Cyprus. I mean WOAH. Who would have thought that some of the sweetest moments of my life would be on this tiny island in the Mediterranean? You guys, my heart has been so full of joy here! God has been doing so much work & I am so excited to share it with you all!
Cyprus is a very diverse country; full of ancient history it is the home of many beautiful castles & ruins. It was one of the first locations Paul went on his journey & if you talk to some locals you can still feel the effects of the civil war that happened many years ago. There are also plenty of ministry opportunities here on this island. Some of my squad is working with refugees, others are working with women who have been freed from human trafficking, & another team had the opportunity to serve believers at a radio-broadcasting studio. My team has been given the task titled Unsung Heroes. We are one of the first World Race teams to come to North Cyprus & because of that the World Race doesn’t have any connections with workers in the North. SO, our mission for this month has been to find those people of faith who we could partner alongside, not just for this month, but also for future WR teams coming behind us. Talk about an opportunity to trust in the Lord! We had no idea what this would look like, we just knew if we accomplished anything it would be because of God & if we didn’t God was still good. So we prayed a lot & decided the best place to begin would be at a local church.
It all started with the Swallows. We entered the cute, little chapel next to the castle on the harbor on our first Thursday in town. It was the only English speaking church in the region so we had very little options of where to go. This ended up being such a sweet surprise because as soon as we walked in we found that we were the youngest in the room… by like 40 years… & every single one was from the UK. They call themselves the Swallows because most of them still have permanent homes in the UK, but they come down to the island for the Fall & Spring, so think “snow birds,” but British. Besides the occasional “America” joke they welcomed us 5 American 20 year olds with open arms. After the service we were invited to Stan’s 91st birthday party at The George, a little café next door that they all meet at for morning tea & coffee, & before we knew it we were recruited into the choir for the next Sunday (the Bishop was coming that weekend so it was a BIG deal).
That Sunday, after the service, my team all split up to chat with our new friends whom we grew to love so dearly. I sat with sweet Judy & John for a while & adored listening to them talk about their children, grandchildren, & their beautiful marriage (they’re celebrating their 50th anniversary next summer!!!) When it was time to head home we found that Kelsey had a gotten the name of a pastor at the local university from one of our sweet Swallow friends, so we decided to shoot him an email & see what could come of it. Almost immediately he responded & asked to meet with us the next day. We said HECK YES & 6 hours later we were sitting in his office on the college campus.
As soon as we entered, his face lit up & he immediately explained that as soon as he got our email the Holy Spirit told him we should work together. Man, His spirit was just on FIRE for the Lord. He brought in two other pastors & we got to sit down & hear how he is the pastor of a very passionate, lively congregation of 200 college students (which got my fresh-outta-college self SUPER pumped). We got to then tell him our story of where we came from, what the World Race is about, how we desire to serve, & how we hope to find connections not only for this month, but for many years to come!
One of the coolest moments of the whole meeting was when he started explaining a vision he had had six years ago. Six years ago, God gave him a picture of workers entering into Cyprus & sharing the Good News of Jesus. Soon water started to fill the dry land & floods started rising higher & higher as God continued to water the Earth with His Spirit. Beautiful right? Well, just wait. The day before our meeting I felt led to go to a giant hill that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea & all of Kyrenia & pray for the people of Cyprus. While praying, I heard the Lord say that this place was dry & it needed to be watered. Life needed to be put back into the island & this country needed to be put back on the map. He gave me this picture of water rushing through this country & bubbling & spilling over into the land. Pretty much the exact same vision the pastor had had SIX years ago! I, of course, shared the picture with my team, so as soon as the pastor shared his we all started to cry. It was clear that this was part of God’s plan all along!
& God didn’t stop there. The next day we walk into a local coffee shop/music lounge & the barista looked at us & immediately knew we were Christians. He proceeds to blast worship music throughout the coffee shop. Not too long after that two ladies walk in & he says “ahh girls you would love these two women, they’re missionaries here!” Excuse me, what!? We then got to sit with them & learn their story. We shared exchanged numbers with them &, Lord willing, we should be able to meet back up again with them very soon!
God has gone above & beyond in the provision category. When they told us our task for the month, I never would have dreamed all of this would happen! I cannot wait to see what comes out of these potential contacts & I have a really good feeling future teams will be blessed out of this. The pastor & his wife are coming over for dinner tomorrow night so we’ll have a better idea of what this could all look like & we’re hoping to meet up with our new missionary friends soon & we hope to be able to spend more sweet time with the Swallows. Not only that, but this past weekend we got to have a women’s retreat with all of the beautiful ladies on our squad & it was the most rejuvenating weekend ever! I swear, if I could fellowship with women every weekend for the rest of my life I would be perfectly content.
So! That’s a glimpse into the beautiful things God has been doing in Cyprus so far. It is so very different than our experience in North Africa, but so very good! I am still learning so much about my personal relationship with the Lord (I hope to never stop learning!) & it’s been so sweet to get little confirmations from Him every day saying “this is why you’re here.” Thank you so much for praying & reading!!!
P.S. When I was talking to God on the hill behind our apartment I also got this picture of a big & dry empty bucket & that my prayer for the country was just one small drop of water in that bucket. Cyprus needs prayers!!! It needs prayers for laborers to come to the harvest. It needs prayers for a revival within the church. It needs prayers for more prayers!!! So, if you think of me say a prayer for this beautiful country, God hears them & He desires them! My Psalm I read that morning was Psalm 65 (also crazy!!!) so I’ve been praying that over the country as well. Thank you so so much!
You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges, softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
