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CFGC Newsletter July 2007
1) DIRECTOR’S NOTE
2) WHAT I'VE LEARNED FROM VETS ABOUT PTSD
3) Letter to the Troops
4) From Verona, Italy
5) CFGC STAFF SCHEDULE
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DIRECTOR’S NOTE
The idea of a lifetime has been presented to all of us who profess that Jesus, our Lord, has called us to the Ministry. We are warned, however, that “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” (1Timothy 3:1). Therefore, we should not want to be in error about our calling, but continue to be serious about it and remain in obedience to the Lord’s Word.
Setting our hearts on this noble task just might not be a noble task to many in the ministry; it just might be a job and not a calling. Many of us should check our conscience to see if we are actually ready to meet our Lord. Can we all be sure that if the Lord’s breath left us tonight, we would all be in His presence, or would many of us find ourselves separated from Him, and cast into outer darkness? Will His Words be, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:23a) or “Depart from me, I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23)
As Overseers, we are cautioned, daily, “…to live a life worthy of our calling;… no longer live as the Gentiles do;… not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths (Ephesians 4:1, 17, 29);… and there must not be a hint of sexual immorality, impurity or greed among us.” (Ephesians 5:3). Keeping our Lord’s commandments is not grievous when we understand that they are for our own good. Let’s keep each other accountable and in tune with God’s Word.
Blessings,
Hosea Amos
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WHAT I'VE LEARNED FROM VETS ABOUT PTSD
Almost monthly we hear estimates about how many veterans will return from Iraq and Afghanistan with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. No one will know the exact numbers, but I suspect it will be higher than anticipated. Many suffer from insomnia, isolation, substance abuse, sudden outbursts of rage, inability to keep a job or get along with people, especially family. Depression is also a constant companion along with suicide attempts. It is estimated that more Viet Nam Vets committed suicide than were killed in combat. There are more symptoms, but these are the more common ones that I see.
In 11 years of working at the VA in Oklahoma City with vets with PTSD, I have learned some simple things from veterans that seem to work. I want to share a couple of things with you that I have learned, not from books or seminars, but from the vets who have actually experienced them.
First, it is not about organized religion, but it's about developing personal spirituality. Simply, it is a relationship with God. It's very simple, but those of us who have been believers for years tend to miss it. I have heard horror stories about how many vets were wounded by overly zealous believers who sought to impose external religious practices and beliefs that had nothing to do with salvation. I've heard vets relate how they were told to cut their hair, stop smoking, drinking, don’t get another tattoo, don’t go to bars, etc. The list is endless. This doesn't transform the human heart. We tend to forget that God looks on the heart.
Many vets have shared that after many sleepless nights, wondering if there was any reason to continue to live anymore, they cried out to God in desperation. They encountered Jesus who was not the angry, revengeful person many of them had heard about. They encountered a very gentle loving presence that warmed their hearts and begin a slow transformation from the inside. They met the Savior.
Vets need a church that is accepting of them, just where they are. God is responsible for results; we are not. We need to remember that God works from the inside out, not the other way around.
Secondly, the healing of PTSD involves "letting go." In almost every case of PTSD I have encountered, there is anger, bitterness and resentment. The problem is that we allow what people did to us, the memories of the pain, and whatever else is there, to move into our minds and hearts and to live rent free. This is often the source of the rage that many people with PTSD have.
"Letting go" is a process of not allowing anger, bitterness and everything associated with it, to live on. One thing that cannot be taken away from us is the power to either hold on to our pain, or to choose to give it to God. One vet related how he was filled with rage at the people who murdered his brother. While driving over to seek revenge, a thought flashed into his mind, "They killed your brother and now they have moved into your mind and are controlling you!" After thinking on this for awhile he pulled over to the side of the road and wept. He began the slow process of getting rid of his pain, hurt and resentment and giving it all over to God. He realized that he could not let what happened to him continue to control him. It's about letting go and choosing not to let the past continue to control us. It's our choice.
If you are a veteran suffering with PTSD symptoms consider what I have shared with you as a starting point. If you are not registered with the VA, consider signing up. Call your local VA Medical Center and bring in your DD-214. If you are a vet and are having issues, don’t feel shamed about asking for help. You might find a support group that just might be right for you. Also, there are local vet centers which specialize in counseling individuals and families with PTSD related symptoms.
– Randy Wren, Staff Chaplain,
VA Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Ok.
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Letter to the Troops
I’ve been on the ground for about a month now and wanted to share some early thoughts with you.
First, and foremost, I want to note how impressed I have been by your professionalism, skill, and determination. In my visits to units all over Iraq, I have repeatedly seen a true will to win and a sincere desire to help our Iraqi partners achieve success. These observations give me confidence that we and our Iraqi counterparts will be able to improve the level of security for the Iraqi people – though I recognize that it won’t be easy or without frustration and setbacks. You know as well as I do how challenging an endeavor this is.
Improving security for Iraq’s population is, of course, the overriding objective of our strategy. Accomplishing this mission requires carrying out complex military operations and convincing the Iraqi people that we will not just “clear” their neighborhoods of the enemy, we will also stay and help “hold” the neighborhoods so that the “build” phase that many of their communities need can go forward. Helping ensure enduring security in Iraqi neighborhoods not only helps Iraqi officials make the most of the opportunity that we and our Iraqi counterparts will create, it also helps ensure that our Iraqi counterparts are fully ready to accept the eventual hand-off of responsibilities to them.
Operation Fardh al Qanoon – the Iraqi name for the operation to improve security in Baghdad – is in its early stages. Success will take months, not days or weeks, and there undoubtedly are many tough days ahead. Nonetheless, because of your hard work with our Iraqi partners, some encouraging signs are already emerging: sectarian murders are down and sectarian displacement appears to have slowed or even stopped, with increasing numbers of families returning to their homes. It already appears that the Joint Security Stations and Combat Outposts you are establishing are making their presence felt and helping restore a sense of hope to the Iraqi people, block-by-block.
Your efforts will provide Iraqi leaders an opportunity to resolve the serious political challenges they confront, reconcile their sectarian issues, and forge the way ahead for the new Iraq – thereby giving all Iraqi citizens a stake in their new country. From my vantage point, I believe the Iraqi political leadership is committed to moving in the right direction, despite being pulled in different directions by various political parties, sectarian influences, and ethnic pressures. They are realistic, however, and they recognize, as we do, that resolving the many challenges facing Iraq will not be easy.
Beyond that, although most Iraqis want a future of peace, opportunity, and increasing prosperity, there clearly are some individuals and groups with whom the Government of Iraq will not be able to reconcile soulless thugs who violently reject the goals of the new Iraq. They will not be won over by Iraqi political action; rather, there appears to be no alternative to Iraqi and Coalition forces bringing them to justice so that they cannot inflict further barbarism on the Iraqi people.
The environment in Iraq is the most challenging that I have seen in over 32 years of service. Indeed, few soldiers have ever had to contend with the reality of an enemy willing to blow himself up for his twisted cause. In view of that, as you conduct your daily operations, remember that you have every right to protect yourself, even as you attempt to prevent situations from escalating without good reason.
I also want you to be aware of my recognition that our focus on securing the population means that many of you will live in the neighborhoods you’re securing. That is, in fact, the right way to secure the population – and it means that you will, in some cases, operate in more austere conditions than you did before we adjusted our mission and focus. Rest assured that we will do everything we can to support you as we implement the new plans. This approach is necessary because we can’t commute to the fight in counterinsurgency operations; rather, we have to live with the population we are securing. As you carry out the new approach, I also count on each of you to embrace the warrior-builder-diplomat spirit as we grapple with the demands that securing the population and helping it rebuild will require.
Tom Brokaw spent some time with the unit I was privileged to command in Iraq a few years ago and, after seeing all that our troops were doing, he said to me: “You know, General, the World War II generation may have been ‘the Greatest Generation,’ but the soldiers I’ve seen today surely must be ‘the new Greatest Generation’.” I agreed with him then, and I agree with him even more now. You should, in short, be quietly proud not just of what you’re doing and how you’re doing it, but also of the individuals on your left and right with whom you’re privileged to serve.
Thanks for the sacrifices that you and your families are making.
David H. Petraeus
General, United States Army
Commanding
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From Verona, Italy
We have a small group in Verona, Italy, about 20 sisters, under the auspices of “Aglow’s International”. Once monthly, we do different activities, such as: visiting nursing homes, Bible studies, evangelistic outreach, and others. On May, 19th, we had a day of evangelistic outreach in Via Mazzini, the fanciest shopping street in downtown Verona. We obtained a regular permit from City Hall, we sat up a table and banner, and we gave tracts to anybody kind enough to take them. The church sponsoring us is a small local evangelical church, where we believe that, if there are more than two of us, Jesus is there! We consider the day a successful one, since some stopped and asked questions, and many took their tracts home. Now the Holy Spirit has to intervene and bring home those who asked sincerely.
There is a lot of work to be done in Italy, as the country is still mostly Catholic, bound by traditions and ceremonies, and without a real thirst for the truth.
From Verona, Italy,
your sister,
-- Marisa Amos
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CFGC STAFF SCHEDULE
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| July |
Jul - Aug 23 |
Visitation to Italy – Hosea Amos |
| September |
3 |
Labor Day |
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20-22 |
Afro-American Chaplain’s Conference, |
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Ft. Jackson, SC, |
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Hosea Amos |
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