Learning through stories.

Our introduction to Turkey has been surprisingly easy due to our host family. They have kindly helped us with everything from meeting us at the airport, changing money, showing us where to shop and securing our own flat. We will stay with them for another week whilst we gather furniture and get our electricity, gas and wifi sorted out....then we are on our own. Well actually they are so kind that I am sure they will continue to be available to help us get on our feet. The photo is of me reading to the youngest family member who has an insatiable appetite for books....this is a book of fairy stories. A few mornings ago I was praying about how I can gain understanding of Turkey and of the people here....assumption is one of my biggest enemies. I want to understand people and not just think that I am understanding them. I had an impression of a book of fairy stories and realised that stories are one of the ways that we learn about the world around us. Fairy tales don't hide the facts even though they certainly simplify them; they present a characterisation of reality that we can digest. As children, through simple stories, we learn that there are dangers out there, that some people will help us and that some will cause us harm, that there is love and that there is tragedy. We could read everything from instagram posts and blogs to academic analysis to try to understand the people around us, but as for me, I will listen to as many peoples' stories as I can. Through these stories I want to learn of the genuine experiences of my new neighbours and friends and how they feel about those experiences and ultimately about how they think. Until I have good Turkish ability, however, I will have to listen to those who speak English, of whom there seem to be very few, or through an interpreter. The method that I am using to learn Turkish is to concentrate on listening. Hopefully I will progress to the point where I can hear and understand people tell their own stories in their own language. EventuallyI hope be able to tell my story in their mother tongue in such a way as that they can hear and really understand what I am trying to tell them about my experiences, how I feel and how I think. My life, like everyone's, tells just one small story of our times and God's work amongst us.