Morale

One very cool thing about living here at Incirlik is the world-wide effort at keeping up morale. Because we are in the Middle East and just a hop, skip, and jump from some of the deployment locations like Iraq and Afghanistan, we get a lot of "morale boosters." There are a lot of musicians, comedians, entertainers, and the like that will make a stop here while they are touring the Middle East.

Our TV comes with our house, and it is run through the Base. Things are tape delayed and replayed. Basically they take the best shows and combine them into one huge channel. So the channels things are on at home won't necessarily be what they are on here.

The commercials are nearly all military commercials. Lots of morale boosters. People telling you that you are doing a good job. Thank you for your service. It makes me feel sorta special. And it's nice to hear. It's nice to remember that we are working for our government and that being here is basically considered being "deployed as a family."

There are always free items available at the post office or our church. People or companies who sent stuff just for military lifers. It's so nice to feel appreciated.

So, speaking of morale ...

Today I had the opportunity to attend one of Beth Moore's simulcasts for free! We didn't get to actually watch it live with the 125,000 other people from the other side of the globe, but we did get to watch with people around Europe and Asia. What a blessing for her ministry to provide this gift to us at Incirlik. Not only did I get to listen to Beth Moore speak on kindness (more on that in an upcoming post as I recap her great teachings) but I also got to meet quite a few women from off-Base which is quite unusual.

Getting access to Incirlik can take up to a month! I started working on getting access for my Mom and Joni (who come to visit next month!) when we first moved here, and we just got complete approval finished. So to have a room full of women visit from off-Base was quite a luxury. They had been working on this for many weeks and weren't sure approval would be granted. But it was! Most of these women attend an international church (which we hope to visit in the future) off-Base. They are American women living in Adana. JB and I actually had dinner with one couple last week, a connection from our good friends Tristan and Shannon.

There is religious freedom in Turkey. You are allowed to be a Christian or any other faith. However, conversion is basically against the law. If a Muslim was to convert, they would be completely ostracized from their family and face a myriad of dangers (even death.) So while there is religious freedom, it is not the norm to see a Turk express a religion than anything other than Muslim. But there are some who are Christians. And they worship together with Americans in the open in Adana and throughout Turkey.

Anyways, I got sidetracked a bit. What I was writing this post to express was my gratitude for these morale-boosters. If you have something that you can share with the military community either at home or abroad, don't hesitate to do so. (There was a box of crocheted hats available at church the other day.) We really appreciate it. I am incredibly grateful for any "taste of home" I get. While I am so incredibly happy to be living here, enjoying the experience, and not regretting our decision to make Turkey our home in any way, there are some things that are quite difficult about living here. One of those is the feeling of isolation. And tastes of home help that feeling.

Tastes of home are a wonderful blessing. And Beth Moore was a wonderful blessing. If you have never had the opportunity to listen or read any of Beth Moore, I encourage you to change that immediately. She's fantastic!

P.S. Thanks to my wonderful husband for watching our boys for the day and giving me time to spend with my savior. I needed that so much. :)