The Lord gave me the opportunity to visit my younger sister who was married in Turkey. I had a good flight from Moldova to Turkey. When I arrived, all the people in the airport spoke either Turkish or English. I managed to get along as I felt God's protection all the time. I had no problems as my sister and her friends told me they usually had problems either in Moldova or in Turkey. My answer for them was that I was a Christian and God was with me to help.

My sister lives in Istanbul, a big city with huge buildings. They moved to a different place. The neighborhood where they live now is a pretty strict area, in the sense that a woman cannot go out without a man. She cannot wear a T-shirt and shorts, only dresses and very rarely pants. I found all this amazing. This was my second time to be in a Muslim country and I can understand that people need a special calling to do missions in countries like that. Turkey is a country with many superstitions and a different god. There are two kinds of Muslim people, just like the Orthodox here, some go to the mosque and some don't. None of my sister's friends read the Koran. A friend of mine who's a missionary in Egypt told me that the Koran taught the Muslim people to read the New Testament.

I only got to visit the city a little because they had the Ramadan. At 4 a.m., there were people on the streets beating drums to wake people up to eat. The fast starts at 5 am and lasts until 8 p.m. After 8 p.m., people start to eat again.

I had the opportunity to go to the seaside. It is a wonderful creation of God. I got to meet my sister's friends. Her husband and most of the Muslim people are very hospitable. They always have fruits, sweets and tea on the table. What really surprised me was to see that women have no rights there, the ones from poor families cannot write or read. They cannot get a job and therefore don't have their own money.

I was anxious to get back home and go back to work, to be able to walk all by myself and to wear what I wanted. One could easily see who was a tourist and who was a local. They have a different culture and traditions. My sister's husband had great respect for me, especially because I was older. Their friends asked me why I was a Christian and I was not married at my age. As a reply I told them that the God of the New Testament changed my life and He had control over it including the aspect of marriage.

I learned that these people are very devoted to their god. We as Christians, having a living God, should be even more so. It's all been a new experience for me.

My friend used to laugh at me, saying that I should work with the Muslim, which I don't want. But as the proverb says, "never say never".

I am thankful to God for the opportunity to visit my sister and to be able to tell others about God.
Please pray for my sister Galea and her husband Ednan. Pray for their family that they will start reading the Bible. Pray also for the missionaries that work in Muslim countries.