Happy New Year 2000!!!

As we enter the 1000th year of this millennium, we greet you in the name of Jesus, and wish you a focus of faith for the year 2000. See our greetings, photos, short articles and Year 2000 interests on our web site.

The Jenkins Billennium

(Note: The Billennium became the Millennium at the turn of the Millennium, 31 December 2000)

Where are we?

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We are in Nicosia, Cyprus, where Orville works in Cultural Research and Cross-Cultural Communication.

Cyprus

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Cyprus was ruled by several powers, including Venice for 90 years, Turkey for 300 years, then Britain from 1878 till independence in 1960. There are still two sovereign British bases on Cyprus. Cyprus is divided by a UN "green line" since Turkey occupied the northern third of the island in 1974. This problem is the daily focus of news here. Read more about Cyprus in Orville’s article.

Society

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Things in Cyprus operate on a rather high level of technology with high expectations of quality and visual beauty. There seem to be no poor people, and people are self-reliant but very friendly and helpful. It is easy to get to know people, and you can easily start a conversation. The formal system works pretty well, but the informal system is usually more relaxed and more important. Government offices remind us of the British colonial system in Kenya, with a lot of paper work, still mostly done by hand. We make gradual, slow progress in our personal effort to learn the Greek language.

Pafos

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With Orville's mother we visited several sites, including old Pafos, in November. In this capital of Cyprus under Rome, the Apostle Paul met with the governor, who became the first Christian head of state! We saw still-visible ancient mosaics depicting various mythological and daily-life scenes from the Greek and Roman eras. We've seen Crusader castles and other sites from the Middle Ages. See photos of Pafos and other Cyprus sites on our Webshots albums.

Home and Family

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We have begun to feel at home in Cyprus. We still don't have all our books set up, but are running out of wall space. We bought two more air conditioners to finishing cooling the house in the second uncomfortable summer here, supplementing 4 room units our landlord put in last summer.

We took a trip the USA in August and September, though part of that time was work. Orville's mother came back with us and stayed almost 3 months. We took a few days for local trips to some sites in Cyprus.

Gareth graduated from university in May and moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area where he lives with two other guys. He is a systems administrator for Fidelity Investments. We also visited Kevin in Abilene. Both boys travelled with us at different times to visit family.

Kevin is a junior at Hardin-Simmons University, and works at Abilene Online. We were there at the start of the new school year and renewed a lot of contacts.

Research and Training -- Orville

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There are hundreds of people groups (tribes, ethnolinguistic groups) in the region. I am making good progress on clarifying, updating and expanding identifying them. We have both been resource people for training seminars in ethnic research, computer and internet usage and electronic publishing and communication.

Creative Expression -- Edith

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I am participating in two quilting groups and have made several items, for home and gifts. Holiday tablecloths were a recent project. The sewing room is now organized in the small front entry area ("parlour" if you like). The house is feeling like home to us now. I have made some friends in a ladies’ community Bible study.

Greek study has been slow. The class I took last winter was disappointing and unproductive. Most activities can be carried out in English, though I would like to better communicate with those who know little English.

Church

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We participate in New Life International Church, where Edith recently agreed to direct the Sunday School and Orville plays saxophone in the worship team. He also was the lead in the Christmas play this year.

Computing Central

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We depend heavily on computers. We periodically have troubles, because we push them hard and maximize their functions. The more you do with them, the more there is to go wrong. Our company uses encryption for our work email. Orville serves as a technical resource person for the Nicosia offices and assists in internet resources for secure communication, such as virtual offices.