By Shayla Papik —
A former U.S. Ranger engaged in medical assistance and humanitarian relief amidst the civil war in Myanmar recently baptized six people in the jungle highlands of the Karen state.
Dave Eubank answered a call to the Southeast Asian Buddhist nation in 1997 with the founding of the Free Burma Rangers. Myanmar/Burma has been fractured by insurgencies on and off since 1948, when Burma received its independence from the United Kingdom.
His invitation came from the Karen ethnic group engaged in the world’s longest running civil war (70 years) in the mountains surrounding the lowlands where the Burmese are the majority.
To get into the nation before the monsoon season, Dave hurriedly married and celebrated his honeymoon with his young bride in Thailand, where his dad was a missionary. Dave and his wife, Karen, crossed the border illegally and hooked up with the ethnic people with the same name as his wife.
Dave’s wife says they were called to respond to the urgent needs: “We heard there might even be a genocide going on and it was the government’s policy to keep it isolated. Yet we knew we had to go and respond.”
Dave initially made contact with the Karen people after hearing gunfire and heading into the heart of the conflict zone through the jungle. He came across fleeing refugees, many of whom were injured by the atrocities of war.
Dave brought with him medical supplies and immediately began to care for them. He met a local medic, and then teamed up to help internally displaced people (IDPs) on the front lines of war.
His ministry was born: the Free Burma Rangers (FBR), he called it. Formerly a U.S. Army Ranger, his new work, saving victims of war, was named after the U.S. Army Rangers. They move throughout mountainous areas, aiding casualties and doing reconnaissance against the Burmese Army.
It’s been extremely dangerous. He’s been hunted by the Myanmar Army, has traversed dangerous rivers, trekked through snake-infested jungles, and battled disease at every turn. He raised his children in the jungle.
Missionary work like this is so rare that it has its own classification: it’s called High Risk Missions. Dave Eubanks is called the Godfather of High-Risk Missions.
The FBR also documents and reports human rights violations. His pictures and videos have informed reporters about atrocities committed during the civil war. His reports have been used at the United Nations to confront the military government of Myanmar with their abuses.
While Eubanks does humanitarian work, he also carries a Christian message. You don’t have to be Christian to work with FBR, but sharing his faith is a constant. They do Bible presentations for children in war-torn areas.
As a result of FBR’s Christian outreach, six people recently were baptized.
They got together on a Sunday before church with a few members of the FBR team and went for a walk down to the river. The six individuals stepped into the water one at a time and each declared their faith in Jesus. They expressed their thankfulness for the eternal gift of new life that Jesus had given them, as well as for the forgiveness of sins.
“I want a new life” and other songs could be heard across the jungle by the children as they sang “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “Alleluia,” praising the Lord for setting them free.
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About the writer of this article: Shayla Papik studies at Lighthouse Christian Academy near Culver City, CA.
