October 29, 2008

Army Battalion Chaplain Capt. Peter Hofman says he preached many times about his Reformed faith – and especially his rock-solid belief in the sovereignty of God – during his recent stint in Iraq.

Hofman says he told the soldiers who would attend the Sunday services on their fire base near Kirkuk, Iraq, that when all was said and done the Lord was in charge. These were not empty words offered to soldiers who would be riding patrol on streets planted with roadside bombs.

This preaching came from his heart and an upbringing in the Christian Reformed Church, says Hofman.

Hofman's words also took on greater import for the soldiers because he went with them whenever they left the base. Although he didn't carry a weapon, an armed chaplain's assistant went with him wherever he traveled.

As he was riding in military vehicles through the streets that were peppered with Improvised Explosive Devices, he says, "there was nothing more comforting to me than God's providential care."

As best he could, he passed that divine comfort on to the soldiers.

"I know God is sovereign. I ended my sermons in Iraq with a series on Daniel, who faced many crazy situations. Not every day was a heavy battle, but the soldiers experienced constant uncertainty."

He credits Rev. Herman Keizer, director of Chaplaincy Services for the CRC for inspiring and helping him to land the job as chaplain in the military.

Hofman was deployed for more than a year in Iraq. Besides Sunday services, he conducted Bible studies and traveled to remote bases to hold services for the soldiers stationed outside the main compound in Kirkuk.

A graduate of Kuyper College and Calvin Theological Seminary, Hofman says he had three main missions as a chaplain: To nurture the living; care for the dying, and to honor the dead.

He did a great deal of all three things during his time in the oil-rich Kirkuk area, which is in Kurdish northern Iraq and was and is once again an area that experiences a fair amount of violence.

"There were wonderful and very challenging ministry opportunities over there," says Hofman, who will be stateside for a time before being deployed again. "I dealt with suicidal and moral issues (brought to him in confidence by the soldiers) and did lots of marriage counseling. Sadly, there were quite a few divorces in my unit."

For himself, he says, he could never have survived as well as he did without the support of his wife, Kristi, who is moving from Wisconsin this week to be reunited with her husband.

When he first arrived in Iraq, there was a great deal of fighting in and around Kirkuk, but that diminished for a time, allowing soldiers to be more involved in training and humanitarian missions.

According to Blizzard Online, the Fort Drum newsletter, Hofman's unit helped to stabilize the area.

"By working with local people, along with Iraqi Security Forces, soldiers have transformed the area into a more stable and livable environment – and are beginning to shift their focus from combat operations to humanitarian ones instead," the newsletter says.

Among other things, Hofman was able to coordinate a sandal giveaway to young people before they started school this fall.

In early September, he and other members of the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment traveled to the village of Alwad Mahoush, where U.S. soldiers had helped to fix up a school by installing lights and fans, supplying it with new desks, re-plastering walls, fixing bathrooms, and shoring up an outside wall. It was there they gave away the sandals to local leaders to dole out to the people in greatest need.

Although he felt called and found great meaning in serving the soldiers in Iraq, he is happy to be home, he says. "There are adjustments – like the weather, which was dry and warm all of the time in Iraq. Plus," he says, "there is the freedom. You can go where you want to go, eat what you want to eat. And my wife will be coming soon."

Christian Reformed Church in North America