July 23, 2002

Hello to everyone!

I pray that wherever you may be as you read this that you are all in grand spirits and health!

Although we are in the midst of the rainy season in Ethiopia today is enjoying a Saturday morning. As I sit back in a chair, my legs dangling over a bamboo coffee table, I enjoy sipping my coffee listening to the wind chimes as the same breeze brushes against my face. In short, a remarkably pleasant morning. So, I take the opportunity to say hello and write a brief update of my life in Illubabor and Ethiopia.

I am coming to the end of my second term serving in Ethiopia. These past five years have been filled with highs and lows both in my work and personal life. However, through these experiences I have grown. I have also been further convinced of a truth—that it is by suffering and passing through trials that we mature as humans and as Christians, that it is by experiencing sickness, pain, and sorrow that we are able to feel empathy and understanding for the sickness, pain, and sorrow of others.

I recently had the pleasure of listening to a South African military officer (retired) speak at the International Evangelical Church in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. I hung on every word this gentleman spoke. And in his words my spirit for life was revived. He put to us all that morning a challenge that I pray I may take on as my own. He spoke of the suffering our brothers and sisters here in Ethiopia and the Greater Horn were enduring each day. He spoke of their sickness, their pain, and their tremendous sorrow. He prefaced all of this by reading I Corinthians 12:26: "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it."

We are all part of the same body, the same family, the same church united in Christ!

When my bone breaks I shall mend it. When my stomach is empty, I shall provide it with food. When my body suffers from weariness I shall give it rest. This I accept without question. I was reminded this day however, that if I believe in what was said to the church in Corinth I must take up the challenge put to us that Sunday by this speaker. If even one member is suffering we all agree to suffer with it. It is our responsibility to struggle in freeing our brothers and sisters from their suffering. Our body is broken and so we must mend it. Our body is hungry and so must be fed. Our body is weary and so we must give it rest. In doing so we honor our body and Christ the Lord in whom we are one and so together may rejoice!

My term ends in January 2003. I am hoping to begin that same month a graduate program in conflict analysis and transformation. During this time, and upon completion of this degree, I hope to return to Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa and, with God’s blessing, to dedicate myself in shouldering the above-mentioned challenge. God has been putting this work into my heart since 1999. It has taken over three years for this plan to have so much clarity. It has taken over three years for my resolve to be this strong.

Please pray that God’s spirit would fill me with the continued resolve to see this work through for the glory of our one Body, one Family, one Church in Christ! Amen!

May the Peace of Christ be with you all

Brian C. Gilchrest
Gore Bethel Home for Children
Social Work Advisor
Illubabor Bethel Synod

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 34