WE'VE ARRIVED!

We arrived in Oroklini, Cyprus on June 8th and have now reached the halfway point of our internship! Since our arrival, our internship team has encountered a lot of spiritual attacks - many trips and falls, sickness, and injuries. Chris became very ill almost immediately with severe abdominal pain. Once he spiked a fever and began vomiting, we got him to a doctor right away. His intestines had completely shut down. After observing a strict medication regimen and bed rest, he was able to avoid emergency surgery. After two weeks, he was able to begin eating again and in week three, his strength began to slowly return. By the end of week four, he was 100% again. As a team, we have had to keep our guard up and stay alert, being intentional to cover one another in prayer, work cooperatively to take care of one another and not lose sight of our mission.

REFUGEE & ASYLUM SEEKERS

A major part of our internship is ministering to refugees and asylum seekers. Since 2002, Cyprus has received 93,283 asylum applications, 18,808 of them in 2021 alone. This makes Cyprus the leading asylum receiving country per capita among the EU Member States. They reject 81.42% of all applications according to the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, but this doesn't mean they are deported. Most of them are stuck without status unable to work, go to school, provide housing for themselves, or receive support from social services. Many of them are literally starving.