Missionary arrested in Lebanon
CALGARY, AB-A Calgary-based, freelance missionary who represents The Cedars of Lebanon Reforestation Project (CLRP) was scheduled to reappear before a Lebanese military tribunal August 20 on charges of "collaborating with the enemy."
Bruce Balfour was arrested July 10 upon his arrival at Beirut International Airport following a six-month fundraising campaign in North America. Airport officials noticed that Balfour's passport had recently been stamped in Israel.
Lebanese law prevents anyone who has visited Israel from entering the country. The two countries have been at odds since Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon from 1982 until 2000 and are still technically at war.
Documents posted on CLRP's Web site (www.cedarsoflebanon.ca) indicate Lebanese authorities charged Balfour in absentia last April with collaborating with Israel.
Spy charges
In a related development, another Canadian living in the Middle East has been indicted in absentia by Lebanon on charges of espionage. Grant Livingston, 81, is the Middle East director for the Calgary-based Maranatha Evangelistic Association. As Safir, a Lebanese newspaper, reported August 1 that Livingston had been indicted as a spy for Israel who has collaborated with Balfour in more than 20 years of espionage.
Reynald Doiron, a spokesman for Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs, says he is concerned Lebanese authorities held Balfour for three weeks without any formal charges and suggests Lebanon violated international protocol by failing to notify Canadian officials of Balfour's detention. The Lebanese government officially notified Canadian authorities on July 30 that Balfour would be charged under its military law.
Early reports by CanWest News Services said Balfour could be slapped with a fine or could even face execution following his appearance before the Beirut military court.
In an article published in the Calgary Herald earlier this year, Balfour said he was planning to return to Lebanon to assist in the replanting of the biblical Cedars of Lebanon, a grove of trees that have virtually disappeared from the country's high central mountain range.
"These were the trees cut for the Temple of Jerusalem and House of Solomon," he observed. "God refers to Himself as a Cedar of Lebanon. But now these mountains are mostly barren slopes."
Calling it the Cedars of Lebanon Reforestation Project, Balfour said he dreams of seeing the denuded slopes where the grove once stood reforested in what he believes to be a fulfillment of prophecy.
At the same time, he hoped to plant God's Word in the hearts of the Lebanese people.
Lebanese prosecutors told the Agence France Press in Beirut they were aware of Balfour's previous travels to Israel and were waiting for him to return July 10. Although it is not clear how officials knew of Balfour's previous visits to Israel, the missionary has written and spoken publicly of his activities and plans.
Back to Lebanon
A report by U.S.-based Assist Ministries quoted Balfour as saying, "I will be returning to Lebanon on July 9 from here in southern California to film and produce a documentary on Lebanon, our project and the biblical importance of the Cedars of Lebanon. The documentary should be available for showing by the end of August 2003. The other planting which I am dedicated to is planting seeds of truth into the Lebanese people so the Almighty, the Master can grow them into trees of righteousness."
Sources told ChristianWeek that close friends and family members tried to dissuade Balfour from making this trip to Lebanon and that even a source in Lebanon's security service warned him to stay away, fearing he would be arrested and imprisoned. "Bruce is a free spirit and definitely has a mind of his own," says one source who asked not to be identified.
"Balfour himself knew he should not be entering the country because of previous visits to Israel, Lebanon's arch-enemy," a Calgary Herald report indicates. "But the evangelical Christian who some describe as strong-willed went anyway, to complete his mission: replanting the biblical Cedars of Lebanon, to help locals ravaged by war, to hasten the conversion of the country and the Second Coming of Jesus."
Warning dreams
In e-mail correspondence sent by Balfour on July 31 and obtained by ChristianWeek, he wrote: "Months before I came on this journey, my Master showed me through many dreams that I would be imprisoned for His sake so He could mold and shape me into a vessel of His choosing, to accomplish His purpose here. I did not rejoice over this.
"After all, who would choose to lose their freedom and be imprisoned in such a hellish place? I was hoping the dreams were wrong, but regardless, I was compelled to obey His call. Who am I to challenge our Almighty on His choice of calling?"
John Lucas, president of Maranatha Evangelistic Association (MEA), told ChristianWeek that although Balfour does not formally represent his organization, MEA is party to discussions regarding the kind of assistance the missionary needs.
"A group of local businessmen had hoped to retain a Lebanese lawyer for Balfour," he says, "until they discovered they'd have to post U.S. $ 10,000 up front. They've now turned their attention to hiring a Winnipeg lawyer."
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