The Missionary Soldier

David Eubank calls himself a missionary soldier. A former US Special Forces soldier, he’s now an ordained Christian Reverend and founder of the Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian group working in some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones.

He prays before missions, runs towards gunfire, rescues the wounded, and says love is what keeps him there. But David's story is also morally complicated. He has carried dying children from battlefields. He has watched friends and colleagues die. And he has killed.

In this episode of Heart & Soul, Rajeev Gupta speaks to David about what it means to follow Jesus in a firefight. David reflects on his upbringing as a missionary child in Thailand, his years in the US military, and the call that took him into Burma’s long-running civil war.

He describes the moments when his faith and a desire for revenge came into conflict. From rescuing wounded fighters under mortar fire in Burma, to the battle for Mosul against ISIS.
But how does David know he is on the right side? How does he justify taking his wife and children into war zones? And how does he keep believing in God after seeing so much suffering?

[Photo Description: David Eubank talks to Rangers during a morning devotion outside of West Demoso, Karenni State, Myanmar. Photo Credit: Naw Films]

Producer: Sam Gruet
Presenter: Rajeev Gupta
Editor: Chloe Walker
Production Coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno