisions

february 2nd, 2010.

last night i fell asleep choosing to anticipate good things to come instead of being overwhelmed by my financial situation because of being a cancer patient. wow, here's to health reform!! it was the first time i've ever wondered if God could provide, for me personally...at least financially.

so, it wasn't that much of a surprise that 'provision' seemed to be the theme of today. this morning started early, ok...earlier than normal :), setting out with a fellow afghan co worker from afghanistan as she traveled across the city to retrieve her visa. the day started out cold and a bit rainy. by the time we got to the bus stop and waited for it to arrive, i was soaked from my knees down. but at least i wasn't hot, as my 'personal summers', also known as hot flashes, hang around more than they are absent these days. so my feet were freezing...but the rest of me was glad for the break from the naturally warm apartments.

we boarded bus 129T headed to the european side of istanbul to the afghan consulate. after a LONG 45 minutes later on a VERY crowded bus while we stood smashed up people to people....we arrived grateful to step out into the rain again. from there it was several city blocks down to the consulate. after some questioning....we found it and headed up to the 4th floor. walking in, our eyes were greeted by a roomful of afghans staring back at us. although it's 'normal' for men and women to socialize/talk in the same room here, i'm still not so used to that and decided to veer to another room quickly as my friend asked about her visa (that was supposed to be *not-so* ready). they led us back to the counselor who talked with us about my friends visa situation. in the midst of the details, we enjoyed finding out about his family and talking about afghanistan.
2 cups of green tea later, we had made friends with several afghans that worked within the consulate as well as girl who helped serve tea there. we left with promises of teas and lunches to be enjoyed together in the future. on our way to the bus stop, i spotted STAR BUCKS!!! to help out with the ravid hot flashes, i decided to buy some decaf coffee and stay away from any caffeine. once paying, i asked if i could have 2 cups of coffee from the bag of coffee i just bought :). hehe. they said, of course...which didn't seem so normal here.
SO...there you go. provisions: 1. more relationships with afghans. 2. 2 free cups of coffee :). 3. visa details worked out at the office while we enjoyed afghan green tea and conversation instead of having to come back on another (snowy/wet) day. He provides, in big and small ways. so here's to believing for what seems like a billion dollars to me....but nothing to Him!

it was nearing 5 pm and we had yet to make the journey back to the other side of the city...and by this time, there seemed to be hurricane like winds blowing sleet and rain. by the time we arrived on our side of town it was snowing. and within an hour of arriving home, looking our our window, the city was draped in white once again as the wind and snow continued to blow and settle outside while we sat down to a warm meal made by our turkish housemate!

yet another unexpected great day in turkey. :)