The most terrifying 20 minutes of my life were the 20 minutes that N was lost in the largest mall in Europe. 6 floors. An escalator just outside the store we were in. Not a clue in the world where he might have gone. It was the longest stretch of time in my life and I was literally running through the mall crying out loud with my hands outstretched asking the Lord to protect him. We were reunited with him at the information desk and learned that he had chased a train that gives kids rides through the mall. Even though he was 3 years 3 months, he didn’t have the language to articulate to us what really happened and so we never knew.
Until about 3 weeks ago. We were in a local mall and the same train drove past. When N saw it, he started recounting what happened when he was lost for the first time! I could tell he knew what he was talking about because he used Turkish in his story and Turkish hand motions both of which he has otherwise seemed to have forgotten. He said there was a man on the train that was saying and motioning ‘gel, gel, gel‘ (come, come, come) to him so he ran after the train and the man picked him up and sat him beside him on the train. He said after the ride the man left quickly and he walked around by himself for awhile before someone took him to the information desk where we were reunited with him.
When I first heard this I thought, “Wow, maybe this man was going to kidnap him but our prayers thwarted his plans.” After a day or two more of processing, I realized, “Whoa. What if the man’s goal was just to get him on the train? What could have happened during that train ride?” My thoughts began to spiral downward and I knew I needed to ask N about this, just to be sure we didn’t need to talk through anything with him.
So, one day when we were just talking together I said, “Remember that guy on the train? What did he look like?” N didn’t remember. “Was he nice?” Didn’t remember. “Did he touch you?” Didn’t remember. “Did he put his arm around you?”
“No mom, God painted me and I was still wet so no one could touch me.”
What?
”God painted me and I was still wet so he couldn’t touch me.”
What?
I was still trying to understand what he was saying because it didn’t seem to make sense. When we can’t understand what N is saying and he really wants to express something he always says “Say it with me mom.”
Next he said, “Say it with me mom, GOD PAINTED ME.”
Then he walked away to go play as if his explaination was the most normal thing in the world. And I sat there stunned.
What a gift this amazing picture of God’s protection over our children has been. He is truly there, even when we aren’t. For the rest of my life, I will pray that God covers them in His Beautiful Paint!
July 10th, N’s birthday, was also Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. This meant anyone who dressed like a cow got a free combo meal. Given our current financial situation, we weren’t going to miss an opportunity to eat out for free! I can count on one hand the number of times we have eaten out on our own dime since May. Interestingly though, once we broke the habit and started planning in advance to eat at home, it hasn’t really been that big of a sacrifice. Back to Cow Appreciation Day, Nane and Dede were here along with Aunt Anna, Uncle Andrew and Sara Abla. With such a large group, the cow creating process took all afternoon. Our only criteria was to not buy anything but only use things around the house. Hence the fluorescent green cows. We had such fun creating together and got a good laugh when Baba tested out the staple gun and somehow stapled a cow nose to the antique buffet piece in our dining room that I got from my Grandparents! In the end, we dressed little J as a chicken and used Chick-Fil-A font to make her sign read “Got Milk?” I admit that as we walked in, we all had a panic feeling, wondering if we would be the only ones in the store to have gotten the Cow Appreciation Day memo. But, as it turned out, there were plenty more families willing to do strange things for free food and 9 combo meals was over $50 worth of greasy chicken! We had a great time and even saved our costumes for next year. Want to join us?
I wanted my first ‘Inspire’ post to be this amazing story during our time in Central Asia that will always be a treasure to our family. I can’t miss this chance to boast in God’s name and His goodness. 
I happened to see a few oven boxes sitting behind an appliance store and decided to try to build a pirate ship for the party. We found directions on the internet at 
