MOSUL, IRAQ — Author David Eubank shares the compelling true story of learning the difference between justice and revenge and loving others at all costs, with his new book Do This for Love; Free Burma Rangers in the Battle of Mosul. From Burma to Sudan and Iraq to Syria, the Free Burma Rangers have given help, hope and love to people under attack.
The fiercest urban battle in recent history, to retake the city of Mosul from ISIS, lasted nine months. Thousands were killed, millions displaced. Eubank, a former member of U.S. Army Special Forces and a Ranger officer, is the founder of the Free Burma Rangers (FBR), and he shares the lessons he learned through one of the most challenging missions of his life.
Former member of U.S. Army Special Forces David Eubank is seeking to inspire people to love others at all costs, following the lessons he learned from one of his most challenging ever missions to Mosul in Iraq.
Eubank tells the story of this remarkable outreach in his latest book Do This For Love when he brought his family and ministry team Free Burma Rangers to one of the most dangerous places on the planet.
“I remember looking out on the planes of Nineveh, which is where Mosul is and seeing the black flag of ISIS and then praying and saying ‘God what am I doing here? I believe you brought me here, but we’re jungle people. I speak those languages, we walk everywhere. ‘We’re now in Iraq which is a Mecca-nized, Arab, Kurdish, Muslim region, desert. And I really felt God say to me ‘give up your own way, give up the Free Burma Ranger way and just come help these people.’ So we brought my family as well as our ethnic medic from Burma, pastors, videographers. And we came first with the Kurds and up with the Azidis on Sinjar Mountain. And then after ISIS was expelled from those areas, by 2016 we went into the battle of Mosul and started working with the Iraqi army which was a great blessing. I learned to love the Iraqis, that’s a huge gift.”
Eubank remembers one of the most powerful moments of their mission which received wide spread media coverage when he rescued an Iraqi girl while coming under intense fire in June 2017.
“I ran out saying ‘Jesus help me. I grabbed her. I had to yank her off her dead mother. She was terrified, because who am I? All she’s seen is people trying to kill her. And ran back and using the tank as cover and backed up and called the Humvee and got out. And made it back to where my wife was waiting and cradling the girl and my daughter was helping treat casualties. And that was a wonderful moment where we could be part of something good.”
Eubank concludes by sharing what he hopes people will take away for his story.
“I hope when they read it they’ll care more about the people of Burma and the people of Iraq and the people around them and their neighbours and that they’ll really ask God what should I do?”
Read more news on Iraq and Disaster Relief on Missions Box.
Sources:
- Global News Alliance, Loving at All Costs Through the Battle for Mosul
- Free Burma Rangers, Official Website