John 17:11: "Father Protect them by the power of Your Name . . . ."
It took only two seconds, two seconds that changed my life forever. From that time on I knew that God was in my life. It was the beginning of my journey in life to come to know Jesus as my personal savior.
As an 18 year-old soldier, we were leaving Ft. Thomas, Kentucky, for combat infantry training in South Carolina. Moving along in a single file, with our large duffel bag, I could see ahead as the soldiers passed through the exit door, a lady was handing something to each soldier. When my turn came to exit, she asked me if I would like a New Testament. Having no knowledge of the Bible, New Testament, Jesus or church, I quickly said yes and thanked her. From that point on the little New Testament was to be felt as a shield of security tucked in my left uniform shirt pocket all through combat and as a prisoner of war until we were liberated. Upon liberation we were moved downthe mountain to the valley a few at a time (they had 4,000 American prisoners to move) stripped of what clothes we had left, sprayed with DDT to rid us of body lice, and headed to experience, first shower, clean cot and actual food in months, a new clean uniform and shoes, preparing us for the flight out of Germany to a field hospital at Camp Lucky Strike in France. Alas, that little Testament was still in the pocket of my shirt and was gone before I realized it.
That precious lady handing out New Testaments had offered each of us the power of Jesus with His Word to help prepare us for our coming experiences. After almost 60 years, a thoughtful Trinity couple replaced that special little New Testament for me.(Harold Blalack)
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