Halloween Week Our Sweet Treats

My favorite is the rose petals, pistachio, pomegranate ??

This week I wanted to share with you a story from the lens of my bed mate Hanna:)

“Last week I had the pleasure of making a sweet friend at Antepli, a Turkish bakery/restaurant in Albany Park. I admitted I had never tasted Turkish delight before and the man behind the counter started cutting off sample pieces of every flavor they made just for me to try. He said, “I won’t sell to you until you’ve tasted it all!” Honestly, I just wanted to have the same flavor of Turkish Delight that Edmond had in The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. But through his generosity, I was able to experience an abundance of the tastiest, authentic, Turkish sweets while building a friendship. Before leaving, we asked how we could be praying for him. He requested three things; success in his business, general health, and world peace. Once Adi (my team lead) and I returned home, we sat with the rest of our team and shared what we experienced and began to lift our new friend and his requests up to the Lord in prayer. Four days later, we decided to go back for more treats and to visit our dear friend. As we walked through the door, He was overjoyed to share with us his answered prayers! Over those few days, the Lord heard our prayers and gifted our friend in two of those three requests! It was such a powerful moment hearing the joy and excitement overflow out of our friend’s heart as he shared the miracles he just experienced. As he told his story, we were able to join him in his awe and share just how attentive, loving, and powerful our Jesus is with him! It was one of those moments I wish I had a camera crew following me around so I could let the whole world experience that moment with Adi and I.
But, as I sit and reflect on the beauty of that moment in my new favorite bakery, I realize how there’s not a camera in this world that’s powerful enough to capture the Holy Spirit in that moment.
The irony of sharing this text from behind a computer screen is humorous, but it doesn’t take away from the reality of the truth. Over the past year, I’ve come to understand that there are some moments that are meant to be lived in and not photographed, filmed, or documented. I’ve walked with my team through some moments I wish I could’ve documented for the world to see. But, I think the beauty behind those experiences are meant to be just that; experienced. Some moments require you to take a step out from behind that screen whether it be an iPhone or Canon camera so you can fully give your attention to the soon-to-be memory playing out right in front of you. We live in a social media/technology driven culture that feels the need to share every little thing while hiding behind a screen, even if it’s not safe or appropriate to do so.
We want to be seen. We want to be heard. We want to be noticed.

I pray that with each photo I share and every blog post I write with the words He’s given me, you see the kingdom through my lens and understand that there’s so much more going on behind the shots. That you see my heart to serve. You see my vision is to invite you into the freedom that comes with living in community, having intimacy with Jesus, and that life in Missions is so much more than cool social media posts. We are here to serve, love, and build relationships with our neighbors whether the whole world sees or not.”

Rest of her story and amazing photos can be found below

https://hannasmith.theworldrace.org