Touring in Turkey

Our 3rd country of this TACO tour is off to a great start.  After Albania we had a few days to regroup before our performances in Turkey began.   After a day of rehearsal in Istanbul and we did a dress rehearsal of sorts at a local seaside park.  This part of the tour includes a band, StoryBox, and drama elements along with unicycling and dance.

Our first stop once we hit the road was Bursa where we did two shows just outside a large mall.  We performed here last year and have always had big crowds.  Each show drew around 2,000.

This year our sharing and dramas reflect our theme of raising awareness about violence against women.  We have found many open doors for performances when we are able to address a social issue and weave in the truth of God's love.  The truth is God loves women and greatly values them!  It's been neat to share hope with so many that truly need their eyes open and tell them God sees their hurt and is there with them.

Our next stop in Turkey's capitol, Ankara, was inside a shopping mall.  Shoppers watched from all three levels overlooking our performance area.  We were able to share more in depth with people afterward.  In Gaziantep we also performed at a large shopping mall with four levels for crowds to watch.  The mall management liked our show so much they have asked us to return next week for a second show.
Thanks for praying with us!

The equipment van is packed...time to hit the road!

Bursa Shopping mall show

David the hip hop dancer.

Dustin sharing his heart.

Dustin interviewed for a news program who guaranteed we would get press all over Turkey the following day, and we did!

Fans.

StoryBox.

Similar advertisements were at most malls where we performed.

A stop at the Tuz Golu (Salt Lake) en route to Gaziantep from Ankara.

All about Albania

We were privileged to participate in TACO's first tour in Albania with 7 events in 5 cities.  Our performance elements were unicycling, dance and fire poi.  Several of our shows were in smaller villages with great reception from the locals.  In one village we were told they had not heard our important Message in decades.

Other shows were in bigger cities with over 1,000 people in attendance.  Our last performance in the capital, Tirana, was crazy with kids running on stage playing with props during the show, fights in the crowd, police intervention and a sound system that kept coming unplugged.  In spite of it all, the message of Truth and Hope and Love was shared during and after the show and God was glorified.

We were blessed to work with a very special family the entire week who have a great heart for the youth of Albania.  We truly hope to partner with them again next year.

Kickin' it in Kosova

Our tour in Kosovo wrapped up in the beautiful mountains of Peja.  In total we had 9 events in 6 cities and shared truth with thousands.  We felt constant spiritual opposition so we ramped up our prayer support and took note that we were stirring up strongholds.  Despite major problems with our sound system, we were still able to proceed with each event and the message of God's love still challenged the hearts of our audiences.  

Katie, Michelle and Susanne were able to meet for coffee with two girls we connected with at our high school event. They shared their life stories and challenged these students with the Gospel.  It was a special time and we pray these girls continue to hear God calling them to Himself. 

Thanks for praying with us for the work God is doing in Kosovo and that seeds planted will be watered.  Stay tuned for our Albania update.