Over the years many of us Vietnam Veterans have felt, either secretly or openly, that we have unfinished business in South-East Asia. We were not allowed to win the war, we completed our tour of duty and left, when it was still going on and victory was not in sight. We returned to Australia, but not home. What we thought would be home wasn't the same anymore. Everybody expected us to just forget Vietnam and return to work, or get a job, and get on with life as if nothing had ever happened in the time we were in Vietnam!

Many of us tried to get help for our emotional problems and wounds from the war - many were simply told to, "Pull yourself together man and get on with things"! However, the Australian government proved (and still does to this day!) to be a giant headless and heartless system that was opposed to spending any money and time on anything but physical wounds. They failed to realize that having survived when others didn't would be a problem to us for years to come. Or, that the problems of self-medication with drugs (pharmaceutical and elicit) and alcohol - to try and numb the pain and drown the memories - had anything to do with our tour of duty in Vietnam.

Because we lacked warmth in our 'coming home' many Veterans isolated themselves from society and a large percentage still won't even admit they were ever in the Armed Services during that time period. Many of us remember those who lost their lives in Vietnam, but we need to know that and there are thousands of us who never really came home in spirit, mind and soul - they are our Aussie MIA's - Missing in Australia! Most are still prisoners of a war that they don't even realize is still raging on within them. They will never find their way home with the 'weapons' that our society has to offer them to fight with. You may be an MIA yourself?

Well, you don't have to be a hermit-like, trip-wire veteran living out in the boondocks by yourself to be Missing in Australia. You don't have to be a homeless Vet, or one going through a DVA approved program for stress or drug/alcohol problems. You can be a successful, respectable businessman with a good family life and yet be Missing in Australia. All can look good on the outside but inside there is an unexplained gnawing going on. It could be a simple thing like numbness of feelings, or not being able to get close to others...including your wife and kids.

Missing in Australia is the self-imposed act of stuffing a bunch of bad memories away without resolving them first, and then denying that they affect your life anymore. Coming home from the war may have meant putting it all behind you and glossing it over it with a thin coat of veneer for looks only. It could be like putting a bag of dirty washing in a wardrobe and trying to forget it is there, but after 20-30 years you really know it is still there! It begins to give off a rotten stink forcing you not to avoid it any longer. Well, washing day has arrived and "coming home" in a true sense is cleaning up one of the most significant times of our lives...the Vietnam War Era. Are you ready?

A couple of thousand years ago Jesus Christ appalled so many "respectable" people because he ate with prostitutes and drunkards, and sought out the social rejects of society to embrace and love. One day He even looked up this little wimp of a bloke (yes, he was a public servant working for the Roman government of the day!), who was a hated tax-man, and guess what? He went home with him AND CHANGED HIS LIFE!

Now it is of historical fact and record that Jesus Christ was executed by hanging on a cross, but it is also on the historical record that He came back to life three days later, and is still alive TODAY! If you need and want to finally come home from Vietnam, or any other war or traumatic experience during peacekeeping service overseas, you first have to invite someone to come "home" with you - and that someone is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is alive today and is waiting for you to open the door of your heart. HE WILL COME HOME WITH YOU AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE!