A Mennonite in an ISIS War Zone — Chad Martin — Ep. 003

Hello, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of Anabaptist Perspectives. So this is Chad, and the last time we were on camera together was actually in Iraq, in Sinjar. I was over there on a film project, and we were traveling around doing some filming. Yeah, Parshmerga there, and then these buildings were ISIS. Yes, ISIS controlled. They could, like, shoot each other with a handgun or something. Yeah, and that is why there's so much damage in this area. Just to give you an idea of what we're driving here. Okay, okay.

This is the final spot ISIS was in. Final. Like, this was all no-man's land up to Parshmerga was in that structure right there. Right, okay. ISIS had snipers in these buildings here. That used to be apartment complexes. It was the buildings where they were building. Unfinished apartment complexes. That's what they're going to be. Blue and sand up. My goodness, that seems—wow, this is crazy.

You had been there in Sinjar for a while, and at that time, at least when I was there, ISIS was only about one mile away or something like that. The front line was really close. There was the no-man's land, the barrier with all the military there. Okay, so those two villages right there are both under ISIS control. Yes.

Whoa. Well, right there it is, people.

The very front of the front of the front line right here. The question is, why were you there? Why did you have a team, especially as a conservative Anabaptist, to be there serving in maybe not a war zone, but really, really close to a war zone? Well, yes, it was a war zone. That's what I considered. Okay.

What motivated me is, where would Jesus go? What would Jesus do? And that was the people that are hurting. That was the people that really need help at that point. And I think that's what really motivated me. It's about them. It's about how we can show the love of Christ to them.

It's a little bit unusual, isn't it? Oh, yeah. Yeah. What was it like first getting in there? Because I remember when I was there, you had already—your team had already been there for a while, and it felt like we were completely off the map. Like, we were way in. The first time you got in, what was that like?

Well, the first time I got to the city there, I didn't know the front lines were so close until later that day. Okay. But I remember the first night we slept there. So our whole team was sleeping there in the one room we had. And so, you know, we're all a little edgy. And wake up partway through the night and hear the door bang.

What was that? And after another one, bang. Because the metal doors, they make a lot of racket. And then I see a light flash in the window. And at that point, I didn't know they had spotlight patrols going all night. I thought this is someone's flashlight.

So I'm like, is someone digging through our stuff or, you know? So I crept out of bed and downstairs and kicked open the door, like, into the room where we had all our stuff and nothing. So I looked around the house, nobody, nowhere. Then I figured out the doors, just because of the wind, they're banging, bang slowly. Oh, wow. So yes, we were a little on edge. You know, it was uncertain, all the explosions going on. It was a little nerve-wracking. I mean, what was the closest, like, explosions? So were mortars being shot at you? Throughout our stay there? Yeah, yeah. Because, I mean, you were there for how long were you in Sinjar? Nine months.

Nine months. Okay. The closest mortar or rocket that hit Tony about 150 yards. That's close. Wow. So yeah, there was a lot of explosions all through the city, all the different times. But again, like, the point is, it wasn't that you were there for the thrill of it, but there were obviously, apparently, there was a lot of civilians in need or, you know, where you're helping people that are kind of trapped in this situation. Basically, was that the idea? They were trapped in the camp. They wanted to come back to their homes, and we were opening the opportunity to come back. Okay, so helping them rebuild their homes, basically. Yes. So the big question that people will have, because obviously for our group, you know, the Anabaptists, we do tend to do a lot of service things.

You know, there was a hurricane recently here in the States that destroyed a lot of things. A lot of people we know went down there to help, but that's pretty normal. But going to Iraq, to a war zone to help people, you know, caught in that situation, that's not normal at all. And the question is, why would you risk your safety when you could have served somewhere else?

There's a lot of people that are willing to go to safe places. There's very few people that are willing to risk their lives to help somebody else. And the advantage with going to an area where you risk your life to serve somebody else is that person, they understood the risk we were taking to help them, and they really appreciated that. That really stood out to them. Hmm. So it almost makes your message stronger or clearer. I would say yes. It's not that you really—apparently, you must have really, really believed in what you were doing. Yes. To do that. I did.

The big question that I have and had when I went there as well is, what was it like being a Mennonite in that particular setting? And especially, I think of, you know, the doctrine that we have of non-violence, of non-resistance. How did that play out with you being literally one mile from ISIS? Well, I think when it first struck me, the whole thing, we were there—I think it was the first day we were there—when we met the governor, we were talking to different people, and we were staying there that night. And they—well, we were at that point the only people that I could—that I ever seen in the city that were not carrying an AK-47 or a pistol or something.

So we stood out in that way. But I remember we had to go to the next house to get a shower, and I was going to walk out to pick up and get our stuff and go for a shower, and the governor said, "I'm going to send a bodyguard with you."

I said, "No." I said, "You know, God keeps me safe." Like, I—and it's not like the street we were in was a gated, guarded street. And I felt perfectly safe to walk out there with no gun. And to them, that was a very foreign concept. Like, even though he was a governor, a high-up official, he had a pistol strapped to his side. And we stood out majorly. Was that hard? Standing for those beliefs in such an extreme environment?

No. Really? Interesting. Because it's really easy for us when we're—I mean, you know, here we're sitting in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where, you know, I was far removed from that as possible. It's really easy to say, "Yeah, we believe in non-resistance." But diving into something like that, did it at least give you pause to think about what you actually believe?

Well, I think it comes down to this. Do you believe a gun or God is more powerful? Because when you really—most people say God is more powerful, but in a situation comes up, they trust their gun more. Because they—because physically they know their gun will work. And their faith is not strong enough to believe that God's going to come through if an armed robbery happens or whatever.

They know their gun will help them. They're not sure if God will. And I think that's what really comes down to non-resistance. Which do you believe is stronger, the gun or prayer? Like, prayer or God?

And you had to live with—see, the difference is you had to live with that reality every day while, you know, the nine months that you were in that situation. Whereas here, we're—again, we're so far removed from that. For us, it's all theory.

It's almost like when you dive into that situation, all of a sudden, it goes from theory to reality. And so even that wasn't—that didn't, you know, pull you up short. No, because knowing before going into a situation, I knew kind of what I was getting into. And even just initially from here, traveling to Iraq is a major step.

You know, when you're not sure—when I first went, ISIS is still kind of advancing, you know, no one's not sure what they're going to do yet. You think about what you're going to do in a situation. You think about if you're going to run for your life, if you're going to fight for your life, if you're going to just open the door and invite him in for lunch.

And which one did you decide to do? I always told what I'd invite him in for lunch.

And I remember always saying, "Ha, I think I'd be rutted for the hills." Yes.

But, you know, and I think—and a lot of, you know, the purpose behind this video is, is I honestly, I don't think we think about these situations enough. We're too far removed from it. But then when these realities do hit us, that, you know, something as horrible as ISIS comes, if we have figured out what we believe and we've processed it and understand it, now we're in a position to go help those people. And it's clear that was clearly the case for you. Yeah. You know, you knew what you believed and you were ready to apply it and go do something about it. Yeah. It's like the story I told you about being on the house roof on the front line.

We were watching the truckload of ISIS soldiers. I think it was just one truckload. They were out about half, three-quarter mile out, you know, driving. And, you know, every post, every gun was manned. They were ready for an attack. And I had to think, who's really out there? Like, who—which guy, you know, I know who I am, but that guy out there half a mile away, I had never met. I never knew. I don't know what his life is.

And to take a man's life that you have no clue how his life is, you know, who—hard telling what his family, you know, that's another thing that really—that you really ponder when you're looking at a situation like that.

Not only being non-resistant and not fighting, but, you know, looking at it from if you would kill somebody, you know, whose life are you taking? And what impact would you have had on the world if you would have stood for God? And now, you know, that situation's changed. So that truckload of soldiers, you know, those ISIS soldiers, where are they at today? You know, and how does that story end? Like, wow.

When I get to heaven, I'll find out. Yeah. Wow.

So did that feel weird to be standing on a line, you know, at the line with all of these soldiers and seeing those ISIS troops out there? And you're the only one, literally the only one within sight that doesn't have a gun.

Yes, it did. But one awesome thing it did impress on me is, like, at that—soon after that, like, they were driving out there, you know, I got in our vehicle and I left. But that was not what them other guys on that line did. They were laying down their lives. And I really wonder, you know, like, I left that situation. And I don't know if I was put—if I should have handled it differently as far as prayer, as far as whatever. I don't know.

But one thing that really ponders me is what do us, when we're in a situation like that, what is the part of us Christians? Because we do believe that prayer is more powerful, or we wouldn't believe in non-resistance. What part?

What did I miss out on that I should have been doing when I was in that situation? Looking back, if I would have stayed there in prayer, stayed there and prayed into the situation versus leaving. Hmm. That. Wow. Yeah. That's a really interesting perspective. That makes a lot of sense.

Let's put this into the practical. What would you say is one of the more important lessons or the most important lesson you learned from your experience there?

Put all your faith and belief in prayer and not in the physical, what physical can do. If people say, "Well, the Navy SEALs can go farther because they have guns," well, at that point is when you say guns have more power than God.

And clearly, you didn't believe that because it didn't stop you. Like, yes, I believe that, but sometimes it, you know, there's times that it's like, you know, because I know a gun works. I know a gun can shoot bullets. Yeah. And stop people.

And sometimes, you know, it's to have faith that prayer is going to work even better. That's a real challenge because we say that we believe that, but in all reality, it's very rare that that belief is ever tested. When we're sitting in our comfortable life, you know, I mean, we have it nice. We really do. I mean, here we are in America. We're really blessed. I think your story of where you were in a scenario like that, I think that's really powerful. And it's like the whole non-resistance thing goes farther than just not shooting and killing somebody, but, you know, believing in every situation that prayer has more power than trying to belittle someone so that you look better than them.

Or, you know, there's a lot of even, you know, taking that down to smaller situations and just the killing. You know, if we can really get the concept of prayer is where things happen, and in prayer, things will happen, a lot of them other beliefs are just a whole lot easier to follow because now they make sense, because you wouldn't turn to something less. So you think you'll go back? I hope to. To a war zone?

Yes. Yeah. I plan to. And that's where this stuff gets real. Not only do we believe in non-resistance, we go do something active to help fix the problem. You know, there's a war over there. Okay, let's go do our part to help fix it.

Not like we can fix it, but Christ working through us, we can make a difference. Thank you very much for being on this episode and sharing some of your experience. And stay safe on your next trip. Thanks a lot. Yeah, maybe I'll see you over there again sometime. We'll film another video together. Awesome. That would be really cool. Well, thank you, everyone, for watching. And if you really enjoyed this content, make sure and let us know in the comments, or if there's a topic you would like to see us covered, or maybe if you'd like to see us maybe go to Iraq and see this guy in action over there, let us know. So thanks so much for your attention, for watching, and we'll see you in the next video.