Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Sarah and just I returned from the American Baptist Churches Biennial meetings in Richmond, Virginia. It was our first such attendance. Frankly we were overwhelmed by the number of delegates and visitors who attended the meetings. Dan led two Bible studies and participated in a workshop. This was our last official engagement in our one year's deputation in the US. From our mountaintop experience, we are now ready to return to our mission work in the Middle East. We have gathered all the documents necessary for our visa applications to the Lebanese Consulate and just submitted them. Inshallah (God willing) we will get our Lebanese visas to return to Beirut by the 3rd week of August. Please pray that we will not encounter any problems.
Lebanon is a different place now than when we left last July. Last November an American Volunteer Missionary Bonnie, working in a clinic run by the Alliance Church in the Southern Lebanese city of Sidon, was shot in the face at a close range and killed. On May 8th of this year, Jamil, a delightful young graduate of our seminary working with a Dutch missionary couple in the Northern city of Tripoli died tragically. Jamil was attempting to help move a bag left on the doorstep of the missionary couple. A bomb hidden in the bag exploded violently, instantly killing Jamil. Death of Jamil had a disturbing effect on many of our seminary students. A few days later there was a rather strange theft in our seminary office. Someone robbed all the 7 hard discs from the office computers. It is obvious the thief was not interested in stealing computers but only interested in the information stored on the hard discs! These events are no doubt disquieting.
Lebanon has been remarkably peaceful for the last ten years. The dark days of mayhem and civil war are a distant memory for most Lebanese who are eager to get on with their lives and make money, which they are very good at doing as entrepreneurs. Our prayer is that Peace and path towards normalcy will prevail in Lebanon.
We look back with immense gratitude to our Master for the wonderful year we spent in the US: we were blessed to have Dan's mother stay with us in our home in Oregon; we were privileged to witness Rachel led to Christ and grow in grace; time spent at home reconnecting with family and friends; and above all living free from lurking insecurity and censoring eyes. All these simple pleasures of life, which most take for granted, brought for us special meaning and joy.
One of the greatest sources of encouragement and spiritual high for us was our visit to numerous churches, ABW meetings, and participation in the World Mission Conference across twelve States of the Union. We logged many miles and visited several congregations; some small-town rural and others large and urban. We thank God for their commitment to make known by word and deed the love of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. As they blessed us with their infectious enthusiasm, we trust and hope that we were able to reciprocate the same, with the stories of God's Mission in the Middle East.
We covet your prayers as we return to the Middle East. Pray that Rachel and us will settle down to our old life in Beirut without any dislocation, but with renewed commitment expectancy. Please pray for the new batch of Seminary students who will be joining us in September that they will get their Lebanese visas without difficulty.
Praise God! We just got our visas to return to Lebanon. We are scheduled to leave on August 26th.
Dan & Sarah Chetti