Anchor in Afghanistan

Topics: An Anchor for the Soul

As part of our ministry, we donate copies of An Anchor for the Soul to military ministries that reach out to the men and women serving in the U.S. Armed Forces around the world. Recently we received a note from a soldier serving in Kabul, Afghanistan. As you read it, I think you’ll appreciate his sense of humor.

Dear Pastor Ray,

I know you like to tell stories, I have one for you. I am currently in Kabul doing my army thing. By the way English is not my best subject so stay sharp ya never know. So I go to guard duty one night, 6 HR of pure boredom, and as I watch the dust float by through my two thousand dollar high power scope and my three thousand rifle that could probably shoot the common house fly a mile away, I understand you don’t really care about any of this part of the story just setting the stage. So I sit and then I sit some more. Then I see it under ten pounds of dust, A book not a very big book. But I could tell because it had words and everything. I heard about these things you look at pictures. I had a problem the guy that wrote it forgot the pictures. So I was gonna have to do some reading, anyway on the front it said something about an Anchor so I figured Navy gonna be easy to read probably written in crayon, but then as I read further I saw it the word soul. OK I said to myself I am stuck in a guard tower with a book the first word says Anchor witch is Navy and Soul that’s boots. OK I am pretty smart Navy Boot care manual righttttttttt noooooooooo. I hope you smiled.

Thank you. I haven’t read a book in years. I am glad your book found me in a time such as this, I was having a hard time over here, Put another check mark in your book one more you helped. I understand now that good deeds don’t open the door But they make your heart happy when your working on getting the keys.

Thanks again.

I did smile when I read his note, and I thanked God for the privilege of providing a little “gospel book” that was hidden under a pile of dust in Afghanistan so that a soldier who was on guard duty would find it, blow the dust off, and read it. When I wrote to thank this soldier for his note, he wrote back, “No. Thank you. Your book has really hit home more than you could ever know."

We are glad to make copies of An Anchor for the Soul available free of charge to military ministries, prison ministries, for disaster relief, and for compassion ministries, such as crisis pregnancy centers, homeless shelters and rescue missions. We currently have around 32,000 copies at our Book Depot in Chicago.

It occurred to me that I’m not sure exactly how this particular copy of Anchor found its way to Afghanistan. It doesn’t matter because the Lord knows, and he knew exactly how to place that book under all that dust so that it would be found at exactly the right moment. We are glad that we could encourage this soldier, and we’re grateful to the gifts of God’s people that make it possible to give this book away.

Visitor Comments:

July 21, 2008, 11:41 AM Lynette Hoy says:
Marriage and Family Counselor.	This is another amazing “God” story! Thanks for sharing it with us, Pastor Ray! The Lord is interested in even “one” lost sheep! God bless you and Marlene! Lynette
July 25, 2008, 7:43 PM Ray Pritchard says:
	Lynette, I think this is one of the best Anchor stories I’ve read in a long time. I love how God arranged all the details so the soldier could find the book under all that dust while he was on guard duty in Kabul. What a God we serve! Blessings to you and Dave, Ray.