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

I received several boxes of stocking from your organization over the past couple weeks. Tonight I passed them out to my company. Needless to say, they were very well received. A small token from home goes a long way. For many of my Paratroopers, this will be their first Christmas away from home. For other Soldiers, like myself, it is yet another Christmas away from home (four years in a row I have spent Christmas in a new country!). For all of us, the stockings are a token demonstrating that there are great Americans back home who support us and make our daily sacrifices worthwhile…

Please continue the prayers as well, each one certainly makes a difference.

It has been said “a child shall lead them…” and if it weren’t for my sons’ enlistment, this journey, although incredibly painful at times, would have never taken place. I have a depth that only comes through pain and sacrifice. My babies have become my heroes, and I cannot do enough for those who serve to defend the United States of America the greatest country in the world!

Father, show me where I can be making a difference in someone else’s life.

“Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

I have not been back to Southwest Asia since I left in 2003. I have, however, spent many additional months on the road since then. During these times there is always this one constant in my mind: my wife and children who I miss, but God is always there to help me through the pain of longing for my family. They are my compass.

In December 2005 I was two and a half months into a four-month deployment to the Philippines in support of the Global War on Terror. It was Christmas night. Like most Americans, attending a Christmas Eve service has always been a central part of my Christmas celebration, whether at home or abroad. But this was the first time I didn’t attend. I couldn’t get myself into the Christmas spirit. As a matter of fact, I was quite bitter about the military, my surroundings, and life in general. Once self-pity sets in, it’s easy to let it build and believe that you’re the most pathetic person on earth. These beliefs aren’t true, however once again God was there to bring me out of my misery.

I had taped a picture of my daughters in their Christmas dresses next to my cot. While I had been praying to God each day, they were often empty prayers. However, after talking with my wife on a satellite phone I went to sulk on my cot. Upon looking at the picture, I closed my eyes, started to say a few words, and stopped. I didn’t feel like thanking God at all. After about thirty seconds, guilt came over me. I closed my eyes again. At that time the God’s spirit came over me, stabilizing me. I felt a closeness that I hadn’t felt in weeks. He was with me at my most troubling time. I felt refreshed and reassured that whatever the challenges of the next two months, the Lord would walk with me and see me through; I simply had to have faith and be assured of God’s promise that he would with me no matter what was ahead.

May I constantly remember those in my inner circle, lifting them up in prayer to you.

“I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.” (2 Timothy 1:3)

From an email newsletter dated December 23, 2004:

The ancient city of Nineveh is in the news today. Modern day Mosul experienced the largest single coalition casualty event in the war we call “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” An explosion in a dining facility killed more than twenty and injured more than sixty people. Many were U.S. soldiers; some were U.S. and Third Country National civilians. Every death is a tragedy as it reminds us of the price of the sin of Eden. To have so many die during the Holy Season of Christmas seems to deepen the pain of grief, but as the Command Chaplain for the Multinational Corps forces in Iraq, I was deeply satisfied at the response of our chaplain teams. Immediately, they arrived and began crisis ministry taking care of wounded, giving Last Rites or Prayers for the dead, consoling the traumatized, and providing spiritual nurture and encouragement to all in the midst of tremendous chaos.

I can’t help but wonder on a larger scale isn’t this the ultimate result of the Christmas story? God coming in the midst of human tragedy to provide loving care to wounded hearts, consolation to grieving souls, and abiding encouragement in the hope that there stands over the human drama of life a ray of light emanating from a star. A star that bodes for us all an ultimate peace in his love. A love so simple and pure as to find itself in the bosom of a Babe in Bethlehem. Out of the awful traumas of humanity, he is indeed the Hope of the world. May this Christmas carry more meaning for us as the Light of the World helps us see more clearly the hope that lies ahead Peace on earth and goodwill among mankind.

Lord, in today’s troubled world, may we look to you as our Prince of Peace, the only source of true comfort.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

On Christmas Day of 2007, I once again found myself on a rather remote operating base in Southern Afghanistan. I woke up that morning very homesick and feeling far from my family and especially Amanda. I remember praying for some sort of worship opportunity to celebrate the birth of my Savior. The evening prior we were told that there would be no worship service due to the fact that we were too far from any major base and there weren’t enough military chaplains to go around.

As the day started a fellow believer and I made plans to conduct our own worship later that afternoon. At about ten in the morning I walked to our Tactical Operations Center (TOC) to handle some routine paperwork when I noticed two helicopters appear on our computer tracking device about twenty miles away and heading toward our base. This struck me as odd because there were no scheduled flights in our area for that day.

Several minutes later a pilot came over the radio to let us know that the “chaplain bird” was inbound and that the chaplain would be on the ground for fifteen to twenty minutes to conduct Christmas worship. I instantly ran to find my fellow believer and the two of us practically ran down to greet the helicopters. Two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters landed and out jumped ther other Army chaplains (one a Catholic priest and one a Protestant pastor).

So for me, Christmas Day 2007 was spent with a chaplain who had flown four hundred miles to conduct a fifteen-minute worship service complete with communion and seven other believers. God answers prayer. The helicopters circled the base for twenty minutes while the battlefield pastors worshipped and then picked up the chaplains and continued on to another remote base to conduct worship with more soldiers even further down range then we were. I will never forget Christmas worship with a rifle and helmet near a helipad in southern Afghanistan as evidence of God at work in a combat zone.