A story of trust and timing, JJ’s journey reminds readers that God is always at work—often unseen—bringing faith to completion
It wasn’t until adulthood that JJ learned about Edward, his older brother’s quiet conversion–the brother he never met due to a tragic drowning a year before JJ was born.
When the Kareh family talked about where to educate their children, the Boucherieh Adventist School wasn’t their first thought. But its reputation and proximity caused them to reconsider. Families in the neighborhood often said that students who grew up in that school’s environment swore less and did better at avoiding the teenage vices as they grew up.
So was made the decision to attend Boucherieh Adventist School, one that would have far-reaching consequences. JJ enrolled when he was not yet four years old. He remained there throughout his high school years, deeply appreciating the teachers’ exceptional care and their gift for nurturing each student. He became immersed in the life of youth groups, using his musical gifts to sing in choirs and to attend summer camps.
The gospel as taught and practiced compelled JJ to follow Jesus, and as he studied the Bible, the desire to be baptized and join the Adventist family grew, but his parents were not in favor. “You’re already a Christian,” they said. “Why would you change your religion?” So he continued to practice his new faith, praying for the day that he could make his public confession through baptism.
Following his father’s passing, JJ’s mother relied on him. In Middle Eastern culture, the child who remains at home carries both the responsibility and the honor of caring for the family. As health challenges began to appear, JJ fully embraced that role—managing the home, her appointments, and her daily care.
Throughout this time, JJ carried a quiet confidence that one day the right moment for baptism would come. He didn’t feel it was urgent to bring this up with his mother, especially with the health challenges she was facing. In his heart, he held onto the thought that there is a time for everything, but as time passed, he felt like he could no longer wait and wondered when and how the way would open for baptism.
What JJ didn’t realize is that the quiet witness of his loving care for his mother had softened her heart. Truely, he had grown up to be everything she and her husband had hoped for, a responsible citizen and son, loving, attentive, and kind. She recognized that Jesus and the community of faith JJ was part of had made him who he was, and she gave JJ her blessing to get baptized.
“I remember it clearly,” JJ said. “Just a few weeks after she was discharged from the hospital following her open-heart surgery, my baptism was scheduled. I hadn’t even asked if she wanted to attend, but I watched her quietly preparing—getting dressed, choosing her outfit, and even going to the hairdresser. She was getting ready to be part of the moment.”
11 years after his baptism, JJ learned that his older brother also had experienced the transformation of Jesus and his love through the same community as he had.
Dr. Raja Farah, theology professor at Middle East University, was going through his own mother’s belongings and found a clipping she’d saved from the SDA Division paper that had been written during her years as a Bible and English teacher at the Boucherieh Adventist School. It documented her impact on JJ’s brother, Edward.
Recognizing that Edward needed a little extra guidance, his teacher, Mrs. Aida Farrah gave him additional help in English and Bible in the afternoons. Over the next few weeks, she began to see a beautiful change in him—his focus improved, his attitude brightened, and he even told his mother that he hoped to become the best student in his class.
One day, after an especially good work in Bible class receiving a warm compliment from his teacher in Bible class touched him deeply. At the end of the lesson, he whispered to her, “I want to become like Jesus.” Mrs. Farrah held onto those words with joy and hope.
Later that afternoon, tragedy struck. Edward drowned in a deep excavation pit in the neighbourhood, leaving the entire community in shock.
So many ways in which God is working, so much happening in the hearts of those around us that only God sees, but we can trust him and his timing.