I’ve shared this before, but I’m repeating it for a reason. When I was medically evacuated from Vietnam in 1970, I never wanted to see that place again. There were way too many painful memories, too many friends lost forever, and I was unsure what my future looked like with my body so mangled and racked with pain. I was wounded physically, mentally, and — I would discover years later — spiritually.
Over the years of my recovery, I was tormented by so many nightmares. Sometimes I would think about the Vietnamese I had befriended while living in the villages. I loved the people and the country. Vietnam is exotic and beautiful — when you’re not being shot at! I thought of all the suffering they were enduring as the communist victory became evident. I felt sorry for them.
Just months before the fall of Vietnam on April 30, 1975, I became a Christian. As Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fell to the communists, I knew things were going to go from bad to worse. God changed my heart about the Vietnamese people during that time. Instead of feeling sorry, Jesus gave me compassion for them.
Sympathy does not require you to do anything. But compassion requires action. My Heavenly Father was directing me back to Vietnam:
“But when [Jesus] saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” —Matthew 9:36 (NKJV)
As years went by and nothing opened up, I began to doubt if I had actually heard from God. But in 1989, the opportunity came, and I joined 10 other Christian Vietnam vets to make a trip back to that country. Thirty-five years seemed to fly by, and that chapter of our lives came to a close last year.
I realized that was the same compassion the Lord gave me for the addicted and hurting when He called us to start Teen Challenge centers in the Midwest. For 40 years, we worked with hurting people, just like I had been. I went from being a criminal investigator locking up criminals and addicts to seeing them set free by the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of Jesus.
Then, last year, the Lord clearly directed me to go to Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t on my radar, even though I had been praying for the country ever since Russia declared war. The suffering of the people there is tremendous. Like Vietnam, I did not have the luxury of feeling sorry for them. Once again, God gave me compassion — and, as I said, that requires action.
I shared in October here and here about my experiences in Ukraine. First, I did training with Teen Challenge leaders from across the country. Then, I spent time with chaplains to the Ukrainian military.
I believe that will be my next assignment — spending time with soldiers and chaplains — which could possibly place me in a dangerous situation. But that would only be for a short period of time. The people and soldiers of Ukraine live with the danger of losing their lives every day. I know what my future looks like and where I will spend it. Many Ukrainians don’t!
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” —Isaiah 6:8 (NASB)
There are many opportunities for us to serve our Savior. But do we listen when we hear that “still small voice” of the Holy Spirit tell us to do something that takes us out of our comfort zone? After my first trip to Vietnam, I prayed and asked the Lord to never let me get comfortable and miss His divine appointments.
In the first several chapters of Revelations, the Holy Spirit repeatedly says, “He who has ears to hear, hear what the Spirit is saying.” Father, may many in America have ears to hear what You are saying!
Something to pray about!
Semper Fidelis
