Aaron Proffitt

Last week, exactly at this time, my father and I were speaking in Newport News, Virginia, at the United States Air Force (Air Combat Command) Chaplain’s Conference. I know that was a mouthful but that’s exactly what it was. These Chaplain’s were the ones who were overseeing the spiritual well being of the Air Force troops that drop bombs on the bad guys.

As you might expect, there is a high suicide rate within this unit of the Air Force for reasons that pertain to the nature of the job. It was a real eye-opener to hear some of the stories from these guys. For example, one soldier within the Air Combat Command’s job was to dis-assemble enemy bombs. He had dis-assembled 180 of them one day when the last one detonated. It blew his eyes off as well as one of his arms, and of course took some of his hearing. He stood up at a banquet that honored him months later and did he loathe in his self-pity? No, he thanked America and the other soldiers in the room for the opportunity to serve his country. These guys are the real deal.

I honestly felt like a duck out of water last week and for most of you who know me, you know that I can relate with anybody, anywhere, at any time. When we began to give our presentation about Aletheia and why we have been successful in reaching out to 18-24 year old’s, I was rendered speechless. I literally was overwhelmed by what I was in the presence of and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I never even thought about serving my country. It never even crossed my mind growing up. And here I was telling these Chaplain’s how to reach out to people who are risking their lives for me. Even some of the Chaplain’s are called to active duty so they are risking their lives as well at times.

What a couple days it ended up being. I am so grateful for our military. I am grateful for these Chaplain’s, who are sacrificing a lot to minister to the soldiers. And I am grateful to God that I get to live in a country such as this, which is very imperfect, but pretty freakin’ awesome!