A Missionary Family's Adventures in Southern Utah, Dave and Karen Eubank, The Free Burma Rangers

by Dave Diegelman

Title

A Missionary Family's Adventures in Southern Utah, Dave and Karen Eubank, The Free Burma Rangers

Artist

Dave Diegelman

Medium

Photograph - Archival Photographs

Description

It was a summer Sunday morning like any other, yet it would prove to be a day marked by a supernatural and spiritual encounter—a divine appointment. The light broke at ridiculous o'clock, and the chance to get some weeding and watering done beckoned me to rise with the sun once again. Mornings in Southern Utah are magical, largely because the afternoons are anything but. At first light around 6 a.m., the temperature hovers in the mid-70s, but by 9 or 10 a.m., it can soar past 100 degrees. It's something every adventurer in the area has to consider. But for me, Sunday morning means church, and that usually alleviates any anxiety about the heat. Thankfully, because this day, like the one before, was forecasted to reach a scorching 108 degrees.

After scrambling to finish primping and showering, my wife, Cristina, and I set out with little fanfare as we drove 20 miles to St. George to our church, Calvary Chapel. We served that day teaching Sunday school kindergarten which was always a blast. A few weeks before, we were teaching through Exodus and came upon the “Let my people go” section and I, being the biggest kid on the block, encouraged the kids to shout that out at the top of their lungs. We had so much fun but to my horror found out the following week that it had penetrated the walls of our classroom and audibly drifted out into the main sanctuary. Rather than subjecting me to disciplinary actions the senior pastor and director of Sunday school simply moved us to another room with a gracious distance from the sanctuary. I averted discipline, as they later explained, because they loved the enthusiasm generated. Now that’s leadership!

Dave and Karen Eubank, founders of the Free Burma Rangers, had been guest speakers that day and there was a BBQ planned afterwards for the church leadership, where I was an Elder (which in itself was an act of God!) was invited. They were from Thailand and, as Rick the senior pastor explained to me, ministered on the front lines of the oldest civil war in recent history in the country of Burma. Like most, I'd never heard of Burma, no less their civil war, but the potato salad was really good.

I took it upon myself to introduce myself to Dave, the husband and father of the family. He was super engaging right off the bat and when I told him my name his response was, “are you THE DAVE DIEGELMAN, LIKE THE CLIMBER GUY?” I didn’t quite know how to reply as nobody, at least in the USA, knew anyone or anything about climbers... (continued at https://tinyurl.com/f29jczx9)

If you haven’t ever heard their story, I would suggest you watch their movie, The Free Burma Rangers Movie with your friends and family. It’s well worth the price of admission!
https://www.amazon.com/Free-Burma-Rangers-David-Eubank/dp/B0876L6SPK

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August 8th, 2024

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