26 December 2017 | St Albans [tedNEWS] We are saddened to receive news today of the deaths of Adel and Najwa Kamal, the much loved parents of Pastor Raafat Kamal, president of the Trans-European Division.
Adel, age 79, suffered a fatal heart attack on the morning of 26 December following what had appeared to be successful surgery last week. His wife, Najwa, age 74, succumbed to a heart attack on hearing the news of her husband’s passing. Adel joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1968 as a result of someone leaving a VOP card on his desk at school. He worked as a manager in the hotel industry before spending the later years of his life with the church’s publishing department.
Adel and Najwa are survived by their three children: Raafat, his two sisters, Hikmat and Nehmat, and their respective families. The funeral was held in Beruit, Lebanon on Friday, 29 December.
Our sympathies and prayers are with the family at this time. At this time when we remember the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we also live in hope of His promised return and a time when God promises that He will make all things new. (Revelation 21:5)
THANKS AND GRATITUDE
Following the funeral Pastor Kamal has sent the following message:
I would like to extend my gratitude for the expressed kindness and sympathy my family and I have received during our time of loss. It has given us much comfort to know that you are thinking of us and keeping us in your prayers, as we are grieving the untimely loss of my parents.
While brokenness, suffering and loss sadly are part of our human existence, we have found hope and comfort in the Word of God and His promises for our present challenges. May each of us find encouragement in the words of Jesus, reassuring us that through faith in Him we have hope for the future: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:1-3
May we use the opportunities that come our way, living out our faith and touching the lives of people around us, till His promises become a reality, when “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4
At a time like this, I appreciate the benediction of the apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 [tedNEWS]
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tedNEWS Staff: Victor Hulbert, editor; Deana Stojkovic, associate editor
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Website: www.ted.adventist.org
tedNEWS is an information bulletin issued by the communication department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-European Division.
