Chaplain speaks on time spent in Iraq

By Anastasia Harbuck

Published: July 1, 2008

Chaplain Michael Lee Jeffries visited First African Baptist Church Sunday with stories of being a “circuit riding preacher” in Iraq, deadly attacks by roadside bombs and sleeping under the stars in the desert.
Jeffries was the guest speaker during the Eufaula-Georgetown Ministerial Association’s annual patriotic service. Jeffries, a Columbus State University alum, attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and pastored a church in South Carolina before becoming a US Army chaplain in 2000.
Jeffries took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom 2 and Operation Iraqi Freedom 5 and just recently returned to United States soil. Jeffries said Sunday that going to the Middle East was both an exciting and nerve-racking experience.
“You follow God where he wants to lead you and you’ll have the greatest adventure of his life,” said Jeffries.
He went on to describe how he and his unit, Fort Benning’s 115 Infantry, took part in the 2007 surge to restore stability in Baghdad. Many of Jeffries nights were spent camping out in tents in the desert. He said he was in the same region as the Jewish people were during the Babylonian captivity.
“From an archaeological perspective, it was pretty neat,” laughed Jeffries. “From a living perspective, it wasn’t so great.”
Jeffries discussed how he and his unit faced hardships and dangers each day in Iraq, like the constant threat of roadside bombs or IEDs. On June 19, he and five comrades had the misfortune of running in to an IED. While his five friends suffered shrapnel wounds, Jeffries was unharmed. He joked that from that time on, all of his fellow soldiers wanted to take him along when they ventured out on the road.
“Five of them (soldiers) got purple hearts,” said Jeffries. “And I got a miracle in my life.”
Jeffries said dangers on the battlefield constantly tested his endurance and faith.
When a fellow soldier asked Jeffries how he could leave their base without a weapon, Jeffries replied, “How can you roll out of the gates without faith?”
He went on to say how the day-to-day struggle to survive was tempered by the lessons Jeffries learned about the insignificance of material things and the beauty of the natural world.
Jeffries called himself a “circuit riding preacher”, going from base to base in Iraq to minister to soldiers. Traveling so often, he learned to “live out of a rucksack” and, while sleeping on a rooftop for months, he began to truly appreciate the splendor of the natural world.
“In Iraq, the best time of day is the night. It’s the clearest most beautiful sky in the world,” said Jeffries.
Jeffries also thanked all those on the home front for their gifts, encouragement and especially prayers to soldiers in Iraq.
“If you’ve said prayers for soldiers, thank you. It’s an amazing and encouraging thing,” he said.
Offerings collected at the Sunday service will be used to fund scholarships for single mothers attending Wallace College. Pastor Bryce D. Mitchell of Georgetown Baptist said that approximately $639 were collected Sunday to benefit the scholarship fund. The Eufaula-Georgetown Ministerial Association holds four special services a year and donations collected at each service help fund different charities.
The congregation at First African Sunday also enjoyed performances by Sydney Dowling, who will also be performing during the God and Country celebration this Friday at Lakepoint State Park and Resort.