Andy’s Trip to Cyprus
Hello Friends and Family! As you may remember, Andy supervises three teams at our ministry’s headquarters. They handle various aspects of Cru’s technology user support (think helpdesk, GeekSquad, etc). Years ago the focus of those teams was solely on our HQ in Orlando. More recently that support has expanded to staff serving anywhere in the U.S., and the challenge now is to expand it to include our staff around the world. One way that they are trying to make their services known is through the Mobile Help Desk (think Bloodmobile or Bookmobile) — members of the team travel to a conference or gathering to serve staff in attendance.
The Mobile Help Desk was invited to send a small team to CCCI’s Eastern European Staff Conference (similar to our staff conferences in Colorado). One of Andy’s team leaders organizes these trips and was having a tough time finding anyone who could attend. He asked Andy to come and work. Andy has loved doing this type of event and work in the past, but with his current leadership responsibilities it’s been a while.
The E.E.S.C. was held on Cyprus, a neutral location for our Eastern European staff. Andy, Jason Buckner and Andrew Augenstein traveled 24 hours by plane and bus, and the conference lasted six days. The three of them set up a table outside of the main meeting room, “hung up their shingle” and served whoever walked up. They answered numerous questions about corporate software systems (email, donation tracking, website creation and management) and a number of computer software and hardware questions (Windows or Mac training, virus removal, software instillation). They did some hardware repairs but it was difficult getting Amazon to ship to their location. Andy, Jason and Andrew enjoyed sitting with someone with a software or donation problem, making a phone call back to Orlando, and solving a problem immediately. Many of the E.E. staff have limited computer support where they live and work and in many cases, didn’t even know that Andy’s team could be available to them. A number of our staff were pleasantly surprised by the willingness and abilities of Andy’s team back in Orlando.
Andy, Jason and Andrew were asked to participate in a seminar, “Personal and Business Productivity Through Technology.” They also were able to participate in a seminar and a question and answer session about topics like “Computer and Email Security”.
The guys did get a day out — 15 buses of our staff went out to the ancient ruins of the town of Salamis. This is considered to be the place that Paul and Barnabas went on their first missionary journey. It is talked about in the Book of Acts, chapter 13. Adjacent to the ruins is a monastery which is the traditional burial place of Barnabas. There were columns, mosaics, ancient outdoor baths connected to an aqueduct (think group outhouse) and an amphitheater where our staff gathered and heard from Steve and Judy Douglass, our ministry’s president and his wife (please see some pictures below).
Andy has long said that his passion is ministering to those who do field ministry. This trip was a wonderful reminder of why we do what we do in Orlando. Watching our staff work through problems with relative ease because the guys were there was very satisfying to Andy and his team. Thank you for praying and giving and standing with us in this ministry work. Thank you for doing this work with us—your partnership makes it possible!
If you’re up for a bit more reading, here are some facts about our ministry in Eastern Europe, and about the E. E. Staff Conference:
- Areas represented: Albania,Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
- Languages represented: 17
- Population represented: 345 million, 1.4% are Christians
- Conference Location: Cyprus
- Number of languages translated at the conference: 6
- Number of CCC staff attending the conference: 1,100
- Conference theme: “Rest, Renew, Run”
Ministering in Eastern Europe
This conference takes place every three years. For many of our staff who are working in difficult places this is a critical time for them to take a break, to be reenergized and to hear teaching from top speakers. It’s also a strategic time for global leaders to be able to meet with all the different national leaders in one place.
The main belief systems across Eastern Europe are Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Islam and atheism. Much of western E.E. is Catholic (except for the Czech Republic which is loudly atheist). Eastern areas are Orthodox and the Southeast areas (Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo) are Muslim.
What is Your Name?
Our ministry goes by different names in this part of the world:
Instituti Jeta e Re – New Life Institute, Albania
Fiatalok az Élet Küszűöbén – Youth at the Threshold of Life, Hungary
Христианская миссия Новая жизнь – New Life Christian Mission, Russia
Udruga Fokus – Fokus Association, Croatia
And finally, here are some pictures from Andy’s trip:
The Kelloggs 