The stories from returned tentmakers due to the pandemic are heartbreaking. It seems almost all of them have now returned home to an uncertain future.

Here are some of their comments.

“It took us years to prepare to go and we had just settled in and started our work when we had to leave in a hurry. What was it all for?”

“We were seeing our friends and coworkers showing interest in our faith for the first time since arriving and then we had to leave! What will happen to those people that did not get a chance to learn more or even to read a bible?”

“We had just had a few home bible studies and people were excited at learning about the teachings of Jesus. We were seeing answers to prayers and a real thirst for God’s word, then we had to leave! What will happen to the home group that has no believer leading them?”

“It is really hurtful to hear our friends suggest that we made a mistake by going to work abroad. It is of no comfort to hear them say how happy they are to have us back”

In my conversations with these servants of God, it was painful to hear their stories. It started to sound a lot like they were all suffering from a common ailment, not unlike PTSD, but I hesitated to use that acronym as it did not seem accurate. I posted a question on Facebook asking for suggestions for a better term, and thanks to a suggestion from an active bi-vocational worker with years of experience in South Asia, I decided on the term “Elijah Syndrome”.

Elijah hid in a cave thinking all his work had been in vain, only to be told by God that he was not alone. It is my belief that no work done by tentmakers has been in vain but that God was in control all the time. Seeds were planted through the mere presence of God’s people among those yet to hear. Their stories have yet to be written.

By Ari Rocklin