Dear Tutapona friends,

I wanted to update you all on two important things:

1.  Our family has returned to America following the political upheaval in Kurdistan, Iraq.

2.  Tutapona's work in Iraq continues and is still going strong.

As I’m sure you can imagine, the past two weeks have been extremely difficult for our family. We were given hours to pack a few belongings and evacuate the place we’ve called home for the last year. We arrived in Greece in limbo. Every day we have been checking the news, talking to our on-the-ground contacts and staying up to date with the latest security information.  With all international flights to and from Kurdistan canceled indefinitely, the only way in and out of the region was through Turkey.  Then, early this week, the government of Turkey announced they would begin refusing visas for US Citizens immediately.  Therefore, we had no entry point into or out of Kurdistan. 

We have made the decision to return to America for a short time, in order to re-group and focus on what’s next for our family and for Tutapona in Iraq.  We have not made this decision lightly. Every day our family has been in concerted prayer asking for God to show us the way. At this stage we feel He is leading us home to Wisconsin to plan for what is next. Once we arrive home we plan to stay with family, meet with our board and begin prayerfully considering our next move. In my conversations with our Iraq Operations Coordinator I remain encouraged to hear that our staff and program are still going strong.

Thank you so much for your messages of support and your heartfelt prayers. We are so grateful. I’ll be in touch in the coming months once I have more news.

With thanks,

Carl Gaede