November 2003

From The Far Side

Dear Friends and Prayer Partners:

I send to you greetings from the Middle East! This month has been a particularly busy one. This is because for half of the month I have been Iowa visiting the Presbytery of Des Moines. I spoke to many groups about the Joining Hands Against Hunger Program (JHAH), a very interesting and positive experience, to say the least.

It was interesting because it was my first visit to the United States since being commissioned in January of 2002, almost two years! It was also my first visit to the Midwest. Being from the east coast, I expected things to be a bit bigger than they were, city-wise. I also didn't expect to be confronted with so much meat. I ate in the space of two weeks more meat than I've had in the last two years! But probably the biggest point of interest, more than the average Iowan's meat consumption, is that this has been my first real “run-in” with large numbers of Americans since the invasion of Iraq earlier this year. Many people found it amazing that I was brave enough to want to be in the Middle East, including the check-in staff at the airports. My reaction to this was to say that I'm not as brave as one may think. People found it quite surprising when I told them about life in the Middle East and that it was actually quite safe and really not like what they see and hear about on their evening news broadcasts.

In the United States, this can refer to the system we have developed in the name of wanting to protect ourselves and guard against the evils that the U.S. government has constantly told us are out there. It was interesting to see the reactions on peoples' faces when I gave them information that contradicted what they generally accepted as true about the Middle East. At the end of the talks (which I gave with a member from the JHAH network in Egypt), people always wanted to know how they could help and get involved. Expecting me to give them the ECO account number, I told them quite plainly, "Learn, read, go to JHAH meetings in Des Moines and then come to the Middle East and see for yourselves." I think this took people a bit by surprise.

Samira Ghaly of the Presbyterian Women's Union of the Synod of the Nile and I spoke every day to groups in the presbytery. We were guest presenters at the quarterly Presbytery of Des Moines meetings, at which almost every church in the presbytery had their pastor and representatives present. It was great exposure for the JHAH initiative and for the Middle East. We found the Presbytery of Des Moines to be eager to hear us. This was especially great because the Presbytery of Des Moines is small and has many rural church communities. They don't always have the exposure to issues of the Middle East outside of what they see on their televisions, so this trip was something great for all involved.

Back here in Amman, Hala and the boys were anxiously awaiting my return and continuing with daily life schedules of school and general family responsibilities. We don't like these long trips that I sometimes need to make, but we have come to accept them as a necessary part of being in the mission field.

I'll end here by wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and requesting a couple causes for your prayer during this holiday season.

Prayer concerns

Please keep in your prayers the people of the Middle East and the extremely difficult situations they are in—the Palestinian people under a cruel military occupation, the Iraqi people who are in a situation that very few people understand, and the poor of Egypt who are forever searching, all are in need of your concern.

Please pray for the people of the United States, that those who are learning about the world outside of U.S. borders will continue doing so, and that more will open themselves to the challenge of learning about their world community.

In Grace and Peace,

Chris, Hala, Nadiim and Adeeb

The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 156