The soldier on the front line.

As you might know, we also run a retreat on this side for missionaries and pastors who sometimes get stuck. They are just people, just like you and me, but there is something special about this group of people…

We sometimes compare them to a soldier fighting at the front. Every, single, day. They are defending a Good Cause in a very rotten world.

They can never relax, the war is always there. Not only on the street, but wherever they go, even at home, the threat, the struggle, is always there. 24/7/365.

And that puts quite a bit of pressure on them. The pressure is sometimes so great that they drop out and have to withdraw from the front line. And that happens quite often… even though it could have often been prevented. We are working hard on this side to prevent this, very hard because there are already far too few fighters on the front line, so we would like to be careful with them. They are precious. But sometimes we see things go wrong, and we think: why? Below are are two examples:

Suppose you are a soldier at the front, the bullets are literally flying around your ears every single day, and you cannot relax for a second. You share your stories with your supporters (who are far, far away from the front line) so that you can, for example, give them an idea of what is going on, so they can pray for you, send you equipment so that you can continue to fight the battle. And some more reasons.

And then they get an email. Yeah! Someone thinks of me, far away from the front line, someone thinks of me! That doesn’t happen often! It’s also someone he’s never really spoken with. Curious and fun!

Dear brother or sister on the front line: I saw your video from the battlefield, but the way you are holding your gun is wrong. The book “How to shoot for dummies” that I just read says that you should actually hold it “like this,” so out of brotherly love I’m letting you know that you must change this. We pray for you.

What do you think the soldier on the front line will do with this? The bullets are really flying around his ears, and then you get a message like this. My guess is that not only will this never work, but there’s something even worse going on. This can also get “in the head” of that soldier, and it can sometimes cause him to sleep VERY poorly. The next day, without any sleep, he goes to the front (if he ever goes again…) and is then shot… because he wasn’t on the edge, his thoughts were still on that e-mail… oops…

Another variant: He receives an e-mail. Great! Someone thinks of me, far away from the front line, someone thinks of me. That doesn’t happen often! Another person he’s never really spoken to, so nice! An opportunity to get to know each other more!

Dear brother or sister on the front lines: do you have time to call tomorrow between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM to catch up?

Those are the calls you’re waiting for. Those are really rare! The soldier can finally tell how things are really going. Finally, he is asked how he is doing, and he can also share some tips with the person calling on how he can prepare as the war comes closer to him.

And then… after talking for a while, the soldier hears the following:

Sorry, I have to go. We agreed that it would last until 8:00 PM, so I have to go. Yes, it’s a shame that it happened like this, but the appointment was until 8:00 PM, you should have kept your story shorter. We pray for you.

What do you think the soldier on the front line will do with this? The bullets are literary flying around his ears, 24/7/365. His life hangs in the balance, every second. But your “time” is over, “should you have your story shorter”?

I’m guessing that this will never work either, and here too: this can also get “in the head” of that soldier, and he can have a VERY bad night’s sleep because of what happened. The next day, without having slept well, he goes to the front (if he ever goes back…) and is then shot… because he was not sharp, his thoughts were still on that strange phone call… oops…

And a while ago we had someone visit us for a few weeks, who, figuratively speaking, fights on the front line every day, for not only his life, but also for the lives of others, for a Good Cause. That soldier wanted to stop immediately(!).

Don’t they understand?! Desk jockeys! You hardly ever hear anyone and then this? We pray for you? Just great. I’ll stop, I’ll go home, that’s it, they can come this way themselves. I will never, ever share a video again, never write anything again, bye. Oh, and those “talks” and “words”? They don’t send materials to keep fighting, either. I have a shortage of food, heat, shelter, bullets, every single day.

Wow! What happened here?! Dear soldier, we are so proud of you, wait a minute, something is going terribly wrong here. Come this way, give us a visit, we’ll pay the bill, don’t worry about it for a moment, but before you really stop, come get a cup of coffee (or more) and let’s talk about it. Now.

Fortunately, the soldier in these examples stayed after some conversations and returned to the battlefield. We’re keeping a close eye on him.

But this should never, ever have happened. Because the damage is there. Yes, the soldier goes back to fight for The Good Cause, but sharing those videos again? It will never be the way it was. He will always continue to walk on eggs with every message he puts in his newsletters (4x a year, no more. Otherwise there will be grumbles), if someone calls I don’t know if he will still answer the phone because he MUST also defend himself against everything that negatively distracts him from the fight. Because distraction kills, he has no choice. He has now also lost “vents” that he desperately needed. Oops..

And on the battlefield? We hope and pray that the damage is not bigger so that he can keep his mind on what really needs his concentration. You can’t relax, yes, he will return to the battlefield tomorrow, but we are not sure… what damage will be permanent, and will he get shot because of this? We don’t know.

And on the mission field? It really is a battlefield. Every, single, day.

How about we just send the soldiers a simple card that we are thinking of them, send them some material or a gift so that they can continue fighting on the hard, cold front? And yes, would you also pray for them and perhaps let them know that you do? It’s the little things that help them keep up the fight. But sometimes small things that are very big cause them to be shot… Help us so that they can continue that Good fight. We cannot win the war alone, but together, with a little thought and real care, we will certainly reach the finish line.

A “normal” day in our lives… with several conversations, like this one, per week…

And maybe you are a fellow “soldier” on “the frontline”, and you would love to talk about what happened today to you. Please give us a call. Don’t give up. We are here for you. Now.