A letter from an American Soldier in Iraq

This is from my perspective, a Christian here praying and ministering in this Country. Unfortunately, on this trip I don’t have a lot of contact with Iraqi’s. God has given me the Military to minister to. Opportunities have been great. God has given me the chance to speak life into many people on a daily basis.
There are many ways God is moving here. I personally have seen God move through Friendship evangelism on many cases. This allows people to see how we (Christians) act on a daily basis, how we deal with problems, integrity issues and even our own sinfulness. God is blessing many people here through this technique. As a result of this, some Christians will even be approached and asked questions concerning Spiritual matters. This also opens people up to be asked hard questions like, “where are you going when you die?” which was the case with a Brother before a convoy. This question, though it was very bold, brought men to think about eternity issues. There were a couple men who responded to this question and later approached the Christians in the given section. One was a wican.
God has been moving in counseling. I have seen some real changes in lives through counseling. Not necessarily a formal session, but informally listening and asking questions when things don’t seem right, and being legitimately concerned for the Brother or fellow soldier. I have seen God really move powerfully through this. Lives have been really changed for the benefit of Christ. Even touch and go type of contacts of asking a soldier how they are doing or how their marriage is doing, then listening, have proven to be very effective for the Kingdom. I have seen Christian’s encouraged and lifted up, almost like a cloud of oppression had been lifted off them. The Holy Spirit is obviously a part of these contacts.
Exemplifying Christ in the work place has broken many strongholds and confuses the heck out of people. The bucking or frustration of the spiritual enemy can be sensed through this. Specifically, when I or another Christian messes up and handles that mess up in a Godly fashion; through humility and forgiveness. One-on-one discipleship is another way in which God is moving here. I have seen some real growth and experienced the hand of God in my own life. God is using this to build up and disciple new and old believers. We have a real strong base of Christian’s here, but at the moment, only a few are actively serving in a fellowship.
Group gatherings range from 3 to 15 believers at a time. There are four of us that are actively involved with prayer and worship ministry. There are 10 or so that are regular church goers, and probably about 10 more who are strong in the faith, but allow the things of this world to distract them.
There is a lot of potential here, and we feel God has a break through coming, but we are to stay vigilant in seeking His will. We have had words of God’s hand and power on this place that have been confirmed by each other in prayer and even another visiting Chaplin during prayer. Also, our Chaplin has really been growing in the Lord. God has been stretching and molding him and deepening his Love for Christ. He is really becoming on fire for Jesus, more so than he ever was. God is also showing him who he is in Christ. The Chaplin’s passion is growing deeper than I think he even new he could go. He is a great man of God.
There are 2 wican’s here that are actually practicing their rituals. Once during prayer and worship, we heard of them doing there rituals. We prayed that God would affect their hearts and show His power and sure enough He did. In fact, the next day, one was spooked and asked one of the Christian’s in His section about Jesus. Unfortunately he didn’t receive Christ, but we all have faith that he will. It has been great, because God had me room with him for a while. He will become one of our Brothers soon.
This trip Spiritually for me has been extremely prosperous. Not only have I been able to preach and sow seed in one-on-one relationships daily, but I have been able to preach in church, pray in Command Staff meetings, and pray for convoys. This has been a real change for me. Normally, my ministry doesn’t allow me the opportunity to be so overt with my Faith. The Command climate has been open to this so far, which is the not the norm. The Command SGT Major (biggest SGT) referred to me as Chaplin when he was calling me the other day, so I know they know where I stand. I have also been able to be the “Team” guy that I am.
As for now, we are seeking God to reign down on our compound and feel it is a matter of time when He does. This is what is going on spiritually. We have seen fruit, but expect to see much more. God has placed too many very strong Christians in one area for there not to be some sort of Spiritual awakening to take place. This camp is God’s and there will be a great difference in the Kingdom by the end of this trip. Thank you.