‘Miracle of grace’ allows area missionaries to go overseas to Cyprus

Keri and Britton Robbins call their son, Phinehas, their “miracle of grace.”

Given little chance to survive when born by cesarean section in Columbus on Dec. 2, 2013, he has struggled with health problems ever since.

But Phinehas is doing well enough now that his missionary parents are taking him and a new brother, Silas, to Cyprus to continue their Christian work.

The family has lived the past year and a half in Colorado, working with Frontier Alliance International.

“In August 2015, the leaders of FAI asked us if we would be willing to lead a team to Northern Cyprus to set up the headquarters of the mission’s organization and proclaim the Gospel of Christ through evangelism and relief efforts for refugees,” Britton said.

Cyprus is located south of Turkey, just north of Israel, and off the western coast of Syria. Having done missionary work for more than a decade in places such as Norway, the Philippines and New Zealand, the couple is familiar with the area as Keri and Britton were spreading the Gospel in Turkey when they returned home to have their baby.

Keri said Phinehas is making progress and the family is “pleased and encouraged” at the level of health care he will receive in Cyprus.

“It is our ambition to name Christ among homeless peoples who have no access to a Bible, a Christian Church or a single Christian person,” Keri said. “We are excited to serve God’s purpose in north Cyprus. We are resolved to labor in prayer, evangelism and discipleship unto the glory of Jesus amongst Cypriot Turks.”

They plan to leave from Columbus in September.

But there was a time this all looked unlikely.

A few weeks before his birth, Phinehas was diagnosed with lethal skeletal dysplasia. From the 28th week of gestation, the bones in his arms, legs and chest cavity had quit growing. The lethality of this condition was his chest cavity would be too small and his lungs would be crushed when he breathed.

“As we braced ourselves for what God might do, thousands joined us in prayer from all around the world, specifically, that God would heal Phinehas’ infant body. We held tightly to God as we believed and prayed life for our little man.” Britton said.

From the 33rd week of gestation until the 37th, the week Phinehas was born, Keri had weekly ultrasounds. Nothing seemed different. The first breath, which was supposed to take his life, didn’t. Phinehas wasn’t the disproportionate baby anticipated. Everyone was stunned.

But there were problems.

Phinehas, a Down syndrome child, was born with a double aortic-arch, a heart condition that inhibited his breathing. That was corrected by surgery that same month.

Laryngomalacia, in which a floppy tissue above the vocal chords falls into the airway, made it necessary for him to be fed through a nasogastric tube running from his nostrils to his stomach during the first seven months. That was replaced with a gastrostomy tube surgically implanted in his side. During this time, he received eating therapy and that tube was removed March 25.

“We agreed that we would not return to the mission field until Phinehas no longer needed his feeding tube,” Britton said.

Keri spoke about another health problem and miracle.

“Phinehas was diagnosed with permanent sensorineural hearing loss,” she said. “We were told a nerve was dead and Phinehas would require bone anchored hearing aids.”

In December 2014, Keri asked the congregation of Christ Community Church in Columbus to ask God to heal his ears and to pray for another miracle. The parents said in May 2015 an auditory brainstem response hearing test confirmed his hearing was perfect. He had been completely healed.

“It was amazing,” Keri said. “He is doing awesome.”

In July, she gave birth to Silas. Keri had been fearful of having another child but the couple said she took her fears to the Lord in prayer and that ultimately, she received perfect peace through the wisdom of God that he doesn’t make mistakes and any child is a gift from God. They said she had a deep resolve that disabilities could not hinder the plans that God has for a child’s life and the sovereignty of God brought great peace to her heart.

The couple was asked about their satisfaction from missionary work.

“At this stage in our life with a child with special needs there is a lot of sacrifice in returning to the mission field, however, it is a joy and a privilege in our hearts to bring glory to God. No amount of sacrifice in our lives compares to the sacrifice that Jesus endured to make us his own. We long for the Turkish people to know Jesus provided himself as the ultimate sacrifice for them as well,” Keri said.

Keri and Britton are full-time voluntary missionaries who don’t receive a salary. Anyone interested in lending financial support can give online at http://www.worthyofitall.com/take-action/ or send a check to Frontier Alliance International P.O. BOX 191 Ellerslie, GA 31807. The check should made out to Frontier Alliance International.

This story was originally published May 6, 2016 at 10:11 PM with the headline "‘Miracle of grace’ allows area missionaries to go overseas to Cyprus."