David Eubank grew up as the son of Christian missionaries in Thailand. He served in the U.S. Army as a Special Services Force and Ranger officer. In 1997 he founded the Free Burma Rangers a humanitarian service movement for oppressed ethnic minorities of all races and religions mainly in Burma and also in other war zones. Alongside relief, David’s personal mission is to share the love of Jesus Christ and to help people be free from oppression. FBR teams are comprised of men and women of different ethnicities and faiths who are united by the bond of love and service. David’s wife, Karen, who is a medic, and their three children serve with FBR.
In February 2021 the Burmese military performed a coup and arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders in the democratically elected government. Since then, they have tried to brutally crush all protest. More than 1 million people are still displaced inside Burma. In Bangladesh, over 1 million Rohingya, who are Sunni Muslims, live in squalid camps after being attacked and forced out of Burma by the regime. In the face of the overwhelming force of the Burmese Army, the Free Burma Rangers was formed with the idea that no one can stop people from giving love and serving one another. David says, “We pray for, stand with, and try to help those under attack and oppression.”
FBR has trained over 250 multi-ethnic relief teams, and 125 full-time teams are active in many parts of Burma. The teams have conducted over 1000 humanitarian missions of 1-2 months into the war zones of Burma. On average around 1000 patients are treated per mission with 2,000 more people helped in some way. The teams have treated over 500,000 patients and helped over 1,100,000 people.
David explains what motivates him: “My family and I serve compelled by the love, forgiveness and redemption of Jesus and want to share this with all I meet. I go to try to help because I feel it is God’s place for me – that is my soul; because oppression is wrong – that is my mind; because I love these people – that is my heart; and because I like to be on the frontline – that is my body.
Our mission is to give help, hope and love and to shine a light on the situation in conflict areas where we are invited. No one is beyond redemption. A Burmese soldier who once murdered villagers left the Burmese Army, joined our teams, repented and was baptized. He is a new man in Christ, and this is our prayer for all of us: that we are the people God created us to be. We follow an invisible God who visibly changes us!”