Issues@Hand
AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs
November-December 2001 – The letters, drawings, photos, and special mementos are piled high in the offices of American Family Association. They represent an incredible outpouring of love, appreciation, and support for the men and women who serve in our armed forces.
AFA launched a “Dear American Soldier” letter-writing campaign in mid-October as a method for allowing citizens to thank the military personnel who are putting their lives on the line to fight the war against terrorism both at home and abroad.
In the first two weeks of the campaign, nearly 5,000 expressions of gratitude poured into AFA via the U.S. Postal Service from men, women, boys and girls across America. Schools, churches and civic groups sent packets with numerous heartwarming letters and drawings.
Hundreds of children sent individual letters, and many included Scripture verses and gospel tracts. One young girl sent a pewter token with the Prayer of Jabez (I Chronicles 4:10) engraved on it. She indicated that she kept it with her always, but wanted the man or woman receiving her letter to have the token for comfort and strength. Another child sent a necklace with WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) engraved on it.
“The innocence and openness of these children’s letters is so touching,” said Donald E. Wildmon, AFA president. “Over and over they’ve said ‘thank you’ and assured the recipients of their letters that they will pray for them every day and every night. Some have told about their families and sent photographs of themselves and their pets. These little ones have taken this very seriously, and I know the men and women who receive these letters will be greatly blessed.”
Adults have written just as many, if not more, letters, and they have come from all types of people: a drag-racing grandmother, a prisoner who expressed a wish that he could fight beside his “brothers,” and a mother who expressed the thoughts of countless others when she wondered how she would feel if it were her child going to war.
One of the most touching gifts came from a couple in Missouri. It was an old New Testament with its front cover wrapped in a gold-plated steel casement with the words, “May this keep you safe from harm,” engraved on it. A card inside the cover says “The Heart-Shield Bible fits snugly in a Uniform Pocket. The … front cover protects his heart.” The copyright is 1943. The couple indicated it had at one time been given to another during a time of war.
“We all know that America today is a much different country than it was before September 11,” commented Wildmon. “After the attacks on New York and Washington, shocked Americans freely gave of themselves by sending money and giving blood, and by uniting together in a patriotic and spiritual outpouring that has not been seen in this country in many years. This letter-writing campaign is now another way for Americans to do something tangible that expresses their love for country and appreciation to those willing to give their lives that Americans might be free.”
AFA Journal, American Family Radio and AFA’s website, www.afa.net, are also helping with the campaign. To add your encouragement to that of thousands of others, write a brief letter or postcard to Dear American Soldier, c/o American Family Association, Tupelo, MS 38803. Teachers should send class letters in one envelope to expedite distribution. 
