Sunsets are free

I am currently sitting in a cutsie little coffee shop in Türkiye consuming all the coffee I can before I go and get my teeth cleaned later this afternoon. We are wrapping up our time here in Türkiye with 12 days of asking the Lord where to go and what to do. My team is in Izmir for a few more days then we will travel to Kapadokya. Izmir is home to the 7 churches written to in Revelations – not just locations or coordinates of where the churches were, but physical buildings and evidence of where the Church met two thousand years ago. Three quarters of my squad is here in Izmir visiting these historical and Biblical sites – they are incredible sites to see but still I stand underwhelmed by what man has made. 

In Guatemala we saw the Tikal Temples and I would’ve rather been sitting under a tree in the middle of the jungle. In Guatemala we climbed a volcano and watched the neighboring volcano erupt all night. I sat up most of the night watching in awe and wonder of the Lord and His Creation. In Albania we visited the bridge that Paul walked over on his journey from Macedonia to Jerusalem, built with rocks standing about 50 feet above the river made by the hands of many men – but still I was underwhelmed. We walked the coast for 4 days and I was in awe and wonder of the water obeying their Creator. 

We missed out on many sunsets at our ministry location due to many many hills and our apartment being surrounded by other living quarters. The first night we arrived in Izmir we walked to dinner across town, catching the most beautiful sunset between the alleyways. My entire team made comments about how beautiful the sunset was, of course I agreed. I thought ahead to the next day, how we would travel south to visit this church that was built by man thousands of years ago and pay too much money to see. I said at that moment “Yeah and sunsets are free.” Some of my team members just laughed knowing my heart behind these situations. The rest of my team really wanted to visit Ephesus so I agreed that I would go but I was not interested in going to any more of these churches. 

The 80 minute train ride was filled with wonderful views out the window, mountains and hills, green grass and trees blowing in the wind. Shepherds shepherding their sheep in the fields along the tracks. I sat staring out the window the majority of the time wishing I was in the middle of it all, but instead I was on my way to see some rocks stacked on top of one another. We walked through this now Ancient Wonder of the World known as the Church of Ephesus for like 3 hours. We sat and looked at broken rocks and stones with holes in them for toilets, and sang in amphitheaters that are being rebuilt. When the opportunity arose to split and some people leave, I got on the first bus out of there. 

I still can’t put together adequate words to explain why I always feel so underwhelmed by these things. Maybe because man made them or maybe because it seems like people travel from all over the world to come and what seems like worship these places that were built by man. Maybe it’s my heart that reflects that of God’s heart that we would worship and stand in awe and wonder of nothing but Him and His Creation. I made it back to Izmir just in enough time to grab dinner and sit and watch the sunset. I sat in awe and wonder of Holy Week and the crucifixion as I watched the sun disappear beneath the water. I thought about how everything that God made for us to delight in is free, it cost us nothing. The trees, the water, the wind, the sky, the grass, the mountain and the canyons, the rocks structures, the sunrises and the sunsets, even the death of His Son – it cost us nothing to sit and delight and ponder and wonder about the things that God has created. Everything we need in life is free, the sunset to stand in awe and wonder of the Lord and His majesty and His creation is free. I don’t understand the hype and the excitement behind seeing things that man has created, and I hope I never do. 

But for your sake – here are some pictures of the Church of Ephesus. Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians address to these people. 

How can you be a part of what is going on in Türkiye?

• You can pray with us! Pray that they would have dreams of the Messiah. Pray that the Lord would give them visions of Him. Pray that they would encounter a believer that is willing to share the Good News with them. Pray that they would be receptive to the words that are spoken in the Gospels.
• Some of the squad is continuing to support raise for the Race – if you would like to partner financially, you can reach out and I can get you their account information
• Pray about continuing to financially support me specifically – this will help cover the cost of daily personal expenses you can do this on venmo @alyssanphllps

Stay connected! You can reach out via email [email protected] or download WhatsApp and connect with me on there +14092000085 Instagram is where I stay most updated with weekly recaps @alyssanphllps13 there is also a podcast called Unscripted Reality on all streaming platforms – this is a platform to share and hear stories of how the Lord is working in and through P Squad!

 

Love well,

Alyssa