Chick Publications
P.O. Box 3500
Ontario, CA 91761
(909) 987-0771 Ph.
(909) 941-8128 Fax
The Vietcong were closing in. He was trapped and thought he was about
to die. In desperation, he cried out to God. Then it happened...
When he landed in the war-torn jungles of Vietnam in 1968, 18-year-old Paul Tribus
was a machine gunner with the 26th Marines. He remembers his first day like it was
yesterday.
"I was literally scared to death thinking I'm going to die. When I saw the first man
killed, I knew I would never forget it."
The first night we were hit pretty hard, and I thought, 'if I have to go
through 394 more days of this, I will never make it.'"
During his first 30 days in Vietnam, his squad was involved in firefights three
to four times a day.
In the midst of all the chaos and tragedy, something happened to Tribus. It all
started with a tract named HOLY JOE.
"I remember sitting by some sandbags or some duffel bags waiting for a truck to
pick me up and all of a sudden I looked down and this HOLY JOE tract was there, so
I picked it up, read it. It was a testimony and it explained the plan of salvation.
I never heard of salvation before.
"I think it was about 2 or 3 days later when I found myself overrun by a bunch of
Vietcong and they were coming up the hill and we were getting shot and there's mortars
and there's tracer rounds going all over."
What happens to Chick tracts you leave behind?
"Eight years ago I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord after reading
a Chick tract that I FOUND."
–California
"I FOUND a Chick tract in the restroom at school when I was in high school.
I was saved from reading that tract."
–Indiana
"I was lost until I FOUND one of your Chick tracts on the ground in a dead-end
alley."
"I FOUND a copy of THIS WAS YOUR LIFE in a phone booth one day and shortly
thereafter I accepted the Lord as my Savior."
–Colorado
"Two teenage boys told me their friend's mother FOUND a Chick tract and
she got saved."
–Tennessee
"I got saved by reading THIS WAS YOUR LIFE.
–Indiana
"When I was 14, I went out to our mailbox to get the mail and I FOUND
a SOMEBODY GOOFED. I picked it up, took it to my bedroom, read it and got
saved."
–Georgia
"I have received Jesus Christ. I FOUND one of the Chick tracts
before I came to the Lord and it touched me right in the heart."
–California
Tribus cried out to God. "God, I am not ready. I am not ready to die. Whatever
that tract says, whatever Holy Joe had, I need. I need to make a commitment.
"I felt something happen to me there. I'm not saying that I had this great flash
of light or anything, but I felt something happen that changed my whole life."
Paul served his country well. He risked his life to save fellow soldiers who were
wounded. Later, he was awarded, not one, but two purple hearts.
After returning home, Tribus attended Bible College and today, over thirty years later,
he is still in the ministry, serving God as the pastor of Rock Church in Newport News,
Virginia.
This testimony graphically illustrates the fact that you never know how God will use the Chick
tracts you leave behind or give to people.
Just think...when a former Christian soldier gets to heaven, he will learn that he is
responsible for this thrilling testimony. How excited he will be to learn how God
used the HOLY JOE tract he dropped by a sandbag.
Christian friend, we get testimonies like this all the time. And quite often, the soul
winner who gave out the tract has never heard the exciting results. But in heaven,
countless Chick tract users will hear exciting stories of how God used their tracts.
So be encouraged. Chick tracts still GET READ... and they still
get results. But you might have to wait until you get to heaven to hear those results.
Tribus cried out to God. "God, I am not ready. I am not ready to die. Whatever
that tract says, whatever Holy Joe had, I need. I need to make a commitment.