Originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Bitterman attended Columbia Bible College in South Carolina, where he first heard of the Christian mission organization Wycliffe Bible Translators. After graduation, he received linguistics training from the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) in North Dakota, and married Brenda Gardner, a fellow alumna of SIL's training program. Together, they traveled to Colombia to begin mission work with Wycliffe in 1979.
As an inexperienced missionary, Bitterman was not immediately assigned to a tribal group where he could begin to translate the Bible into a new language as many Wycliffe missionaries do. Instead, he worked primarily at Wycliffe's base in Lomalinda, first working in the radio tower and later serving as security coordinator. Their time at Lomalinda was broken up by a six-month service trip in Bogotá where Bitterman and his wife assisted a more experienced translator couple. However, by 1981, plans began to fall into place for Bitterman and his wife to attempt to reach the Carijona tribe in the Colombian jungle.
At 6:30 a.m. on January 19, 1981, seven M-19 guerrillas entered SIL's housing facility in Bogotá, where the Bittermans were staying at the time. Not finding Al Wheeler—whom they believed to be the director of SIL's Colombia Branch—they kidnapped Bitterman instead. Several days later, the guerillas demanded that SIL leave the country. Finally, 48 days after his abduction, on March 7, 1981, Bitterman's body was found in a bus near Bogotá, having been shot in the chest.
There was found an entry in Chet's journal written nearly two years before his death that read. "The situation in Nicaragua is getting worse. If Nicaragua falls, I guess the rest of Central America will too. Maybe this is just some kind of self-inflicted Martyr complex, but I find this recurring thought that perhaps God will call me to be martyred in His service in Colombia. I am willing."[full citation needed]
Referencesedit
^U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
Steffen, Bonne (March–April 2002). . Today's Christian. Archived from the original on 2006-04-14. Retrieved 2006-04-15.
Further readingedit
Estes, Steve (1986). Called to die: The story of American linguist Chet Bitterman, slain by terrorists. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan. ISBN978-0-310-28381-2.
chet, bitterman, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, january, 2012, learn, when,. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations January 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Chester Allen Chet Bitterman III November 30 1952 March 1981 1 was an American linguist and Christian missionary who was kidnapped and killed by revolutionaries of the 19th of April Movement M 19 in Colombia in 1981 Originally from Lancaster Pennsylvania Bitterman attended Columbia Bible College in South Carolina where he first heard of the Christian mission organization Wycliffe Bible Translators After graduation he received linguistics training from the Summer Institute of Linguistics SIL in North Dakota and married Brenda Gardner a fellow alumna of SIL s training program Together they traveled to Colombia to begin mission work with Wycliffe in 1979 As an inexperienced missionary Bitterman was not immediately assigned to a tribal group where he could begin to translate the Bible into a new language as many Wycliffe missionaries do Instead he worked primarily at Wycliffe s base in Lomalinda first working in the radio tower and later serving as security coordinator Their time at Lomalinda was broken up by a six month service trip in Bogota where Bitterman and his wife assisted a more experienced translator couple However by 1981 plans began to fall into place for Bitterman and his wife to attempt to reach the Carijona tribe in the Colombian jungle Contents 1 Abduction and execution 2 References 3 Further reading 4 External linksAbduction and execution editAt 6 30 a m on January 19 1981 seven M 19 guerrillas entered SIL s housing facility in Bogota where the Bittermans were staying at the time Not finding Al Wheeler whom they believed to be the director of SIL s Colombia Branch they kidnapped Bitterman instead Several days later the guerillas demanded that SIL leave the country Finally 48 days after his abduction on March 7 1981 Bitterman s body was found in a bus near Bogota having been shot in the chest There was found an entry in Chet s journal written nearly two years before his death that read The situation in Nicaragua is getting worse If Nicaragua falls I guess the rest of Central America will too Maybe this is just some kind of self inflicted Martyr complex but I find this recurring thought that perhaps God will call me to be martyred in His service in Colombia I am willing full citation needed References edit U S Social Security Applications and Claims Index 1936 2007 Steffen Bonne March April 2002 Chet Bitterman Today s Christian Archived from the original on 2006 04 14 Retrieved 2006 04 15 Further reading editEstes Steve 1986 Called to die The story of American linguist Chet Bitterman slain by terrorists Grand Rapids Mich Zondervan ISBN 978 0 310 28381 2 External links editChet Bitterman at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chet Bitterman amp oldid 1156615062, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
