Dear Friends and Family,
I wanted to write to you all to fill you in, in further detail, about our trip to Cyprus! I apologize this email is getting to you all so many days after my trip! Life has been chaotic as I have been finishing up my senior year and readjusting to my daily schedule.
I was beyond honored to be able to join this team and want to thank you all for your support in allowing me to go. This was no small mountain to overcome financially, but our God is much bigger. Thanks to all of your donations, whether financially or in prayer, our team was able to go and encourage many worker families who are experiencing rough situations in their home countries.
I was a part of the worship and youth ministry team in Cyprus and was tasked with playing the Cajon for worship services and coming up with fun games to play with the youth. It was beyond a blast. Intercultural worship is something I hope you all get the privilege to witness one day. With numerous cultures and languages represented, the worship was unique and diverse. It was almost a picture of what Heaven will be like one day, when every tribe and tongue will bow and worship the Lord. Many of these families are unable to worship corporately in their home countries so, when they were given the opportunity to, they didn’t waste it. Whether it was workers praying in their heart languages or worshiping in Spirit and truth, it was a beautiful sight and sound that I was beyond privileged to take part in. May we have a deeper appreciation for the gift of corporate worship we have every week and worship in Spirit and truth. Our team was also able to provide free childcare to the worker families so that the parents could enjoy and focus on the encouraging sessions and worship without having to worry about their children’s safety. The coolest thing about the ministry we had with the youth group is the small age gap. Because I’m 18, I was only a couple of years older than those in the youth group. This allowed me to be their friend over their leader. While yes, I had responsibilities to lead, I was also able to enjoy their company and pour into them as a close friend or brother would. Whether it was playing fun games such as Grog (a scavenger hunt/tag collab) or simply eating with them, we truly became good friends. I pray we were able to make them feel loved and seen and, based on what our team heard, God permitted us to do just that. Thanks to your support and prayers, God used our team mightily. Whether it was in the child care/youth ministry or in the worship, we were blessed to hear immense gratitude from the worker families. This served as evidence to us that God was working. God truly moved and ministered to these families during this conference, encouraging them and energizing them for the great work they have been called to. All glory forever and ever to Him for what He did and how He encouraged these families through us.
After the conference in Cyprus, our team took a short trip to Lebanon to visit one of Carmel’s partners, Resurrection Church Beirut (RCB). This trip, although short, was extremely eye opening for me. It was so cool to hear stories and learn about what workers do in their countries, but to see it in person was a whole different thing. The coolest part is we were able to meet up with one of the families from the conference in Cyprus who was ministering in Lebanon! Our team was able to meet pastors from RCB and tour their facilities while learning about their ministry and encouraging them to keep on fighting the good fight of faith. We were able to learn about how God was moving and were beyond amazed at their Gospel sharing boldness and the ways God was using that to grow His Kingdom. Whether it’s through a medical clinic that RCB was able to open, or through their many tribes (mini churches) growing rapidly, RCB is seeing record-breaking numbers of the Muslim community coming to know Christ and is growing rapidly. I ask that you would join me in praying that their ministry would continue to grow. Pray that their patients in the clinic would feel touched by Jesus when they come for medical treatment and that God would sustain their clinic financially as they seek to further His Kingdom. Pray that God would put a fire in the hearts of their staff to preach the Gospel with endurance, and that God would continue to grow the tribes and meet the people’s needs. I thank God for Resurrection Church Beirut and their incredible work. Their boldness to share the Gospel, despite the risks, encouraged me to share the Gospel much more at home where there are much fewer risks. One story I’ll never forget was told by one of the tribe pastors. He said with 100% confidence that no one in his neighborhood hadn’t heard the Gospel. They hadn’t all accepted it, but everyone had heard it. May we bring this to the US. May we pray about ways we can make that statement true of our communities.
On behalf of our entire team I thank you all again for your support, financially but especially prayerfully. We can do nothing in our own strength, but through God’s strength mountains were moved and His work was done. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever and ever, amen. Thank you all for everything you have done and all the impact you have made on my life. I was blessed to gain a better perspective of how big our God is on this trip. He’s the God of America, the God of Cyprus, the God of Lebanon, and the God of the world. He’s working all across the world in many different ways. Let’s go forth and do His work in His strength. Thank you all again for your partnership in bringing the Gospel across the world. Blessed be the Lord for all He did, is doing, and will continue to do.
Yours in Christ and with a heart full of gratitude,
Jadon Stevens
I wanted to write to you all to fill you in, in further detail, about our trip to Cyprus! I apologize this email is getting to you all so many days after my trip! Life has been chaotic as I have been finishing up my senior year and readjusting to my daily schedule.
I was beyond honored to be able to join this team and want to thank you all for your support in allowing me to go. This was no small mountain to overcome financially, but our God is much bigger. Thanks to all of your donations, whether financially or in prayer, our team was able to go and encourage many worker families who are experiencing rough situations in their home countries.
I was a part of the worship and youth ministry team in Cyprus and was tasked with playing the Cajon for worship services and coming up with fun games to play with the youth. It was beyond a blast. Intercultural worship is something I hope you all get the privilege to witness one day. With numerous cultures and languages represented, the worship was unique and diverse. It was almost a picture of what Heaven will be like one day, when every tribe and tongue will bow and worship the Lord. Many of these families are unable to worship corporately in their home countries so, when they were given the opportunity to, they didn’t waste it. Whether it was workers praying in their heart languages or worshiping in Spirit and truth, it was a beautiful sight and sound that I was beyond privileged to take part in. May we have a deeper appreciation for the gift of corporate worship we have every week and worship in Spirit and truth. Our team was also able to provide free childcare to the worker families so that the parents could enjoy and focus on the encouraging sessions and worship without having to worry about their children’s safety. The coolest thing about the ministry we had with the youth group is the small age gap. Because I’m 18, I was only a couple of years older than those in the youth group. This allowed me to be their friend over their leader. While yes, I had responsibilities to lead, I was also able to enjoy their company and pour into them as a close friend or brother would. Whether it was playing fun games such as Grog (a scavenger hunt/tag collab) or simply eating with them, we truly became good friends. I pray we were able to make them feel loved and seen and, based on what our team heard, God permitted us to do just that. Thanks to your support and prayers, God used our team mightily. Whether it was in the child care/youth ministry or in the worship, we were blessed to hear immense gratitude from the worker families. This served as evidence to us that God was working. God truly moved and ministered to these families during this conference, encouraging them and energizing them for the great work they have been called to. All glory forever and ever to Him for what He did and how He encouraged these families through us.
After the conference in Cyprus, our team took a short trip to Lebanon to visit one of Carmel’s partners, Resurrection Church Beirut (RCB). This trip, although short, was extremely eye opening for me. It was so cool to hear stories and learn about what workers do in their countries, but to see it in person was a whole different thing. The coolest part is we were able to meet up with one of the families from the conference in Cyprus who was ministering in Lebanon! Our team was able to meet pastors from RCB and tour their facilities while learning about their ministry and encouraging them to keep on fighting the good fight of faith. We were able to learn about how God was moving and were beyond amazed at their Gospel sharing boldness and the ways God was using that to grow His Kingdom. Whether it’s through a medical clinic that RCB was able to open, or through their many tribes (mini churches) growing rapidly, RCB is seeing record-breaking numbers of the Muslim community coming to know Christ and is growing rapidly. I ask that you would join me in praying that their ministry would continue to grow. Pray that their patients in the clinic would feel touched by Jesus when they come for medical treatment and that God would sustain their clinic financially as they seek to further His Kingdom. Pray that God would put a fire in the hearts of their staff to preach the Gospel with endurance, and that God would continue to grow the tribes and meet the people’s needs. I thank God for Resurrection Church Beirut and their incredible work. Their boldness to share the Gospel, despite the risks, encouraged me to share the Gospel much more at home where there are much fewer risks. One story I’ll never forget was told by one of the tribe pastors. He said with 100% confidence that no one in his neighborhood hadn’t heard the Gospel. They hadn’t all accepted it, but everyone had heard it. May we bring this to the US. May we pray about ways we can make that statement true of our communities.
On behalf of our entire team I thank you all again for your support, financially but especially prayerfully. We can do nothing in our own strength, but through God’s strength mountains were moved and His work was done. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever and ever, amen. Thank you all for everything you have done and all the impact you have made on my life. I was blessed to gain a better perspective of how big our God is on this trip. He’s the God of America, the God of Cyprus, the God of Lebanon, and the God of the world. He’s working all across the world in many different ways. Let’s go forth and do His work in His strength. Thank you all again for your partnership in bringing the Gospel across the world. Blessed be the Lord for all He did, is doing, and will continue to do.
Yours in Christ and with a heart full of gratitude,
Jadon Stevens