Soldiers read Bible for strength in combat
by Doris Fleck

Even though a number of Canadian soldiers have been killed in their efforts to create stability in Afghanistan, Chaplain Jacques Vaillancourt explained the contribution these troops are making to that country is enormous.

With military presence enhancing the security of the Afghan people, they are able to begin the rebuilding process. This reconstruction is reducing poverty; millions of people are now able to vote; women are now enjoying greater rights and economic opportunities; and Afghan children are now in school.

One of the images that stayed with Vaillancourt, after he came back to the military base in Wainwright, AB was of two young Afghan children flying a kite by the side of the road. This was not permitted under the Taliban rule. But now, with the assistance of Canadian forces, children are allowed to be children.

When one young girl who was flying the kite looked up at Vaillancourt, and gave him a beaming smile, he thought, "It’s worthwhile investing in this country to bring hope to these children. The price is high…but these children want to enjoy the most basic of things – freedom, the right to be educated, the right to fly a kite and play on the roadside without being blown up, and that we make a contribution to that is pretty fulfilling."

Major Kevin Klein from Ottawa said although the Canadian military is providing the Afghan people with hope, "Soldiers have to deal with their own life being taken. They have to deal with the fact that they have to take another person’s life and that’s not an easy thing to deal with."

He explained the Old Testament stories, in the complete Bibles the troops recently received, help them face difficult situations.

"They read about Gideon who was kind of brave but scared too," Klein explained. "And the soldiers are also brave as well as scared, but they realize that if ‘this mighty God can work through people like that, maybe He can give me some hope and faith.’"

Vaillancourt is amazed at the impact these new Bibles have had on the soldiers in such a short time.

"These are combat hardened troops," Vaillancourt said, "and when a soldier has the courage to pull out his or her Bible and read it when other soldiers are around ― that is a witness of courage and faith."