Cover Story

God & War

James Escobar found God in the middle of Iraq. A navy chaplain “made a beeline” toward him as he came into base camp after 30 days of continuous combat operations.

“Son, have you thought about accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior?” James hadn’t showered or changed clothes in three weeks, and with a recklessness born of exhaustion, he told the chaplain what he could do with his Jesus. After he had showered and eaten, the camp came under attack, and James geared up to go back out. Eight hours later, he finally made it to his bunk where he found a small Bible on his pillow — just his pillow, no one else’s.

“I opened it up and the bookmark was in Corinthians 13 — ‘Love does not brag; love does not boast.’ I was touched, and I went to look for the chaplain. His tent had been mortared, and he had been killed. Underneath his bunk was a box of those same Bibles.”

Back at his bunk, James started to think: “This was the last act this man committed before he died. He put a Bible on my bed. He tried to bring me closer to God, and here I was cussing him out. Maybe there’s something to this.” After his buddies fell asleep, he prayed an honest prayer: “I don’t know you. Right now, I’m not really happy with you. I don’t like you. I don’t even know if you exist, but I have to believe that there’s something out there amidst all of this carnage and hatred. So, I’m gonna accept you.” So began James’ journey with God.

The next day, as James prepared to go back into combat, he saw a line of soldiers waiting to be baptized. He asked for an explanation, and one soldier said, “You’re making an open statement of your belief in Jesus Christ.” James ran to the front of the line and asked to go first. In a muddy pit lined with sand bags, James was baptized.

Now what? James believed his experience of God was genuine, but he didn’t really know what it meant or what came next. Life didn’t seem to change. The war didn’t go away. Was God somehow present in the midst of combat? James could not see Him, or feel Him, or even grasp His relevance to the chaos around him. When he was discharged, the war followed him home — normal life eluded him.

“I never came home,” James said. “I came home physically. I didn’t come home mentally. The Mission helped me see that.”

During his ten months at the Union Gospel Mission, James took steps toward “coming home,” toward healing.   

“When I became a Christian, I didn’t know anything about what to do after that. Coming here gave me a sense of direction about where God really wants me to be.”

When he first arrived, James was very angry. “You would not want to approach me. For like the first three months, I don’t think I even talked to anybody. I just wouldn’t get personal.” He was also dealing with a severe case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). “Any little thing could just set me off, and I would be incapable of functioning for a long period of time.”

Gradually, James began to let his guard down. “It took me three or four months just to laugh and smile here. This place helped me out with being a civilian. I’m starting to close the book on that military experience. I’m getting beyond that, learning to be authentic. . . The really bad things — you don’t want to revisit them.” But eventually, James felt safe talking to Chaplain Doug Munday about the worst of his memories. “That helped alleviate some of the pressure. Talking about it. Praying about it. Being open. I’m personalizing my faith now. Instead of just, ‘OK, I’m saved,’ I have a personal relationship with Him. I see the areas he has worked with in my life and the doors that he’s opened.”

James has left the Mission and returned home to his wife and child. He deeply desires to be a good husband and father. Please pray for his continued growth.