This has been a tough month for tentmakers in the troubled region of the world. As I watched this quickly developing turmoil, from one country to the next, I received a word from the Lord which has been of comfort to those who have had to leave, sometimes with only their clothes on their backs, to an unknown future.

   " I am the Lord God, I have not been caught by surprise by these events.
   Tell those who have to leave in haste that their service to my Kingdom has
   run it's course this time around. They could not have done anymore.
     Their service and obedience has been noted and I am pleased."

How does anyone prepare to evacuate from countries where an already weak system breaks down completely? The terror of gunfire, air attacks, bombs blowing up at all hours of the day, seeing bodies on the streets from your windows, spending time with locals who do not have the luxury of being evacuated and must stay behind.

At our tentmaking business as mission courses, we try to prepare people well for all known challenges. However this one has not been a part of our program, but will be in the future. We have learned a lot from the experiences of tentmakers who have faced forced evacuation in the past weeks, and those now being trained will benefit from their tragic experiences.

God is in control!

We are hearing reports of a new openness to the Gospel in this region already. One house church that seemed incapable of taking leadership without the tentmakers, were forced into doing it simply since they knew they would be alone in a matter
of days. The report told us of a confident, joyful, mature house church telling the tentmakers that we will be fine now, is encouraging to everyone involved.

One tentmaker refused to leave with the initial waves of evacuations, and was seen as a hero by the local people. Even taxi drivers were telling him that this is
a new time in their country, and talking about your faith is now OK.

Another tentmaker who also stayed behind until the last possible moments (just before the bombs fell from the coalition forces) was actually invited to sit at the table where the new constitution was being drafted. Imagine the joy of being a part of something like this? Add to this joy, being asked what he thought should
be in this constitution. He suggested freedom of religion, and was told that it was already in the document. Then he suggested freedom to change ones religion.
This too was added, after a rather lengthy explanation of what he meant by that statement. You can understand why this would be a new line of thinking in this region. Again, in the middle of turmoil, God is doing a new thing.

It is impossible to share all the good news that are coming out of this tumultuous time, but trust that God is doing something amazing even as we watch the news
in horror.

Pray for the local believers, yes there are many.
Pray for the local friends of our tentmakers who have had a chance to hear,
but have not yet made decisions.
Pray that the tentmakers will find encouragement, that their needs will be taken care of, and that they will be able to return to a better situation than the one they were forced to leave.