At an Adventist World Radio training session in Ethiopia, I met a most fascinating person: a former soldier who knew nothing about God until death stared him eyeball to eyeball on the battlefields of war. He eventually became a soldier for Christ, working as a producer for AWR.
Haben is from the Tigrigna region of Ethiopia. From age 6 to 15, he lived in a Christian orphanage. He had no interest in God and didn’t care to know anything about Him. After leaving the orphanage, Haben began studying for his future career.
In 1992, war broke out between Ethiopia and Eritrea; Haben was conscripted into the military and began training as a soldier. Soon he became a qualified commando with the Special Forces and was sent into battle, where he spent 3½ years. The battlefield is a trying place, even for the most experienced soldier. Haben was young, and being in the heat of battle was a terrifying experience.
While on the battlefield, Haben discovered AWR. He recalls, “I used to listen to AWR a lot when I was on the battlefield. [It] gave me a lot of comfort. I would always pray to the God I learned about from AWR. I remember the producer saying ‘This is Adventist World Radio, the Voice of Hope.’ I would always pray, ‘God, help me to escape from this battle.’ I prayed this prayer every time I was about to enter a battle.”
Some battles brought Haben face to face with death. It was in these critical situations that he began making promises to God. He remembers a distinct occasion when his heartfelt promises ascended from a smokefilled battlefield.
The incident took place during a very bad fight at a place called Alambassa. The soldiers in Haben’s unit went without food or water for three days, leaving them very weak and tired. During the battle, many soldiers were either killed or badly wounded. Finally, only Haben and a fellow soldier were left fighting a well-equipped enemy force, which was approaching rapidly.
The two soldiers only had a medium-sized boulder for protection, which left their legs exposed. Yet, despite the heavy artillery fire, they remained unhurt. Haben knew that soon they would be hit. He prayed, “God, if you want me to die, that’s OK with me. I will see you in the resurrection. But if you save me from this bad situation, I will serve you until the end of my life.”
A commander from the other section of the Ethiopian army spotted the two isolated men through his binoculars and arranged to send backup. Soon the enemy was in retreat, and Haben’s life was spared. “There’s no doubt in my mind,” says Haben, “that God saved me from that bad situation. I’ll never forget that. When I was in battle, I saw for myself the love of God. And because of that I opened myself, my heart, to God.”
At the end of his military term, and after the war had ended, Haben returned to the capital, Addis Ababa, and began work at a government office. He fasted and prayed for God to lead him to the Seventh-day Adventist Church and to discover how he could serve Him for the rest of his life in fulfilment of his side of the bargain.
A fellow ex-soldier heard Haben was trying to find the Adventist church and directed him to the Ethiopian Union Mission office. Haben received Bible studies and was baptized within a year of leaving the armed services. He went on to study for two years at a Bible College and then worked as a pioneer church planter for a short period of time. Today he is a Tigrigna producer for the station that introduced him to God on the battlefields of war. He frequently gives his testimony over the air and receives many responses from soldiers who are interested in knowing about the God that Haben now serves.
Ray Allen is the AWR Global Training Director & Africa Region Director
ADVENTIST WORLD RADIO’S MINISTRY IS UNIQUE IN SEVERAL WAYS:
• Programs are created in nearly 80 languages by native speakers from each country.
• Several thousand hours of programs are broadcast each day, covering the majority of the world.
• Programs can be heard on AM, FM, and shortwave radio, as well as Internet podcasts and satellite transmissions.
• Radio can reach more people, for less money, than nearly any other form of outreach.
• Broadcasts bypass political and geographic barriers, bringing the message of hope to people who are otherwise inaccessible.
Adventist World Radio 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, Maryland 20904 USA 301-680-6304 U.S. and Canada: 800-337-4297 www.awr.org
