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Amidst hardship and despair, a group of five brothers set out to help the people of Turkey. Their mission: to offer support, give hope, and strengthen the Christian community. It was a journey filled with encounters and blessed moments.
This year, from March 8th to 12th, 2024, a group traveled to Turkey for a mission trip to serve as a blessing. The aim of the trip was to visit churches and converted Christians in various locations and to fellowship with them. In addition, people in need were helped through humanitarian aid and financial support.
People marked by poverty, collecting garbage
In Antakya, the group visited a community that had been founded after a devastating earthquake. There they met the leading brother, who explained the current situation. He reported on how the situation had developed since the last visit by Mission Stephanus the previous year and what work and support the community still needed.
A particularly special moment was the warm welcome from a recently converted family who had already received support from the mission last year. The mission had built the family a hut after they lost 35 family members and their own home in the earthquake.
Donated last year by Mission Stephanus for the community in Kyseri
From Antakya, the journey continued to Kayseri to visit the local congregation. They meet on the fourth floor of a high-rise building and use two apartments: one for meetings and one as a common room where they eat together. Here, the brothers were able to offer their services through song and experience a blessed worship service. Funds were presented to the congregation for the building's repairs.
Loaded with 100 food parcels, the mission group continued their journey to Elbistan. The van had been financed with donations last year. In Elbistan, the brothers received a warm welcome from the pastor and experienced a blessed fellowship. The parcels were handed over to a small house group, who will distribute them to people in need.
Back in Kayseri, the brothers visited the church's laundry service. This service provides laundry six days a week for people in need and refugees. The aim of this ministry is to bring the Gospel closer to the local people. When picking up their laundry, those in need receive a flyer that asks: "What does sacrifice have to do with the Gospel?"
Food distribution to the population and communities in Kahramanmaraş
The van was loaded with food parcels once again and driven to Kahramanmaraş. There, the group distributed the parcels directly to the population and handed over the remaining parcels to the local community.
On their way back, the brothers visited the pastor of the church in Kayseri at his home. There they enjoyed fellowship and were also able to support the family and the church financially.
Cleanup work still ongoing
All the brothers are grateful to God for the time they spent together and the valuable experiences they were able to gain. By God's grace, they were able to provide much support to the people in Turkey who have been in great need since the earthquake and who have to cope with their daily lives under difficult conditions. Their commitment remains to support these people with financial donations and especially through prayer.
Simon Eichhorn
Municipality of Lage
More information about the project and the opportunity to donate:
cdh-stephanus.org/erdbeben-in-tuerkei-syrien
Acute water damage, Bible etc. covered
Damage en route, uninhabitable