A letter from Doug Dicks in Jordan
May 2013
Dear Family and Friends,
Sometimes when you complete a journey, you arrive at a place that looks very different from what you thought it was going to look like. You might be disappointed, or you may be pleasantly surprised. Either way, you should definitely be thankful for having arrived at your destination, safe and sound, and grateful for having had the experience of the journey.
Loss—and letting go—are part of life, and living. Change is an inevitable part of everyone's life, whether we welcome it or not. Yet in the midst of the changes in our lives—and the joys and celebrations, as well as the sorrow and the grief—God is ever present, and in the midst of it all.
An audience with His Beatitude Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem
Last July, and immediately following the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s 220th General Assembly in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I received a call from our national headquarters, informing me that the position of Regional Liaison for Jordan, Israel, Palestine and Egypt—based in Jordan—would be terminated. The person who assumes this role will now be based out of Cairo, Egypt. And following a time of personal discernment, I have made the decision not to apply for the position in Cairo.
And so, at the end of October 2013, 18 years of mission service with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will come to an end, and I will return to the U.S.
In October 2012, along with all of our Regional Liaisons from around the world, I was part of the Dallas II Consultation in Dallas, Texas. Along with many members of our denomination, we spent three days discerning and working through potential strategies for each of the three critical global issues (CGIs) that were affirmed in Dallas (addressing poverty, engaging in evangelism, working for reconciliation). Since Dallas II a number of work teams have convened to try to distill the diversity of voices and ideas from that consultation into workable strategies.
Today everyone is out and doing mission. And related to this rapid “decentralization” of mission is the decline of unrestricted and endowment funding that our church has traditionally relied on to supplement the funds congregations and individuals have contributed in support of mission workers' sending and support.
The reality is that our mission workers around the world continue to need your prayers, your letters, your encouragement, and of course your financial support. Without this kind of support network, our work would not be possible.
The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program will be sponsoring a conference/trip for 100 persons in the spring of 2014 (see https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/peacemaking/—scroll down to "Mosaic of Peace"). They have asked me to remain part of the planning team, and I have agreed to do so. That commitment will include returning to the region next spring with the conference participants.
The conference will seek to inspire, equip and connect the participants with the people, the issues, and the realities of the contemporary Holy Land. Priority will be given to all would-be first-time visitors to the Holy Land.
On a personal note, in early November of last year my brother lost his short, five-and-a-half-years battle with Alzheimer's at the early age of 57. My sister-in-law, who has to be one of the world's greatest caregivers, was with him through it all, and right up until the end. She asked, and I readily agreed, to give his eulogy. He was laid to rest on November 12 in the family burial plot in Virginia, near my father, my grandparents, great-grandparents, and other family members.
Highlights of 2013 have included attending the theophany celebrations in January at the Jordan River and being a part of and seeing thousands of people on both sides of the river Jordan commemorating the baptism of Jesus. A wet January caused the river to overflow its banks, and indeed the river, which is normally a small, muddy, green stream, was both “wide and deep” on that day.
Sea of humanity—Luke Asikoye (right, with backpack) surveys the Zaatari Refugee camp in Northern Jordan
In early March I accompanied Luke Asikoye from our Presbyterian Disaster Assistance program to the Zaatari Refugee camp, on the northern border and close to Syria, to see the conditions inside the camp. It is now the world's fifth-largest refugee camp, and Syrians continue to pour across the border on a daily basis, seeking to escape their own war-torn country.
Later that month I escorted Rev. Garnett Foster (retired—Louisville Seminary) and two friends from Chicago on a 10-day trip through Israel, Palestine and Jordan. We enjoyed a personal audience with His Beatitude Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, and conversations with people along the way. We toured Petra, Jordan, one week before President Barack Obama visited this “rose red city” that he described as “spectacular.”
I hope many of you will consider being a part of the Big Tent event in Louisville, Kentucky, this coming August! (See http://www.pcusa.org/events/23419/big-tent-2013/.) Come to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Big Tent event and discover for yourself how putting God’s first things first can bring rebirth and renewal to your church.
I remain hopeful as I transition into the next chapter of my life. And I will write again before I depart the Middle East later this fall. I remain strong in the promises that God has made to those whom God loves: Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9).
I can say with certainty that I know this to be so.
With gratitude,
Doug
The 2013 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 298
Read more about Douglas Dicks' ministry
