Ilya’s Song

Posted by J on Apr 2, 2013 in J Posts | 0 comments

Reverend Simon leads a Bible college inside Thailand’s largest refugee camp. A walkable mountain and plain separates the campus from  war. Most of his ethnic minority students leave their homes inside Burma’s controversial regions to spend a year or two or three studying English, world history, theology, and the art of missions.

During an evening celebration to say goodbye to one of the college’s professors, Reverend Simon told the crowd about his doubts for the 2012-2013 school year. It began with a massive fire inside the camp. Much of the Bible college was destroyed. And he wasn’t sure his students would return.

They did:

It’s the kind of courage we observed in spades during our trip along the Thailand-Burma border. Not just single acts of courage and faith — but entire lifetimes, buoyed by an ongoing refusal to buckle in the face of fear.

The same is true of Ilya, another man we met. He is many things … principally: a man of faith, a husband, a father, a leader, a medic, a war hero. He met our trip leader in the heat of combat … then, over many years, saved our trip leader’s life more than once in the heat of more combat.

I don’t think it was a coincidence that Ilya celebrated a birthday during our time with him, a few days after my own birthday. And I don’t think it was a coincidence that he turned 42, just like me.

Ilya sang a song for our group on the day we said goodbye. It’s a song about war, family, love — and choosing to Fight in the face of fear.

It’s Ilya’s song.

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There are two sound files embedded in this image of Ilya singing for us.

Hover over the image with your mouse. Hear an introduction to the song by clicking on the upper link on the large post, and hear Ilya sing his song by clicking on the link just to the left of W’s head.