Archive for A Soldier of God Remembers

When you don’t know exactly what to say…

By Dr. John Brinsfield

“ …do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10: 19-20 (NIV)

 

Presumably every chaplain and specialist has encountered a situation that demanded their attention but that also had no precedent in their pastoral experience or training. I was no exception.

In 1976 I was serving as the Protestant chaplain for the Turkish-US Logistics Detachment #4 in Sinop, Turkey. It was a small post, across the Black Sea from the Crimean peninsula of the U.S.S.R. I ministered, along with a Roman Catholic chaplain, to about 200 soldiers and civilians whose mission was highly classified.

Relations between the United States and the Republic of Turkey were tenuous because Turkey and Greece were fighting over territory in Cyprus, and because the Ford Administration had frozen Turkish assets in U.S. banks as an incentive to a peaceful resolution between two NATO members. In Sinop we did not know from one day to the next if our unit would be expelled from Turkey. It was no time for additional problems.

One day in the Spring a Turkish man came to our gate asking for a priest and an American doctor to come to his home. He said he thought a spell had been placed on his daughter. She had become paralyzed, he said, and must have an evil spirit. She had not moved from her bed in two days.

Our Catholic priest was away, visiting another detachment, so our commander sent me, a Methodist, with our post doctor to see if we could help. My chaplain assistant brought some candles, a brass cross, a Bible, a robe, and a prayer book for me, equipment we thought must be necessary for an exorcism which neither of us had ever witnessed or even discussed. We also had an interpreter who brought his dictionary.

The house was a small farmhouse with one room that was packed with Turkish people, presumably relatives. They all wanted to see what the Americans would do.

My assistant unpacked our exorcism kit while I put on my robe and lit the candles. Our doctor realized that he could not do a true exam on a young woman with Muslim rules in place, so he got his blood pressure pump out as a minimum.

The young lady was lying on an elongated window sill, fully dressed in her farm clothes, boots and all. She was unresponsive to any vocal commands, but the doctor said her blood pressure was normal for someone asleep. Our doctor told the father that he could do nothing further without a blood test at our little lab.

Then it was my turn. I bowed my head in prayer and asked God what in the world I should say? I recalled at that moment that Muslim people believed in the immutable will of God, so I said in a loud voice, “It is Allah’s will that she be happy !!” Our translator repeated this message to her parents, and then we solemnly left the farmhouse.

I was really happy to get back to our compound without further complications. Our little MP platoon was never more appreciated.

Two days later I heard from our interpreter that the young lady had made an amazing recovery. As soon as her father agreed that she could get married and leave the farm, she was fine. Just a little hungry.

The Turks treated us well after that incident. They donated Christmas trees for our chapel in December and came to our Christmas Eve service to listen to the carols. It was, at least, peace on our part of the earth. Thanks be to God.

 

John Brinsfield

Categories : A Soldier of God Remembers, Articles

Dr. John W. Schumacher

A soldier of God remembers: Memoir highlights of a career army chaplain

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Available at the Chaplain Mall

I never had a thought about writing a book.  It is a lot of work and who cares what I would have to say?  My co-endorser and CEO of The Grace Brethren Investment Fund would listen to my stories and repeatedly tell me that I needed to write a book.  I will admit that, only by the Grace of God, I did have a remarkable career.  The urging went on for nearly 4 years.  I appreciated but sort of “blew off” the urging.  Finally another person, an author, heard me speak and said the same thing.  “You need to write a book.”  I finally “caved in” early 2001 and began to think more seriously about such an intimidating and daunting project.  It took some time to set up a plan on how the book might take shape.  I was unaware of anyone/any chaplain, who had tried to capture a career in a book.  With some fear and trepidation I sat down at the computer in an attempt to chronicle, in a meaningful way, my story.  The plan I developed was to pick events that would give the reader a sense of the challenges a chaplain faces and how a sovereign God so powerfully intervened through these events.  The fear I could not shake was that a book would never accomplish what I had hoped it would and that a first printing of a 1,000 copies would largely go untouched and would long be sitting in a warehouse gathering dust. To reinforce that feeling I was unable to generate any interest in any religious book store chains

To date we are on the downside of the third printing.  In the process, through events too detailed, and wonderful at the same time, to mention here, it was published in Spanish.  Today we are on the second printing (500) each time.  The book is now in the hands of people in the Far East, Europe, Africa, Central and South America.  Almost 3,500 copies are in circulation.  Some of these copies, especially those that are in Spanish, have been received by some significantly high ranking officers in Central and South America.  The feedback has been more than anything I could have dreamed.  Lives have been, in some cases, deeply affected.  A military official and a religious official both were seen with tears in their eyes in response to the book.  I pray that the reader will not see me or the Army but, instead, a clear representation of our sovereign God who will work powerfully and dramatically in the lives of those who will commit their hopes and dreams to Him.

 

Dr. John W. Schumacher

CH (COL) USA, Ret.

Chaplain Endorsing Agent, FGBC

chaplainschumacher@cox.net

www.asoldierofgodremembers.com

(623) 561-5485

6289 W. Donald Dr.

Glendale, AZ 85310

 

Categories : A Soldier of God Remembers, Army Chaplain