It has been a busy few months but God has worked in many people’s lives during this time. As I recently passed the eight month mark of my time here in west Asia. I can’t help but be amazed at how many lives have been changed and how God is able to work in so many different ways. I have seen multiple groups of both men and women give their lives to Christ and publicly show it through baptism at the local church I regularly attend. Many of these new believers have been pushed from their homes or have fled in fear of persecution because they were seeking different life than what Islam and current leadership allowed in their country. Economic downturn has also caused many people to leave. These two as well as other factors have brought an opportunity to witness to a people group that otherwise would be extremely difficult and dangerous to reach. And so, these changes have helped to advance the gospel faster and more effectively than I have ever seen. In the past few months I have seen over two dozen people baptized and more that I wasn’t able to attend. God is surely changing the lives of people in this part of the world and I thank Him for all he is doing.
Although we have seen many who are fleeing their homes come to faith, in part because of the work being done here; I have noticed a change in the congregation who attend the fellowship meetings on Sundays. When I first arrived it was a majority of locals who would attend the services. However, the last several weeks less than a handful of locals have been attending but the number of foreigners has increased exponentially, mostly people from the country to our south who are wanting to be part of the training program, which we are still working to develop. With all the growth, it seems the locals may be getting passed over and so I am asking God for direction how we as a body can keep reaching out to new people who are coming almost every week, while not forgetting the locals who also need to be reached and encouraged.