Challenges in the Region

Every two years we have a much-looked-forward-to regional conference. It is truly a highlight for us, particularly as we have gotten to meet and to better know teammates. We enjoy times of worship, preaching, teaching, fellowship, and relaxation and our children enjoy a VBS type program while we are in our sessions.

At our last conference in October, we celebrated 25 years since the fall of Communism and 25 years since the first missionaries entered the region. It was a great time of reflecting on the foundation others have laid and on God's provision and faithfulness in the region.

At the same time, we were able to hear more about what our current teammates are experiencing in their fields. I highly doubt most of us would have said even just a couple years ago that we were entering or living in a volatile region of the world, but that is what it has become for a number of our teammates.

Following are some of the things teammates have experienced over the past year:

*The invasion of their country and an ensuing war.

*The radicalization of youth in their communities.

*Prejudice towards a couple from differing ethnic backgrounds. They have even experienced problems at border crossings.

*Financial problems due to inadequate monthly support - ranging from hundreds to over a thousand dollars short each month. 

*Bombings and/or missile attacks in two locations. 

*Protests and/or anti-American or anti-NATO sentiment.

*One team lived on a high evacuation alert for several weeks (meaning bags packed and ready to leave within a couple hours) and eventually they did have to evacuate until it was deemed safe to return. 

*Living under the threat or risk of possible terror attacks.

Hopefully sharing these challenges helps us all to remember that no matter how "safe" a country or region may seem, things may change at any time. We need to be praying for missionaries in ALL locations, not just in the "danger zones". Also, American news outlets do not always portray things the way they really are. They also tend to have an ADD approach to the news - they get interested in the latest story and forget to follow up on other important news events around the world. There is always a new headline to catch attention rather than keeping people well-informed on the suffering and challenges around the world. 

Please pray for the missionaries you know no matter where they are located and hold up others as you are reminded through news reports you may come across. They need your prayers!