From rubble to restoration

The earthquake in February 2023 in Turkey had devastating consequences for thousands of people across the country, and neighbouring Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus and Israel. Teams were keen to offer their help wherever they could. As they walked in faith as Jesus followers, they saw how relief support brought openness to know God personally in Turkey.

“We wanted to empower the churches locally, supporting them as they reached out, rather than acting separately. Partnership is such a striking example of Jesus followers working together,” said one team member. “At the heart of our relief programme is a desire that each person we encounter will experience the love of God very tangibly.”

Their programme had four fundamental principles. Projects would be locally based, with existing long-term relationships. All projects would be led and implemented by Jesus followers. Help would be offered freely to all faiths and ethnicities. All projects would enhance and develop the vision of the local church.

“We recognise that by working together we can make a real impact for good, encouraging Jesus followers to see how powerful partnering is,” said another team member. “Many Turkish people have remarked upon it. It causes them to stop and consider the quality of their faith as God’s hands and feet in Turkey.”

Local people experienced the reality of the gospel message and its impact, lived out in practical ways in their communities. At the start, this meant giving out food parcels, setting up a local soup kitchen, relocating deaf believers and financially supporting a team of local Jesus followers to travel to the earthquake zone, then providing temporary (tent) shelters for families.

People meeting Jesus’ Hands and Feet amongst the rubble

In a remote village in the south of Turkey, Cigdem* and her family had awoken to violent shaking. As they stood outside, they watched the house gradually crumble to the ground. The family was safe but had only the clothes they stood up in — and each other. Local Jesus followers helped them put up a tent.

“In return, I help them prepare food for the many people that come every day,” Cigdem said. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know God will help us.” It could take eight years for communities to be restored following these devastating earthquakes said one team member.

Another Jesus follower in Turkey, Mehmet*, responded quickly. A trained chef, he arrived in the village shortly after the first earthquake to help cook in soup kitchens. “I’m able to use my skills to help in a practical way and bless people. It’s tiring, but we are here for our country.”

In 2022, living out the gospel message had also inspired one of the team’s Arabic-speaking workers and his family to live amongst Syrian families. A year later, in the earthquake region, he was well placed to help those families hampered from receiving assistance through language difficulties.

“We asked for local and foreign churches to work with us to help Syrian families,” the worker said. “By intentionally building relationships with 40-80 family households in two locations, providing shelter, food and meeting other practical needs, we have been able to get to know entire families.”

It was a rare, valuable opportunity to show God’s love to families who might otherwise never hear about Him — “and so obviously appreciated by the whole of the Syrian community,” he said.

The long-term impact

As the year passed, the team has been helping communities move towards restoration. This includes building semi-permanent housing, enabling people to make homes, resettle, start to rebuild their lives and communities, and find a new ‘normal’. The work of local Jesus followers continues with increased faith in God to call others to Himself to restore broken lives.

One young man, Baris*, met Jesus followers some years before. He had accepted a Bible and read it occasionally. Visiting a friend in the earthquake area, Baris accidentally left his Bible in his car. After the earthquake, he discovered that although the car had been partly destroyed, the back with the Bible was untouched! “It seemed like a sign from God!” he told team members later. They rejoiced too that God was evidently present, even amongst devastation.

Another young man, Hal*, had met a couple of team members who gave him a Bible. As they talked together, Hal began to recite Psalm 23: “The Lord is my Shepherd”, saying he had heard this somewhere before, and now wanted to read the whole Bible.

The following day, a team member met him, gave him a complete Bible, together with details of how he might attend the local church on Sunday. Hal did attend, really enjoyed the experience, and plans to continue going. “I already feel God is changing the way I think and see life,” he commented. May God continue to do a powerful work in his life.

Seekers

Serkan* had studied the Bible for about six months but was struggling with bitterness. Some of his own family had taken financial advantage of him and he found it particularly difficult to accept. As the team prayed with him, he named each person he had a grudge against.

“Leave each at the cross,” the team prayed. Serkan began to cry.

As he heard the entire news of God’s plan of reconciliation through personal faith in Jesus, Serkan said: "My heart is ready to receive all that the Lord has for me," and prayed to know Jesus as his personal Saviour.

A young man named Yiğit* had been searching for a long time and looked in all sorts of places. Having completed one of the team’s Bible correspondence courses, he was deeply impacted by what he discovered.

Two team members told Yigit about God’s plan for mankind. They explained about a new living relationship with Jesus, and what it meant to die to the old life, its behaviours, and ideas. He could have a new life, forgiven and free. Yiğit’s heart softened. “I want to be a Jesus follower, too!” he said.

Jon* also really wanted to know Jesus more deeply. He had been praying to Jesus and reading the Bible. A teammate prayed with Jon, asking God to give Jon a deeper sense of the presence of His spirit. “I can feel my feet lift off the ground and God's arms of love hugging me!” he said excitedly.  The whole team shared Jon’s joy, thanking God for all He was doing in Jon’s life to bring him closer to Himself.

Many people are impacted by the practical care and support shown by Jesus followers in Turkey irrespective of their beliefs. Over time, they become open to discovering how a personal faith in God through a relationship with Jesus can answer their questions about life, and how much He loves them.

May His people faithfully demonstrate God’s message of reconciliation to a damaged world, where none is beyond restoration.                            

*name changed