December 2022

Dear Family and Friends

Greetings from Cyprus! I hope that you had a good November and that those of you in America had a wonderful Thanksgiving and those in other parts of the world are keeping warm and enjoying the change of seasons.

In my last newsletter I gave a small report on our mission to Utrecht and since then, we have put together a small video letting you see and hear more about what happened during those 10 days.

On 4 November, I arrived in Cyprus to help with a ministry transition. Three years ago, a couple from the Philippines came to plant a church here. During those three years they faced not only a huge challenge of adjusting to different cultures but also the pandemic. They were able to build some strong friendships and have seen a few salvations. They have also been trying to start a family which unfortunately has not happened. After working with them over this past year we decided that it was time for them to go back home to not lose out on an opportunity to adopt a child.

I have been helping the small group of people that have joined them to process the change as well as setting them up to being able to continue meeting as a home group until they grow large enough to meet as a church. What’s amazing is that the group of people that are here have been slowly building relationships with non-Christians in their circles and there is such great expectation of fruitfulness in the near future! Cypriots and Greeks need a lot of time to build relationships and the consideration of changing from an Orthodox church to and Evangelical church is in many ways likes a Muslim converting to Christianity. The change in beliefs goes against culture and family in such a massive way that it can cause huge relational problems for an individual with family and friends. I have been meeting with people individually and as a group to help them adjust to the changes and setting them up for future growth.

Please continue to pray for me and the group as I have just over two more weeks to spend with them. Once I go back to the UK I will continue to support them online with whatever they might need.

Here are a few pictures from my visit so far. The first one is the farewell for the couple who was leading with many of the people they had connected with during their time here.

The second picture is of most of the core group that I am working with at the moment.

Your prayers have been so effective! On my second week here I came down with Covid again, but I only had cold like symptoms for a week and my breathing has been great. Thank you for continuing to pray for my health and for more people to join my team for finances. You are such a blessing!! Thank you again for all that you do. You are reaching the nations with me!

Loads of Love

Traci