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“God placed Turkey on my heart; we didn’t know if we were going to go on a short-term outreach or long-term placement, moving our family thousands of miles away from home. But God knew and went ahead of us, every step. What an exciting adventure!” said Charlotte*, who moved with her family from the UK to Turkey at the beginning of 2021.
In 2020, as the world locked down, preparations sped up for Charlotte’s family. “It was a busy year, working full time and exploring our calling as a family, squeezing in training calls and meetings, and also trying to learn the language. All in the midst of a global pandemic,” she recalled.
Fundraising seemed especially challenging. But as the family faithfully prayed together each morning, God responded through people they knew. Each new commitment bolstered the family’s faith.
Before they knew it, it was time to go!
Charlotte had always been interested in missions, but she wasn’t sure what that would ‘look like’ for her—or how it would fit in with her family. Prior to joining OM, she got involved in youth work, and through that, fundraising and project development. Her husband qualified as a teacher and gained experience in school leadership and coaching team members.
“We were generally quite in the background in our church, helping out a little with preaching and technical aspects, and the youth work, but nothing that would make you point at us and shout ‘missionary!’” she said.
Then the family joined a short-term outreach to Eastern Europe with OM. “Much more rewarding than our usual holiday experience, it brought us together and strengthened our faith as a whole family. We made great friends, learnt a new culture, even picked up a few phrases and enjoyed trying to recreate the meals at home,” she described.
In 2019, the family joined a ten-day outreach in Turkey. In contrast to their previous outreach, “this time there were no locals on the team, and it felt really weird,” Charlotte explained. On the last day of their trip, the OM leader in Turkey told the family about an initiative to raise up more locals and bring them into missions.
“And there was our vision,” Charlotte stated. “If we can do something to help locals get involved in missions—it’s our calling! From that short trip, we felt this was what God was calling us to.”
*name changed
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Searching for truth, Ahmet travels to Africa and Europe before returning to Turkey to share Jesus with his family and friends.
At 04:00 on 6 February 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed by several large aftershocks, took place near the city of Gaziantep, Türkiye, in the southeastern part of the country. People across Türkiye, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus and Israel were reported to have felt it. Since then, OM's partners have responded to help many.
In the midst of the destruction caused by earthquakes in Turkey, small communities of Jesus followers continue to demonstrate what it means to love one another.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake on 6 February 2023 surprised people across Turkey and surrounding countries, but God is still at work in painful times.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey shifted Jabari's ministry to Syrian refugees from primarily on social media to in person. He and his wife now see an openness in many to hear the good news.
People impacted by an earthquake in 2023, experienced the love of Christ through Jesus followers eager to help.
In serving and loving those who had come to the table, one family found their hope restored after an earthquake destroyed their home.
After Serah accepted an invitation to join a new friend for a meal, it quickly grew into a weekly prayer meeting with a large group of women.
Over half of all believers from a Muslim background in Türkiye can chart their spiritual pilgrimage through the Bible Correspondence Course (BCC).
Through an outreach in Istanbul during Ramadan, two young women hear the good news of Christ.
