Whispering The Gospel And Dodging Bullets (Part 2)
As we lay in the ditch at night doing reconnaissance in the Panamanian jungle, my Security Forces buddy Joe let me know that he saw a group of about five locals coming from our right. They walked right past us, only a few feet away. Then a vehicle with its headlights on approached and they all jumped into the ditch. It was obvious they were up to no good.
The men re-emerged after the vehicle had passed and continued to about 50 yards to our left. Joe could see them picking up items they had stolen from our Air Force Base and stashed away until a more convenient time. Now they were carrying the goods our way.
When they got to within a few yards of us, Joe and I rose from the ditch with our pistols in hand to challenge them. “Get on the ground! Show me your hands!” we shouted in English and Spanish. Then I heard two loud pops, a pause, then three more loud pops! I vaguely perceived small flashes of light coming from the far left of the group of locals.
“Now why would those guys be playing with firecrackers out in the jungle in the middle of the night?” That’s what immediately went through my 22-year-old mind. Then in a split second I realized – I was being shot at!
I turned to my left and saw that Joe hadn’t been hit. I didn’t engage the shooter because Joe was between us and could have been caught in the crossfire. We moved across the road as the men dropped their loot and ran into the jungle.
Instead of giving chase, I radioed in what was happening. (I thought I stayed calm and professional but my buddies who heard me would later differ strongly with me on this detail and would not let me live it down. :-) We deployed units to where we thought the Panamanians would go but we never found them. The expended casings from a .380 pistol were there on the edge of the road to confirm what had happened.
We later found out that It was a good thing Joe and I hadn’t chased the men into the jungle, as they’d only gone in a little ways and set up an ambush for us. That could have ended badly.
I praise God for His gracious protection that night. I’m also thankful I was able to share the gospel with Joe while hiding in the ditch. It’s one of the highlights of my life to go from lying in a jungle ditch whispering the life-changing gospel to my buddy one minute to having someone try to kill us minutes later.
Jesus says in John 10:10 that He came to give “life, and life more abundantly.” I’m thankful that we can have this abundant life through Christ, even without dodging bullets on a hot and humid jungle night.
– Eric Hentnik
