Miltos Yiapanis

 I want to introduce of a series of articles written by Miltos. He is a native of Cyprus, fluent in English and Greek, his wife Paula was born and raised in Buckinghamshire England and they were married in Cyprus in 1972.

Shortly after that they came to know the Lord and subsequently became refugees from their home place when the Turkish Army invaded the northern part of the island in 1974. Like many others they suffered the loss of their home and possessions and after a while Miltos obtained a job in Limassol, a tourist town by the Mediterranean. He is an electrical engineer and worked right through to 2005 as manager of the wheat silo installation in that place. In 1979 he and Paula were instrumental in the beginnings of a church there in which they have carried leadership responsibilities right up to the present day. The new term to describe Miltos is that he has been ‘bi-vocational’, serving the Lord as a pastor part time and holding down a responsible job as well. On occasions he has visited other lands for the gospel, more recently Sri Lanka and East-Africa. You might be asking questions about him. ‘What is he, an apostle, a teacher, or a prophet, or what?

 
So, to answer, in a simple way I think of him as one whom the Lord has set as a watchman in God’s church. He would not claim to be a great pastor but he and his wife give themselves to much thoughtful prayer. They share in a degree of solitude before God and do hear His voice. It is good for us to read what he writes, he is in something of a back water, an island where there are not many evangelical, charismatic Christians, a place ruled by the Orthodox church who regard other Christians as heretics. They are not subject to the evangelical hullabaloo so obvious in Nth America, the fads and fashions that flood through the churches, they have time to be before the Lord and to consider world events as well, all the while heightened by their proximity to Israel. God is speaking to them and so Miltos has opportunity to speak and write some of those things. Perhaps we should call him something of a prophetic teacher. Hazel and I have been friends with Miltos and Paula for twenty-five years now, we value their friendship deeply. Of this we are certain, if he has something to say, then we should give it our serious attention. We need to heed the words of those who wait before God, watching, waiting and praying for the Lord’s will to be accomplished in the world and in His Bride, the church and longing too for His return in glory.
 

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