 Laura Davis is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and is serving a 3-month internship in the legal department of an international investment organization in Istanbul, Turkey. The daughter of a Lutheran pastor (Rev. David Davis), Laura shares her reflections on the life of the Lutheran church in Turkey, Muslim-Christian relationships, and the importance of being able to share the Word in the language of the people.
| Yesterday I arrived in Istanbul after fourteen hours of travel (one flight each of seven and four hours and a layover of three hours). I’m sure this is nothing to most people, but I was rather strung out to say the least, despite how much I wanted to savor my first arrival in Istanbul. Thankfully, a friend of friends from my home church was kind enough to meet me at the airport and take me to my new apartment. Most of the day went by in a blur, but perhaps one thing I managed to “savor” were the tulips lining the center of the streets along the road from the airport to the city. Brilliant red, yellow, and white, all in perfect bloom, with just the right amount of cheer to welcome me. Evidently, tulips are indigenous to Turkey and the region of Central Asia. In fact, it was supposedly a sultan of the Ottoman Empire (and what is now Turkey) who introduced tulips to enthralled Dutch visitors. For me, the tulips also served as a link to my home in Michigan (where I grew up not far from Holland, Michigan of Tulip Festival fame). Perhaps I should introduce myself at this point. My name is Laura, and I’m in Istanbul for a three-month long internship with an international organization that facilitates private investment in developing nations. And because I am a recent law school graduate, they thought their legal department would be a good place for me to work. My assignment from the Lutheran Heritage Foundation for this blog is to give you an idea of what living in Turkey is like and about how God’s grace is growing the Lutheran church here. While I won’t directly be doing mission work, I do hope to get involved in the Lutheran church here. Perhaps you’ll see this blog as my own tulip gift to you from Istanbul as I attempt to share with you what I learn about both life and the Lutheran church here. Next Entry...
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