Easter message includes reflection on war effort
"Amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found. Was blind but now can see."
By Dani Dodge
April 21, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A morning breeze blows dust through the broken windows of the Seabees' makeshift chapel, the former stateroom of the Iraqi Republican Guard training college. Full-voiced strains of "Amazing Grace" chase echoes of the past through the missing ceiling panels.
It is Easter in Iraq.
"The message of Christ risen is sort of a metaphor for the Iraqi people," says Chaplain Brandon Harding, 32, of Point Mugu. "They were oppressed and downtrodden and like a savior, we've given them a chance at a better life."
Harding reminds the two dozen Seabees from Port Hueneme-based Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 that they are in the Babylon of the Bible. Behind Harding, the worshippers can see the parade grounds where Iraqi soldiers once carried flags for Saddam Hussein. Behind the worshippers, Harding can see buildings crushed like sand castles by the U.S. assault.
"So far 118 American (military) men and women have been killed in this conflict ... 118 sons and daughters going home in a box," the chaplain says. "There's been a great price paid for the freedom the Iraqis enjoy. ... The genuine smile on their faces tells you it's worth it."
The worshippers sit on an elegant blue and white striped couch and chairs with ornate carvings stained in mahogany. Fleas hop from the upholstery onto their hands. Flies light on their ears.
"But, I can't tell you if it is worth it for the families who have lost their loved ones," Harding says.
The Seabees thumb through their jungle camouflage "Devotional Field Books" for 1 Corinthians 15. They read along with the chaplain.
"If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ... For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead."
The chaplain explains of the lost troops: "Under Christ, they will all live again. All will be resurrected."
"Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved: How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed."
The chaplain shifts before the windows, paces slightly, and in his quiet, thoughtful voice revels in the moment. These troops have seen land mines explode, heard sniper fire and built bridges into Baghdad. They have seen the children of Baghdad blow them kisses.
"We are on the cusp of history," he says. "Be grateful you've been able to witness the birth of freedom in an oppressed land."
The men pray for their families, for Iraqis, for getting home soon. During the silent prayer, a chorus of doves coos in the walls.
"Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come; 'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home."
As he rises from the couch, Equipment Officer 3rd Class Christopher Harrison's desert camouflage uniform sends off small clouds of dust. His green eyes are reddened by a 12-hour night security shift at a .50-caliber machine gun when all the night's firefights were beyond his gun's range.
Normally, the 24-year-old Californian would be dressed up in slacks and button-down shirt, worshipping at his hometown Potter Valley Bible Church.
But here he's dug into the dirt and found seashells that prove to him God did flood the Earth. In the tents of the Bedouins, he's seen the life of Abraham.
"We've traveled through the countryside similar to what Christ saw," he says. "It definitely makes the Bible seem more real.
"It's like you've never seen an ocean, but been told it exists, and then, you see the ocean."
"The Lord has promised good to me; His word my hope secures; He will my shield and portion be As long as life endures."
As the worshippers leave the chapel to man their guns and build their bridges, a gun battle sputters somewhere in the distance.
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