An Airborne Ranger meets Jesus

[Don Cui]

I grew up in a very dysfunctional family. My parents divorced when I was 6 months old and growing up I felt responsible and guilty over the divorce. So I grew up without a father, and my deepest desire was to have a father. Needless to say, I suffered through a great deal of rejection and anger. In second grade I got in a fight with a fifth grader. He had me on the ground and I pinched his stomach. He then took all ten of his fingernails and drove them into my face. Strange as it was, my brother was witness to this event, but did nothing to help me. As I walked through the door, the first thing my mother said was, "why didn't you fight back," and as I looked in the mirror gazing at this horrendous site, I knew that if I had a father he would have taught me how to fight.

So in second grade, I made a very ungodly vow; to never trust anyone again, and to never lose another fight. Shortly after I started fighting the bullies and winning. In high school, I got into a fight with my brother, and I fought with enough intensity to knock him out for about 2 minutes. This made me afraid, that if I could knock out my own flesh and blood, that there were would be no limits to my anger. I didn't want to end up in prison, so after high school I joined the Army as a special forces soldier and enlisted in the Army Rangers as a medic.

The Rangers is an excellent place for angry young men, and I excelled in everything I did. As a medic, I had earned the trust of my commander, and this allowed me a great deal of freedom and authority. I truly was at the top of my game. However, one night a made a bad mistake. It was right after Christmas and I had just returned from leave in Attleboro. I was lonely and maybe a little depressed. I went to the theatre wtih 2 of my Ranger buddies, and afterwards, they asked me if I wanted to go do a joint. I figured it was only 1 joint, so it would be ok. I was dead wrong.

Fort Stewart is located near Savanah Georgia and is home to the 24th Division tankers. The base has hundreds of miles of tank trails. We were driving on a tank trail and suddenly the truck missed the corner and we ended up in a 4 ft drainage ditch along the side of the road. We decided to walk back to base. As we were walking, we came to the middle of a cross roads and immediately police cars came in three directions. We had just walked into the middle of a federal narcotics drug bust. We were just some lab mice, but the rat trap catches mice as well and we were all on our way to jail. Each of us was in a separate police car and I was in the last car. On my way to jail, I silently prayed, "God, if you get me out of this, I will serve you all my life." God heard me that night and answered my prayer. As we pulled up to the county jail, the first man was about 100 yards ahead of me just entering through the door. The second man was just beginning his journey towards the jail door. The officer driving me pulled in front of both cars. He opened the back door, took off my handcuffs and said,"Get out of here." Needless to say, I didn't argue with him.

News got out about what happened, and on Monday morning I was ordered to report to my commander. All my freedom I previously enjoyed was gone for he was about to judge me for my actions. He asked me 3 three questions. Was I with those men Saturday night? Yes, Sir. Did I know what they were going to do? Yes, Sir. Was I going to do it with them? Yes, Sir. In an instant I had been judged and found wanting and there was nothing I could do but bear the consequences of my bad choices.

The medic who trained men, heard what happend and went to my commander to ask for my pardon. He was denied, so he went to the Battallion commander and Command Sgt Major and a major fight erupted between the three of them. Finally, he stretched out his arms and said, "if Cui goes, I go first" He layed down his career and military life for me, and I was allowed to stay. Later, the Lord would use this event to demonstrate to me what it means for our Saviour to lay down his life for us.

About 1 1/2 years later, I was finishing my chapter of life in the Army and I applied to Oral Roberts University. I was not a Christian at the time, but I figured if there was one place in the world where I could get right with God, it would be at ORU. In 1979, at ORU, I met my Lord and Savior. The Lord did many wonderful things and brought healing and deliverance and His salvation. This was a process that took years, because my life was scared with many hurts, pain, and bitterness. God was faithful to bring His healing and to break my heart with the burdens of His Kingdom.

During my time at ORU, I went on several mission trips and saw firsthand, that God wanted to use me in great ways if I would only give him my will. Sometimes, I try to do things my way, and end up in trouble,
and need to repent. But the Lord is good and prison ministry is where he has me.

Blessings
Don