Customer Reviews

Called to Die: The Story of American Linguist Chet Bitterman, Slain by Terrorists

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Some years ago I worked in Lomalinda, Colombia for the summer. Shortly after I arrived one of the women handed me this book and told me that if I really wanted to understand "what happened here" that I should read it. I am so glad I did.

Early one morning, guerrillas entered the group house in Bogotá posing as policemen looking for the director, but the director was not there. The men kept insisting that the people tell them where the director was, but no one did. Chet, who spoke Spanish very well, interested them and so they took him instead. The negotiations began.

Now, whenever someone goes to work with SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics) in such a country they sign a form that says that in the event of a kidnapping no ransom will be paid because this will encourage more kidnappings (I signed it myself). At this time the guerrillas wanted to make SIL leave the country altogether, but apparently after a while they realized that SIL was not going to leave. SIL tried to help them "save face", but they killed Chet anyway. But through the efforts that SIL made, SIL gained the respect of the government and the people of that nation.

Eleven years later, I read his story and visited his grave in Lomalinda. Even then, the impact of the events in this book affected the people and tenor of the community - people were visibly distressed when they told me their own versions of the story and some were only just returning after having to leave all those years ago. The read is worthwhile and gripping even if you've never been to Colombia or know any of the people involved.

This tale will sweep you along. You will come to know this country in a way that probably no other book can. And you will get an inside look at the dangers of that kind of work and the inner workings of Colombia. It is a dangerous country, but I would go back in an instant if I had the chance.

For those interested I also recommend "Guerrilla Hostage" by Denise Marie Siino. That story picks up about 12 years later when Ray Rising is kidnapped near Lomalinda and is released 810 days later. That book is better written than this one, but reading both will give you a bit of an inside look at SIL's work in Colombia. Not long after Ray Rising's kidnapping the base at Lomalinda was closed and the land turned over to the local inhabitants. It is greatly missed.

Chet Bitterman is the All-American boy. He has a great sense of humor, a strong work ethic, the ability to love deeply and a strong dedication to his faith. However, his biggest asset is his heart. Chet Bittterman is a giver. He wants to help others and finds himself in Colombia with his linguist wife and two young children. Somehow, the M-19 terrorist group considers Chet and his group of linguists a threat and kidnap him. This young man, who had so much potential sadly is killed when the M-19 demands are not met.

Steve Estes writes a great book. He went to school with Chet and does his homework in writing this manuscript. Estes understands Colombia and will surprise anyone with a special competence in Colombian affairs with his knowledge of the political and economic landscape. "Called to Die" is a tragic book. It is such a pity that a fine young man who posed no threat to anyone and is in Colombia to help the Indians is killed. This book is a tribute to Chet Bitterman. He will never be forgotten.

Such an insight to the life of Chet Bitterman. A man that just wanted to serve the Lord and ending up giving his whole life for Him. This is a wonderful biography because it helps us to find out what happened and brings it to us in a way that makes us feel like we know Chet personally.

I recommend this book to everyone.

This book was a bit difficult for me to read because my uncle (Tim Van Dyke) was kidnapped and killed by the querrillas (FARC) in the mid 90s also in Bogata. Therefore, I tried to read it very slowly so I would be able to sleep at night or not cry.

Chet Bitterman's story begins where we learn about his upbringing a bit. You get a sense of understanding who he was when we learn about his college life and dreams. Once we finally get into the story about his family getting into Colombia, we learn abouthis desire to preach to tribes that had never been translated and how he had to stay where he was due to a car accident and trial dates. Once he is kidnapped you learn about what the feelings of those around him including his wife and even his daughter Anna went through while he was in captivity and his life was being threatened. I really enjoyed learning about him and the letter he wrote to Brenda was something really wonderful! I truly feel God really used Chet's death and his life to inspire MANY people. I don't know if my uncle knew of Chet's situation, but he became a missionary around the time that this occured, so perhaps it was an inspiration. Chet's life and death are a testimony to those who may not understand about God. Death can have a huge impact on those who do the killing, especially since it seems they saw his kindness and love from God as he was captive for about a month long. They were very kind to not torture him and to give him a sedative before shooting him once in the heart. I wish my uncle was as well treated in his 17 months of captivity. Every martyr has a way of really being used for God's glory. I know if it weren't for my uncle's captivity and death I probably wouldn't love Jesus and wouldn't have been so transformed by God. It hit me hard and helped me trust more in the Lord, and so I imagine the same occured for Mr. Bitterman and the people he knew.

Although the martyr's tale is always a sad one, you have to realize that The Lord uses every situation for God's glory in some way. They go into their work knowing that death could occur to them, and they take that chance in order to realize that there could be hundreds and thousands of lives changed by what they do to minister to others. I think that's why I admire missionaries so very much. They know this life is short and there is an eternal place for them, and they are willing to make so many sacrifices for the Lord who sacrificed so much for them