Serving Refugees in Cyprus

It’s that time again!

Time to pack and weigh our bags, double-check our passports and head out across the sea. As many of you know, our family has been given the opportunity to partner with a ministry to refugees in Cyprus called “The Oasis Project” this Summer. It has been on our hearts for some time to focus our training in community development and relief work in a way that would minister to people who have had to leave their home and country due to crisis. The Oasis Project is a close partnership between the local churches and YWAM team in Larnaca. Together they help asylum seekers and refugees by providing educational training, practical provision, like food and clothing, as well as social activities to allow relationships to grow. Through these ministries, they have seen a great openness in people's hearts to the gospel. During our time in Cyprus, we have a chance to join in the daily ministry activities, plus we will also get to help out with “World Refugee Week” where we will help to set up and run a prayer event for those who want to participate. We will be in Cyprus from 11th May until the 24th of July. For more about the Oasis Project go to http://oasisprojectcy.com/content/about-us/

In the lead up to our departure, we have been sharing at a couple of supporting churches about our upcoming ministry trip and trying to get last minute details sorted out before we travel. This has been a bit more difficult than we had anticipated because Eliza tripped on our baby gate a few weeks ago and fractured her forearm. Thankfully, it was an uncomplicated fracture, so her recovery has been going quicker than first anticipated and she won’t have to be wearing a cast or anything while we travel. For those that have known about this and were praying, we really appreciate it.

Eva is doing great and growing up fast. She turned 1 year old this past week and we had a chance to celebrate with family and friends before we flew out, which was very special. Her recent pass-times are pointing (at everything) and asking “What’s that?!” She can stand on her own, almost walk and loves to smile and laugh with people, especially when she plays peek-a-boo. We love seeing her grow and learn new things and are thankful for the blessing she has been in our lives over this past year.

Besides our time in Cyprus, we will also get the chance to visit and re-connect with some close friends in the UK and Sweden. It has been over 3 years since we’ve been in that part of the world, and we are blessed by the close relationships that we still have with many people there.

As always, we are grateful for your prayers during this trip, for our travel to go smoothly and for us to stay safe and healthy. You can continue to pray that God will use this time in Cyprus to bless many others in need with love and care, and that we as a family would really connect with God’s heart for the ministry that we will be doing. We look forward to sending more updates while we are in Cyprus and sharing more specifically about the work we are doing there. In the mean-time, if any of you are interested in partnering with us to help fund this ministry trip, you can find the relevant information at the bottom of this newsletter.

Love and peace,

Tim, Eliza & Eva

#cy #refugees #community #presecution #teachingenglish