Christian Music Ministries: Cyprus part 3

St Barnabas' Limassol

Update 3:

So... my last Cyprus update for you all.

Early on Friday morning we travelled to St Barnabas' Church in Limassol ready for a worship workshop. The chaplain (vicar) at St Barnabas is one of the people that first invited us to Cyprus. His name is Derek, and his wife's name is Sue, and they are both absolutely lovely and have been doing amazing work in a tough situation.

The choir at Limassol

The workshop was interesting... Derek had to go and take a funeral, so besides Sue there was one other lady there, Nora. And then Nora had to leave half way through. This was actually a blessing, because we took the opportunity to pray and sing around the church and to spend some time ministering to Sue particularly. It was actually a wonderfully refreshing time for us all.

Angella and Tim at Limassol

In the afternoon the choir arrived to rehearse for the musical. They were a great choir, pulled together on just two rehearsals, but you would never have guessed. They really got in to it and sang amazingly well. We had the soloists from Larnaca join us, and the performance in the evening was really special in front of a packed church.

Mary with Sue and Clive at Paphos

After the performance we travelled to Paphos, arriving at about 11pm. Mick and Devon stayed with Mick's friends in Mandria, and I understand Devon brought the house down at a local karaoke bar. Roger and Mary stayed with their friends from Sutton Coldfield Sue and Clive, and Yvette and I stayed with Judith and Dex in Tala, way outside of Paphos.

The church in Paphos

After spending a little bit of time in the morning exploring Paphos harbour, we led a worship workshop at a community church. It was a brilliant session - there were about 30 there, and they were so enthusiastic. We were able to really go into depth in the creative prophetic workshop, and at least 50% of the people there had a go at singing out (or rapping) a prophecy.

An evening with Devon

The evening with Devon was amazing. There were about 50 there, but it was a small space so felt really intimate. We know that some of the things Devon shared really touched people, and there were a few crying as Devon ministered with one of the songs he had written.

The American Academy, Nicosia

Yesterday we had our 'massed choir finale' at the American Academy in Nicosia. 4 of the 5 choirs were able to come and join in, and we had a choir of over 60 singers. It was great to see all of the choirs mixing together, from both sides of the border. I had wondered where the audience would come from, but in the end we had over 150 people there, including a group of children who were completely engrossed at the front.

A celebration Nandos!

We finished with a nice meal together with Simon and Pauline (who have organised everything) and Beth and Graham (the key contacts in Larnaca).

Today we had a little debrief, and now we're tidying the flat and unloading the van ready to drive to Paphos airport tonight.

Thanks

Helen
xxx

The CMM visit to Cyprus really was an amazing event, blessed by God. Massive thanks go to so many people, particularly Simon and Pauline, Richard, Sue and Tim, Graham and Beth, Derek and Sue, and all of the choir trainers and organisers from across the Island.