Faithful until the very end

Been too tired to do much blogging lately but thought I would share a few more links about Tom Fox.

The first is a link to his blog, Waiting In the Light. Very worthwhile reading.

Sojourners has a lovely piece by CPT director Doug Pritchard detailing the journey of Fox's body back to the United States.

Pyles was present on the tarmac at Anaconda as Tom's coffin was loaded onto the plane for Dover. She reported that his coffin was draped in a U.S. flag. This is unusual for a civilian, but Tom may not have been uncomfortable with this since he had always called his nation to live out the high ideals which it professed. Iraqi detainees who die in U.S custody are also transported to Dover for autopsies and forensics. On this plane, right beside Tom's coffin, was the coffin of an Iraqi detainee. So Tom accompanied an Iraqi detainee in death, just as he had done so often in life.

Electronic Iraq, always a great source on what's going on in Iraq, had a letter from CPTer Sheila Provencher to Tom that really underscores for me what a profound testimony of obedience to Christ should be.

You cooked like a master while claiming it was simple. "Anything tastes good if you add enough butter to it." I still wonder if you ever cooked for the people who took you. If they let you, I am sure that you would have...We met in October 2004, right after Margaret Hassan had been killed. You, Matthew, and I were the whole team in Baghdad, and we talked about kidnapping, what could happen to us, and if we should stay in Iraq. You wrote a statement of conviction that included the words, "If I am ever called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice in love of enemy, I trust that God will give me the grace to do so." You did it, Tom. You were faithful until the very end. I imagine that even when you were about to die, you looked with forgiveness at the man who would kill you.

This war is taking too many beautiful people.