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March, 1945
Chaplain Yoelkel, seen at the left of the accompanying pic- t u r e as he distributes Testa ments to U. S. airmen, is out standing in God-given ability to impart to others his own love for the Word of God. A fre quent speaker at the Bible In stitute of Los Angeles, Chaplain Yoelkel was for several years a missionary to Korea.
Photo Courtesy 17. S . Arnfy Air Forces
Tested—The Chaplain and His Men By CHAPLAIN HAROLD YOELKEL, United States Army Air Forces W AR ¡TESTS men. Spiritually as well as militarily, the events of war time prove what ever underlying strengths there are. As Told to MILDRED M. COOK my sermons the invitation for men to accept Christ as Saviour. It has been a great encouragement to see the wholehearted response. Seldom have I held a service at which someone did not accept Christ.
or eight weeks, raw recruits must be trained and' conditioned, and after a strenuous daily p r o g r a m of drill, marching, and study that begins at .5:30 in the morning and continues through the day and frequently into the night, the Chaplain will find that even the devoted rookie will be tempted to catch up on his sleep and lie in bed Sunday morning. Or after a whole week on the post, the boy will decide to make a visit to town and attend the church of his denomina tion there.. Consequently only a hand ful will be present for the chaplain’s message. The condition is discourag ing. It tests the man of God. The chaplain who visualizes his men as streaming into the services on Sunday m o r n i n g will experience painful disillusionment. A few spir itually minded soldiers will of course be on hand with their Bibles. But for the most part it will be necessary for the chaplain to get busy early Sun day morning, making announcements over the amplifier, visiting the bar racks to wake up late-sleepers, and in one way and another go out “into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in”—compel them not by force, but by the winsomeness of the Lord Jesus Himself. The men will come. Then, praise God, we have the thrill of preaching to them the unsearchable riches of Christ. Right from the start I have felt that I always should give at the close of
Millions of men have been uprooted suddenly from the. quiet routine of their homes and have been sent to military camps where conditions re quire tremendous adjustments in every area of their lives. I have been in some of those camps. I know. In my own case, gathering war clouds forced us out of the Orient where for twelve years we had the privilege of witnessing for Christ. But God revealed the harmony of His providence in an appeal from the army chaplaincy. Asked to “give prayerful consideration to the great need,” We complied, gladly, _ being aware also that there would be per sonal testing for the chaplain as well as for the men. The Test of Rigorous Training No better preparation for,the chap laincy could be asked than the equip ment which years on the mission field can furnish. The rough-and-tumble environment of an army camp is so different from the ordered procedure of civilian life that it cannot help but be disturbing to the “padre” who is accustomed to the nice decorum of his home town or country parish. The missionary has known pioneer condi tions; he is used to them. Things on a military post are in a whirl. Speed and urgency are de manded by the desperate need. In six
I recall one man in particular, so broken in spirit that he could not stop weeping. Through his tears he sobbed, “This is in answer to my mother’s prayers.” Yes, God Is answering prayer in army chapels—but to do that He re quires faithfulness on the part of the thaplains as well as on the part of the men. The Test of Limited Time A chaplain cannot content himself with Sunday services merely. At the same'time, it must be borne in mind that little time is available in the busy schedules of the men during thè week. Opportunities for presenting the gospel therefore must be made. On “ breaks” between classes or drill periods and at the noon recess, the alert chaplain can contact his,men. I have found this to be a good time to make a few direct remarks about God’s Word and to offer the men New Testaments. On a single day it has been my joy to, have as high as three hundred men, raise their hands re questing copies of the Word. And they read them. One day a man came to my office to tell me that his barracks bag had been stolen in which, among other things, was a Testament I had given him.
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