I hate admitting it, but it is hard to imagine horrific poverty and overpopulation. I live in a suburban area. My streets are clean. My apartment is clean, and not overpopulated. I drive my nice car to work every day, where (by God's gracious and undeserved provision) I make an above poverty level wage. And it's not just me. My husband alone makes above the poverty line. On top of all of that, I drive to my nice church building three times a week where I hear God's Word preached, sing the Word in song, and experience fellowship with other believers. All without any fear that someone might come in at any moment and torture me, or worse: kill me.

If you are watching the Olympics, or even the news, then you have probably heard about the Georgian man who died before the games even started. While the name of the country has been heavily talked about, I realized that I don’t know a lot about the people or the presence of the Gospel there. For most of my life when someone said "Georgia" I would immediately think about the state down south, not the country far away. So this week’s Missions Wednesday will focus on Georgia.

This week’s country focus shifts to Western Europe. Germany is a country with a rich history, and like much of Europe, is a country whose religious leanings are now only a memory of what once was. According to Operation World, while 70% of the people in Germany would claim to be Christians, only 45% believe in a God who is personal, and only 8% actually worship the Savior they claim. Because of this exodus from orthodox Christianity, to be a sold-out Christian means facing hostility from your countrymen. While there were once many church buildings filled with Germans, these are now only empty edifices. In many ways, Germany is very hard soil to penetrate.

Imagine living in a family where becoming a Christian means persecution, and often death. Imagine living in a society where you are the only Christian and there are few Bibles, few avenues for fellowship, and hardly any Christian places to worship your Savior. It’s hard to think about isn’t? Especially hard when many of us pass multiple churches on the way to our own church, or when the local Christian bookstore is not too far, or when we have unrestricted internet access to some of the greatest resources for our own growth. Imagine living in a country where Christians weren’t even allowed to get to you.

For this week’s Missions Wednesday I enlisted the help of my sweet husband. He has been to Turkey twice and it is a country that is dear to our heart. So below are some helpful tidbits that he relayed to me about the country of Turkey.