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When Herbert Justman, a member at Zion, Allenton, Wis., learned about the opportunity for WELS to establish a theological training facility for Hmong pastors in Hanoi, Vietnam, he said he jumped for joy.
This ministry touches his heart because he has a special connection to Vietnam—he served his country there for eight months during the Vietnam War.
Justman served as an Army cook and truck driver outside the town of Quinhon. His company was responsible for hauling airline fuel. He says the area he was stationed in was in a “safe zone” so he had many opportunities to interact with the local villagers.
But his experiences also put him in many dangerous situations. He shares that on his first day there, he had to ride “shot gun” to a nearby Marine camp to pick up water for his unit. He saw the chaplain giving Marines last rites before they went into the jungle as well as Marines carrying rifles with them to the showers. “You never know when you will be attacked by the Viet Cong,” he says. “I was scared, but the Lord was watching over us.”
His parents had impressed God’s Word on him since he was little. “They always made sure we had the Word of God not just in our minds but in our hearts as well,” he says.
About four months after Justman arrived in Vietnam, he was sent home for a 30-day leave because his mother died. While he was home, his father died as well. Justman returned to Vietnam but was granted an early release just a few months later.
“I served my country and helped our brothers and sisters with the love of Christ,” he says. “I made a lot of friends there. I loved the country, and the people were so great. Loving! I’d love to go back to see them again but the money is not there. I’ll just pray for them.”
Now besides praying for them, Justman is also supporting a way for God’s Word to be spread in Vietnam. “I knew we did not fight this war for nothing,” he says. “My Pastor Bode always says, ‘Out of something bad, something good will come.’ God made sure of it. I love God for that.”
Besides supporting numerous WELS ministries, Justman volunteers at the local nursing home, bringing people in wheelchairs to weekly chapel services. He also is known as the “card man” because he sends Christian get-well cards to members who are sick. “I look for opportunities to talk to people about Christ,” he says. “It’s our job to do that. We’re supposed to be missionaries right here at home.”
Justman also talks about grace to the fellow Vietnam veterans whom he meets. He says that after they greet each other and share their experiences, he always tells them, “By the grace of God, we came home alive. Isn’t God great?” He says some agree and some walk away. “But that’s the point I want to get across,” he says.
And now, as he thinks about the unexpected and unbelievable opportunity to reach out with God’s grace in Vietnam, he says he can just sit back and say, “Isn’t God great!”
Learn more about the opportunities to build a training center in Vietnam at wels.staging.wpengine.com/vietnamhmongoutreach.
Volume 106, Number 5
Issue: May 2019
