More Book Distribution in Iraq
Normally I'm out on missions about 12 hours a day, so to stay motivated to go out and distribute books is hard to maintain. I dragged myself out and went to my normal spots. At first no one would take a book. I started to feel sad and thought "better to sit and read, get my head straight and then try agian." As I was reading someone yelled: " Hey, Partha!" Stunned, I turned around, and a soldier approached me. I thought maybe he is the child of a devotee, but how would he know what I look like? As he got closer I could see others with him. I could not remember his face. He asked if I remembered him and I apologized and said no. He laughed and said we met in 2003 in An Nasariya, in southern Iraq. My memory started to come back, but was still somewhat unclear. So he began to tell everyone how we met. We were getting ready for a convoy, and I was sitting on my truck reading a book. He was interested after seeing the cover. So I gave him an extra copy of the Bhagavad-gita.
Turns out, he was the first person I distributed a book to in Iraq! Amazing. He went on to say that he was hurt bad during that tour, and while recovering from his wounds he read the Gita. As each day went by in his recovery, he found safety in the words coming from the lotus mouth of Lord Sri Krsna. He said that he was certain that he made it through that rough time only by reading Srila Prabhupada's books. I didn't know what to say, I just was in shock, but he took my box of small books and handed a few out to his friends. We exchanged email addresses, and as he was walking away to his truck, I heard him saying, "You guys should read these books, they will save you in the end."
Your Servant,
Partha Sarathi Dasa
