While speaking with one of the US Army Chaplains in Iraq (an Army Chaplain we have supported with Bibles, Bible Studies and more) we presented a serious question:
"What can we do for you, outside of the scope of Bibles and Bible Study material, that would be beneficial to all of your soldiers?”
Without hesitation, he replied that an electric guitar and possibly an amp would be great, or even a set of pickups for his acoustic guitar and an amp to give the worship service a bit more range. He said, some instruments to play music would be one of the best things we could do for our troops; providing them with something enjoyable to do outside the normal routine of eat, sleep, and go out on patrol. It would also provide his services with a bit more variety. I asked him to give me a list of things we could send and we were off to the races.
After this conversation, we began to think that we didn't have to stop with only one chaplain if we have the ability to do more? If we got others involved in our undertaking we could strengthen the blessing and perhaps continue on to other chaplains and their respective soldiers.
This is exactly what has happened. With the help and generosity of friends, neighbors and colleagues, funding was raised in only 7 days. We were able to secure a large package of instruments including 100 harmonicas, an electric guitar, an amplifier, jaw harps, guitar strings, picks and Cajun spoons. This first package was shipped, on June 26th 2008, to Iraq for the 4th of July. Praise God!
We invite you to join us as we provide more shipments of musical instruments to our other chaplains and their respective soldiers, deployed abroad. It is not too often that an opportunity presents itself to make a direct and profound impact like this on a group of individuals. We are presented with that ability to have an impact, not only with our soldiers, but with our allied troops as well through music, the universal language. We hope you will join us as we move to put together the next shipments of instruments for our soldiers.
Please use the PayPal link if you would prefer to make a contribution online. Since we are affiliated with Heart of God International Ministries, Inc. all donations are tax deductible. Please include your mailing address with your donation; you will receive a receipt for tax purposes.
If you prefer to send a check or money order, please use this address for monetary contributions. (Please do not send equipment to this address.)
Heart of God International Ministries
ATTN: Tunes for Troops
P. O. Box 248
Willard, OH 44890-0248
Thank you to those who have made the first shipment possible. Thank you for your help to make the next shipments possible. I truly appreciate your generosity. If you have any questions about what we are doing or how to donate a used instrument, we would love to hear from you. We will do everything possible to promptly respond to your inquiry.