After 26 years of military service, Bruce* remembers many combat tours and special assignments in volatile regions like Ethiopia, Pakistan, Lebanon and Egypt. But one moment that stands out in his mind wasn’t on the battlefield.

“We were preparing for deployment with field exercises. Inside my tent I always kept a case of Bibles and some Gospel tracts. One day I walked in and there was a soldier on the ground openly weeping, which was a very unusual sight,” the retired Lieutenant Colonel remembers. “I asked him what was going on and he looked up and said, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to heaven.’ That was the theme of the tract I had set out. I took the Bible out of my pocket and led him to Christ. Then I gave him a Bible.”

The Service Member later brought one of his buddies to hear the message of the gospel and receive a Bible of their own. Eight Service Members eventually came to Christ before the field exercises were complete, and Bruce handed out all but two of the Bibles in the case given to him!

This is the kind of life-changing difference that American Bible Society’s financial partners are making for our Troops.

American Bible Society has served U.S. military personnel with free Scripture resources since 1817. Today’s 1.4 million active duty Service Members and 21.8 million Veterans continue to need God’s Word to help them deal with the challenges that result from their military service. They often face long separations from their families and danger that many of us can only imagine.

Bruce said God’s Word provided comfort and hope in the most desperate moments. He always kept a Bible in his pocket and often took it out for encouragement.

“It gets lonely out there,” Bruce recalls. “Knowing that God is there comforts you. Sometimes it was just me and God.”

Not only did Scripture sustain Bruce, but it also gave him the opportunity to share God’s Word with others. The continued support of financial partners allows American Bible Society to provide Bibles to Service Members like Bruce.

*Name changed to protect identity.