The world welcomes my new nephew, Gradi Christopher Wilkins!!!!

Well for those of you who know me, I am proud to be an aunt to my brother Brett, and sister-in-law Michelles, three kids, Riley, Kobe and Brodie. Last night at 5:30am I received a call from my brother that Michelle gave birth to a healthy little boy!!!! He was born at 9:15pm, yesterday, weighing in at 9 lbs 1 oz and 20 1/2 inches long!!!! They named him Gradi Christopher Wilkins. (Christopher is my brother's middle name). I was pretty excited and couldn't go back to sleep for another hour after I talked with him!!! Michelle is doing well, just exhausted. I called Brett this morning and wished him Happy 33rd Birthday and he was asleep at the hospital. Riley apparently was in the delivery room the whole time and witnessed it and she is happy to be a proud sister of three little boys. Kobe and Brodie I am sure are excited to have another little brother. Riley and Kobe are missing school tomorrow to go see Gradi and be with Brett and Michelle. I am so happy that he is healthy and everyone is doing well!!

Today we have a game against Kayseri. It is a pretty big game for us, and will be important to get this win in if we want to advance in playoffs. After the game I am catching a night flight out for Athens, Greece to go and hang out with my old ISU teammates, Mary Fox and Lindsey Wilson!!! Also an teammate from Sacramento, Kristin Haynie, who is playing there and a teammate from San Antonio, Erin Buescher (now Perperoglou :) I should be a great weekend after we get a big win today and hopefully I make all my flights!!!!


Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Britt<><

My Team, Turkish Food, and season so far.......

I figured it has been almost a month since I blogged last which is pretty pathetic, and I have been taking good pictures, making good memories, and haven't been sharing. So this week I hope to catch you all up a bit :)

Since I got here in late December we have had seven games, and went 2-5 in all of them. Overall, our record is 4-11 in the league and are sitting in 9th position. We need to win two or three more games in order to get into the top eight of the league. If we don't make it in the top eight, then our season is finished March 21st. If we do make it we finish early-mid-April.

I have adjusted pretty well as far as getting used to the basketball here and my team. There are three other Americans on my team along with me. Shannon Bobbitt is our point guard, she is from New York, played college ball at Tennessee and professionally with the LA Sparks. Marcedes Walker is our center, she is from Philly and played college ball at Pittsburgh and is also my roommate. Angela Tisdale is our shooting guard, she is from Austin, TX, played college ball at Baylor. The basketball world is so small, as those of you that are it know, that there so many connections with teams, players coaches, and people everywhere. For example, prior to my time here in Turkey, I played against Shannon's team, LA, when I was at San Antonio in the playoffs. I played against Marcedes in a pre-season training camp game and played against Angela in the Big 12 for two years. They are all great to play with and easy to get along with.

My Turkish teammates are all so great. I couldn't ask for better girls to be around. They are all very young, but so gentle hearted and hard working. There are about three girls on the team that speak english well, the rest of them is pretty broken and can't really understand much English. The are all players that have been with the club Botas for a few years, and played on the younger Botas teams growing up. So to be playing on the senior Botas team is pretty big for them. They all range from the age 17-23. Yes, I am the oldest on the team out of everyone :) I enjoy it though and have really enjoyed being able to be a leader in my actions and words around my team.

So I have been able to try lots of great yet interesting food since I have been here. One is this dish called Iskender. I posted a picture of it for you all to see. It is famous in the city of Bursa, Turkey, but they sell it everywhere in Turkey. It is basically little pieces of bread with thin slices of meat on top, with a white yogurt, a red tomato sauce on top, butter poured on the top and a tomato and pepper to go on the side. This is one of my favorite Turkish foods, but I usually try and get no butter, they pile it on here!!!!

So one of my teammates, Ebru, invited me over for supper one night. I got there and they were just so nice, cooked Turkish food and even made some chicken and rice if I didnt like the Turkish food. Well Ebru's english isn't the best and her parents didn't really speak any at all. Don't worry that fact is important to know as the story continues. So anyway, her mom cooked this stuff called Mumbar. It looked like something I wouldn't attempt to eat, but wanted to be polite and try it. I asked Ebru what was in it and she said that it was stuffed with rice and meat. So I thought, well that is pretty safe, so I ate the whole plate full and it was ok, not super tasty but ok. So I was telling one of the Americans that I met here that story and she about died laughing because she told me that it was intestines that I ate!!! So I couldn't beleive that I ate a whole plate of intestines and didn't even realize it!!!!! I am not sure whether it was lamb or beef, but I would really prefer not to know. So I posted a picture of some Mumbar for you all to see. And the stuff I ate didn't have the colorful garnishes on it when I ate it :) You live and learn!

So when we go on the road we eat in hotel restaurants right, well one morning I was ordering a omelet and preceeded to ask if I could get my omelet with cheese and ham in it. So I got the the point of me saying "I would like cheese and ha---" then stopped and realized that in Turkey people don't eat Pork because it is against their Muslim faith. So I have caught myself a few times sticking my foot in my mouth on my words!!!! But I sure do miss having a good piece of ham that is for sure!!!!!

Here are some pictures of the groceries here, thought you might all like to see the kind of things I buy at the grocery store. Once again so sorry that I might be the worst blogger on the planet, but I am determined to get better at this!!! Plus I have lots of adventures planned after my season, so I need to get you all caught up on my trips since I have been here!!! I have also been able to go to the cities of Izmir, Ephesus, Sirance, Ankara, Goreme (in this area of Turkey called Cappodocia), Istanbul, and a few places around Adana. This next weekend I am going to Athens, Greece to meet up with some old Iowa State teammates and Sacramento teammates :) So excited!!!!! My dad came about two weeks ago and we had a great time too! He really loved Turkey!!!! I will update you on that soon as well!!!

Today we had the day off since we had a game yesterday. I have been really blessed to have my sundays mostly off. Since I have been here I have been able to connect with several foreigners and got some good fellowship to go to weekly. They are from all over the US and there are about 4 families that i have connected with that either work here or are studying the culture and learning the language. Every week we get together and have a house study, fellowship and pr@yer. I have gotten to know there kids and has been fun to be apart of the birthday parties and just hang out with Americans sometimes. Since I have been here I have purchased a guitar, so I have been fortunate enough to play some guitar for worship time in our house groups, which has been fun. It has been so sweet and we even sing worship songs in Turkish!!! One of my Turkish friends came this morning, that was fun for him to be there, he read the scripture in Turkish to us :) The house group as been able to come to a few of my games and stick out like sore thumbs with their signs and the fact that none of them are Turkish :) They are all great and so supportive of me and my team!!!

I don't want to keep you all for your day, so check out the pictures and enjoy!! I WILL write again this week I hope!!!!!

Love you all!!

Britt<><

The pictures are of my team, Turkish Groceries, Mumbar (intestines), Iskender (looks gross but it is good!) and from the Fenerbahce game. The team picture was taken at the airport as you can see, an airline company is one of our main sponsors. The men in the front of the team from the left is our strength coach (Umit), head coach (Olcay), the Airline president, and our general manager (Alpo).

Inauguration Day from Turkey!

Well, as you all know that a week ago tomorrow Barack Obama was sworn
in as the 44th president of the United States of America. It was a
exciting historical day for the USA, african-americans, and for many
around the world. I was unable to watch the speech and when he was
sworn in because our team had mandatory hang out time at the movies
(we went to Yes Man, it was fun :) But while I was driving in the team
bus to the mall for the movie (this is while Obama was being sworn in)
I felt a sense of American pride and honor knowing that what was
happening at that moment in my home country was effecting lives around
the world.

I respect President Obama for his character, the way he conducted his
whole campaign (Not attacking the other party as much as he was
attacked), and for the way he is stepping up the one of the biggest
challenges of leading one of the most powerful nations in the world.
I am sure you all already know all this but leading the USA out of the
economic crisis, out of two wars that we are deep to our hips in,
while carrying on with the regular duties that the president does will
not be a easy duty. But, despite all the Republican vs. Democrat talk
and who is better than who, and who is the better party, I think
America, along with myself we all need to show our love and support of
our new President and trust that he can unify the US more and gain
back some of the respect that the world has lost for the US. God
calls us to honor our authorities always, even when we don't agree
with them. I am not saying this because the US is better than any
country, believe me, that is not what i am saying, especially after
living and traveling around to many places of the world, but because
leadership takes humility and relating to others. I trust Obama can do
that and through my own research, prayer and reading up on him and his
life, he won my vote. I don't agree with everything he plans to do,
but I do believe the Lord has equipped him to lead the USA and I pray
many of you will trust the Lord with Obama and his plans for America.
As my quote says on the bottom next to my signature, I don't know what
my future holds, but I know who holds my future. I love that quote
because it helps remind me that God holds each and everyone of our
futures, it is a matter of whether you know that and trust Him.

During the inauguration week here in Turkey, many people who knew I
was American (coaches, teammates, trainers, general manager), came up
and congratulated me and the USA for having a new president. The
newspapers were packed full of articles and pictures of the
Inauguration some people here were wearing buttons of Obama. Even here
there was a sense of hope and new expectation in the air that
hopefully this is a good step in the right direction for the world. I
want to thank President Bush for all the good, bad, ugly,
accomplishments, failures and everything that has happened the last 8
years. I hope he is able to walk away from being the president a
better person than before, with a humble sense of achievement and
leadership in his efforts to have lead the USA for 8 years.

I have attached some pictures of the newspapers here, an Obama pin
that was found in a shop in Ephesus that I saw. Also attached are a
few pictures that one of my friends told from the east coast on
January 20th. Again, I just want to say I am proud to be an American
(sometimes while living overseas, I am embarassed to be American for
various reasons, the way we live, dress and our reputation) but for
the most part glad to have seen history unfold and President Obama
step into the batting box for the US. Those are all my thoughts on
politics and hope you enjoy the pictures!

I have some great news! My dad got a plane ticket to come and visit me
here in Turkey!!!! He will be here for 10 days and will get to see two
of my bball games and hopefully do a little sight seeing while we are
at it!!!!

Take care and until next time!!
Live to make Him smile :)

Brittany Wilkins <><
bwilkins51.blogspot.com
bwilkins51@gmail.com

~I don't know what my future holds, but I know who holds my future ~

Turkish toilets...........

So Turkish toilets have made for some fun stories that is for sure. See before they were introduced to seats on toilets here, they used to just squat over a hole and go to the bathroom. They like to call them squaty potties or old Turkish toilets. So the first practice I was here, I had to go to the bathroom, they pointed towards the WC (water closet) and i got in there and said nooooooooo way am i going to the bathroom in that, and there was no toilet paper!! So I have learned to keep a roll of toilet paper in my gym bag and use it all the time. And since Turkey has gotten a little more modern there are more toilet now with actual seats, so I always ask for those!!!

Some of the pictures are: from our basketball gym. In every business establishment and every gym in Turkey there is a huge picture of this guy Aytac Durak ( i think that is right). He is the guy that basically founded Turkey and put Turkey on the map as far as economically. They worship this guy like crazy and have pictures of him all over the place. There is even a day for him (November 11th) where the whole country stops to remember him for one minute. All the buses, boats, trains, cars, everything. One of my friends said he was on the boat and all of a sudden the engine stopped right in the middle of the trip.

Other pictures: this is the mosque near my house which is near a beautiful walking park, which i have been out to a few times.
The other picture is of me in the mosque. I had to cover my head when I went it. And for those of you who are wondering, not all the women in Turkey have to cover there heads or wear burcas. There is a lot more of that in Istanbul and the farther east you go.

Well thats all for now! Love you all!!

PS. Here is the website for the Turkish league. There is a picture of me in the ones that flas on the screen. I am number 14 and wearing a red jersey. I think it is picture number 17 or 18. Also scroll down and you can see an article about me coming, but its in Turkish :)

http://www.tbl.org.tr/tbbl/index.asp

Back in Turkey again :)

Well after a grrrrrrrreat time at home for the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, I was able to get a contract in of all the places I really didnt want to go, but yes Turkey. The Lord just keeps putting it back in my path and this time I was really trusting Him and hoping that it would go better than the last time. The team is named Botas Spor and is located in Adana, Turkey which is about an hour from the Mediterranean Sea and an hour from the Tarsus Mountains. I got here on December 27th and it has been good so far, lots of stories already. We played our first game last week against a team called Ceyhun and won. It was really exciting and a huge game for us. I played like 7 minutes and it was good, but I am still getting comfortable with the team and plays and such. Our next game is in Tarsus on Saturday. Tarsus is the home of the Apostle Paul from in the bible so I am hoping to go there one day to sight see and such. But wanted to post something quick so you all know where I am these days and what I am up too. Here are a few pictures from New Years Eve. We hung out at our coaches house for the night and played Tombala, its like Bingo. It was interesting playing in Turkish!!! They also like the concept of the christmas trees and giving gifts but dont celebrate the real meaning of christmas. So there was a tree up in his house and day after I got here one of my teammates, Gulsah, got me a gift the day after i met her. Anyway, hope you all enjoy so far. The most that I am standing by is the biggest mosque in Turkey. It was amazing!!!!

Well i will write more later, love and miss you all!

Another Country, another team, another life experience to chalk up!

Hello hello! Long time no write as usual and a lot has happened since I wrote last. The Turkey experience I had was a great one with a few minor bumps along the way, but I made it through!

After my arrival and practicing with the team for a little less then a week, the coach had a change of mind and decided to bring in a different player, a bigger post player, more of a center position player. The management of the team also decided to release the point guard of our team. So it was a wierd situation that was all of a sudden, considering I was planning on being there until late April of next year. So I ended leaving Mersin a week after arriving there. I ended up getting my internet and fridge that I was supposed to have the day that I left Mersin! Sometimes you just have to laugh off crazy things that come your way!

I ended up going to my Turkish agent's home, which was not to far from Mersin, to talk things over and decide my options after that. It was a nice visit, with him, his wife and two kids. They served a wonderful traditional Turkish meal and was very delightful. His kids were facinated by my Macbook Computer and we took several pictures in the photo booth application, which was a lot of fun for them.

The next morning I flew from Adana to Istanbul because there was a team there that needed a post player and were willing to give me a look for a few days before signing me. So they put me up in an apartment which has several amazing stories behind it, one to mention a maid that mysteriously lived with my and enjoyed smoking freely wherever she pleased! More on that later.....

I practiced with them for a few days and started enjoying the city and getting to know my teammates a little better. I was also able to connect with several Americans that I was able to meet via email from the midwest! The city of Istanbul was truly amazing, with so much history and sights to see. Every day while I was there I tried to see something new or hit up a new part of the city. Istanbul has 15 million people in it and is a city that is spread out over several bodies of land with water in between. So the transportation is trams, buses, sea buses, trolleys, funiculure, and of course walking. Well after a few days of being there, they decided that I was a great player, but wasn't exactly the player the president of the club wanted. So they booked my flight home the next day. Of course I was bummed out that I wasn't going to stay in Turkey, but I was very thankful for the time that I had there and all the great people that I met. So, I changed my flight and left a few days later so I could do some sight seeing and be a professional tourist for a while! Which is also a great job!

Through all of this drama in the two weeks that I was in Turkey, I was still being reminded, to continually live by my faith and not by sight. That the Lord has my life and story all planned out, and that He is in control of all of it. Knowing that He is steady and unchanging has brought comfort to my life and really helped me trust where and what He will use me in next, whether home in the midwest combining corn with my family or in Turkey playing basketball on the mediterranean sea!!

More stories and pictures to come, but just wanted to let you all know what I was up to these days. I am back in Nebraska with my family, enjoying the cold weather and working on the farm! I will be home until after the holidays and hope to get a contract playing overseas after the new year.

Stay warm out there! It is freezing rain outside right now!!! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Love you all,

Britt<><

Mersin team

These are a few pictures of me and my teammates from Mersin. Our manager Suat, did a lot of running around for me getting me my physical, groceries, etc. I got along with him great! Here are some pictures from the town too!! Enjoy!!

The trip over to Turkey.....

Hello Everyone,

I made it to Turkey on Saturday, I really enjoyed my trip over and got to sit by some wonderfully nice Turkish people on all my flights. The first cool people that I met was this group of politicians from Iowa. They were all going to Istanbul for some politcal exchange thing. They were all very nice, some from Marshalltown (knew one of my good friends) and also from Carroll, IA (they wanted me to tell you Shellie Moseman hello, i wrote their names down and can't find the paper now). Anyway, they were very nice and there tour guide was helpful on getting me to the right connection and my visa all figured out.

Next was the older man, Dundar on the long 10 hour flight. Which I ended up getting an exit row thank the Lord!) He was very kind, but spoke very little english. He tried to teach me some words and even gave me his pocket dictionary and a little converter (like a palm pilot) and you can type in the english word and the turkish one pops up. He was so kind and it was fun to try and communicate with him. I saw him reading his Koran several times (in case you don't know the Koran is the the holy book for the Muslim religion). It was very interesting to share a little bit of my faith with him, but very difficult with the language barrier.

On to Istanbul. Well i didn't see anything besides the airport, and that was nice. I stood in line to get a temporary visa to get past the passport control. The lady wasn't to please when I gave her my credit card but that was all I had. Then on the to next flight. Scored another exit row then too. I sat by these flight attendants, Derya, Onder and Duhan were there names. They were on a rest from there last flight and they were so kind and friendly. They were fascinated that I played ball and they said when I am in Istanbul they would come and watch and that they would show me around the city. At the end of the flight the nice flight attendant lady sitting next to me, Derya, gave me a beautiful clip for my hair and a pin with the famous leader of there country on it. She was very excited when I put it on and wore it out of the plane.

Getting to Adana airport was interesting, saw a few men with machine guns just hanging out at the airport. One man was kind and showed me where to go to claim my bags. I was picked up my the manager of the team, Suat. We then rode back to Mersin which is about a 45 minute to 1 hour drive. I was so tired at this point but forced myself to stay awake and talk with him.

That night he showed me my apartment which is very nice, all pink walls but very nice furniture and such. Well the Internet wasn't hooked up so I stayed with the other two Americans, Mistie Williams and Stephanie Raymond. I got there, checked my email unpacked a bit, called the family and went to sleep. The first night I slept great, a ful 10 hours!! The next day, Sunday I had an individual practice with the coaches and some of the younger girls on the team. I will fill you all in on that in the next email!! This is enough to read I am sure!! Sorry no pictures yet, I will try and take some at practice #2 of the day tonight.

Please pray for me and my patience. They are very slow on getting my apartment ready for me and found out that the fridge is not working, so I am trying to eat well and get good rest but have no place to keep food and no Internet. I am trying to be firm with them so things will get done, but also be patient and show Christ-like behavior at the same time. Also pray for Suat, we have had many great conversations comparing the Christian faith and Muslim faith. Very cool guy and just wants to learn more. Practices have been very fast paced because our coach likes the fast game, so I am trying to learn the plays and be sharp at the same time, so also pray for my transition into the team.

Ok I am going to get some rest before practice. Thank you for all your love, support and Prayers!!

Love, Britt<><

Leaving for Turkey on Friday!

Well we made a great run in the WNBA Finals against Detroit but unfortunately lost and took the silver. It was a great experience and made a lot of great friends along the way. Monday we flew back to San Antonio and I packed up my apartment and flew home yesterday morning on a 6am flight. It has been great to be home and got to hang out with my family last night. I am packing and resting the next few days and will be flying out for Mersin, Turkey on Friday!! Will write and post more pictures later. Please pray for my travels and transition to a totally different culture, team and country!!

Love you all!

Britt<><

WOW. God is great.

I just wanted to take this time and just thank God for all the blessings in my life.  Health, family, friends, opportunities, but most importantly the gift of Salvation through Jesus.  

Tonight, I got the opportunity to get together with some of my teammates and staff from my team and we just took the night to stop and praise and thank God.  We had some amazing time of worship and just praying for His light to shine and that He would receive the Glory as we continue to live, play in the Finals and be unified as a team.  

Just wanted to remind you all as God reminded me that we need to slow down, thank Him for all He is, for who we are in Him and His never-ending gift of love and forgiveness.  

WNBA Finals. WOW. Starting tonight!!!!

Hey hey!!!

Well it has one amazing ride these last few weeks being back on the San Antonio. We played LA in the Western Conference Finals and won two incredible games at home. In game #2 Sophia Young put up a 15 foot jumper when we were down by one point with 1.3 seconds to go and it banked in the basket and we won!!!! Then in Game #3 one of our starters Becky Hammon went off and had 35 points to help us clinch the title!! We were down by 4 with a 1:30 to go and we came back and won!!! We all rushed the court and the confetti fell. It was great and the WNBA president presented our team with the Western Conference Championship trophy, t-shirts and hats.

My mom, sister, aunt and her husband and my best friend were all there to celebrate with me!! While my mom was here we were able to hang out at the Riverwalk and go on a night tour and enjoy the night life of San Antonio.

I took my mom to the airport on Monday and she was sad to go but had a great time here and really wished she could stay all week. My sister flew home yesterday because she is done with her training for the National Guard, so she is back in Nebraska now too.

So now onto the Finals against Detroit Shock. Here is the game Schedule for the next 5 games. All the games are on ESPN 2. The * games are optional because it is 3 of 5 series. Also note that these times are all Eastern time. So 6:30pm midwest time folks.

As of right now i am still planning on going to Mersin, Turkey to play and will most likely get a few days at home after here and then fly to Turkey after. I am continuing to get excited about that new adventure in my life!!

Love and miss you all and hope all is well!!!

Britt<><

WNBA Finals Schedule Below:


Game 1: DET at SAN, Oct. 1, 7:30 ET (ESPN2)
Game 2: DET at SAN, Oct. 3, 7:30 ET (ESPN2)
Game 3: SAN at DET, Oct. 5, 4:30 ET (ESPN2)
Game 4: SAN at DET, Oct. 6, 7:30 ET (ESPN2)*
Game 5: DET at SAN, Oct. 9, 7:30 ET (ESPN2)*

Western Conference Finals!!!!!!!

Hello hello!!

Well two days ago we played Game #1 in LA and we lost so now we are back in San Antonio.  It was fun being in LA, I got to hang out with a man that use to train me, Wayne Slappy. It was fun to got out to eat with him and he and his family came to the game.  LA was fun for the most part but just way to much traffic!!

Yesterday my mom flew in, so now my best friend Cass and my mom are here!!! So picked her up at the airport last night and came home and crashed cause I had three hours of sleep the night before.  My team caught early flight out of LA.  

So today we at 2pm on NBA TV against LA in Game #2. Now this is really for real do or die!! This is a must win game so we can play tomorrow in Game #3.  So cheer, watch and pray that our team plays with enthusiasm and unity!!!!    

So one of my other teammates Adrian and I rotate on suiting up and dressing up because in the WNBA only 11 players can suit up and two have to dress up.  So this game I am dressing up and hopefully after we win I will suit up tomorrow!!!!

Game #3.......do or die baby!!!

Hello everyone!! 

well we really laid an egg the last game and lost by 15 or so. I got to play the last two minutes of the game, ran a few plays, got a couple steals which i was excited about but sad we lost.  It was not a pretty game at all, but we are fired up and ready to go for game #3!!!  We play Sacramento tonight at 8pm on NBA tv.  Thanks for cheering everyone!! posted a few pics from the last game for you all to see!!!

Game #2 in San Antonio!!!!!

Hello everyone!!

Well we played in Sacramento and we won game #1 of the playoffs. It was great being in Sac again and seeing all my old teammates, coaches, co-workers and my family( you guys know who you are :) It was a tough game to win in Arco with the really big crowd but we squeaked out of there with game #1. We play game #2 of the series tonight at 8pm central time. This game I will be activated and suited up too!!! So if you want to watch you have to tune in on NBA tv. Ok, well off to get my game face on!!! Love you and miss you all!!!! Britt<><

Back in Sac-town!!!

I started a blog!! Yeah!!!! In the words of Kim Smith, "It's about time!!"