Stefan Pieksma - SWEDEN

I was born in LaPuente to a Swedish Mother and a Dutch Father. We moved early in 1971 back to Sweden. My father, who had served in Indonesia as a Dutch colonial soldier told me stories from an early age about good valour, bravery and taught me to stand for my opinion. As I grew up I was told how the war had affected my Father and the people around them in Amsterdam, and how dirty the war could be.

I decided to do my share for a better world. I knew what war and hardship could do to people. So I did my basic compulsatory training in the Swedish Army and a few years later I signed up as an officer's cadet. The same year I became a 2nd Lt, I joined the Swedish UN-Battallion in Macedonia in October 1993. There I had the double function of 2IC Platoon Leader for the HQ Staff platoon and the electronics tech for the battalion.

In the capacity of the tech. I ventured out with my Norwegian collegue and we came to a desolate place close to the Macedonian/Serbian Border. The standing orders at this time was that any patrol that encountered Serbian units should report this back to HQ and escort the Serbians back to the Border. Of course nobody had ever considered two eager and young 2nd Lt’s.

Having seniority I ordered my Norwegian colleague to radio in and stay with the Jeep. I encountered eight heavily armed Serbian soldiers and one dog. With my best English, a few phrases of Serbian, a lot of hand language and a map I managed to explain to the patrol that I would escort them back to the border.

Imagine the surprise when these soldiers saw a young Swede in a blue beret and only armed with a handgun, telling them that he would escort them. About half way to the border we came to a ruin of a greek orthodox church with a gilded cross laying on the ground. Without giving it much thought I picked up the cross and placed it against the crumbling wall. This made the Serbian patrol a bit agitated; earlier they had been mumbling between each other but now they argued loudly. One of the soldiers came up to me and told me that he had been working as a taxi driver in Widen for a few years. They offered to share lunch with me and we ate together. When we finally arrived at the border each and every one of the soldiers saluted me and shook my hand. The former taxi driver was the last to do so. He gave me his hand and asked me to be careful on the way back.

A few years later while serving in the Nordic – Polish brigade in SFOR in Bosnia I came upon the former taxi driver/Serbian Soldier. He greeted me warmly and he said, “At first, we considered robbing you of your uniform and handgun to teach you not to be insulent, maybe even killing you to teach the UN a lesson. But when we saw your respect for God and our church we became full of awe. A man with this bravery could only be a man blessed by God. So we dared not touch you.”

Today I’m posted as a paramedic instructor and I have seen God's hand in several cases in the ambulance and the ER room. I have learned that God loves us and that he has a plan for everybody.

May the Lord walk point for you

Rev. Stefan Pieksma, ChGCStI, ChKR-DSR, OLJ
1/Lt Swedish Army

Blessed are the peacekeepers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Matthew 5:9

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