Jane Cook - Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq and Afghanistan

When you cannot do your own shopping; when you do not have freedom of movement, and you know there are evil people that would like to see you dead; you get a sense of what it means to deny yourself.

Jesus also said, “Take up your cross daily and follow me.” On some days, Brandt would just ask, “Lord, how much do I need to deny myself? How heavy must my cross be? How far do I have to follow you?” The answer would come quietly and with clarity, “All the way.” There it was; Brandt was the one who had bent his knee to God, God simply said, “This is what I am asking of you at this time in your life.”

For Brandt, that was sufficient. It was a reminder that following him wasn’t necessarily the easiest path but it was the best path.

Whether in Baghdad or any other city in the world, we must ask if we are on his path. Complicated by personal sacrifice, discomfort and the constant threat of violence, Brandt found the sufficiency of Christ. Soldiers and missionaries alike find themselves denying their own personal comfort and desires. For them, life holds a far more significant purpose.

Father, teach me to deny myself and follow after you. Save my life, let my gain be you and not this world.

Then he said to them all:

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:23–25)

Who are the Iraqi people? How are they alike or different from us?

Like us, they want stability in their nation and to raise their families in peace. They want to be recognized legitimately as a people that contribute to the world. They have a sense of humor not much unlike our own. They laugh at things we laugh at and cry at the things that cause us to cry. What sets them apart is that they have endured three wars in their homeland, leaving their self-esteem torn and battered. Naturally, their emotional stability has become destabilized.

There were days that Brandt felt he was in a bad place. Violence and crime are a gnarly combination that can sour anyone’s view of a location. But there were other days when Brandt would realize, “good grief I am stuck in traffic just like they are.” They were both suffering. It is hot; engines are overheating. They are just trying to get home too; they were all in the same boat. There is something about the camaraderie of mutual suffering that levels the playing field.

Being stuck in traffic for hours at a time was not an uncommon experience. He would roll his window down and turn the car off. It was easy to carry on conversations with those stuck in traffic next to him. Inevitably his Arabic would run out, and others would ask, “Are you an American?” Brandt would say, “Yes, I am,” and they would go on to tell him, “Oh, thank you for being in our country. We love America. Thank you so much. We love you. We love George Bush.” They love freedom.

The violence, the mundane hardship of traffic jams, the lack of electricity all define the unsettled city of Baghdad, a city at war. God knew exactly where Brandt was. God led him there. And throughout all the trials that he and his family contended with, God showed his wonderful love to them.

Father, while our friends and family are in war torn cities in foreign lands, show them your wonderful love.

“Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city.” (Psalm 31:21)

We flew in low over the northern city of Mosul. Forward Operating Base (FOB) Freedom was just over four miles north of the downtown city center. Our southeastern approach would take us over the ancient gates of Nineveh, the city that Jonah traveled to around 760 BC. The ruins were spread out all over Mosul.

At fifty feet above the ground the Iraqis could see our faces and we could see theirs. But traveling at a speed of 120 knots it did not give you much time to focus on anyone. Nonetheless, it was a peaceful flight in. We landed on the pad, shut down and walked to the dining facility while our helicopters were refueled.

FOB Freedom was set among several palaces. Their ornate beauty and landscaped lawns were in stark contrast to the poverty we flew over to get there. We entered the dining facility (DFAC) and enjoyed the hot meal.

After lunch we walked down to one of the palaces and took pictures of each other standing in front of large paintings of Saddam holding a child and standing with an old woman. I found it ironic that one of the most evil men in the world would be pictured standing with the most innocent.

We returned to the aircraft and began our startup procedures. Right on time our scheduled group of travelers arrived and jumped on board. We took off low and fast and moved beyond Freedom back over Mosul. Within minutes we were over the desert again, for our flight to Baghdad.

Several weeks later a man walked into the DFAC during lunchtime. He detonated the explosives, killing twenty-two and wounding sixty. In a moment, twenty-two human beings who were hungry and ready to eat lunch were no longer alive. Sixty individuals went from relaxing to agonizing from wounds both internal and external.

Life changes quickly, in a heartbeat. Whether by heart attack, automobile accident or improvised explosive device, life can change forever. To take for granted each breath of life is to waste the gift of it. God is good. He does not desire death even for his enemies. But death does come just as surely as life.

Father, help me see each day for the promise it holds. You promise that there is nothing that can separate me from your love Abba.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38–39)

Marc Alan Lee understood the cost and sacrifice that service defined. He single-handedly held off enemy fighters by creating an offensive diversion while his team rescued a wounded teammate from a rooftop. The firefight took place in Ramadi, Iraq August 2 nd, 2006. Marc Alan Lee became the first Navy SEAL to die in Iraq.

“Glory is something that some men chase and others find themselves stumbling upon, not expecting it to find them. Either way it is a noble gesture that one finds bestowed upon them. My question is, when does glory fade away and become a wrongful crusade, or an unjustified means which consumes one completely?”

“I have seen war.”

“I have seen death, the sorrow that encompasses your entire being as a man breathes his last. I can only pray and hope that none of you will ever have to experience some of these things I have seen and felt here… .”

“I have seen hate towards a nation’s people who has sic never committed a wrong, except being born of a third world, ill-educated, and ignorant to western civilization. It is not everybody who feels this way, only a select few, but it brings questions to mind. Is it ok for one to consider themselves superior to another race?”