“Because of the danger that is still ever present here, I have not been able to see much of the area. The one sight that surprised me was the two signs in the airport pointing toward the Nineveh terminal and the Babylon terminal. Just for the record I didn’t get here in the belly of a whale, but in the belly of a C-17, which in the dark of night on a blacked out runway could be mistaken for a whale,” Chaplain Janis Dashner wrote in her Christmas letter to her friends in 2003. Although she had been deployed to the Middle East twice, she never expected to be deployed in Iraq.
“My ministry here is more rewarding than I ever imagined. Nightly young troops come through our medical facility. Many have injuries that will change the way they live their lives forever. Some are critically injured, but with great skill, care, and prayer they are stabilized and flown out of this place to Germany, and hopefully home soon,” she wrote.
Dashner considered it a privilege to spend time with these young men and women, noting that many hoped to return to their units.
“All of us will return home different people, I fear, and I hope,” she continued.
Dashner understood the realities of the battlefield, the danger of injury and death. Yet she also knew the blessing the power of God to transform hearts in the midst of war.
“Miracles abound here. Our base has been hit three times by missiles in the last two weeks and we experienced a ground attack the night after the announcement that Saddam was captured. Even still we have been safe and there is a feeling of security. In this austere setting, not too many complain about the long hours, port-a-potties and bad food,” she noted.
“Everywhere there is an eagerness to bring hope and peace to this troubled, troubled land. Just when I am tempted to question the reason I am called to do this, I find a young person reaching for my hand and thanking me for a simple prayer and I am humbled by their faith.” Dashner concluded her letter with a request. “During this Christmas season I ask you to pray for Peace that it might be real and swift in coming to this land and to the world,” adding “with Christmas Hope.”
Father, I pray for peace in the world’s most troubled places today. I pray encouragement for those who are serving in our military in far away lands, who need comfort and strength.
“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12)