First off, it has been forever since I have updated the blog. Please accept my apologies. Here's a quick update:

The last you heard, I was returning to California to visit Keneth, a young man I knew from Uganda, who my church had arranged to have life saving heart surgery. The surgery was an overwhelming success. ( Read more... )

I got back to Istanbul from my travels around Turkey today. I just posted my photos from my trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46957410@N00/

Kıyıja Keneth, a friend and spiritual brother of mine from Uganda is having heart surgery today. Please keep Keneth in your thoughts and prayers today.

Below is an article about Keneth whıch Ben Hulan, a fellow church member instrumental in arranging the surgery, wrote.( Read more... )

Sorry about the lack of updates. For the past week, I have been traveling around Turkey trying to get “the tourist experience” in before heading back home. So I have been away from regular computer access and when I have stumbled across an internet café they have all had Turkish keyboards, which instead of having a normal “i,” have one without a dot. Writing emails and updating the blog has been rather difficult without that key vowel at my disposal. ( Read more... )

As many of you may have heard there were bomb blasts last night in Istanbul killing 16 and wounding over 150. I was far away from the blasts and am fine. They were in a part of town I have never gone anywhere near. You can read about the blasts here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/world/europe/28turkey.html?ex=1374984000&en=c5f4f356221c4742&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Also, I will be leaving Istanbul this evening to travel to Izmir and Ephesus. Plus, I have uploaded a few more pictures to flcikr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46957410@N00/

My research that has been keeping me busy although I have had a lot of fruitful interviews recently. On Friday, I interviewed within a four-hour period and across two continents, Mustafa Akyol, a reporter for the Turkish Daily News, who had an article published in the latest Newsweek and Barbara Baker, a bureau chief for Compass Direct, a news organization covering Christian persecutions.( Read more... )

Another batch of photos have been uploaded to flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46957410@N00

I do not know if you have heard the news but there was a shooting
today outside of the US Istanbul consulate. I am fine. So is Amy and
Kishor. The shooting was probably local violence that just happened to
occur in front of the consulate.

I am going to try to keep the update section to a minimum this week and emphasize my observations of the Sri Lankans.

I spent much of this last week, as I did the past few, interviewing people on Muslim-Christian dialogue, networking for future interviews, helping the Sri Lankans with their English, and getting in some sightseeing. In other words, I have settled into a routine and what an awesome routine it is. The wealth and complexity of this city, not to mention the topic I am researching, is impossible to capture in words. Coming here was a very good idea. And now onto some observations…( Read more... )

I visited Topkapi Palace, home of the Ottoman Sultans for 400 years, and the remains of Hippodrome over the weekend. Photos can be found at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/46957410@N00

Also, I am using pseudonyms now when referring to my Sri Lankan friends and, in order to protect people's privacy, I am making all photos of people on Flickr as viewable by friends and family only. You can see them but you have to become my flickr friend.

I uploaded some more photos today. You can get them at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46957410@N00/

Last week was another fun one in Istanbul. I preached again on Sunday at Christ Church and am still working with the Sri Lankan refugees in helping them improve their English. On Saturday evening Amy, Kishor, and I went out to Christ Church for a curry party hosted by the Sri Lankans. The food was "off the hook" and there was lots of it. ( Read more... )

Here is the Sri Lankan Chicken Curry recipe I promised earlier in the week. It has been provided by the Sri Lankan refugees I have been teaching English to at Christ Church.( Read more... )

Yesterday I preached a sermon at Christ Church. It was a high Anglican service with incense, a processional, and chanting. The Cambridge University Jesus College gospel choir also sang at the service. As the preacher I participated in the procession and spent the service seated in a “throne” near the altar except when I was preaching, bowing to the altar, or standing for prayer.( Read more... )

I tried to walk to Asia yesterday and failed. Photos of my adventure have been posted on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46957410@N00/.

I have no idea how to upload photos to live journal. Instead I uploaded all my Istanbul photos to Flickr. I hope this is not an inconvenience. You can check out my photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46957410@N00/

My flickr screen name is James Christie and my account name is Trecendend. I do not know if you need to know that info to view the photos. Please let me know if you cannot.

I am starting up my blog again now that I am in Turkey. I plan to update it once a week and will be dividing each entry into three sections. The first will be a brief update. The second will be random observations/musings and greater details from the first section. The last will be the “Aunt Marg section.” My Aunt Marg has a passion for cooking and wants me reporting on my culinary experience. Plus, I will be including pictures. I have not taken any yet. But just for you all, I will take some and they should be up in a few days.( Read more... )

I know it has been forever since I posted anything but for those of you who do not know, I got into Yale Divinity School and will be heading there in the Fall to pursue a Master of Divinity. I have also been accepted to go in-care with the United Church of Christ Northern California Nevada Conference. Going "in-care" is technically, although not officially, the first step of the ordination process.

For those of you in the Bay Area: I will be preaching on Sunday June 10th at 10 am at the Community Church of Mill Valley. It is located at 8 Olive St in Mill Valley. I would love to see you there. Please email me if you have any questions or need directions.

I am currently making a living as a substitute teacher and at another job which is rather boring and not worth telling you about. Plus on Thursdays I take a class at a seminary in Berkeley. Plus there are other things on my plate, many of them church related, which although interesting, I am not going to write about.

Hello my friends. All of you should volunteer at the school I taught at in Uganda. It's real easy, all you've got to do is email the headmaster Charles: kikaayacollegeschool@yahoo.com and tell him your interested. Then buy a plane ticket to Kampala, get the proper vacinations, tie up all your affairs and try to have a few thousand dollars in savings to cover any unforeseen expenses (okay. . . so it's not that easy). In fact, here's a list of everything I wish I knew before arriving in Uganda to make your time at Kikaaya and in Uganda wonderful.

Here’s my first bit of advice. If you’re still deciding whether of not to volunteer at Kikaaya: by all means VOLUNTEER! ( Read more... )

You submit a title, people vote on the submissions, and then these guys make a film with the winning title in 48 hours: http://www.sixfingerfist.com