February 2, 2023 a.m.

From Carla:

Yes, we have lost a day, however Quentin and I have arrived at the Abat Guest House in Addis Ababa safe and sound!

First leg of trip was an 11 hour flight to Istanbul. It was a bit uncomfortable (old plane, hard cushions, warm) and neither of us able to get much sleep. However, I had interesting three hour conversation with the young British guy next to me, Simeon, and his 12 year old son. I was able to share Gospel and he kept asking questions. In the end, though, his belief in his own goodness (liberal, secular) won out. Pray that seeds were planted. 

Istanbul airport was enormous! (Picture below). We had 2 hours for what seemed to be an easy transfer (no customs or security check), however, we ended up walking almost an hour to our next gate. I sat next to a nice young man from Addis Ababa who is now a U.S. citizen and lives in Dallas. He was visiting family here in Addis. He offered for his family to take us to our guest house (5 minutes from airport), but the car was too small so he insisted on paying for taxi and tip and gave the taxi driver very firm instructions for our care and took the driver’s cell phone number!! What a blessing!! Grateful!