You don’t have to listen to Crew Chief Landon Pierson* for long to understand just how important Bibles are to our service men and women. After Landon joined the Army, he was deployed to the Middle East five times as Crew Chief on an Army helicopter. He flew hundreds of missions — each one to bring back the lifeless bodies of U.S. Troops and local civilians who had been killed in the war against the Taliban.
“Day after day, it was just body bags, body bags, body bags.” Seeing so much suffering and death left him feeling numb and angry with God. He began taking more and more dangerous missions, having many close calls with death himself.
Though Landon had not committed his life to Christ, he kept a New Testament, provided by our friends, in the pocket of his flight suit every day.
During his final deployment in the Middle East, everything changed. Landon was on a night mission. Standing on the helicopter landing pad, he recalls, “It hit me. If I did not get right with God, I was not going to be ok. I just dropped to my knees right there on the landing zone and prayed . . . and never looked back.”
After surrendering to Jesus that night, Landon began spending time in God’s Word. “I drank quite a bit,” he shares. “And after I took Jesus into my life, I never wanted another drink. The Bible became even more important. It told me everything I needed for life . . . how to act, how to treat people. That New Testament . . . that’s what saved me.”
We are so thankful for our faithful partners dedication to helping place Bibles into the hearts and hands of our Troops serving in dangerous situations all over the world!
*Names changed for privacy