The Love Of Being A Christian
Stories
LECTIONARY TALES FOR THE PULPIT
Series III, Cycle A
Bob Bohn was serving in Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1971. He was twenty years old and liked his job as mechanic. He was also looking forward to going home to the States in three months. Before his tour was complete in Vietnam, Bob was assigned to be stationed in North Dakota. Bob had requested a base closer to his New York home. He was thinking "closer" as in Massachusets, New Jersey, or even New York. Not North Dakota! He didn't know anything about North Dakota, but he made plans to relocate to Minot Air Force Base.
A few days after he got his reassignment, Bob headed off to call his parents from the USO club. What he saw on the way down the stairs changed his life: baskets of letters to servicemen, organized according to state of origin. Fifty bushel baskets were filled with letters to servicemen there in Vietnam. His curiosity was piqued.
The young serviceman glanced at the North Dakota basket. One caught his attention. It was simply addressed "Dear Serviceman." He opened it. The letter was written by a seventeen--year--old girl from Bismarck, North Dakota, a town about two hours south of Minot. She loved Spanish, animals, and horseback riding. And she loved God. She had just dedicated her life to Christ. She ended her letter with, "Thank you and God bless, Marlys."
Being in Vietnam had forced death to become a reality to Bob. He had rededicated his life to Christ earlier that year after having distanced himself from God in his teen years. "God bless," written in loopy handwriting, caught his heart. He answered the letter to Marlys Mortvedt.
He told her what it was like teaching English and Bible classes to Vietnamese children. He shared how important it was to him now that he was a Christian to do meaningful things. "Believe me, before Christ, my life was meaningless," he wrote Marlys.
Bob felt it was worth the gamble to be honest with Marlys. "Either she'd be scared or, if anything, I'd have a date when I got to North Dakota." But Marlys wasn't scared. She wrote back within the week, saying it was great to hear from "a brother in Christ." She knew Bob was special. The two corresponded, sharing about their faith, their struggles with each of their Sunday school classes, and their Christian lives. They also shared about their dreams for the future.
Bob left Vietnam on New Year's Eve and headed for Minot, but the two didn't meet until April. Bob drove to Bismarck and met Marlys for coffee. Marlys didn't like coffee, but she drank it anyway. That night they went bowling and the next morning they attended church with Marlys' family.
Marlys admits she liked Bob right away. They hit it off and Bob's trips to Bismarck were more and more frequent. He put 10,000 miles on his car in the first three months. They were engaged before Marlys graduated from high school. They married that August in Bismarck.
Bob had one more year in the Air Force. When his assignment was complete, Bob and Marlys together entered Salvation Army officers' training in Chicago. Two years later the Bohns were ordained as Salvation Army officers. They served congregations in Kansas, North Dakota, and Minnesota, for several years before settling down. Bob continued his education in airplane mechanics and Marlys studied nursing, and they both served as chaplains to a nursing home.
"I think what attracted us to each other," says Marlys, "is that we were both fairly new to Christ and excited about our faith. We have grown together in our faith, which has had its ups and downs ... we have been able to encourage each other. The years have brought maturity and a deepening of our love which would never have happened without the foundation of our faith. The ministry brings about many trying times, but knowing that we were in it together made all the difference to us. Even in our personal lives, it was that foundation and bond of love that sustained us (through difficult times)."
Today Bob works at the Air National Guard and Marlys is a nurse and hospital chaplain. Their faith is strong and they are glad to have had so many opportunities serving God.
(Details taken from a 6/18/99 Fargo Forum newspaper article by Erin Hemme Froslie.)
A few days after he got his reassignment, Bob headed off to call his parents from the USO club. What he saw on the way down the stairs changed his life: baskets of letters to servicemen, organized according to state of origin. Fifty bushel baskets were filled with letters to servicemen there in Vietnam. His curiosity was piqued.
The young serviceman glanced at the North Dakota basket. One caught his attention. It was simply addressed "Dear Serviceman." He opened it. The letter was written by a seventeen--year--old girl from Bismarck, North Dakota, a town about two hours south of Minot. She loved Spanish, animals, and horseback riding. And she loved God. She had just dedicated her life to Christ. She ended her letter with, "Thank you and God bless, Marlys."
Being in Vietnam had forced death to become a reality to Bob. He had rededicated his life to Christ earlier that year after having distanced himself from God in his teen years. "God bless," written in loopy handwriting, caught his heart. He answered the letter to Marlys Mortvedt.
He told her what it was like teaching English and Bible classes to Vietnamese children. He shared how important it was to him now that he was a Christian to do meaningful things. "Believe me, before Christ, my life was meaningless," he wrote Marlys.
Bob felt it was worth the gamble to be honest with Marlys. "Either she'd be scared or, if anything, I'd have a date when I got to North Dakota." But Marlys wasn't scared. She wrote back within the week, saying it was great to hear from "a brother in Christ." She knew Bob was special. The two corresponded, sharing about their faith, their struggles with each of their Sunday school classes, and their Christian lives. They also shared about their dreams for the future.
Bob left Vietnam on New Year's Eve and headed for Minot, but the two didn't meet until April. Bob drove to Bismarck and met Marlys for coffee. Marlys didn't like coffee, but she drank it anyway. That night they went bowling and the next morning they attended church with Marlys' family.
Marlys admits she liked Bob right away. They hit it off and Bob's trips to Bismarck were more and more frequent. He put 10,000 miles on his car in the first three months. They were engaged before Marlys graduated from high school. They married that August in Bismarck.
Bob had one more year in the Air Force. When his assignment was complete, Bob and Marlys together entered Salvation Army officers' training in Chicago. Two years later the Bohns were ordained as Salvation Army officers. They served congregations in Kansas, North Dakota, and Minnesota, for several years before settling down. Bob continued his education in airplane mechanics and Marlys studied nursing, and they both served as chaplains to a nursing home.
"I think what attracted us to each other," says Marlys, "is that we were both fairly new to Christ and excited about our faith. We have grown together in our faith, which has had its ups and downs ... we have been able to encourage each other. The years have brought maturity and a deepening of our love which would never have happened without the foundation of our faith. The ministry brings about many trying times, but knowing that we were in it together made all the difference to us. Even in our personal lives, it was that foundation and bond of love that sustained us (through difficult times)."
Today Bob works at the Air National Guard and Marlys is a nurse and hospital chaplain. Their faith is strong and they are glad to have had so many opportunities serving God.
(Details taken from a 6/18/99 Fargo Forum newspaper article by Erin Hemme Froslie.)
