The Shawn Ryan Show on the Vigilance Elite YouTube Channel has indepth interviews usually with former Special Forces Operators and what they went through in training, on the job, and their post military service success often going through a period of adversity in adjusting to civilian life. Many of his interviews go on for 2 to 5 hours or more, with never a dull moment. The interview starts at the 5 minute mark after some intro and a sponsorship ad.
Shawn Ryan himself was a US Navy SEAL and a former CIA Contractor. Some of his personal roads to recovery include how to find a good mental therapist, overcoming alcoholism, and recently forgoing caffeine. He introduced Sam Childers to his Vigilance Elite YouTube Channel broadcast on October 4, 2022. Sam Childers’ is better known as the Machine Gun Preacher, portrayed by Gerald Butler in the movie based on his life in the movie “Machine Gun Preacher,” in 2011.
God Uses the Broken to Heal Others
Sam Childers grew up in Northern Minnesota in Grand Rapids. Son of a Preacher, and like many PKs (Preacher Kids), they are either super religious or rotten. Sam thought he would follow in his dad’s footsteps and be a preacher. Then at 11 years old he tried to fit in at school and do what the popular kids did. This led him to drugs and alcohol. By the time he was in his early 20s he was in a biker gang selling drugs, lived a fast lifestyle, and had a collection of guns.
He had a few close calls and the last time he almost died in a bar fight in Orlando Florida he thought he wanted to die for something other than selling drugs and being a biker. So he told his wife at the time who was a stripper that he wanted out of this lifestyle, and she did too. He went back to Grand Rapids Minnesota and started to live a regular life. Eventually he and his wife end up in Pennsylvania. She starts going to church and then she nags Sam to go with her. So to quiet his wife he went with her. Sam eventually gave his life to Christ and became a preacher.
His day job was in construction work and eventually he had his own construction firm in Pennsylvania. He was very successful building houses and other projects. At church one time a man prophesied that Sam would go to Africa and become entangled in a war there. He didn’t want anything to do with Africa but thought that donating money was enough and it wasn’t. Sam decided to go on a Mission Trip that his church had planned. It was only going to be a one time event he had thought.
When he was there he saw some things that just are not right and when Sam returned to Pennsylvania the things he valued didn’t have the same feel anymore. He knew he could help in Africa and after some soul searching he returned to Africa 3 months later.
All In
Sam poured in his personal wealth plus his gun collection of nearly 100 guns, plus his construction business he sold to pay for his Africa Mission. He was close to selling his house in Pennsylvania. He is not coming back, for the rest of his life he will be working to feed, house, and educate children with life skills.
Machine Gun Preacher
Even during his first Mission Trip to now he has seen some carnage from the warlords in Africa. He has defended himself and the children, the orphanages he has set up. You can look this up on his website, read articles and watch videos about his exploits as the “Machine Gun Preacher.”
During the American Revolutionary War Pastors were not doormats and did much like Sam Childers has done in Africa.
www.machinegunpreacher.org
For Christians in American History month we are sharing the links to Sam Childers website. Feel free to help him out in some way. Here are the blog and donation links:
Angels of East Africa Truck Stop Food & Service Centre
We take training pretty seriously at Angels of East Africa. We believe it’s ok to feed someone but it is far better to teach that someone to feed themselves. If a young person enters our training program, and they are serious, they will succeed and go on to far greater things.
There is nothing anyone could ever say to convince me that one person cannot change a nation. One person can do unbelievable things. All it takes is that one person who’s willing to risk everything to make it happen.
– Sam Childers aka MGP
Sam and his team go deep into the bush where there’s no medical help and life is hard. Children here are suffering from malnutrition, disease (Malaria most common). Sam goes in with doctors, nurses, and medication to help people living in these challenging, remote areas. Unfortunately it’s always the children who are most affected.
Donate to the Bush Kids Project link
Angels of East Africa (AOEA) has around 600 acres of land that is planted with small crops and rice. This is used for our own orphanages and some of our feeding programs as well as the refugee camps and our emergency relief projects.
AOEA also sells some produce at wholesale dealers and retailers around Uganda.
The farm employs and has in training around 80 people at any one time. This is all thanks to you who have donated over the years, and made this project come together. Our last rice harvest was around 90 tons – that feeds a lot of people
South Sudan
We love the people of South Sudan – it’s just unfortunate that the country is so unstable. It’s been war after war and to a certain extent, there is still fighting happening today by rebel militia groups in regions of the country that are no-go zones.
Our mission is to help where we can. At the moment we have around 185 Sudanese children at our main Children’s home in Nimule South Sudan.
In total, Angels of East Africa (AOEA) is a registered NGO in the countries of South Sudan and Uganda – and in the USA, AOEA is a registered 501 (c3) with the IRS.
At present AOEA is responsible for around 350 children 24/7. These children are all housed, schooled and the older kids are in trade school or work at one of our projects. Some leave and want to go their own way. Once they are 18 years old they have that choice. We even have teens at College and University.
There is so much to read about on his webpage. Clicking on the “More” Menu item I thought, oh boy this is going to be a long article of all the other things he does from digging wells, setting up orphanages, motivational speaking, selling merchandise, building rat bikes, So click on the “More” menu item to see more of his mission.
Being honest with you, if I would run into a situation where I’d have to pick up a firearm to save another child, would I? Absolutely! I wouldn’t even think about it. I rescue people and feed people. I will do whatever I have to do, as long as it’s within the law, to rescue a life. ~~ SAM CHILDERS
The donation links go directly to the Machinegunpreacher.org website and benefits his organization. Saintpaulrepublicans.us does not get any compensation. We are not associated in anyway to either Sam Childers or his Mission in Africa, nor Vigilance Elite. I, Publius Jr, subscribe to Shawn Ryan’s Vigilance Elite YouTube Channel and watch his videos. I am a US Army Veteran and listening to other Veterans, albeit elite commandos (I was never a military commando, maybe a Political one), hearing from these guys helps. I heard this interview in October 2022 and I thought Sam Childers story has to be an article for December when I celebrate Christians in American History Month. No one else celebrates this month that I created, I’m an I-Can American. I thought there should be a month American Christians should be celebrated so I created it. What’s even neater is Sam is a Minnesotan too. ~~ Publius Jr.