Pray for Yüce and the many other Muslims in Turkey, who like him, are searching for truth and finding it in Jesus.
We met Ebru, who had forgotten that she had ever written to the Bible Correspondence Course (BCC) asking for a Bible. Several years had passed. We're we late? No! We arrived right on God's perfect time. As financial difficulties and family stress were weighing heavily on her, her heart was seeking rest that only God can give. Tears sprang to her eyes as we shared and prayed with her and the Spirit of God touched her in a personal way. Pray for her to hunger and thirst after God, devour His Word, and find her rest and joy in His presence.
Deniz rolled up on the back of her boyfriend's motorcycle. It was 10:30pm and she had just gotten off work at a tattoo parlour at a local hotel. She took us to her home and started to talk. She has had a hard childhood and struggled with many sins, but after she had a dream where Jesus came to her, laid His hand on her shoulder and told her not to fear she then contacted the BCC. She said the love she felt from Jesus was not any anyway sexual, but was a warm, all encompassing father-like love. That love cannot be matched by anything, she said. We explained what God did to demonstrate His love for her and she put her faith in Jesus Christ. She thanked us for calling her and seeking her out. After asking several times about the meaning of baptism and expressing her desire to be baptized, we took her down to the sea and baptized her there. "I feel like I have been born again!" She exclaimed. Pray for her as she shares with her family and friends what God has done for her. She has since found another foreign believer living there she has begun meeting with as well as sharing with her family and the customers who come to her tattoo parlour. Pray for her as she reads the Bible for her to grow.
Please pray for Mary an Joy, that God would continue to bless them and lead them to the women who are most hungry to know Him. Pray for the above women and others like them who are waiting for visits from those who have the key that will open the door to their hearts.
For almost a year, TACO had been working with No Longer Music to organize a large stage truck tour of Turkey. The teams were planning at least 10 major concerts reaching thousands of people in a country that is 99.9% Muslim. Unfortunately, there was tense political unrest and violence in different parts of Turkey this summer and so all of the planned concerts were cancelled! The teams were VERY disappointed because there was a great vision of reaching thousands of people throughout Turkey - a country that so desperately needs to hear the Gospel. But, unfortunately, it was beyond their control.
After a lot prayer, the teams decided to still go and that canceling the tour was not an option. Everyone agreed and so a show was developed for an unplugged "street" version of the show that could be performed in parks and other crowded locations multiple times in a night without permissions. The team included three entities (No Longer Music, Come & Live, and TACO teams) and totaled about 35 people. Considering the potential for disunity and issues dealing with unscheduled, spontaneous street shows the potential for problems was very clear. Possibly the biggest answer to prayer throughout this tour was the amazing unity that prevailed and the synergy of the three teams working as one. So, after NLM's last concert in Bulgaria, their stage truck and trailer was parked in a secure lot and the NLM team left for Turkey unsure of how the tour would go.
In the end, the team was able to do 14 street shows all over western Turkey. There was no violence and no shows were shut down by the police. This was a HUGE answer to prayer especially during the volatile times in the country. In fact, the police were always very respectful and often wanted information themselves about Jesus. It was truly amazing how powerfully God moved!
"David had just finished preaching and I looked out into the crowd and immediately one girl stood out to me. I heard the Holy Spirit whisper 'Go right to her; it's time for her to meet me' I invited my translator over and we delved into a conversation about the world and about what it was like for her being a teenager in a Muslim country and about Jesus. Initially she was quite shy and reserved, but I felt Jesus telling me to keep pushing and going deeper. She opened up more and we had a great conversation. At the end I asked if I could pray for her and she nodded, so I put my hand on her arm and poured my heart out over this beautiful girl. In the middle of the prayer her hand suddenly grabbed mine tightly and I knew that God was touching her heart. As I finished I looked up and she was crying; she said that she felt really warm inside, and that she had never felt such peace and love in her heart. She said that she knew that God wanted me to talk to her that night, and that it was exactly what she needed. We're going to stay in touch and I am confident that she will come to know Him as her Father and as her Lord. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my entire life, and this is just one of countless testimonies of what God did in this vastly Muslim country!"
• 200 raised their hands publicly because they wanted to know more about Jesus.
• Over 300 filled out surveys, received the powerful DVD "More Than Dreams," and received the Turkish Bible Correspondence Course.
• All those who responded are presently being followed up personally by the local churches and TACO.
Despite the fact that the team could not use the stage trailer, some on the team thought that this was one of the best tours NLM/TACO has done in Turkey in ten years of ministering together.