Machine Gun Preacher bringing unique story to Myrtle Beach area

In 1998, Sam Childers stumbled upon the body of a child that was torn apart by a landmine during a mission trip to southern Sudan.

Since, he has made it his mission to fulfill a pledge to God to do anything within his power to help the people of Africa. His crusade has involved everything from providing food and shelter to actually taking up arms to free children slaves in several war-torn countries.

Childers is bringing tales of those endeavors to the Myrtle Beach area this weekend, when he will speak at three different venues about his organization, Angels of East Africa.

Childers will speak at The Boathouse on the Waterway in Myrtle Beach at 3 p.m. Saturday, at 11 a.m. Sunday at 3393 U.S. 17 Business in Murrells Inlet, and at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Centenary United Methodist Church in Conway.

“We have seven orphanages and are serving about 7,000 meals a day, six days a week,” Childers said by phone Thursday. “That part keeps growing. We’re in Ethiopia, South Sudan and Uganda. At the end of the day, that’s what this is about.”

Childers’ efforts were thrust into the spotlight with the release of his book, “Another Man’s War,” and subsequent blockbuster movie “Machine Gun Preacher,” which starred Gerard Butler. Although Africans thought him mad, he built an orphanage for children in the heart of territory plagued by the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel militia that had kidnapped thousands of children while killing village inhabitants.

At nights, he would sleep in a mosquito net attached to a tree, a Bible in one hand an AK-47 in the other. Eventually he led armed raids against the LRA to rescue children, which earned him the nickname “Machine Gun Preacher.”

The movie about his exploits was a hit, but didn’t provide his mission with a cash windfall.

“The movie has given me an unbelievable platform around the world, but I didn’t get paid for it,” he said. “I’ve spoken at 20 some countries around the world, and not just church events. I’ve worked as a motivational speaker in factories and try to motivate them with my testimony.”

That motivation comes from a story of hope, which Childers needed in his life to reach the point he has achieved. As a child, he was often in trouble. As a teen, he sold drugs, slept with married women and had a penchant for being involved in fights. He later found a knack at construction and prospered despite a continuing drug and alcohol habit.

His wife, Lynn, encouraged him to return to the church and thus began his journey. His efforts in Africa have included him selling his own construction business and using the money to build the orphanage rather than pay his own mortgage.

“I think everybody has their own story, and I don’t believe my story matches up to everybody else,” he said. “But I believe that when they hear my story, it gives them hope for their own life.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re homeless or live in a mansion, I believe everybody has hope for their life, but sometimes struggle with that I hope. I think hearing my message and testimony helps them.”