Page 21 - Priorities #45 2010-January

12 Time zones away –
Afghanistan
by Peter Trudelle ‘03
In the fall of ‘08, I joined YWAM (Youth With a Mission), whose goal is to share the love of God throughout the world. One manifestation of this goal is to provide tangible relief to those in need by helping improve education, business, healthcare, and government responsiveness to the poor of Las Vegas. I worked with several other volun- teers at food shelters, hosting community dinners, and helping in the free health care clinic for about three months.
Next, I was off to Kabul, Afghanistan. The first day we arrived, our contact Bob, picked us up in a Toyota Land Cruiser. As we drove to the guest house, Bob casually said, “Hey guys, there was a suicide bombing a couple miles from here about an hour ago and the Taliban has announced that there is more to come.” A few minutes later, we got a radio update of another bombing. While in gridlock traffic, we saw a car with blown-out win- dows and an injured man bleeding in the back seat. Our driver got out and learned that the damage was from the first bombing. Unfazed, Bob smirked, “Welcome to Kabul.”
A few days later, we had the opportunity to go to the actual bomb sites and pray over the area. One long-term worker told us about a Christian government worker who jumped out of a 2nd story window during the attack. He broke both legs, but escaped with his life. The doctors said that he would fully recover!
The highlight of the trip was at a small house church in Kabul. The speaker, an Af- ghani-Christian, told us a jaw-dropping story about how Al-Qaeda gunmen broke into his home, handcuffed, and took him away because he was Christian. He expected to be shot at any moment. However, as he was sitting in a heavily guarded room with many armed men around him, he felt God wanted him to stand-up and walk out of the room. As he did, the guards started yelling and then fired from only two meters away. Later, this man told us that “not one bullet pierced my skin, but instead their own bullets hit each other.” Wow.
During this trip, we met many wonderful Afghani people and taught English to sev- eral groups of children. A month after returning from Afghanistan, I traveled with the same organization to Turkey, where I found it much easier to interact with more people. I enjoyed meeting university students and Turkish people of all ages, from all over the coun- try. To conclude, I read some pretty amazing stories in the Bible, and sometimes thought, “Oh well, miracles only happened way back then, but not any more.” However, I learned on this trip, that God still works miracles today.
Peter Trudelle standing in from of a bombed building in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Teaching English to Afghani children.
An Afghani Policeman on Chicken Street – downtown Kabul, Afghanistan.
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