Hello and welcome to the John Mark Coma teachings podcast. I'm Strawn Coleman, your host and part of the teaching team here at Practicing the Way.

Each week on this podcast, we share a teaching from John Mark or other trusted voices in the formation space.

And it's great to have you with us.

In this final teaching in our Advent series,

Ken Shigamatsu invites us to experience joy through the art of both remembrance and faithful expectation of God's coming arrival.

As you listen, you may like to ask yourself,

what is something in my life right now, small or large, that is a cause for joy?

Here's Ken.

During World War II, 30 Allied soldiers were captured and imprisoned behind German lines.

There was a rumor that they didn't have any chaplains among them.

So this guy named Dr. Ray Bakke, who is an urban professor of missions, shared this story.

And he said, I knew this chaplain named Mirdo McDonald, known as Chaplain Mac, who when he

heard there were no chaplains for the prisoners, raised his hand, along with another Scottish

chaplain, and volunteered to be

flown over this prisoner of war camp or near it, and to be dropped into the area by parachute.

And so they board this plane, they're dropped off by parachute, and they're pretty much

immediately captured and taken as prisoners into this POW camp.

And there was this high-wired fence that was separating the American barracks from the British barracks,

making very difficult for the two sides to communicate.

But every day, Chaplain Mac, this Scottish guy, would come to the fence to connect with his

Scottish chaplain friend. And there was a German guard that was always there and a big sign

that said, no speaking in English,

...