George had waited ten year for the woman he believed God had chosen for him. Now she was trapped in a city at war, and fear and faith were pulling him in opposite directions.
George watched helplessly as images of a city going up in smoke passed across the television screen. The news reporter's words explaining the violent civil war in a distant country were drowned out by rising fears for his fiancée, Lana—who at that moment was somewhere in that very city, hiding in a hallway to avoid getting hit by the ricocheting bullets outside her sister Eva's apartment.
"God." He bowed his head. "I've waited 10 years for Lana. You're not going to let her die, are you?"
To understand that prayer, you have to go back a decade — to the promise George made to God that he would not get involved with a woman again without the assurance she was part of His plan.
George regretted the way he had once lived, using his gifts to make money and his leadership skills to draw others into a lifestyle he now deeply regretted. He also promised God to work entirely for him–which he did in his local church until someone introduced him to the possibility of working in MENA (Middle East North Africa), a place where few people knew Jesus. Immediately he was drawn to the idea.
"It will be hard," people warned him, but he was attracted to the challenge and sensed that this was God's next step for him.
After completing various steps in the application process, George had an interview with the country leader—Samir, who was also Lana's brother-in-law. It went well, and towards the end, Samir asked him a few unusual questions obviously designed to get better acquainted. George didn't think much of it at the time—he was just glad that he and his new boss would work well together. Later, however, it made sense when he learned that immediately after the interview, Samir had picked up the phone to call Lana with the announcement: "I have found your husband."
As much as Lana respected her brother-in-law's good judgement, she received the news with skepticism. She hadn't given up on marriage — she just wasn't willing to let it come at the expense of her calling. Friends kept urging her to come home and find a husband, but she told them God was able to provide. Nevertheless, the idea of the right person simply landing in her region seemed dubious. And the timing of this discovery didn't exactly inspire enthusiasm.
A few months later, her curiosity got the better of her, so she looked him up on social media—and became more curious. Although they were in different MENA countries, they were doing similar ministry, and Eva suggested that Lana might be able to offer the newcomer some helpful insights from her experience. At Eva's urging, she reached out, and before long, George and Lana were spending long evenings in conversation.
Suddenly, George felt alarmed. In one week he felt he was falling in love with someone he'd never met. Could it be that the enemy was using her to distract him? He pulled back a bit and took time to fast and pray.
Thus began the awkward dance of two people trying to figure out whether the other felt the same way—stepping forward, pulling back, and wondering all the while whether their growing feelings were truly in line with God's will.
When George couldn't wait any longer, he sent Lana an audio message.
"I've been in church for ten years. I was crazy before, but I haven't been in a relationship since then—I made a promise to God. I'm not a player. I'd like to ask if we can talk with the understanding that we might eventually get married… I don't want to speed the process. Maybe we can read a book together?"
Lana kept him waiting ten long minutes before replying.
"I like the idea. Let's do it!"
George’s words brought a deep sense of peace as Lana realized that, as they followed God's lead, she could relax and trust the process.
As soon as her service appointment ended, Lana moved to live with her sister's family, closer to George. They managed to get together once a week at a special restaurant—the place where George officially proposed to Lana just before going home to visit his family.
It was a delightful surprise as Lana had expected he would propose after returning from home. But that timing turned out to be more significant than either of them could've guessed. The war broke out and mere hours before he was scheduled to return, he received news that the airport had been destroyed–he would not be going back.
“Our engagement comforted me,” says Lana. “When we were hiding in that hallway, not knowing if we would be rescued or not, it really helped to know he was out there, my future husband, praying for me, encouraging me. It gave me so much to look forward to and hope for.”
But that didn't take away the danger Lana was in. Fear pointed out the obvious: she had no way out, and the militia could reach her doorstep any moment. Faith pushed back — reminding him how God had already preserved his life with that unexpected trip home, how God had drawn George to himself and then led him straight to Lana. Surely he wasn't finished yet.
"You saved me, Lord. Thank you." He raised his head. "But what about Lana?"
George watched the news go from bad to worse — until, just when it seemed there was no way out, one opened. He followed news reports of an evacuation carried out by the Spanish embassy, and watched with the rest of the world as a military plane carried his beloved, along with some 100 other evacuees, to safety.
Once Lana and George were safely on the same continent, they began to scrape together the little they had for a wedding, and were once again astounded by God's goodness through the provisions of family and friends around the world.
As the couple prayed about where to serve next, God opened two doors for continued work in the MENA region. Upon the advice of a wise advisor, they chose the more stable of the two places, where it would be easier to process the post-traumatic stress that inevitably follows an ordeal such as Lana's.
If they thought that all would go smoothly from here on out, they were mistaken.
The month after moving into their new home, a devastating earthquake struck the nearby mountains. Somewhere around 10:30 p.m., Lana awoke to George's shouts, "Earthquake! We have to get out of the house!"
As they ran through the front door, Lana felt her adrenaline shoot off the charts. "Oh George," she said, "am I going to lose everything again?"
Wandering outside to the screams of people to and fro, they found a park bench where they sat, side by side, waiting for word that it was safe to return home.
George, once again realizing his helplessness to control life's events, leaned on his faith. For Lana, it would be a year before her body would tolerate a loud noise without going into a protective reaction that left her paralyzed. But she was not alone. She reached for George's hand. They still had each other—and they would always have God.