Crestview UM Men give books to Fort Hood soldiers sent to Iraq

When U.S. Army Capts. Korey Brown and Aaron Bright were stationed at Fort Hood near Killeen in early 2004, they received special gifts from their church.
United Methodist Men at Crest-view UMC, Austin, sent the officers, who were serving with the 1st Calvary Division at the time, daily devotional books entitled Strength for Service to God and Country.
Both men have now returned to the United States.
Brown is to speak at the May 21 Austin District UM Men gathering at First UMC, Cedar Park.
Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., and coffee will be available.
Crestview UMC adopted Brown and Bright as family and prayed for them through their tours in Iraq.
The men’s group sent the books to the officers’ wives and families, too. That allowed families to keep up with the daily devotionals their husbands/fathers were reading while they were deployed to Iraq.
The Strength for Service to God and Country devotional books the men and their families received are updated versions of a book published in 1942 by the United Methodist Publishing House.
Today a Strength for Service publication fund at the General Commission on United Methodist Men is accepting gifts to get the updated devotional book into the hands of every U.S. service member sent overseas.
You can read testimonials about how the book has been received by troops at http://www. strengthforservice.org/.
From that Web site you can order copies of the book or make donations. You can also contribute by writing to Strength for Service, P.O. Box 440515, Nashville, TN 37244-0515, or by calling (800) 321-5692.
Prices for the book vary based on quantity and nature of the group making the purchase.
Single copy retail price: $7.95 per copy.
Multiple copies bulk price: $5 per copy.
Multiple copies by qualified groups: $4.50 per copy. Those groups include Boy Scouts of America, local church or denominational men’s ministry groups, and chaplains of armed forces or civic organizations. Call (800) 321-5692 to inquire about whether your group qualifies for the special discount.