Marine For Christ: Eric Guiffreda

Being a Marine, for and living for Christ, in Iraq and for that matter anywhere in the Marine Corps, can be tough.

You stand alone a lot of the times, but God gives you all you need and the perspective to do it even in the worst of times. It is very rewarding though because as time goes on people start to notice that you're not putting on an act; that something really is different about you. It opens up the doors to share Christ or to bring Him glory in one way or another. Even though the main things you hear from their mouths involves sex or getting wasted 95% of the time, I think deep down they truly know that their life is empty; that the things they hold on to are so temporary and futile.

I think one of the reasons they picked on me alot was because after they found out that I didn't look at pornographic magazines, drink, cuss, or have sex before marriage, it really made them feel uncomfortable that someone actually lived by the Bible, the convictions that were deep down inside all of them, but had always been ignored. What I found to be the coolest times, on several occasions, when no one else was around, different Marines would come to me and tell me, "I want you to know that i'm just joking, I really do respect you for standing up for what you believe" or "Man I really wished I would have waited to have sex till mariage", etc. That made it all worth it and really motivated me to keep pushing on.

So my point here is that no matter what, even when you don't have a clue, people are watching you, and see the difference. So you should always be acting in way that is honorable to God, since we are ambasadors of Christ and represent him while we are on this earth. I might never know fully how God used my life to affect others while I was there until I get to heaven.

During the the tense moments when I thought I wasn't going to make it back home, the Lord gave me a peace in my heart, that just motivated me and kept me moving forward.

Glory be to God.

- Eric Guiffreda,

Lance Corporal, USMCR