Tuesday, 2 October 2001
Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Last week in Rajshahi where we live, there were some anti-American processions, apparently catalyzed by Bangladesh’s agreement to let the United States use its bases if needed for military intervention in Afghanistan. The groups burned effigies of George Bush and proceeded past the church and hospital campus where we live. A large procession last Friday prompted the police to post themselves at our campus gates.

Our family has shifted temporarily to a guest house in a safe area in Dhaka. Our daughter Laura is with us on a leave of absence from college, our son Everett is here on a break from his school in India, and our youngest, Stewart, is with us, too.

We are not sure how long the agitation in Rajshahi will last. Although the multifaceted "war on terrorism" is expected to last years, it is the military dimension in particular that provokes reactions here. We ask you to pray for peace, so that we can return soon to our home in Rajshahi.

Despite the overwhelming events of our times, the simplest situations still catch God’s eye. During my trips to Dhaka over the past few months I have befriended a six-year-old Muslim beggar girl named Jesmi, who is blind and lies every day on a footbridge over one of the busiest and noisiest streets in Dhaka. Every time I walk across the bridge I talk to her and give her candy. This past week when I saw her again I told her that I was Dr. Morgan, and she said with a big smile, "I know you!" I pray that God will use the many small seeds of friendship that exist in the world to grow the biggest trees of respect and understanding, for the sake of peace.

Please pray for us!

All our love,

Les Morgan

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 150