Fishing takes ALOT of patients! I have watched people come day after day to our beach and not catch a thing. Men come out early in the morning, stay most of the day and often leave with very little. Some will say, "Oh there is nothing in these waters worth catching." OR "The waters are too difficult to fish." However, the other day, a man caught a whopper of a fish. I am not a fish person so I do not know what kind it was, but people gathered, all listened to the story of the adventure of catching it and many changed their minds about the waters. You can probably guess what happened the next day....YES, the jetty was full of men giving it a go again. Perhaps today would be their day, maybe the waters are not too hard, maybe there is something worth catching.
What about me? How do I view the fishing I've been called to do? Just because a people or culture are different than I am or appear to be crude or harsh, do I say, "There is nothing worth catching."? Is that how God views people? Just because I am not seeing my line tug, my basket full and my cooler stocked, does that mean that the waters are too difficult to fish? Did God promise it would be easy?
My cousin is an avid fisherman. I am so impressed with his dedication and abilities. He recently posted on Facebook a video of people that have "invented" a new way of fishing. In essence with their invention a person can "deep sea" fish from shore. They freeze a small bait fish in a "bullet shaped" tube and then shoot it out of an airgun. It goes into deeper waters and when you catch something you have the challenge of hauling it all the way onto the beach. It is a different mindset, a different challenge...a different approach....BUT it works!
Have I been in such a hurry to evangelize that I've shaken searching fish off the hooks? Have I been so caught up in how things have been done before that I cannot embrace a new strategy? Am I so involved in my own "world" of what I think that I am capable of doing that I forget that I am just the "bait"/tool the Great Fisherman is using for HIS glory?
David Brainerd a missionary to the Native Americans once said, "O God, let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am." Let that be so of me as well. I am not a great fisherman, but let me be faithful. Let me be one who tells of HIS excellent greatness!! AT
We love the life that the Father has given us. What an adventure!! We are so often in amazement at the opportunities that are before us. Our family was overjoyed to be given the privilege to attend a week long conference just outside of Athens, Greece. The resort was amazing. The day tour of the ancient ruins is indescribable. It was a "once in a life time trip" to be sure. The highlight of the week hands down, was the privilege to serve the amazing group of expats at the conference. We loved listening to their testimonies, the passion for their work and their dedication to the Father. Many of them live in hard places, yet they have so much joy. The kids even ministered to William and Grace through their words and actions all week. I'll be honest, I have truly been struggling to "find my way" in the UAE. I believe our family has been in a grieving time. It was good to get away and gain back some perspective. I know that God is more interested in my holiness and growing me than He is in my happiness. He has us here for a reason. We need to be serving Him no matter where we are. We can't keep looking back, replaying the "what ifs" and wondering how long we will be here. It felt good that at the end of the trip to Greece that we were all saying, "I'm ready to go home." I know that may sound strange, but all 4 of us have come to a place where we are ready to call the UAE home. Time away was fun, but we were ready to go home and begin serving with our whole hearts in our new country. We will always love Turkey. We are thankful for modern technologies and the ability to stay in touch with our friends. We are thankful for the Turks here that we are getting to know and that we are trusting the Father will bring our way. GOD sees the whole puzzle. Thank you Greece for a time of refreshment and renewing of the mind! We know you have bad history with the Turks, but you helped us end our grieving for that precious country! AT 
